1.

Name of the Applicant: SAKACDER (Modernization, Protection and Strengthening of Women, Children and Family Relations Association of the Saray District) 2. Communication with the Applicant: Applicant Address: Kazm Karabekir Mah. No :47 Saray/Van Tel:0432 7812625/ 0530 3402733 e-mail: sakacder@hotmail.com / vansakacder@gmail.com President of the Association: Hamide YEN Project Partner The Bakent Womens Platform Association Address: Glseren Sokak No: 22/4 Maltepe-ANKARA Telefon : 0(312)231 99 21 Fax : 0(312) 232 12 50 E-mail : info@baskentkadin.org - bilgi@baskentkadin.org President of the Association: Nesrin SEMZ 3. Project Title: Womens Cooperation and a Cooperation Center 4. Summary: Although physical abuse towards women has become one of todays most important social problems, history shows that it has always existed all over the world. It is apparent today that women are subject to beating, abuse in the family, rape and sometimes even systematic torture taking place out in the open or behind closed doors. The abuser is sometimes a family member, an acquaintance or even a boyfriend. In Turkey, while most of the family abuse cases are not even recorded, the abuse victims are handed back to their abusing families. The Sdka Platin incident experienced in the Kapky village of Van, in August sets a very good example. Our project intends to take record of these abuse incidents for the first time in the Saray District of the Van Province with the support of the women who have actually experienced these dreadful acts at considerably high levels. The counseling center to be established will provide guidance and physiological support to all the women in the district. This center will address 750 women and 50 women will be able to take part in group therapy sessions one day every month. Our project will also include seminars for children in 5 schools intending to stop these acts from happening again. In addition, trainings are meant for men in coffeehouses and restaurants of the district for men, who are usually the abusers, in order to help lower the abuse rates of our district. 5. Project Statement Abuse towards women does not only affect them physically and mentally but also decreases their productivity. Temporary disabilities, long term health problems, unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are only the first couple of negative outcomes of crimes committed against women. In other words abuse, besides being harmful on its own, also has damaging affects on women's health directly. Abusing women also have adverse affects on their children. Research indicates that children who have witnessed abuse against their mothers show signs of behavioral problems and have a tendency towards abuse themselves (Wolfe: 1985). Another striking aspect of violence against women is that, women who experience this act do so for many long years and are unable to break away from the abusive cycle they live in. Prof. Yakn Ertrk, special reporter for violence against women of the UN human rights commission stated that (2004) "Violence against women has become the universal tool in terms

of continuing the male dominant system which institutionalizes discrimination against women. Beating, rape, torture and even killing of women in family circles was kept outside the human rights concept until recently since it was perceived to be an aspect of family privacy. Violence against women is defined as women being abused, within family or by society, physically, emotionally and economically through acts based on gender discrimination, resulting in harm and pain. The United Nations Womens Charter for Stopping Violence defines violence against women as: an act which is based on gender and causes physical, sexual or physiological pain for women in social or private life arenas or a threat of the act which deprives of certain freedoms; recently depriving the victim of economical needs" has also been added to the definition. According to the Stopping Discrimination Against Women Committee, violence against women is defined as "violence against a women solely based on gender and creating disproportionate affects". The Charter in its preface describes violence against women as "the historical indicator of the unequal relationship between women and men" and "when compared with men, a very important mechanism in terms of making women dependent unwillingly". Source: SHEK (Social Services and Child Protection Institution) Directorate General. According to the Hopkins report (2000) of a study conducted in more than fifty different populations shows that one in every three women in the world is beaten and sexually abused, 10 to 50% of adult women in different populations is subject to physical violence, abusers are usually spouses or boyfriends and almost all abuse cases include psychological insult together with physical acts. A very interesting aspect of such a tragic situation is that violence against women by the close encounters is the least reported, the least recorded and most repetitive type of crime (Smith: 1989, Hanmer & Stanko, 1985). Our project has selected its headquarters, the Saray District of the Van Province as the pilot area. Unfortunately, compared with international data, it is not possible to reach proper statistics concerning this issue both in our district and in our country. On the other hand, according to studies conducted by the Women Status General Directorate in 2008, 40.3% of the women in urban areas and 46.6% of women in rural areas are subject to violence by their spouses or the person they have a relationship with in Turkey. This result increases to 51.5% in the Eastern Anatolia Region. When the amount of unrecorded incidents is added to these numbers, the seriousness of the situation can easily be seen. The women of our district are unable to take part in the studies conducted concerning this issue we know to be very serious, due to the fact that they live quite far from the province center. The studies are usually conducted in and around the centers and do not extend to districts or villages. Thus the counseling center of our district will be able to support women in our district personally regarding these problems. The counseling center will also have a play area where women coming for support can leave their children safely. This will ensure that the women coming to the center to feel safe about their children as well. Specially designed questionnaires will provide a special database for the Saray District as well as a foresight for our activities. Pilot therapy sessions to be conducted by an expert phsyciologist will help women in healing their wounds. In addition, training to be given to children will help stop these acts in the future. Trainings to be given to the men in the district will also contribute to decreasing the amount of incidents. Our project partner is the Bakent Womens Platform Association who is working in the fields of identifying women's problems, developing theoretical and practical solutions to political, legal, social and economic problems in the context of universal human rights, justice and rule of law and cooperation between women for dialogue, communication and solidarity. Our partner is based in Ankara and they provide support to women around the country with

their projects like the "Intercultural Learning in Europe" and "Support to Mothers with Disabled Children" projects, seminars, courses and a hot line they have concerning family violence. In this context, taking into consideration the specification for applicant organizations, our Association has decided to engage in a long term partnership with the Bakent Women's Platform Association in terms of technical assistance and training, legal and financial support. Thus, our partnership will not be limited with the project, but it will continue in the long term. Proper and transparent activities will also be conducted with the partner in terms of the use of funds received for project activities.

