On November 22, 2024, Avcılar Municipality –a member of UCLG-MEWA– organized “Urgent Action Workshop on Combating Violence Against Women,” within the scope of November 25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The event was organized in direct connection with the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Gender Equality.
The workshop started with an opening speech by Utku Caner Çaykara, Mayor of Avcılar. The program offered discussions on various issues such as role of municipalities in combating violence against women, the language adopted by the media, services for women in times of disasters and crises, and the legal dimensions of violence against women.
The Role of Local Governments
Participants offered concrete suggestions for local governments to be more effective in combating violence. While emphasizing the preventive and supportive functions of municipal services, it was stated that there is a need for increasing the capacity of women’s shelters, setting up early warning systems and multilingual emergency call lines. In addition, it was recommended to disseminate gender equality trainings and to establish socialization houses for women the in neighborhoods.
Activities for Young People
In the workshop, it was pointed out that dating violence is becoming more and more common day by day. In this context, it was stated that municipalities should organize awareness-raising seminars for students residing at university dormitories. In addition, it was announced that Avcılar Municipality has prepared an “Anti-Discrimination Policy Text” and it is planned to provide training sessions for municipal staff in line with this policy.
Final Report Released
The workshop was concluded with presentations by each table based groups and the preparation of the final report. In the report, issues such as the need for strengthening cooperation between municipalities and city councils and a much more active use of women’s councils were included.
This event, which aims to raise awareness and develop solutions to violence against women, once again demonstrated the commitment of local governments on fighting this issue.