Pomegranate Ambassadors Raise Their Voices from Gültepe: 'Together We Will Prevent Violence'

The 7th of the neighborhood meetings initiated by the Izmir Journalists' Association (IGC) within the scope of the 'Netherlands Human Rights Program Communication Against Violence Project-NAR' was held in Konak Gültepe Mahallesi. IGC President Dilek Gappi emphasized that the unity mechanism should work in order to prevent violence.

The 7th of the neighborhood meetings initiated within the scope of the 'Communication Against Violence Project-NAR', implemented by the Izmir Journalists Association in order to transform the language of violence in the media and to raise social awareness, took place in Konak Gültepe Mahallesi. The IGC project team, which set out to map violence for the first time in Turkey, met with opinion leaders and citizens in Gültepe Neighborhood, one of the neighborhoods where violence is intense. In the meetings where the prevention of violence and what to do in the face of violence were explained with expert psychologists and lawyers in the project team, the dimension of violence was revealed with the data on the subject. On the other hand, labels with the words 'We closed our neighborhood to violence' were affixed to the shop windows of the shopkeepers of the neighborhood. Informative brochures were also distributed to the citizens who attended the neighborhood meetings.

DON'T WATCH, DON'T BE SILENT

IGC President Dilek Gappi, who took the first step for the realization of the project, gave information about the project and expressed her expectations from everyone, from opinion leaders in the neighborhood to those living in the neighborhood, against violence. President Dilek Gappi stated that everyone has a responsibility to prevent violence and stated that the struggle against violence is about unity. Emphasizing that we should no longer be a spectator against violence, Mayor Gappi said, "Do not take the violence for granted and be united so that violence does not enter your neighborhood."

CREATE A CULTURE OF NON-VIOLENCE

Psychologist Sevgi Türkmen, who told opinion leaders and citizens about what needs to be done psychologically in the face of violence within the scope of Nar Neighborhood Meetings, said, “If we cannot stop these perpetrators of violence today, we will definitely face it one day. Therefore, we, as the model structures of the neighborhood, use the power we derive from these representations from these locations without using any means of pressure; We need to come together and continue our cooperation by showing our positions as modestly as possible. The Pomegranate project gives you responsibilities that you can reach on your right or left, as we wander from neighborhood to neighborhood. The language you establish, communication, equal communication with a woman, a man and a child, these are all cultures that you spread to a neighborhood as a culture. Talking to a woman with a child will affect another communication. We cannot derive benefits when we use our positions as a means of pressure.”

YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO NOTICE

Lawyer Birgül Değirmenci shared her knowledge and experience on what can be done in the field of law. Stating that the victim has the right to legal protection in the face of violence, Değirmenci emphasized that everyone has a responsibility to report a situation where violence is witnessed. Değirmenci also stated the whistleblower channels and the institutions to apply for the protection of the victims of violence and said, “There is a 112 emergency call line. You can call here and report, or you can get support from the KADES application. Let's say we have done these procedures, you can apply to the police station, district governor's offices, you can apply to the courts, prosecutor's office. You have certain rights here. You can make the violent person get away from you," he said.

MEN SHOULD SIT AND THINK

Sharing the results of his research on the subject, 'Non-violent men' trainer Murat Göç Bilgin said, “The issue of violence against women is very important in Turkey. 450 women were killed last year. 93 percent of women in Turkey say they have been sexually harassed at least once in their lives; One out of every two women states that they were raped. What are we guys doing here? This is not just a women's issue. Men who produce inequality; what are we guys doing? Women have been fighting for this for 200 years. What are men doing? Men need to think a little about this. He should think, 'What did I do that happened like this?'" he said. Bilgin said, “This is about upbringing and culture. Here, it is necessary to change the way of life for men to do something from childhood. Because it hurts us too. “More men are being killed, but it is men who are killing these men,” he said.