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About the Center
For the system of rehabilitation services aimed at children who have been drawn into crime or are victims of crime to be renewed, and for improvements in the services provided under the Child Protection Law and the juvenile justice system, as well as in efforts to prevent child abuse and violence against children, scientific research is essential. Furthermore, in order for these studies to meet the needs of the field, collaboration with professionals working directly in the sector is necessary.
With this purpose in mind, Turkey’s first "Application and Research Center for Street-Living and Working Children (SOYAÇ)" was established at Maltepe University on March 18, 2010.
As in many fields, there is a gap between practitioners and academics in this area. Numerous international studies have highlighted this gap and emphasized the lack of collaboration with service providers (Kidd et al., 2006). To create a foundation for mutual learning between fieldworkers and academics and to support the work of the then SHÇEK (Social Services and Child Protection Agency), a cooperation protocol was signed between SHÇEK and Maltepe University on March 18, 2010. Since its establishment, SOYAÇ has been conducting community-centered studies and projects with an interdisciplinary systems approach based on trauma knowledge. It shares the results of its work through student symposiums and creates opportunities for knowledge and experience exchange by organizing national and international conferences and training programs.
SOYAÇ represents Turkey in the “Safe Families Safe Children” (SFSC) International Street Children’s Coalition, which consists of ten esteemed organizations from 14 countries. SFSC has developed a therapeutic service model on how to work with abused children and their families. This model, which received the Best Service Model Award from the World Bank and UNESCO in 2008, has been recognized for its success by the international academic community. The model was compiled into a booklet and presented in November 2011 at the All-Party Parliamentary Group meetings in the UK, hosted by Lord Hannay and chaired by MP Russel Brown. These meetings included members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as leading academics in the field, senior bureaucrats, British MPs, and board members of key organizations such as UNICEF.