Shelters for Women Survivors of Domestic Violence: A View from Turkey

What is it about?

This paper gives a general picture of women’s shelters in Turkey with its history and current state, based on findings from a field work consisting of 40 in-depth interviews with administrators and staff of women’s shelters and counseling centers. Thirteen of the interviewees are from NGOs that specialize in combating violence against women, sixteen of them are administrators at municipalities, and eleven of them are social workers and shelter directresses that are associated with the General Directorate of Social Services and Protection of Children.

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Why is it important?

The study finds that municipality and NGO-run women’s shelters in Turkey need to rely on their own administrative and financial resources in order to provide services for women and children such as daycare centers, adult education or legal aid. There is no coordination or an institutionalized mechanism of information-sharing and resource pooling between the shelters.