More women underthreat seek help: Turkish minister

ANKARA

If woman is exerted violence, she can call the 155 phone line, Şahin says. AA photo

As the institutional infrastructure has been strengthened, more women are seeking official help regarding domestic violence, Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin said yesterday, speaking at an Anatolia news agency “Editor’s Desk” meeting.

“We have taken 4,500 women under protection. Around 29,000 men have been subject to preventative decisions by the courts,” Şahin was quoted as saying.

The number of women taken under protection increased after the new law, and the number of deaths has decreased, Şahin said.

In 2011 98 women were killed in domestic violence, this year 56 have been killed as of Oct. 22, the minister said.

Şahin addressed the “strengthened institutional infrastructure” of her ministry, which also provided the police “sufficient” training. The number of shelters has increased to 20 in the last 10 months, she added.
Technical surveillance systems have enabled practices intended to prevent violence against woman after the new law for protection of the family was adopted, the minister said.