2002
The Campaign for the Reform of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) from a Gender Perspective was launched. Immediately after the reform of the Turkish Civil Code in 2001, WWHR initiated the Women’s Working Group on the Penal Code. The working group involved NGO representatives, lawyers from bar associations, and academics from all over the country. The group spent an entire year scrutinizing the existing and proposed Penal Codes and developing concrete demands. The criticisms and recommendations they came up with were formulated as new articles and assembled into a report, which was then shared with members of Parliament, NGOs, and the media. At the start of 2003, an extensive nationwide campaign was launched for gender equality reforms to the Turkish Penal Code. Established by 30 autonomous women’s organizations from various parts of Turkey, the Women’s Platform on the Turkish Penal Code engaged in advocacy and lobbying on the national as well as local level for two years. During the campaign, a booklet detailing the platform’s demands was prepared and printed, various meetings and press conferences held, meetings with MPs took place, and the operations of the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on the Penal Code and Justice Committee were closely monitored and our demands communicated to them. In addition to these, the media was regularly informed about any developments, the Parliament targeted with fax and phone campaigns, and mass protests were held in various cities.