Child abuse in Turkey child pregnant

Child abuse in Turkey: Eleven years pregnant

01/06/2012

Last night, an eleven-year-old girl was taken to hospital in Bolu, Turkey. There, a pregnancy was diagnosed in the child. Worldwide there were seven known cases in 2011, in which only eleven-year-old girls gave birth to children.

Child abuse with religious background
After the 25-year-old husband took the girl to the hospital emergency room, the doctors found that the child was eight months pregnant. However, the husband did not allow the eleven-year-old to stay in the hospital for observation. Why he brought his underage wife to the clinic at all is unknown.

The couple was married after a religious rite, but in Turkey has no legal basis. The eleven-year-old is too young to marry legally under the law. Despite the fact that the girl is a minor, the hospital did not file a complaint. The unequal couple could leave the clinic unhindered.

Childhood pregnancies, especially in poor regions
In 2011, seven cases were reported worldwide, in which only eleven-year-old girls gave birth to children. The number of unreported cases may be much higher. Most pregnancies of this kind occurred in South America, but also in Vietnam, USA and the Philippines. In some ethnic minorities, such as Indian tribes in the Amazon, but also among the Sinti and Roma in Europe, child mothers are not uncommon. In these cultures a very early marriage and reproduction is quite common. However, these pregnancies have one thing in common, as they all occur in rural areas in poverty-stricken families.

Abuse leaves traces
The recent case from Turkey has caused much consternation but also lack of understanding. If a grown man has sex with an eleven-year-old and even witnesses a child, it is punishable. Why the hospital did not file a complaint is not known.

In Germany every year more than 10,000 children are physically, emotionally or sexually abused. Affected persons are in most cases traumatized for a lifetime. In a recent study, scientists revealed that the brains of sufferers have altered structures that are very similar to the brain structures of people with manifested depression. The results of the study suggest that abused children are more susceptible to mental illness throughout their lives. While the perpetrators in many cases remain undisturbed by the judiciary, "the victims often have to be accompanied therapeutically for a lifetime," reports social worker Gritli Bertram, head of a therapeutic girl housing group. "In the course of a therapy coping strategies are developed, so that the affected people can at least master their everyday life". (Ag)

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Child maltreatment leaves scars in the brain
Higher risk of disease due to trauma

Picture: Martin Schemm