More minors are coming into contact with the justice system, either as victims or as suspects, while shortcomings in child protection mechanisms leave them increasingly vulnerable, according to a new report by the İstanbul Bar Association.
The report shows that poverty, social exclusion and weak child-protection mechanisms are pushing minors into legal processes at younger ages.
Prepared by the bar’s Children’s Rights Center and based on attorney appointments made between January 2021 and July 2025, the report draws on data from lawyers assigned to represent minors. Attorneys accompany minors during statement-taking, interrogations and detention procedures.
One in four attorney appointments for young victims involved allegations of sexual abuse, underscoring that such offenses remain a persistent and serious societal and judicial problem. According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data the number of child victims of sexual offenses rose by 41.1 percent between 2020 and 2024.
Among minors suspected of crimes, theft stands out as the most common allegation, with around 71,000 attorney appointments linked to such cases. The report connects these offenses to poverty, school dropout, gaps in social services and unsafe street environments. According to TurkStat, the number of minors pushed into crime increased by 80.8 percent between 2020 and 2024.
Drug-related offenses also show a clear upward trend. The number of minors involved in drug production or trafficking has increased significantly, while drug use remains widespread among those aged 12 to 18. The report warns that these patterns leave youngsters increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by organized criminal groups.
The İstanbul Bar Association urged authorities to strengthen early detection and reporting mechanisms, expand social services for at-risk minors and incorporate trauma-informed approaches into judicial practice. It also called for stronger coordination between schools, healthcare providers, social services, local administrations and the justice sector.
A recent report by the Human Rights Association (İHD) found that the Turkish government’s Human Rights Action Plan failed to acknowledge structural and systematic violations of children’s rights and did not propose any effective preventive measures. It warned that the lack of a comprehensive policy has resulted in continued abuses in juvenile justice, child labor and child poverty.
