Workshops on Male Violence Tally and LGBTI Oriented Media Literacy

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The Women's Rights and Gender Equality themed advisory board meeting organized by Sivil Düşün (Think Civil) European Union (EU) Programme with the participation of civil society organizations and activists from all cities of Turkey continued with workshops.

In the workshops which were held simultaneously, such issues as sustainable activism, data journalism, rights-based monitoring, LGBTI oriented media literacy and strategic campaign planning for social change were discussed.

The meeting organized by Sivil Düşün on the occasion of March 8 Women's Day was held at Istanbul Divan Hotel with the participation of 60 women's organizations and 170 people from 54 cities.

While the participants addressed the projects realized or made visible with the support of Sivil Düşün, the funder institutions also came together.

Male Violence Tallies and Data Journalism

In the data journalism workshop held with the presentation of the women and LGBTI news editor of bianet, Çiçek Tahaoğlu, the male violence monitoring reports of bianet were presented.

Emphasizing that data journalism can be applied when handling all current issues, Tahaoğlu stated that this practice renders data more striking and in this way, the related news can reach more people.

Tahaoğlu: Restorative Justice is Not Applied

Indicating that while other journalists in the world have been making use of the violence data rendered transparent by the government, such data do not exist in Turkey, Tahaoğlu said that they started with their male violence tallies at bianet in 2008 as the related statements issued by the government present contradictory figures.

Tahaoğlu also added that when analyzed on an annual basis, it is seen that the cases of harassment, rape and violence mostly remain unpunished by the justice and no restorative justice is applied.

Sustainable Activism

In the sustainable activism workshop held by Birsen Atakan, the attorney from Non-Violence Center, the ways in which activists can maintain their physical and mental health were discussed.

Atakan said, "It is really difficult to make a change in the short term and social conditions have become harsher", emphasizing that it is important for the activists to cure themselves.

LGBTI Oriented Media Literacy

Kaos GL Media and Communication Coordinator Yıldız Tar addressed the transforming power of media over society and explained how language use determines the reality.

In the workshop where the 2017 report of Kaos GL was discussed, the language and discourse used in the news about LGBTI individuals were analyzed

(TP/SD)