The number of 11-year-old or younger girls who were subjected to sexual abuse or sexual violence increased by 94 percent from 2014 to 2017, according to a report drafted by People’s Republican Party (CHP) deputy Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi, the Diken news website reported.
In the same time period the incidents of sexual abuse or sexual violence targeting young girls aged between 12-14 also increased by 76 percent.
Over 110,000 girls under the age of 18 were reportedly subjected to violence in the three-year span, whereas more than 51,000 sexual abuse incidents targeting young girls under 18 were reported to the police.
İlgezdi prepared the report based on the data from Turkey’s Interior Ministry.
“As politicians glorify and strengthen masculine culture, women and children become more and more defenseless,” İlgezdi said.
She stressed that there should be a ministry of women focusing on women’s problems instead of only dealing with women’s issues in the family context.
In Turkey, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Security is responsible for women’s issues.
Source: Turkish Minute
