Syrian refugee women and girls forced into marriage in Turkey : existing national and international law instruments and their effectiveness

Abstract

Millions of Syrians have been forced to leave their country after the Syrian War, the most horrific humanitarian plight of recent years. More than 5 million Syrians had to flee to neighboring countries due to lack of life safety and over 6 million people were internally displaced. Approximately 3.5 million of Syrians, living in Turkey and %90 of them living outside the camps. Like all disasters, women and children were the ones to get affected the most due to these circumstances since the start of this crisis. In this study, I have pointed out the severity and seriousness of the silent and tragic lives of Syrian women and girls in forced marriages by illustrating it with the life story of 3 victims, which will become the voice of thousands of victims in the field, and the terrifying news of the forced marriage victims covered on national and international press. I have analyzed why these women and girls are not effectively protected in Turkey by laws and the existing legal protection mechanisms fighting against this problem in Turkey and investigated their functionality. I have particularly reported the international protection programs and the international obligations of Turkey. In conclusion, by discussing the reasons for the issue recommendations are clearly identified for Turkey to take precautions immediately in order to protect the Syrian refugee women and girls subject to forced marriages and to stop their further victimization, and carry out the required works and collaboration for the feasibility of the available protection programs as well as acknowledging the importance of the forced marriage issue taking place on the top, and that not only does Turkey have to ensure the basic requirements of the refugees with the international actors but also collaborate for the practicality of the necessary protection precautions. INDEX WORDS: forced marriage, Syrian refugee women and girls, protection, temporary protection regulation, person with special needs, violence against women, international protection, CEDAW, İstanbul Convention, violation of human rights, religious marriage, refugee crisis