EACME 2017 Annual Conference. 'Justice in Health Care - Values in Conflict', Barcelona, Spain, 7 - 09 September 2017
EACME Conference, Barcelona 7-9 September 2017
Abstract for Oral Presentation
“We Will Stop Femicide”,
A Platform Fighting against Gender-Based Violence
Gulsum Onal,
Yesim Isil Ulman
Violence against women is now well
recognized as a public health problem and human rights violation of worldwide
significance. It is an important risk factor for women’s ill health, with far
reaching consequences for both their physical and mental health (1).
World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence against women as ‘‘acts or
threats of acts intended to hurt or make women suffer physically, sexually or
psychologically, and which affect women because they are women or affect women disproportionally’’(2).
According to the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) (1979) ‘‘….any act of gender-based violence that results
in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life’’ should
be ended on the basis for realizing equality between women and men through
ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and
public life.
Yet, this issue has aggravated far
more than enjoying rights in political and public life recently and transformed
into a global problem threatening right to life of women who demand for their
own fundamental rights and freedoms. By Istanbul Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and domestic violence (2011), Council of
Europe condemned all forms of violence against women and domestic violence;
recognized that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal
power relations between women and men, which have led to domination over, and
discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full
advancement of women (3).
As this is also a heated debate in
Turkey, a civilian platform, “We Will Stop Femicide” (WSF) was established in
2009 so as to draw attention of the public on this issue and to produce
solutions in order to overcome this human right violation (4). The
Platform works compatibly with the Istanbul Convention and it aims to stop all forms
of violence against women and domestic violence; to protect women from violations
of right to life as well as all fundamental rights and freedoms. WSF mainly activates
to keep harmed women alive, to give victims shelter and humanitarian aid, to
make them accede legal support. As a
matter of fact, WSF has taken part as a stakeholder in enactment of the
“Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence against Women Law” (No. 6284)
and urges the Parliament and governmental bodies to monitor the requirements of
law for the benefit and protection of wronged and mistreated women. According
to the annually kept records of the Platform, the number of women who were
murdered on these reasons is 328 in 2016 (5).
This paper will deal with the
activities and functions of WSF, as an exemplary NGO to fight for women’s
rights by focusing on its social determinants, by alerting authorities for
prevention of gender-based crimes, by analyzing this human right issue within
the scope of universal bioethical principles, human rights and dignity.
Key Words: Violence against women,
gender based violence, human rights, dignity, the Council of Europe’s Istanbul
Convention
Sources:
1)
Krantz G,
Garcia-Moreno C, Violence against women, A Glossary, J Epidemiol Community
Health 2005;59:818–821.
2)
Violence against
Women Definition and scope of the problem, July 1987 http://www.who.int/gender/violence/v4.pdf (Accessed on 14.02.2016).
3)
Council of Europe
Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic
violence, 12 April 2011, https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168046031c (Accessed on 14.02.2016).
4)
“Stop Violence
Against Women” (Kadin Cinayetlerini Durduracagiz!) Official Internet Page, http://www.kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/hakkimizda (Accessed on 14.02.2016).
5)
“Stop Violence
Against Women” 2015 Annual Report http://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/veriler/2551/kadin-cinayetlerini-durduracagiz-platformu-2015-yili-raporu (Accessed on 14.02.2016).