Minister Tunç: ‘We put an end to the practice of handing over children through enforcement for 90 years’

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç emphasized that the practice that puts an end to delivering children through enforcement, with a history of 90 years, has been expanded nationwide in Turkey, stating, ‘We have put an end to the ugly scenes where children are taken away from their parents by law enforcement authorities. Our Ministry prepared a special guide regarding this practice that puts an end to a social pain and delivered it to all practitioners.’ The practice carried out by the Ministry of Justice, which puts an end to delivering children through enforcement, has resulted in 256,057 child deliveries and personal relationship procedures in a total of 28,937 files, including 2,672 child deliveries and 26,265 personal relationship procedures.
Minister Tunç noted that under the new practice, processes related to child delivery or establishing personal relationships with children are carried out in child-friendly visitation centers established by experts. He stated, ‘With this practice, we have put an end to the ugly scenes where children are taken away from their parents by law enforcement authorities. We have taken over the implementation of decisions regarding child delivery and establishing personal relationships with children from enforcement offices and transferred them to the Ministry of Justice’s Directorate of Judicial Support and Victim Services. Child deliveries are carried out through psychologists, social workers, pedagogues, and guidance counselors at visitation centers. Our Ministry provides this service free of charge.’
Minister Tunç also provided information about the physical structures of child visitation centers, stating that locations that allow children to spend quality time with their parents such as parks, gardens, places where social, sports, and cultural activities are conducted, or locations close to such areas are preferred for the centers.
With the new practice implemented by the Ministry of Justice, taking into account the best interest of children, parents who are not granted custody but are given the right to see their children according to a determined schedule no longer have to apply to enforcement offices. These parents can now apply free of charge to the judicial support and victim services directorates established in courthouses and meet their children at designated child visitation centers. Child visitation centers, established to ensure the protection of children’s rights and take protective and supportive measures for children during legal processes, also meet the needs of children.
The child delivery practice, which started on April 4, 2022, has been implemented nationwide this year. Currently, a total of 806 child visitation centers across the country are carrying out tasks and procedures related to child delivery and establishing personal relationships with children.
Additionally, with the practice, a total of 256,057 child deliveries and personal relationship procedures have been carried out in 28,937 files, including 2,672 child deliveries and 26,265 personal relationship procedures.