United Nations Women and Turkey’s Justice Ministry unveiled a new project on Wednesday to ensure more access to judiciary services for women exposed to domestic violence and violence toward women. The project involves workshops for prosecutors specialized on both issues, as well as financial support to centers catering to victims of violence.
Domestic violence dominates the agenda in Turkey, with almost one lethal case reported every day in the country. In other cases, women escape with severe injuries. Turkey provides protection for women and severe punishment for perpetrators in most cases, but domestic violence still prevails in the country.
First lady Emine Erdoğan sent a message to the inauguration ceremony for the project held in the capital Ankara and said that domestic violence unfortunately was plaguing the world. “This is a phenomenon that not just hurts the victims but the entire society. The government approaches it with a ‘zero tolerance’ principle and does not accept any excuse for violence,” she said. Perpetrators of violence often target spouses filing for divorce and in most cases, claim they acted out of jealousy. Some cases prompted a public outcry when the courts handed down lenient sentences to defendants for their “good conduct” during the legal proceedings. Turkey's Justice Ministry is working on a new bill that is expected to increase the sentences.
Erdoğan said authorities were pursuing a multidisciplinary approach to the issue and hoped they would “produce good results” in tackling the issue. “I wish for a world where women have unrestricted access to justice,” she added.
The project aims to empower the implementation of Law No. 6284, which asserts all measures against the cases of violence against women, from preventive and protective measures to preventive detention for perpetrators.
