“Violence against women is a public health problem”
At the session which addressed “Domestic Violence and Abuse as a Threat Impairing the Unity of Family” which was moderated by Wafa Bani Mustapha, Member of the Parliament of Jordan, steps taken to prevent violence and the action plans were discussed.
In his inaugural speech, Wafa Bani Mustapha stated “preventing violence against women is a very complicated problem”, and he stated that this issue must be included in the global agenda more often.
“Violence against women is a public health problem”
Gülser Ustaoğlu, the Director General of the Directorate General on the Status of Women (KSGM) who mentioned the studies conducted in the legal field in Turkey,added:
Violence against women, which is an issue that is confronted around the world, is a public health problem which damages mental and physical integrity of women. Physical, sexual and economic violence against women affects the children who witness it and the society. The most significant barrier to the empowerment of women, who constitute the foundation of a strong family and society, is domestic violence. Violence against women must be fought against first of all by considering it as a problem. A multi-faceted legal protection was introduced to combat violence against women. First of all, efforts are underway to implement the provincial action plans prepared in 26 provinces, in 81 provinces. Taking measurements which will improve the life of girls and women creates a butterfly effect in their life. We have engaged in a fight by adopting the idea that marriage at an early age is unacceptable. Violence against women cannot be fought against by only one institution. Prevention of violence against women can only be possible through the coordinated efforts of non-governmental organizations, public, private sector, media and academic community.
Every type of violence must be dealt with differently
Having mentioned about the mental reasons of violence against women, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Medaim Yanık gave the following important explanations:
The most effective method of fight against deadly violence is women’s shelters. People with antisocial personality inflict violence without feeling self-reproach. We advise those who are subjected to this type of violence to escape. Third type of violence is the violence where one of the spouses has a mental disease. Fourth type of violence arises from alcohol or drug addiction. The other type is the violence inflıcted by a person who has no anger management skills. This type of violence is also very destructive. The rate of this type of violence within the society is 5 percent. The only way to prevent it is to manage anger. Hustling during a fight is another type of violence. As you see, we are confronted with different types of violence. For this reason, we must approach each type of violence in a different manner.”
“We are living in a post-normal time”
Prof. Dr. Zeleha Kamuruddin, Rector of Malaysia International Islam University stated that the definition of family has started to change in the era that we live. Having stated “we are living in a post-normal time”, Prof. Dr. Zeleha Kamuruddin added the following:
“In our era, we cannot anticipate anything. However, with regard to violence against women, we must take the fighting steps by taking into consideration everything.
All members of the family are a victim in case of violence. The man of that family might have been subjected to violence when he was a child. This is a vicious circle.”
Long-term fight is based on education
Having specified that this summit is very important, Prof. Dr. Paola Todini from the Italian E-Campus University stated “long-term fight is based on education”. Having specified that violence against women may be in many forms, he added the following:
“The rate of women aged 15 to 49 who have been subjected to violence around the world is above 70 percent. Every type of violence might have idiosyncratic destructive consequences. Domestic abuse has far more destructive effects. We must change all kinds of prejudice. We must destroy together with the state, all practices which will facilitate violence against women. Educating the society is also a successful means of prevention. First of all, we must educate the children with the model behaviors of mothers and fathers. Family must be a safe educational environment.”
