Turkish Family Ministry plans stronger action plan to combat violence against women

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Family and Social Policies Minister Ayşenur İslam. DHA Photo

The Family and Social Policies Ministry is preparing to launch a new national action plan to fight violence against women, amid increasing public awareness of the issue.

“Action Plan on the Fight against Violence toward Women,” which went into effect in 2012 and will come to an end on Dec. 31, 2015, is to be renewed by the ministry for the coming three years, and aims to boost powers of accountability and sanction.

Accordingly, a series of actions will be taken, including monitoring and evaluation meetings about the current plan and its results, taking into consideration reports from NGOs working on the topic and a parliamentary commission currently investigating violence against women.

While a workshop to discuss alternative models to combat violence is set to be held in 2015, an impact analysis will be conducted about Law No. 6284 on “Preserving the family and preventing violence against women,” which entered into force in 2012, the first time such a law has taken effect in Turkey.

Meetings with employees of 125 women’s shelters will be conducted to absorb employees’ questions and receive their feedback.

As part of the renewal of the plan, the number of women’s shelters, initial acceptance branches, and Violence Monitoring and Prevention Centers (ŞÖNİM), is also set to be increased. A total of eight new institutions are planned to open this year.