EMEP Gaziantep Deputy Sevda Karaca Demir, regarding the Child Protection Law, which includes regulations on children dragged into crime, and the Bill on Amendments to Some Laws, said, "In this proposal, there is punishment rather than protection, confinement rather than rehabilitation, and a security approach rather than social state responsibility." he said.
At the press conference he held in the Parliament, Demir stated that they have been carrying out a comprehensive discussion on "juvenile delinquency" for a long time, and reminded that the GNAT Investigation Commission on Children Driven to Crime was established on this issue and the Commission held many meetings.
Demir claimed that the opinions of scientists and experts in the field were listened to in the Commission, but the bill submitted to the Parliament did not reflect the evaluations arising from the Commission's activities, and said:
"In this proposal, there is more punishment than protection, confinement rather than rehabilitation, and a security approach rather than social state responsibility. The first thing we will say about this proposal is that the child who is involved in crime, whether he is a victim or a perpetrator, is the child who is under the responsibility of the state, whom the state will protect, not the one who will punish. We all know very well, in fact, scientists, sociologists, and psychologists all say this, that no child is born into crime automatically."
Explaining that the proposal aims to make penalties heavier, Demir said, "Nowhere in the world has juvenile delinquency been reduced by increasing penalties." he said.
Demir said that what is needed in this regard is more examples such as "social service institutions, psychological support and youth centers".