Turkey: Centers support women victims of violence

By Burcu Calik Gocumlu

ANKARA (AA) - Centers for Prevention and Monitoring Violence, operating under the Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry, provided support for 120,000 people over the last seven months.

The ministry keeps supporting the victims of violence through its women's guesthouses and social service centers.

A total of 119,876 people, including 102,743 women, 8,737 men, and 8,396 children, benefited from the centers between Jan. 1 and July 31, according to data of the Annual Program of the Presidency.

The centers provide support for victims of violence as well as for people with tendency towards violence.

Additionally, a total of 42,396 people, including 26,347 women and 16,049 children, benefited from women guesthouses operating under Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry and local municipalities.

The ministry will also provide educational support for women and children who are the victims of violence and benefiting from the guesthouses.

The scope of educational support will be enhanced and standardized next year with the National Education Ministry's collaboration.

Legal and technical infrastructure for expanding the use of ankle monitors will be completed under the guidance of the Interior Ministry.

The centers that serve to protect women and children from all sorts of violence, take necessary precautions, prevent violence against women, and also conduct research on the reasons of violence.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara.