According to the Directorate of Migration Management, the number of Syrian refugees living in Turkey is 3 million 113 thousand 278. However, when refugees from other countries are included, this number is estimated to exceed 5 million. Refugees face discrimination in every field from health to education, from law to security. Refugees, who are used by the government as blackmail against European countries, are also frequently the target of attacks by racist circles. In Turkey, as in the rest of the world, women and children are the most affected by these attacks. Women are subjected to sexual, psychological and physical violence wherever they go. 

 

Mor Çatı Women's Shelter Foundation submitted a report titled “Migrant Women and Violence against Women in Turkey” to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The report lists the experiences of migrant women. 

 

GENERAL OUTLINES OF THE REPORT 

 

MOR Çatı Volunteer Elif Ege spoke about the report they submitted to the UN. Stating that they receive many applications from migrant women, Ege said that they provide social, legal and psychological support upon the applications they receive. Pointing to the content of the report, Ege said: “In our report, we stated that support services do not cover all migrants. We stated that the support sent to migrants is attributed to humanitarian aid organizations, and that these aid organizations do not provide gender-specific support. We stated that migrant women are discriminated against in mechanisms to combat violence against women, and that general social mechanisms in Turkey do not cover migrants. We added that migrant women are discriminated against, face language barriers and cannot receive support in their mother tongue. We asked the Committee to ask questions to Turkey about this and stated what the solutions should be.” 

 

'WOMEN FACE DISCRIMINATION'

 

Pointing out that Turkey does not enforce the law stating that a migrant woman who is subjected to violence cannot be sent back, “Migration authorities should establish specialized mechanisms for refugees. Migrant women in Turkey are not aware of their rights. Therefore, when a woman is subjected to violence, she can be sent back or she is informed about this right later. Migrant women face discrimination when they apply to the police or the Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center (ŞÖNİM)” she said.  

 

MOTHER LANGUAGE BARRIER

 

Pointing out that language is one of the main problems faced by migrant women, Ege said: “One of the most important problems is the lack of education in the mother language. When women do not speak the language, they cannot express themselves. Even when a woman from Turkey applies to the police, she is confronted with expressions such as 'your father, your son, your brother'. Women are misinformed as if they do not have the right to go to a shelter after being subjected to violence. In addition, the money for translation is taken from the woman. The woman is already struggling to get away from the violence, often living in poverty. When this is combined with a general racist approach and prejudice, the woman can be sent home by saying 'go home, nothing will happen'” She emphasized that multilingualism should be taken as a basis in call centers at this point. 

 

IMPORTANCE OF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION

 

Emphasizing that the Istanbul Convention is an important point in solving the problems faced by women, Ege reminded that the 7th section of the convention is about migrant women. Ege said: “When a migrant woman wants to go to a shelter, she is often discouraged. They say 'you cannot go if you have children'. This is false information. If there is no physical violence, migrant women do not want to go to the shelter and they do not consider psychological violence as violence. In fact, the Istanbul Convention was closing this gap. Including Law No. 6284, it says 'women should be given all rights'. But unfortunately, Turkey has quit the Istanbul Convention.” 

 

Stating that they also included unregistered migrant women in the report, Ege said that the situation of unregistered migrants is even worse. Stating that unregistered migrant women do not apply to the police when they are subjected to violence, and even if they do, there is a risk of being sent back, Ege said: “State-affiliated shelters do not accept unregistered migrant women. Currently, only MOR Çatı supports all women. Therefore, women are helplessly condemned to live in violence without being informed about their rights.” 

 

'DISCRIMINATION IS REFLECTED IN HEALTH'

  

Stating that racist attitudes towards migrants are reflected in all areas, Ege noted that migrant women are subjected to discrimination and racism even in the field of health. “A woman who is subjected to violence should go to the hospital and get a battering report, as well as psychological support. We see that there is a language barrier here. Although health care is the most basic human right that everyone should receive all over the world, we can see various discriminations and racist approaches” Ege said. 

 

Pointing to data on violence against women, Ege said: “The state does not keep data, and even if it does, it does not share it with us. Reasons such as gender-based attacks and the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention reduce the awareness of law enforcers on women's rights. Practitioners are getting more and more distant from fulfilling the requirements of the law every day, as if they have personal feelings such as 'women cannot go to the shelter, they cannot be suspended, what will the man do'.” 

 

GENDER EQUALITY 

 

Emphasizing that the idea of gender equality should be established in every field in order to prevent violence against women, Ege continued as follows: “The idea that men see themselves as superior to women is one of the causes of violence. For this reason, I find the discussions around the concept of gender equality meaningful. I understand that the state opposes it because it wants to maintain the male-dominated order. The masculine mentality that permeates all the mechanisms of the system must change and the idea of gender must be established. As long as gender equality is not achieved, it is not possible to prevent violence against women. And this can only be achieved through an effective women's struggle.”

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal