An international conference was organized in Ankara within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe joint action on “Fostering women’s access to justice in Türkiye” on 27 November 2024 with the participation of 114 representatives from the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, the Presidents of eight local bar associations (from Adıyaman, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Sinop, Bilecik, Bursa, Tunceli) and representatives of the Council of Europe, the European Union, public institutions, civil society organisations, and the international and diplomatic community with an interest in women’s access to justice.
An indispensable element of ensuring access to justice is the legal aid system, which contributes to removing barriers for individuals who lack the financial means or ability to defend their rights. For many women in Türkiye, engaging with the justice system and accessing legal aid can be a challenging and overwhelming experience. Economic, social and cultural barriers diminish the equal protection of women's rights, their ability to resort to legal remedies defined by law and their access to legal aid. It is therefore equally important that justice professionals, including legal aid lawyers, are aware of these barriers in order to further enhance women's access to justice.
In this respect, the conference delivered a key message that strengthening the legal aid system is crucial in enabling better access to justice, and the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations will continue to work together on this issue. The keynote speakers of the conference also underlined the significance of the subject.
The conference also launched a grant scheme for legal aid services provided to vulnerable women in eight pilot provinces. The launch was marked by a signing ceremony during the conference. Through the grant scheme, the action will contribute to promoting women’s access to gender-sensitive and victim-oriented legal aid services, as the lawyers empowered to deliver these services have all been trained within the scope of the action. Special attention will be paid to covering cases related to women from disadvantaged groups, such as victims of violence, refugees, asylum seekers, Roma women, women with disabilities, women in rural areas and women in poverty.
The recommendations formulated during the event, if implemented, are expected to be a turning point for the development of more effective mechanisms for women’s access to justice in Türkiye.
This event was organised within the scope of the European Union and Council of Europe’s joint action on “Fostering women's access to justice in Türkiye”, implemented as part of the joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.
