Guidance on protecting children who have been affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye

What are the most vital needs for children who have been affected by the earthquakes?

After any natural disaster of this scale, the needs of children and their families are immeasurable.

Relief items in immediate need include temporary shelters, food, water, medical supplies, heaters and mobile toilets. Especially for children, families also need winter clothes, baby products and menstrual hygiene supplies for adolescent girls. There are a significant number of children who have sustained physical injuries and may require specialized medical devices, such as orthopedics, wheelchairs and hearing aids as well.

In addition to relief items, children need safe spaces where they can receive psychosocial support and reconnect to some sense of security and normalcy. These safe spaces also serve to screen children for serious vulnerabilities, risks and conditions that might arise and require specialized care and protection services.

What are the biggest risks to a child’s protection in the aftermath of an earthquake?

Earthquakes and other natural disasters undermine a child’s fundamental sense of safety and security. In addition to enduring the loss of their homes, health centres, schools and critical infrastructure for clean water and other basic needs, children may suffer unthinkable psychological duress. They may have lost family and friends, or been separated from their parents or legal representatives providing primary care during the crisis.

Through it all, the risk of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect heightens in a humanitarian emergency – including in the forms of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, economic exploitation and illegal adoption. This is especially the case for children who have lost their caregivers.

Following any disaster of this degree, the establishment of safe spaces to provide immediate support and protection services, and to help screen children for vulnerabilities and risks, is critical.

What is the number of missing children following the earthquakes?

The number of missing children can be difficult to exact after a humanitarian disaster of this proportion, while the identification and family tracing efforts continue.

On the other hand, many children are separated from their parents and caregivers in the height of emergencies and are currently unaccompanied. During any humanitarian crisis, children may be separated from their families for hours, days – even months. Those who receive early support in tracing their relatives are more likely to be reunified faster.

What risks do unaccompanied and separated children face?

Children cut off from their caregivers or homes during a humanitarian disaster are at heightened risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. Unaccompanied children and those separated from their families, in particular, may become vulnerable to human trafficking, illegal adoption, child labour or aggravated smuggling. Gender-based violence, which includes sexual abuse and trafficking for sexual exploitation, are additional threats, especially for girls.

To protect children in Türkiye from trafficking, UNICEF recommends a multisectoral intervention and that related parties in contact with children in the framework of their duties (e.g. Law enforcement officials) are trained on the identification of children at risk, and referrals of unaccompanied children and other vulnerable groups to the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Additionally, all other frontline staff and volunteers should be trained on child safeguarding procedures, including how to identify at-risk children and refer potential cases to authorities.

How to report an issue related to the protection of children in Türkiye, or get official information on  unaccompanied and separated children?

The Ministry of Family and Social Services has set up 10 new hotlines for unaccompanied and separated children in the earthquake zone, in addition to the general ALO 183 helpline. You may also visit the nearest Ministry of Family and Social Services Units, and/or inform law enforcement units.  These national authorities can directly provide necessary assistance or refer children to the relevant service providers for the provision of requiredessential services.

How does  the family reunification process work forchildren who have been separated from their caregivers in Türkiye?

For children who are identified as unaccompanied, or who have been separated from their parents and caregivers, immediate family tracing takes place with the goal to reunite them as quickly and safely as possible. Similarly, support will be provided to parents who may be looking for their children.

In Türkiye, if the event of family tracing is not successful, children can be directed to family-based care service models under the Ministry of Family and Social Services that children who are without parental care benefit. After conducting a social inquiry to identify the best interest of the child, children can be placed into a vetted family-based care arrangement. Ensuring there are sufficient social workers, psychologists, and family-based alternative care placements available to meet the needs of each child is critical.

Does UNICEF play a role in reuniting children with their families in Türkiye?

In Türkiye, family tracing and reunification is conducted by the Ministry of Family and Social Services. UNICEF provides support to these government services as requested.

What happens if a child cannot be reunited with her/his family after the earthquakes?

For children recently separated from their families following a natural disaster, the Ministry of Family and Social Services undertakes immediate actions to locate and reunify children and caregivers, where reunification is in the child’s best interest. Until the fate of a child's parents or other close relatives is verified, each separated child is considered as having living relatives or legal guardians. This includes children who have been admitted to hospitals for treatment without adult company.

