In the aftermath of earthquakes that occurred on 6 February 2023 affecting 10 provinces, Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Association reported on its observations after visiting the provinces of Malatya, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Hatay and Adana between 20-24 February 2023 to monitor the mechanisms in place in these affected provinces to combat violence against women and observe the status of women and children who are experiencing or at risk of violence. We carried out our second visit to the quake-stricken region between 25-28 April 2023.
During this visit, we inquired into the present situation and the existing support mechanisms in the provinces of Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Hatay and Adana. We held meetings with ŞÖNİM (Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center), bar associations and a municipality of a province that receives a high influx of migrants.In the planning of our first visit, our aim was to figure out how to foster solidarity with women in the affected region and comprehend the status of support mechanisms against violence. In doing so, we had the opportunity to identify and report the problems in existing support mechanisms and gather information so that we can provide correct guidance to women who apply to Mor Çatı with respect to the violence they experience.
The purpose of our second visit was to find out whether there has been any improvement in the support mechanisms to combat violence against women in the two months since our first visit. When women who are living in the affected region or are forced to relocate to another province apply to Mor Çatı for assistance with respect to the violence they experience, we observe that these women face challenges in accessing institutions and thereby their access to rights is blocked. Therefore, we wanted to pay an onsite visit to these institutions to understand existing challenges and discuss the problems faced by women in accessing support. This report is based on our observations of this visit, drawing also from the information and experiences we obtain from women who apply to Mor Çatı for support as well as the experiences of women in the affected region who join workshops held by Mor Çatı for social workers and psychologists.
