Addressing a symposium on women on Friday, first lady Emine Erdoğan said violence against women was one of the biggest problems in Turkey and there was a need to fight against the mindset breeding this violence.

"We have to take steps together against violence and the first step should be empowerment of women," Erdoğan said in her speech at the International Woman Symposium in the southeastern city of Mardin.

"But more importantly, we have to fight against the mindset which lies beneath the violence. We have to change traditional perceptions breeding the violence. This is not only a women's issue but an issue for men as well," she said. The first lady added that one-third of women in the world were exposed to physical and sexual violence at least once in their lives, and that such violence cannot be justified.