Killings and sexual abuse of children prompted the Turkish Parliament to form a committee in 2024 to discuss measures. The Investigation Committee for the Protection of Children Against Violence and Abuse recently concluded its work and released a draft report outlining proposals.

Among other recommendations, the report proposes establishing a permanent children’s rights committee in Parliament and creating a new public agency or ministry to coordinate efforts to address the issue.

It suggests legal measures for offenders convicted of sexual abuse of children after they completed their jail term.

The committee was established shortly after the body of an 8-year-old girl was found in September in southeastern Türkiye. The murder of Narin Güran made headlines, and the girl’s mother was among those jailed. Parliamentarians have rallied for new measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents and to address broader issues affecting children in Türkiye.

Cengiz Aydoğdu, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) who chaired the committee, said in the report that all segments of society were united against neglect, abuse and violence toward children. "The work of the committee focused on finding causes of such acts and offering lasting solutions,” he said.

The committee made several field trips, including watching the trial of defendants in the murder case of Güran.

The report, consisting of 162 proposals, calls for a comprehensive approach to the matter. It proposes establishing a new agency, ministry, or presidential institution authorized to issue regulations and coordinate among government agencies to protect children.

Other proposals include capacity building in public services responsible for children’s protection and a stronger fight against child labor, especially by raising awareness among children who drop out of school to join the workforce.

The report also focuses on improving conditions for raising children, including tax policies that balance income distribution, family-friendly policies that allow parents to spend more time with their children, and flexible working conditions that help families effectively balance work and childcare.

For children driven to a life of crime, the report calls for increasing the number of experts working on the rehabilitation of children involved in crimes.

For people on trial for sexual abuse of children, lawmakers propose that they be prevented from working in environments where children are present, even if defendants were not convicted yet, and throughout the trial process.

The report suggests better protection for children with special needs, citing that they are exposed more to the risk of violence, abuse and neglect.

Lawmakers also proposed enforcing inspections of social media and digital platforms to protect children’s rights and imposing sanctions on platforms that fail to prevent children’s access to adult content. In this context, it imposes strict age limits on access to social media platforms.

Another suggestion is to increase the number of guidance counselors in schools. The committee also calls for a series of changes for the work of Child Observation Centers, which are specifically established for judicial processes involving child victims of crimes. "Considering that these centers were designed to prevent a repeat of traumatization of children who have subjected to abuse, adult victims of such crimes should not be mandated to give statements at those centers. Legal regulations should be enacted to ensure that all trials involving child victims, particularly those related to crimes of a sexual nature, are conducted in closed sessions as a mandatory requirement in line with the best interests of the child,” the report says.

It also calls for more capacity building at emergency call centers to address the incidents involving children subject to neglect or abuse.

"There are currently 74 Child Observation Centers operating in 70 provinces across Türkiye. However, given the number of children applying to these centers and the distance between victims' residences and the nearest center, this figure may be insufficient. Efforts should be made to ensure that at least one center is established in every province and that multiple centers are opened in major metropolitan areas with high numbers of victims,” the report proposed. It also calls for assigning law enforcement officers to Child Observation Centers.