6. Project Objectives and Performance Indicators 6.1. Objectives Establishing accurate data concerning the family violence incidents in the Saray District of Van, Rehabilitation of women who have been subject to family violence, Raising awareness among children and men about violence and its results.

6.2. Performance Indicators Indicator Unit

Establishing the Cooperation and Counseling Center

Questionnaires

750

Evaluation of questionnaires

report

50 Number of women receiving psychological treatment

Number of women receiving services

750

Number of men receiving training

300

Number of children receiving training

300

6.3. Action Plan Year Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Implementing Organization 10 11 2 1

Establishing the project team

Sakacder

Opening Meeting

xx

SakacderBakent Sakacder, experts

Preparation of x questionnaire draft

xx

Implementation of questionnaire

x x

xx

Sakacder, experts, surveyors (women from Saray) xx xx Sakacder, experts SakacderBakent

Data entry and reporting Establishing the counseling office and children care area Group therapy xx xx

Expert physiologists

Training for women

X x xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Trainer, consultant, Bakent xxxx xxxx Trainer, consultant xxxx xxxx Trainer, consultant x SakacderBakent

Training for children Training for men

Administrative x financial activities

7. Implementation and Sustainability Establishing the project team: A project coordinator and secretary will be needed in order to ensure a proper project implementation. Opening meeting: A meeting will be held in order to announce our project to women. Preparation of a questionnaire draft: In order to establish a database and provide a realistic context to trainings questionnaires will be prepared by an expert. 3 questionnaires will be prepared in total, one for women, one for men and one for children. Implementation of questionnaires: Women surveyors will take the questionnaire prepared by the expert to the field to be implemented. Data entry and reporting: the results of the questionnaires will be evaluated and reported by an expert. Establishing the counseling office and children care area: the cooperation and counseling center will be in the Saray district. Women will be directed to experts for their problems through a center secretary. The children care area will provide for women to feel safe about their children when they come to the center. Moreover, children will also have a chance to come together and socialize. Group Therapy: Women victims of violence from our district will come to therapy in the center for 5 months. 50 women will receive treatment one day a month. Training for women: 300 women will receive trainings on womens rights and prevention of violence. Training for children: 300 children in our schools will receive training on the adverse affects of violence on humans and our future. Training for men: 300 men from the abuser party will receive personal development training with the aim to increase their awareness. The project duration will be 12 months. The activities and trainings will provide for the implementation and sustainability of the project. The organizations our association will work together with throughout the project, especially the project partner Bakent Womens Platform Association, have all expressed their interest in continued support after the completion of the project. On the other hand, institutions of the local administration have agreed to provide trainer and expert support for our project.

8. Organizational Capacity and Experience Our association has been established in 2007 with the objective of raising awareness among women, youth and children regarding human rights and making them aware of the rights they have been given by the laws. We have taken responsibility of eliminating gender based violence primarily in our district but also in the entire province. Our association members receive at least 30 applications per month from women suffering from violence. Moreover, this

amount has been increasing in the recent months. Thus, we have felt the need to establish a cooperation and counseling center for these women. Our association of 3 years have been receiving technical support from the National Education Directorate, Health Organizations, the Municipality and the Bar. Some of the NGOs we have been in cooperation with are STGM, Purple Roof, Womens Shelters Assembly, AKL and Womens Assembly of the City Council. This project has been developed with the contribution of all these organizations. Our partner in the project, to take responsibility with us will be the Bakent Womens Platform Association. Establishing cooperation with similar foundations, associations and official institutions, working with them to develop plans and programs and providing all sorts of support to victims whose fundamental human rights and freedoms have been breached are among the aims of our project partner the Bakent Women's Platform Association. With the experience and capacity they have, they are in a position to provide all the technical and financial support we will need throughout the project. The Bakent Women's Platform Association has also carried out projects in partnership with STGM, ICANO, the AMNESTY ORGANIZATION, the ANKARA TCK WOMENS PLATFORM, the WOMENS PLATFORM FOR PEACE and the WOMENS EFFORT PLATFORM. NILE is an EU project which the Bakent Womens Platform is a part of. As the EU has enlarged, new cultures have come together and intercultural awareness has become a challenge in the common life. The NILE project, of which the first phase was completed between 20022005 with the participation of 13 countries, has continued to receive new members and representatives from new countries in parallel to this enlargement. The Bakent Womens Platform Association, was included in the NILE in its second phase. At the moment, associations working in the fields of adult trainings from 20 countries are represented in the project. The second phase of the project which is supported by the Socrates program of EU is completed in 2008. The NILE project has face to face meetings, conferences and group meetings among its activities. Groups which have been working in the fields of cultural dialogue in the context of the Grundig 1 project since 2006 will be able join the NILE project. The Bakent Womens Platform has also conducted a project for the mothers of disabled children in 2006 with the support of the Islamic Development Bank. The Support to Mothers of Disabled Children project, included the Ankara Mart Private Training and Rehabilitation Center through premises and counseling responsibilities. The project intended for 50 mothers whose children were in the care of the above mentioned Center and lasted for 10 months.

9. Budget Attached.