'Public officials reveal locations of women's shelters, endanger women's lives'

Photo: Yağmur Karagöz / bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Mor Çatı Women's Shelter Foundation has warned against the disclosure of information about women's shelters, saying the confidentiality of such information "is a matter of life safety."

The foundation released a written statement after a man reportedly found the shelter his wife was staying in although it was in another province. The man brought his wife back home and killed her shortly afterward, according to reports.

Saying there have been similar incidents, Mor Çatı noted that men being able to find women in shelters shows that there are public officials who disclose such information.

CLICK - 'Police Shared the Address of Women's Shelter with the Man Who Inflicted Violence'

"Women's refuges are places where women exposed to male violence can stay with their children and get the social, psychological and legal support they need to build a life free from violence," it said.

"As stated in the relevant regulation, the location of the shelters is confidential and the relevant provisions of the Turkish Penal Code are enforced regarding those who violate the confidentiality rule.

"After women leave the houses where they have experienced violence and go into a shelter, men and their family members start to pursue her.

"They try to find out the places of women with various excuses and emotional manipulations. We tell these people every time that the locations of shelters are private and it is punishable to share this information.

"For example, a woman who recently reached out to Mor Çatı stated that the location of the shelter she was staying in was told to her husband by a police commissioner at the police station, who was also a friend of her husband. For this reason, the woman had to leave the shelter she was staying in."

Officers violate confidentiality due to "impunity"

Officers disclose information about women's shelters because of impunity, the foundation stated. Women, on the other hand, hesitate to file complaints about such incidents because they fear to risk their lives, it added.

"For this reason, the law should be properly implemented and sanctions should be imposed by detecting violations.

"Shelters are not places of accommodation for women. Women need shelter because the safety of their lives are under threat and/or to stay away from a violent environment; to make clear and long-term plans regarding their lives."

Mor Çatı further stated that public officials' mentality prioritizing the unity of family over women's lives and attempts to make peace between women and those who inflict violence on them can also cause losses of lives of women. (EMK/VK)