Interim care may be arranged while family tracing and reunification activities take place. When reunification is not possible, desired or in the child’s best interests, the child’s contact  with family members should be kept, where feasible and appropriate, to also enable the search for long-term, alternative family- or community-based care arrangements that meet the individual needs of the l child.

How does the adoption process work in Türkiye?

Children separated from their parents after a natural disaster cannot be assumed to be orphans and in need of adoption. For this reason, adoption should not occur during or immediately after a humanitarian emergency. Until the whereabouts of a child's parents or other close family members can be verified, each separated child is considered to have living close relatives. Every effort should be made to reunify children with their families when suitable, if such reunification is in their best interest.

In the event that family tracing is not successful, Türkiye has a reliable foster care system where children can be placed into a vetted, family-based care arrangement.

What is UNICEF’s policy on adoption?

Children separated from their parents during a humanitarian disaster cannot be assumed to be orphans and are not available for adoption. For this reason, adoption should not occur during or immediately after an emergency.

All children have the right to grow up safely with their families. Until the whereabouts of a child's parents or other close family members can be verified, each separated child is considered to have living close relatives. Every effort should be made to reunify children with their families when suitable, if such reunification is in their best interest.

Once all efforts towards family reunification and foster care arrangements have been fully exhausted, adoption is the last-resort, long-term solution for children who have lost their caregiver in a humanitarian emergency.

Recognizing the importance of children growing up in a familiar environment and community, family-based national, alternative care arrangements are supported and resourced as much as possible in Türkiye.

Do orphanages exist in Türkiye?

For children without parental care, a community- and family-based care and protection system exists in Türkiye, which includes foster care and small-scale (home-based) residential care. Türkiye does not allow for the use of large orphanages, which are globally recognized, including by UNICEF, as harmful to children.

In the afternmath of the earthquakes, the Government of Türkiye is leading efforts to identify unaccompanied and separated children who may have lost family members. Any such cases should be immediately referred to the Ministry of Family and Social Services or the general ALO 183 helpline.

The Provincial Directorates of the Ministry of Family and Social Services will lead family tracing and reunification efforts, and try to place children with extended family members, or in a family-based care alternative if parents are known to have deceased or cannot be found. All decisions should be made in the child’s best interest.

What toll can an earthquake take on a country’s child protection systems?

Child protection systems connect children to vital social services, providing care to the most vulnerable – including children affected by humanitarian emergencies. Protecting children means protecting their physical, mental and psychosocial needs to safeguard their futures.

In the aftermath of an earthquake or other natural disaster, child protection systems can become overburdened due to the sudden spike in needs, coupled with the destruction of critical infrastructure, communication lines and supply facilities. Child protection personnel, social workers and other frontline staff, along with their families, are often also affected by the disaster. This means that the number of children in need of dedicated support, including placement in safe, family-based alternative care, expands rapidly.

The Government of Türkiye is mobilising its child protection system through the Ministry of Family and Social Services to respond to the needs of children in the wake of the earthquakes. UNICEF and its partners will continue to support the Government in its response.

What impact can an earthquake have on a child’s mental health?

Children who experience humanitarian disasters suffer unthinkable forms of distress. They may have lost their loved ones, been separated from their caregivers, or endured severe physical injuries. Many are cut off from fundamental services like clean water, health care and education – losing, simultaneously, safe spaces for protection, care and play. For young children, the experience can hamper their physiological and social development. Severe distress and exposure to traumatic events can also lead to anxiety, depression and other harmful outcomes, especially in adolescence.

When children are already vulnerable to duress – for example, because of their families’ socioeconomic circumstances or other forms of inequity – disasters can have a more severe impact. Of course, parents too suffer during an emergency, which can prevent them from providing the protection, stability and nurturing care their children require.

But children are also resilient. Mental health and psychosocial support in the aftermath of a disaster is essential for their well-being and development. Children need supportive family-based care to begin to heal. They need safe spaces to reconnect with others; to regain a sense of normalcy through regular, structured activities; and to play and learn again with peers. Above all, they need love and protection to develop coping skills, regulate their emotions and strengthen bonds.

Mental health and psychosocial support, including trauma-informed services, helps connect children to care during and after an emergency. Alongside partners, UNICEF is helping to provide such support to children, parents and caregivers through the establishment of safe spaces. Our safe spaces offer protection, care and a return to familiar activities to children affected by the earthquakes, while also providing specialized support to their families. Mental health and psychosocial support for parents and caregivers takes the form of psychological first aid, parent education programmes, peer support groups and more.