Turkish gendarmerie to be trained against domestic violence

ANKARA

Turkey’s Social Policies and Family Minister Fatma Şahin (C) atttends the launching event in Ankara with female gendarmerie officers. CİHAN photo

The Turkish Gendarmerie has launched a project about combating domestic violence against women, which is jointly financed by the European Union and Turkey.

The two-year long project aims at training some 10,000 conscripts and non-commissioned officers on topics such as social gender, combating domestic violence against women and types of violence.

The Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin, EU Minister Egemen Bağış, Interior Minister Muammer Güler, Commander of the Gendarmerie Forces Servet Yörük and Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Bela Szombati attended a meeting on the project yesterday.

Under the framework of new legislation, gendarmerie officers would be trained for their responsibilities in order to prevent violence against women and the application process for women exposed to violence, Güler said.

The Gendarmerie has already started an “awareness raising” pilot scheme in 30 provinces in order to combat violence against women, project leader Gendarmerie Staff Colonel Veli Turan, said yesterday speaking at the opening ceremony. The aim is for battered women to apply to the Gendarmerie, Turan said, adding they established units in 33 provinces in a bid to intervene in incidents of violence.

The gendarmerie attaches importance to “zero tolerance for violence,” Commander Yörük said.

“I tell them not to act as if violence is natural in life and I have urged them to apply to prosecutors, to the Ministry of Women and to the police,” Gendarmerie Major Songül Yakut told Hürriyet Daily News.
Turkey’s first ever woman gendarmerie station commander, Noncommissioned officer Şenay Haydar also participated at the gathering.

They particularly need this project for mental transformation in society, Şahin stated.

Szombati from the EU, for his part, stressed the significance of implementing legislation which aims to prevent violence against women. He underlined the need to train prosecutors and other judiciary officials.

The total budget for the project, which is jointly financed by the EU and Turkey, is 2.915 million euros.

The gendarmerie has issued 4,145 injunctions for the protection of battered women.