Page 162 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

providing assistance to Syrians. First of all, it is necessary to ensure that aid is provided
to the correct addresses and repeat assistance is avoided. Neighborhood headmen could
have a very important role in the fair distribution of social assistance if their local-level
knowledge and experience is used more effectively in the identification of Syrians in
need of aid.

Regarding the perceptions of local people that aid provided for Syrians by municipal
administrations comes out of budgetary resources designated for local residents, it will
be essential to take the population of Syrians who live inside the borders of the province
and the foreigners under international protection system into consideration in addition
to the populations of the municipalities and provinces when determining the budgets
for provincial administrations and municipalities from the general tax revenue. In this
way, the incomes of the provinces in which large numbers of Syrians live can increase
and this can provide improvement in the services offered both to the citizens of these
provinces and to the Syrians.

XII. WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Women and children are the groups most adversely affected by war and migration
and the most vulnerable – particularly unaccompanied minors – to physical, sexual or
psychological violence. It is therefore imperative to take special measures for women
and children and carry out targeted activities. Besides, this obligation arises from the
humanitarian approach as well as from the international obligations and national
legislation of our country.

As a result of the interviews with the administrations and non-governmental
organizations, we found out that there was still a high number of early marriages, informal
marriages, and polygamy among Syrian women, as well as a low level of awareness
about domestic violence. Many battered women do not know what to do when they
are exposed to violence or their rights to the services they need. Some Syrian women
who are in vulnerable situations and in need of shelter are staying outside of temporary
accommodation centers and are adversely affected by this situation. Many families do
not have sufficient knowledge about illnesses, family planning, or reproductive health,
and women who suffered sexual abuse and violence during the war, widows, and women
who are separated from their husband and came alone, and single mothers with children
are in particularly vulnerable situations. Some of the families have their children work
in the streets; however, if the children are detected, they often say they have no family.

It is important to prevent Syrian women from becoming victims, to raise their awareness
in order to prevent further victimization and to inform them about legal obligations such

162 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT