Schools are where human rights, children’s rights, and culture of democracy are taught. Although schools aim to ensure children atain these crucial objectves, various practces violatng children’s rights can be occasionally witnessed at schools. While trying to ensure security and discipline in educatonal insttutons, school administrators and teachers may behave in a way that can violate the rights of children. Rights of administrators and teachers over children are not unlimited, and certain sanctons can be imposed in case of violatons of children’s rights. With the rapid increase in digitalizaton, the issue of processing the personal data of children, who are more fragile and in need of protecton than adults, has gained a more important dimension. Schools are at the forefront of insttutons processing children’s data most intensely. Illegally misused data may have various negatve efects on students. In accordance with human rights, children also have privacy and personal immunity as well as adults. In schools, one of the practces that cause the violaton of these fundamental rights is the unlawful search of students, their bags and lockers by school administrators, teachers and other school staf. These unlawful acts include crimes of unfair search, abuse of ofce and maltreatment pursuant to the Turkish Penal Code. This study aims to reveal the violatons of rights regarding the body and belongings searches and other personal data protecton at schools. Within this context, all the practces and actvites for ensuring security and discipline at schools should be carried out in accordance with human rights and with a child-friendly approach, in a way that also takes the best interests of the children into consideraton.
Cite this artcle as: Serin, H. (2023). Violaton of rights at schools: violaton of personal data protecton and legal dimension of body and belongings search. HAYEF: Journal of Educaton, 20(3), 297-303.