Virginia Woolf
Practice of the our Consultation Centre
Since 1990, Mor Çatı volunteers and the women who come to the centre because they have experienced domestic violence have worked together to develop change within society. Our Consultation Centre receives 10 applications on average via telephone or face to face per day
At the beginning of the process we conduct a telephone interview with the women who apply to us. Afterwards in the face-to-face interview, we go through the options that are available together and emphasize the fact that she is not responsible for the violence that she is experiencing. We believe that women are capable of making the right decisions for themselves and their children. Male violence is a threat to all of us in society, so an interviewer can understand and support another woman’s experience of violence. Attending workshops and ongoing training is an essential part of being a volunteer at Mor Çatı.
Psychological Support: Mor Çatı provides psychological counselling to women who feel overcome by hopelessness, guilt, shame and fear, all of which are brought on by their violent experiences. It is intended that the sessions will generate alternatives to a new life. It is essential that the people who work in this field are expected to believe that women do not provoke violent acts nor do they deserve to be treated violently. The psychologists who work at Mor Çatı are expected to have developed a woman’s perspective in this area of work.
Legal Support: The majority of women who have been exposed to violence do not know their legal rights or how to use them. Our legal counselling team, consisting of volunteer lawyers, spends time explaining to women their rights and the law that protects them. It has been shown time and again that even decisions made in favour of the woman in court are not implemented. Current legislation is there to protect women’s rights but those who are responsible for implementing the law ignore these new rights. Therefore it is vital that our legal team represents the woman’s perspective in court.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
