KHRP’s Legal Associate, Saniye Karakas will give a presentation to local lawyers in Tblisi, Georgia, on laws in Turkey relating to women’s human rights. The presentation will be part of INTERIGHTS' Equality and Europe Programmes, covering Council of Europe countries within Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, strategic litigation workshop on Violence against Women which will be held in Tblisi, Georgia on 10-11 March 2011. The workshop will focus on issues such as domestic violence, rape and trafficking. It is open to lawyers and human rights activists engaged in legal advocacy from the South Caucasus; Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The KHRP presentation will be an important aspect of the meeting because it will present a comparative analysis to lawyers who are engaged in changing legislation through advocacy and litigation. It will focus on violence against women in Turkey, specifically looking at the domestic legal framework and its effectiveness in practice. The presentation will provide a brief overview of the domestic laws relating to the topic, discuss the broader social context within which they lie, and evaluate the implementation of these laws. It will conclude with a brief look at suggestions for reform in Turkey.

Throughout the region, women are vulnerable to a wide range of human rights abuses such as violence and ill-treatment, forced labour, trafficking, and denial of access to justice.  Furthermore, where domestic legislation does not afford them appropriate protection or remedies, women can be denied access to legal redress both in theory and practice.

The presentation will be made available 22 March 2011.

update: The presentation is now available to download here