Women Leaders in Turkey Stand Up to Gender Based Violence

A man at a central square in Ankara wears an orange mask to express his support for efforts to combat gender-based violence.

Recognizing the severity of this challenge, the head of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s Women’s Department and the municipality’s Women Counseling Center partnered on an awareness-raising campaign within the city. The department head was a participant in NDI’s “Women’s Leadership during COVID-19” forum in June, which was supported through funding from the National Endowment for Democracy. During this four week event, women municipal leaders from across Turkey, along with several international women leaders, met to discuss the challenges that women were facing as a result of the virus. Through the sessions, women participants learned key concepts of adaptive leadership and crisis communication, and later applied these skills through month-long advocacy campaigns in their communities.  

In total, 5,000 masks were distributed throughout the community and the campaign was covered by several local news outlets

This project was one of several implemented by participants in the forum. Among the other projects the program supported were the development of a draft gender equality action plan,the distribution of brochures for women (particularly those from migrant and refugee committees) on their legal rights and resources they could access in their communities related to gender-based violence.

In total these campaigns reached over 12,000 women across four municipalities, spread across Turkey. These campaigns helped to connect women with critical resources related to the pandemic response and GBV and involved the participation of hundreds of community members, the local press, and local advocates.