Hurdles to Dealing with Domestic Violence

From Bianet:

The report on Education regarding Co-operation between Institutions has been published as part of the Hürriyet ('Freedom') Campaign against Domestic Violence.

The report was prepared by the coordinator of the campaign, Neşe Hacısalihoğlu, and is based on data collected in 33 provinces and five counties between 9 September and 29 October 2009.

The Hürriyet Campaign against Domestic Violence was part of the 'Freedom is our Right' Train Project which travelled all over the country. Representatives of the governorship, municipalities, Social Services and Child Protection Institution (SHÇEK), the police, the gendarmerie, the National Education Department, the Health Department, universities, the Registration Office, the Social Welfare and Solidarity Foundation, bar associations and non-governmental organizations took part in the training program carried out in cooperation of several institutions.

The report reveals concrete data on difficulty experienced with police forces, the SHÇEK, at family courts, with bar associations, at health institutions, at schools and public education, with the social welfare and solidarity foundation, with the Registration Office, with municipalities and non-governmental organizations.

The report analyses problems experienced by the employees of these institutions and suggests feasible solutions.

The litany of problems Bianet extracts from the report is overwhelming, giving just some idea as to how difficult domestic violence is to effectively address. Impunity abounds, bureacracy and courts can exacerbate already grave situations (see criticisms of the Law on Family Protection), and a serious lack of services persists.