Combating domestic violence in Turkey

Abstract

The matters of preventing domestic violence against women and enabling gender equivalence have been discussed since the end of 1960s. The issue of violence against woman has stayed as an unspoken matter until recently in Turkey. This matter was put forward as a problem in Turkey as the feminist movement gained strength in the 1980's. Accordingly, some policies have developed and some woman shelters were established in recent years. In order to deter violence and discrimination against woman and ensure the safety of women's and their children's lives, the first women's shelter was set up under the supervision of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (The SSCPA) in 1990 and this has been followed up by other shelters founded by the municipalities and women's organizations in Turkey. Particularly, the new municipality laws enacted in 2004 and 2005 require that those municipalities with a population over 50 thousands to establish woman shelters for the woman victims of violence. In Turkey, to combat domestic violence against women more effectively, the law 4320 enacted in 1998 was reviewed in 2012, it was renewed as the law 6284 for Protecting Family and Preventing Domestic Violence against Women within the enclosures of Istanbul Agreement. With this law Preventing and Watching Violence Centers (SONIM) were decided to be founded as the single step system to combat domestic violence. SONIM's were foreseen to work as an alternative for the model of present women's shelters and be prevalent throughout the country to service and coordinate supporting mechanisms for preventing and watching domestic violence against women with the principle of one door.