Religious officials to fight domestic violence in Turkey
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin starts a ‘National Action Plan’ to fight domestic violence. Religious officials will be trained according to the plan. AA photo
According to the Family and Social Policies Ministry’s “National Action Plan,” 100,000 religious officials will be trained for the struggle to counter violence against women.With the plan, the Family and Social Policies Ministry has decided to increase the number of religious officials charged with fighting violence against women. The ministry will first give training to 12,000 officials in the Central Anatolia region and aims to increase this number to 100,000 by 2015, including those abroad, daily Cumhuriyet reported yesterday.
The national action plan will cover the years 2012-2015, and aims to introduce legal regulations, raise awareness, enable changes in mentalities, support women, provide protective services, and improve health services.
Within the prevention of violence against women, 45,000 police officers in 2006, 65,000 health personnel in 2008, 326 judges and prosecutors from family courts in 2009 were trained in the previous national plan. With new plan, the protocol signed by the Ministry and the Religious Affairs Directorate for the same reason in April 2010 was brought to mind. It was also indicated that after the training is completed, the aim of the plan is to reach 12,000 religious officials in Central Anatolia Region.
“In the second step, religious officials charged abroad by the Religious Affairs Directorate and the provinces in which there are family guidance and consulting offices of the ministry will be preferred. The training, which is planned to be completed by 2015, aims to reach 100,000 religious officials in Turkey,” the plan reads.
