Harasser becomes the harassed in Turkish justice

Imagine a situation where you are staying in a girls’ dormitory managed by the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet). The neighborhood is problematic; there are many workshops and factories around and you are constantly exposed to verbal and physical harassment. You are treated with medication to calm down.

You call the dorm management many times, saying, “Find a solution. Increase security precautions. Have more lights put on the street. Increase the number of shuttles between the school and the dormitory.”

The reply comes as this: “If you stay outside until late hours, this is what happens.”
If you are a woman, you are born guilty.

This is Turkey.

Imagine a situation where you are a young girl in Turkey. You have been sexually harassed by your uncle for six years. You expect justice to be done; if you have luck, you would take the case to court.

The judge takes a look at the case and says, “Well, her virginity is intact.” This immediately reduces the molesting uncle’s penalty from 14 years to between three and eight years.

If you are a woman, the only damage control is your hymen.

This is Turkey.

Imagine a situation where you live in the village of Çermik. You are 13 years old. You attend a Quran teaching course while walking hand in hand with a girlfriend of yours. In the most secure of all environments, would an imam hurt you?

He would. He harasses you many times, both you and your friend. He takes off his clothes, then your clothes. He touches you. 

You complain; the guy is tried without arrest.

If you are a woman, you are the first suspect.

This is Turkey.

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