Social exclusion and disadvantaged groups in Turkey: A descriptive study on the disabilities

Although its definition varies according to by whom it is made, the place where it was made and the criteria on which it is based, poverty has been one of the pivotal matters of policy science and policy-making mechanisms as a phenomenon of human struggle throughout history. As another concept linked to poverty, social exclusion is a dynamic process which expresses the partial or total exclusion from all social, economic and political systems that enable the individual to integrate into society. Poor communities are at the forefront of the groups that are exposed to social exclusion, which include multidimensional and dynamic processes that are used to explain problems such as continuous unemployment, threats on social unity, widespread suburbs and transformations that take place in the family structure. This thesis aims to provide a whole picture of the disabled poverty facing the risk of social exclusion and to reveal the expectations of the disabled from poverty policies together with an assessment of the adequacy of existing policies. In the first part of the thesis, poverty and social exclusion are conceptually framed and a brief literature on the reasons of poverty is presented. In the second part, the relation between social assistance and poverty is structured and the dimensions of social inclusion policies is put forth. Additionally, the perception of social state and its development in Turkey is provided. In the third and fourth parts; the profile of disabled exclusion in Turkey has been put forward via a descriptive study utilizing data from the Research on Problems and Expectations of Disability and Turkey Disability Survey conducted by TURKSTAT. Finally, concluding remarks and policy recommendations are presented.