A group of underage boys at a religious boarding school run by the Directorate of Religious Affairs have accused their teacher of sexual abuse, raising alarm over the safety of children in boarding schools, the BirGün daily reported.
Under the guidance of a psychological counselor 17 boys, aged between 10 and 13, living at a religious education center in Istanbul have accused a male teacher of sexual abuse. The children, who had been attending the school since the ages of four to six, claimed that other teachers were aware of the abuse but chose to remain silent.
Religious boarding schools in Turkey are schools where students, often young boys, live at the institution while receiving a religious education, primarily focused on learning the Quran and Islamic teachings. These courses are typically run by religious organizations, including the Directorate of Religious Affairs and sometimes private organizations, and provide both accommodation and education for students, often from a young age.
The education often includes Quran memorization and learning the basics of Islam and religious practices, with supervision by teachers or religious instructors.
Critics have repeatedly warned that these boarding schools are not properly supervised or inspected by authorities, leaving students vulnerable to all kinds of abuse and indoctrination.
According to BirGün’s reporting, the majority of victimized children were returned to the same boarding school by their families. Essentially, the children continue to live in the same building where they were subject to sexual abuse and trauma.
This is not the first time religious boarding schools have come under scrutiny over allegations of sexual abuse. Only recently news emerged that a 16-year-old boy had molested at least five children between ages 10 and 12 at a private-run religious boarding school. It was later revealed in court that the adults operating the school knew about the abuse but said nothing.
In 2019 three teachers were arrested on abuse charges at a private boarding school in Istanbul.
One of the most notorious cases involved the sexual abuse in 2016 of 45 boys at a boarding school in Central Anatolia run by the Ensar Foundation, which is known for its closeness to the government.
Then-minister of family and social affairs Sema Ramazanoğlu sparked public outrage by downplaying the incident, saying it was “a one-time event that had no significance.”
In many other cases, adults who attended similar institutions as children have come forward with accounts of beatings, verbal abuse and sexual assault.
Lawyers say many of these boarding schools operate without a license, but weak government oversight allows them to remain open. Lawyer Tuba Torun said these schools were previously overseen by the Ministry of Education but were placed under the authority of the Directorate of Religious Affairs through a regulation introduced by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2012. The same regulation, she added, also removed a clause from the Turkish Penal Code that had imposed prison sentences of six months to three years on people who opened unlicensed religious education centers or knowingly taught at them.
