E-Haberler 
Urfa (Riha) is one of the cities where violence against women and femicides are most prevalent. Between January 10, 2023, and November 2, 2023, 94 women applied to the Criminal Procedure Law (CMK) Application Center of the Urfa Bar Association, stating that they had experienced violence. According to the data, during the same period, 32 women were murdered and 9 women attempted to be murdered.
Berfin Gökkan, the manager of the Women’s Solidarity Association and a lawyer from the Urfa Bar Association, made evaluations regarding violence against women and femicides.
Av. Gökkan stated that women in the city face not only physical violence but also various types of violence such as psychological, economic, and sexual. She noted that the perpetrators of violence against women are often the state, their husbands, and close male relatives.
“MECHANISMS AGAINST VIOLENCE ARE NOT FUNCTIONING”
Gökkan pointed out that when women who have experienced violence finally turn to official mechanisms, they face the following process: “Women who have experienced violence first try to solve the problem on their own. When they can’t, they go to the police, the judiciary, or the hospital. However, because these mechanisms do not work adequately and systematically, women can be subjected to a second act of violence while going through this process. Especially women who go to the judiciary do not know how legal processes work, such as how to file a criminal complaint or how to obtain protection measures under Law No. 6284. There are very few civil society organizations that can provide support in this regard.”
Giving an example from the city, Gökkan said, “In Urfa, the only institutions women can turn to are the bar association and the Women’s Solidarity Association. While civil society organizations try to help women and solve their problems, they face serious obstacles. One of these obstacles is financial insufficiency. When we look at what the state can do in places where civil society organizations are insufficient, we see that the Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center (ŞÖMİN) is located outside the city, and there is a shortage of shelters in the city and districts.”
“WOMEN CANNOT TRUST THE STATE”
Gökkan stated that women who experience violence in the city are only noticed when they are injured or killed as a result of this violence, emphasizing the importance of early intervention.
Highlighting the inadequacy of mechanisms that would prevent violence in advance, Gökkan stated: “Women cannot trust the state due to these missing and insufficient mechanisms. Civil society organizations act as a bridge to solve their problems. However, recently we have been facing the situation where the state criminalizes these organizations. In this regard, when we talk about physical, psychological, and sexual violence against women, we also see a violence created by the law. We see this violence created by the law in the abolition of conventions such as the Istanbul Convention, which provides security for women, and in the criminalization of women working in women’s institutions. Both women who have been victims of violence and civil society organizations and women activists who support them are being prosecuted. Humanitarian actions carried out under the freedom of expression during trials are considered as crimes.”
WOMEN’S DEATHS IN INDIVIDUAL ARMAMENT
Gökkan emphasized that Urfa is one of the cities with the highest individual armament, and pointed out that firearms are used in attacks and massacres targeting women. Referring to the case of Bahar Hezer, who was murdered by her brother Yekta Hezer last year, Gökkan reminded that the perpetrator Hezer killed Bahar immediately after obtaining a gun license. Gökkan stated, “The murderer of Bahar Hezer was given a licensed firearm by the state, but no investigation was conducted regarding this. The easy availability of firearms without any conditions increases the use of firearms. Just recently, a woman was killed by her husband with a hunting rifle in Akçakale.”
REFUGEE AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKER WOMEN
Drawing attention to the fact that Urfa is the 3rd city with the most refugees, Gökkan stated that the addition of the female identity to the problems that refugees already face makes their lives twice as difficult. Gökkan said, “Refugee women face serious problems because they are hesitant to go to institutions and organizations.” In addition to this, Gökkan stated that Urfa is one of the cities with the most seasonal agricultural work, and said, “Families engaged in seasonal agricultural work struggle to sustain their lives in tents for 4 to 6 months. They can only go to their hometowns for 2 or 3 months during the year under these harsh conditions. During their time outside, they continue to live in tents. Women stay with large families in tent cities. They eat with the daily food they consume because there are no refrigerators. This leads to poor nutrition. They work from 9 am to 6 pm. At the same time, women and girls in these tents meet the needs of the family.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTATION CENTERS
Reminding of the closure of the mechanisms that women who experience violence turn to in the districts of Urfa with the appointment of trustees to municipalities, Gökkan said, “In 2014, there were Women’s Consultation Centers in Bozova, Suruç, and Halfeti municipalities. Women could go to these centers when they experienced violence. However, these centers were closed after trustees were appointed to these centers and women’s directorates. After 2015-2016, all ties between women’s institutions and municipalities were severed. After these processes, violence against women increased exponentially. Drug use increased, and people’s daily lives became more difficult. What needs to be done is to re-establish consultation centers where women can receive psychological and legal support in the provinces, districts, and neighborhoods.”
Gökkan continued, “To strengthen local mechanisms, we need to ask the question ‘What do women want?’ In order to prevent violence against women, it is necessary to answer questions such as how women can cope with it and what path they should take. Acceptance and rejection criteria of women should be acknowledged. There is a need to increase women’s shelters in the local area of Urfa. Taking women’s institutions into account is also one of the steps that need to be taken.”
Ceylan Şahinli / MA
