Say Yes, Spring 2006: In This Issue

OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER?

Adolescents are the largest demographic group in Turkey, the total of both genders representing just under 20% of the population.
Source: Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, 2003.

A variety of sociological changes including earlier sexual maturity, later marriage and more emphasis on education brought about by greater levels of industrialisation during the last fifty years led to acceptance of adolescence as the bridge between childhood and adulthood -- a phase of life with three distinct stages:

early adolescence (10-13 years);
middle adolescence (14-16 years);
and late adolescence (17-19 years).

Theories vary about age range but the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines an adolescent as anyone between the ages of 10 and 19 years. By this standard, adolescents represent 20% of Turkey’s current population and the next generation of under 10 year-olds is only a minute fraction smaller -- making adolescents the largest demographic group of Turkey’s population for the foreseeable future.

Adolescence is a time of great potential marked by dramatic physical and psychological changes as children come to terms with their rapidly changing bodies and begin to experiment with notions of identity. Often feeling more like adults, and frequently being expected to behave as such, adolescents are all too easily characterised as difficult when their natural inclination to participate as adults clashes with their status as children. The typical result is friction and frustration for adults and adolescents alike that becomes manifest in problems of poor communication, emotional or physical conflict and a general reluctance to conform without question that raise seemingly insurmountable barriers between adolescents, their families and society.

COMMON ISSUES FOR ADOLESCENTS

quality education;
participation rights;
substance use and abuse;
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) -- including HIV/AIDS;
pregnancy and early parenting;
violence at home, at school and within the community;
eating and nutritional disorders;
depression and identity disorders;
uncertain employment prospects.

In Turkey, the typically unpredictable temper of adolescence is acknowledged in young males at least when they are frequently and fondly tagged delikanlılar or crazy bloods. The use of more sober endearments for girls of similar age suggests that they are not privileged with the same understanding -- something of a double-standard that is all too common in many societies the world over.

Nevertheless it should be recognised that, as both boys and girls, adolescents are still children and they face some of the most difficult and challenging years of their lives when the decisions they make -- and the decisions that are made for them -- will affect their future health, education and happiness.

Despite their very real issues, adolescents often fall through gaps in services provided for those who are younger or older than them. They are easily excluded from planning and policy more commonly aimed at younger children and at the same time remain excluded from the adult world in which they long to participate.

Adolescents are, after all, still children who need to be informed, guided and protected just as their younger brothers and sisters do. The outcome document of the United Nations Special Session on Children (UNSSC) in 2002, acknowledges this fact when it says that:

A world fit for children is one in which … all children, including adolescents, have ample opportunity to develop their natural capacities in a safe and supportive environment.

Recognising this, the Governmment of Turkey is working to address adolescent needs with the suppport of UNICEF and other agencies:

HIV/AIDS awareness has been added to the new primary education curriculum;
training in communication and negotiation skills is being provided for families with adolescents through the Family and Child Training (FACT) programme;
the Juvenile Justice System is being improved.

This issue of Say Yes examines some of the problems facing adolescents in Turkey today and looks at what needs to be done to further address their needs.

BIRD FLU IN TURKEY

A major public awareness campaign was launched in Turkey in January when the first reported cases of bird flu in humans resulted in four deaths -- all of them children.

Read A Natural Threat.

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SAY YES, SPRING 2006

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