A woman’s journey towards access to justice is not limited to obtaining legal information.

How then can local actors working in the field of women's access to justice be equipped to promote and embed this approach within their own institutions and across their provinces?

To address this question, representatives from bar associations, civil society organizations, and municipalities in Afyonkarahisar, Bilecik, Bitlis, Burdur, Tokat, and Yalova gathered in Ankara for a three-day "Training of Trainers" program. Their shared goal is to strengthen the services provided by various institutions working with women by promoting a gender-sensitive and victim-centered approach, and supporting its implementation at the local level. In practice, this means listening to and understanding women’s individual needs, communicating with them in a safe and respectful manner, guiding them towards appropriate services and support, and avoiding practices that may lead to secondary victimisation.

Throughout the training, participants did not simply acquire new knowledge; they also brought their own experiences into the training. They jointly examined the barriers women face in accessing justice, discussed the fundamental principles of gender-sensitive and victim-centered service delivery, and explored answers together to the question of how various institutions could be more effective in responding to women's needs.

The training also gave participants an opportunity to reflect on how this approach could make a difference in their own work. In the words of one future trainer:

“I want to put what I learned into practice and help create an environment where all women can confidently turn to institutions and support mechanisms whenever they need them.”

Following the training, a pool of local trainers will be established to work in the field of women's access to justice. By delivering training sessions in several provinces of Türkiye, these trainers will ensure that knowledge and experience reach a broader group of local stakeholders. In this way, the impact of the initial three-day learning process in Ankara will be extended across to  six pilot provinces.

This event was organised under the “Fostering Civil Society's Support for Women's Access to Justice in Türkiye” Programme, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.