Responding to Protection Needs of Refugees in Turkey: Baseline Data Collection

Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees in the world. According to the UNHCR, as of September 6th, 2018, Turkey has 3,5555,464 registered Syrians under temporary protection – more than 1.5 million of whom are children – in addition to more than 330,000 asylum-seekers and refugees from other nationalities. 182,577 Syrians live in the 21 official camps located in provinces along the Syrian border, while the remaining reside in host communities across the country.

The Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS), as an auxiliary to the Turkish government and a member of the IFRC, is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, TRCS has been providing a first-line response in all the activities for the Syrian refugees and immediately reacted to the increasing influx of Syrians by activating its staff and volunteers and organizing dedicated structures to receive and protect people in need all around Turkey.

As part of TRCS’s response to the Syrian crisis, 15 TRCS Community Centers (herein referred to as Community Centers) in 14 cities have been established. This report presents the findings of a baseline survey and series of focus group discussions (FGDs) designed to help IFRC and TRCS better understand barriers and threats faced by service users, increase awareness of the needs and capacities of service users, and provide baseline data for the protection-related aspects of the ECHO-funded protection programme implemented by the Community Centers of the Turkish Red Crescent Community-Based Migration Programme.