I wanted to voice my strong support for the courageous people in the US, Republic of Turkey and around the world for standing for the rights of women who have suffered for year’s cause of domestic violence, intimidation, discrimination and abuse.
Did you know that nearly 5,000 women in New York City were treated in emergency rooms in 2008 for injuries they acknowledged were inflicted by their partners. Did you know that one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Did you know that four out of 10 women in Turkey are beaten by their husbands, according to the recent study entitled "Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey,” which has collected the first official statistics on this topic in Turkey. Even more disturbing, the study reveals that a significant number of abused women, almost 90 percent, do not seek help from any organization or family members.
This is such a silent problem that most people don't believe you when you give them the numbers that is a fact in Turkey or in the US. In this, Turkey is by no means alone. Violence against women exists in every country in the world, often behind closed doors and more likely than not unreported.
Wherever there is violent conflict, women are often the first victims.
Let me highlight some areas of urgent concern:
1.Violence - Violence against women, especially in the home, is a worldwide epidemic, and trafficking in women and girls is the fastest- growing form of organized crime.
2.Under Pay - Women’s work continues to be undervalued, underpaid, or Not paid at all. And in almost all countries, women continue to be Under-represented in decision-making positions.
3.Sexual Violence - Abuse is common in abusive relationships. According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence - USA, between one-third and one-half of all battered women are raped by their partners at least once during their relationship. Any situation in which you are forced to participate in or degrading sexual activity is sexual abuse. Forced sex, even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom you also have consensual sex, is an act of aggression and violence. Furthermore, women whose partners abuse them physically and sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed.
4.Humiliation - An abuser will do everything to make the abused feel bad about yourself, or defective in some way. After all, if you believe you're worthless and that no one else will want you, you're less likely to leave. Insults, name-calling, shaming, and public put-downs are all weapons of abuse designed to erode your self-esteem and make you feel powerless.
5.Isolation - An abusive partner cuts women off from the outside world plus they keep one from seeing family or friends, or even prevent one from going to work or school. Abused women may have to ask permission to do anything, go anywhere, or see anyone. Source: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, MN- USA
6.Threats - Abusers commonly use threats to keep their victims from leaving or to scare them into dropping charges. Abusers of women threaten to hurt or kill them, their children, other family members, or even pets. They may also threaten to commit suicide, file false charges against women.
7.Intimidation – Women abuser may use a variety of intimation tactics designed to scare women into submission. Such tactics include making threatening looks or gestures, smashing things in front of you, destroying property, hurting pets, or putting weapons on display. The clear message is that if you don't obey, there will be violent consequences.
8.Denial and Blame Game - Abusers are very good at making excuses for the inexcusable. They will blame their abusive and violent behavior on a bad childhood, a bad day, and even on the victims of their abuse. The abuser may minimize the abuse or deny that it occurred. They ( commonly men ) will shift the responsibility onto you: Some how,their violence and abuse is your fault.
On this day of honoring women and calling for them to be equal participants across the world, now is the time that we call for the end to violence against women, reproductive choice for every woman and equal rights for all. We ask women and men who support equality, peace, justice and democracy to mobilize to stop violence against Women. We must say enough is enough . Every woman on this planet, wherever she may live, is entitled to exactly the same human rights as every man free of all types of violence.
Today, on International Women's Day, we should affirm our mission to protect human rights for women who have suffered so much and free them from domestic violence in the USA, Republic of Turkey and around the world.
Our commitment to their cause should make us even more determined to address the challenges facing millions of women and young women worldwide. Let me remind all that society is like a bird. It has two wings. And a bird cannot fly if one wing is broken.
Our dedication to respecting and protecting women's rights and women against domestic violence in all countries must continue if we are to achieve a peaceful, prosperous, and a stable world around us.
On this International Women’s Day, Let us men remember that the achievement of women’s rights is not the responsibility of women alone -- it is the responsibility of us all. Let us act on the conviction that the advancement of women and women free from domestic violence does not benefit women alone -- it benefits us all.
Ibrahim Kurtulus
Advisor to President of Turkish American Cultural Alliance,
Staten Island
Turkish American Cultural Alliance (Hars Birligi) Calls on All to Stand For A International Women's Day Free from Violence.
