Domestic violence law in Turkey lacks implementation: Turkish academic

Zeynep Bilgehan – ISTANBUL

Turkey has taken various initiatives against violence targeting women, but there are still shortfalls in the implementation of the legislative and policy framework, according to Feride Acar, a prominent Turkish academic.

Acar, a professor emerita of the Middle East Technical University’s (ODTÜ) Political Science and Public Administration Department and the president of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), spoke to daily Hürriyet before attending a panel on “GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report” in Istanbul on Dec. 10.

“The [GREVIO] report accepts Turkey’s efforts. The acceptance of Law No. 6284 [on the Protection of the Family and the Prevention of Violence against Violence] is a sign of this. National action plans have been undertaken in the fight on violence against women. But [the report] draws attention to the shortfall in implementation. It demands that a more effective fight against conventional discriminatory stereotypes is undertaken,” she said.

“There are, of course, biological gender differences [between men and women], but the values the society imposes upon femininity and masculinity change over years. Inequality brings with it discrimination against women. Women are confined to certain roles, and those roles lead to discrimination and violence. The cultural and mental mindsets need to change, and this does not happen overnight. The strongest families are those that do not experience violence,” Acar added.