Ankara, Türkiye – In Türkiye, 4 in 10 women experience physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Male violence, which claimed the lives of 308 women in 2023 alone, threatens women’s most fundamental right, right to life. The global 16 Days of Activism campaign of United Nations, which runs from November 25 to December 10 each year, aims to raise awareness of gender-based violence against women and girls and to stimulate and mobilize efforts to end this widespread human rights violation.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Türkiye’s 16 Days of Activism campaign #ActNow, calls for turning words and promises into concrete action to end violence against women. It calls on all segments of society to take action for the full implementation of laws, strengthening of prevention, protection and monitoring mechanisms, and eliminating the core reason of violence, gender inequality.

Despite significant developments over the years, violence against women continues to be one of the most widespread human rights violations in Türkiye. With its #ActNow - #HareketeGeç campaign, UNFPA calls on all parties to take concrete steps, starting with decision-makers, law enforcement, the private sector, civil society, the art world and the media, stating that “violence against women is not the problem of women only but is the issue of the whole society”.

Effective and coordinated efforts of different sectors and businesses such as law enforcement, local governments, the private sector and civil society organizations are very important for women to be safe both physically and digitally. The first step is to fully implement the laws and support them with deterrent sanctions. In addition, strengthening the protection, monitoring and intervention systems for women and creating a safe social environment where women can easily report violence without hesitation are another critical step.

Combating gender inequality, which is the root cause of violence against women, also forms the basis of this struggle. Providing women with equal rights and opportunities in all areas, equal share of care work, and making women the sole person to make decisions over their own bodies are essential for women to be empowered and to make their roles in society equal to those of men. For this, human rights-based, egalitarian education which teaches an understanding of gender equality at an early age are necessary. In addition, men need to raise their voices alongside women to solve this problem that affects everyone in society.

Recognizing the importance of eliminating violence against women in Türkiye, together with our fund providers and partners, we work to:

• Conduct data collection and analysis, including the most vulnerable groups, to strengthen the fight against violence against women and children.
• Together with public institutions, we provide training for province governors and law enforcement officers to combat violence against women more effectively.
• Provide training to relevant institutions to combat violence against women in disasters and emergencies.
• Empower women, youth and girls.
• With our AMBER application, we provide information support in 5 languages ​​so that women can be protected from violence.
• Carry out protection activities to combat violence against women and prevent child marriages, and support the development of plans and policies.
• Support civil society organizations, especially the private sector and women's organizations, to combat violence against women.
• Prevent violence and protect and advance the rights of women and girls by establishing partnerships with government, civil society, the private sector and communities.

Violence against women and girls is completely preventable. The progress made in recent years in laws and commitments to increase the role of women in society must be crowned with an action mobilization to end all forms of violence. To do this, we must challenge social norms, support the empowerment of those subjected to violence and hold perpetrators accountable. We can create a world where every woman and girl feels safe. For this, it is time to turn words into action. #ActNow to EndViolence.