Incest vs children’s rights - GİLA BENMAYOR

12.9.17

Incest vs children’s rights - GİLA BENMAYOR: It is so wrong to represent claims that there is a 40 percent incest rate in Turkey as the result of the hate of one segment of the society against the other segment of the society with different lifestyles, in the framework of the liberal/secular versus conservative polarization.

Incest is certainly not endemic to Turkey as there are victims of incest in every corner of the world, from Africa to Europe, from the New World to the Far East; occurs across all social strata; and is still a problem of the 21st century. Since it typically occurs intrafamilially, most incidents are not discussed and remain hidden. In countries other than Turkey, however, incest is at least discussed at the level of governments and institutions, and articles about the issue get published.

We can make the following statement about Turkey: The reasons why cases of incest are more widespread in Turkey are our patriarchal family structures, the extant feudal system, and current laws, which have been designed to protect women not being properly implemented.

Who can argue against the reality that men across our country view women - including their daughters, wives and even daughters-in-law - as their property? How can we explain the rape of a 12-year-old girl in �orum by her father, uncle and brother for five years? The girl not only had been raped by three of her family members since the age of seven but also was impregnated by her father.