'Misapplication of Laws Preventing Women's Protection from Violence'

"Remember this crowd if you fall in despair." (Photo: 8 March Feminist Night March)

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Misapplication of laws by law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and state agencies against violence prevent women from being protected against violence, the Mor Çatı Women's Shelter Foundation said in its May report on violence on women.

Based on statements by women who were subjected to violence, the report says, "The fact that there are no sanctions against malpractices makes access to existing rights impossible."

"We often encounter that enforcers give misleading and/or inadequate information to women and prevent them from accessing the rights they have to be protected from violence," says the report.

The report titled, "The Coronavirus Outbreak and Violence on Women" also says that already existing problems have been worsened during the pandemic and it has been used as an excuse for ongoing problems.

Here are highlights from the report:

• One woman said that after she went to the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services to get support after being subjected to violence, the officials there tried to dissuade her from filing a complaint, saying, "A protection order may make the opposing side even more angry." The officials neglected their duties and violated the Istanbul Convention.
• A woman using the KADES application, which should make a direct referral to the police with a single button, stated that the police did not come although she pushed the help button several times and had to call the police.
• A woman who is not a citizen of Turkey stated that she asked for support from the police station. She said she was not able to receive support because of their acquaintance and relationship with the violent person.
• A woman who went to a police station with her two children aged six and nine stated that the police told her, "Children are not allowed at shelters" and then she went back. In this example, the police gave misleading information.
• One woman said that she stayed at a shelter for two weeks but then left there because the conditions were "like prison," and even taking a bath was problematic.
• One woman said that she called the 183 Social Support Line but was told, "We don't deal with momentary violence."
• After telling a prosecutor that the police officers don't enforce Law No. 6284 on violence against women, he yelled at her, saying, "Are you compaining about the state's officers?"
• A divorced woman with two children said she was not able to receive his monthly alimony payment of 400 lira (~58 USD) and her application to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services was rejected.
• A university student who went back to her hometown due to the pandemic said that her father and elder brother were violent with her siblings and the police told them, "We can't take action because you are not married." After speaking with Mor Çatı, they went to the police station again, requesting to be settled in a shelter. The police then called the Center for Monitoring and Preventing Violence (ŞÖNİM), which told them they could only be admitted if there is a medical report that shows they were beaten. (EMK/VK)