To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Nazli Turker, Pinar Ensari and Ayse Gül Altinay

In December 2019, Deep Poverty Network (DPN) was established as part of the Open Space Association by a group of researchers, sociologists, psychologists, and journalists who initially came together in a solidarity-based community center, Çimenev, mainly for children in a lower-class neighborhood of Istanbul. DPN was founded as research and reading group to investigate the deepening nature of poverty, to make its multidimensional nature visible, to develop a rights-based approach to poverty, and to monitor the human rights of socioeconomically marginalized individuals.

An effective advocacy work on poverty

The conditions of poverty exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the economic downturn led the initiative to broaden its activities, mainly by providing food support for families who had limited or no access to food. With its effective advocacy work on poverty as a fundamental human rights issue and widespread rights-based solidarity campaigns during the pandemic, it has become the most visible civil society initiative on poverty in Turkey.

The DPN expanded to the extent that it currently has its own Twitter and Instagram account and is better known than the Open Space Association. Current activities include:

• research and advocacy
• in-kind support via solidarity campaigns
• social work through neighborhood and home visits to monitor the daily living conditions and needs, as well as to facilitate social service support (from municipalities or public institutions).

The database of the initiative currently has 1000 families, 200-300 families being regularly monitored, 60 of which are led by single women.

Picture by Freepik

Find out more about the initiative

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

An app for women exposed to domestic violence

During the pandemic, domestic violence was a major concern in many countries. People had to stay home because of the pandemic, but this meant putting perpetrators in the same house as their victims. Moreover, the number of places where people at risk could physically access support has steadily decreased. For this reason, the government launched a mobile application called KADES, through which women victims of violence could seek help. But women who did not have a smartphone remained out of reach.

A programme to equip women in need with second-hand smartphones

The “Turkish Federation of Women’s Associations (TKDF)” and “Sabancı Foundation” launched a joint project called “Technology for Women, Solidarity for all of us”. It aimed to deliver second-hand smartphones to women in need. Citizens who wanted to help this project could deliver their used phones to collection centres run by a technology retailer called TeknoSa. TeknoSa, a Sabancı Holding company, with which the Sabancı Foundation is affiliated, cleaned and repaired these phones, which were then delivered to women in need identified by TKDF.

Picture by Jae Park on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

The Susma Bitsin (Speak Up To End) platform is a feminist solidarity network founded to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries.

A platform to fight sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries

The Susma Bitsin (Speak Up To End) platform is a feminist solidarity network founded to fight sexual harassment and discrimination in the film, television and theatre industries. At the first peak of the MeToo movement in Turkey, after a well-known actor was accused of sexual harassment by a female assistant on set during the shooting of a popular TV series (Yasak Elma), a group of feminist directors and producers working in the Turkish film industry, who called themselves “Purple Producers”, issued a public notice that they would not work with the harasser in their own productions. After the second high-profile disclosure by another actress in a TV series (Elit İşcan), the hashtag #susmabitsin (speak to end it) was created by feminists and quickly became a trending topic. However, this hashtag was also taken to the next level, when women working in the industry created an independent platform called “Susma Bitsin” to fight against sexual harassment and discrimination on film and theatre stages. Within a short period of time, the Susma Bitsin platform has brought together women working and studying in the field of film and theatre under its roof, with the number reaching around 300 women.

A safe space where women can share their experiences of sexual harassment

The Susma Bitsin platform stands in solidarity with women and LGBTIQ+ people working in film, television and theatre, not only in front of the screen but also behind the scenes. She points out that the platform tries to create safe spaces for women to share their experiences of sexual harassment. It also organises closed online meetings for the collective empowerment of women, attends hearings of women who are taking their cases to court and launches online awareness campaigns against mobbing, sexual harassment and assaults that take place in their sectors.

Extending the action to other sectors

Susma Bitsin, while continuing to focus on women facing sexual harassment in film, television and theatre, is creatively adapting its strategies to form feminist alliances with women seeking support, creating spaces for collective empowerment for many of them and encouraging formations such as Susma Bitsin among women’s and LGBTIQ+ groups working in other fields. Many women’s groups, inspired by their alliance with the Susma Bitsin platform, have started to form their own solidarity groups or units against sexual harassment and discrimination in their own institutions or sectors.

Image by Susma Bitsin

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

The pandemic reinforced the need for internet

With the pandemic, people’s need for the internet has increased immensely. Many official institutions have started to perform their services online, people have started working online and education for children and youth has also moved online. For this reason, access to the internet has practically emerged as a basic human right. But many regions in Turkey still have rural areas that do not have access to the internet. In addition, most of the rural areas with internet infrastructure have insufficient capacity. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) determined the need of its own rural villages in this regard and initiated a project called ‘Internet to Villages’, which has aimed to bring internet infrastructure to nearby villages.

Free internet and devices to access e-learning programmes

After the pandemic started, face-to-face education in Turkey ended and distance-online education began quickly. As a state policy, television channels called EBA were established, on which lectures were broadcast all day. At the same time, students continued their courses through the website established for the EBA. However, students who did not have access to the internet, especially those living in rural areas, had difficulty accessing the EBA distance education system. Some of the rural areas without internet access were also within the borders of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

As of December 2020, ABB has achieved their goal, completing the internet infrastructure of 928 villages. Citizens have started to benefit from the internet, which is offered over Wi-Fi, for free. The fact that the service was free was especially important for overcoming inequalities in the economy. In addition, common-use devices were provided for people who did not have a device to connect to the internet. In this way, students were able to continue their education with free internet. The municipality took this service to all rural villages with its own resources.

Photo by Giovanni Gagliardi on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The initiatives currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

Mapping key areas of municipal services

The Women’s Coalition started to monitor the gendered impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the basis of municipal services and prepared the “Pandemic Map of the Municipalities.”

In the first cycle, 30 metropolitan, provincial, and district municipalities have been evaluated in 12 key areas including:

• participation in decision-making and other processes (from a gender+ perspective with women, LGBTIQ+, and elderly as the main focus);
• dissemination of key information (regarding support services and legal rights with respect to GBV and other relevant rights);
• food-goods-hygiene packages delivered to vulnerable women;
• economic support;
• housing support;
• mobility-access support;
• culture-arts-sports services for women, children & youth;
• gender-based violence support services (including shelters);
• access to health;
• care support, support for other species living in the municipality (i.e. animals, e.g. feeding street dogs, cats, etc.);
• institutional mechanisms for gender-equality (for municipality staff)

Creating a Pandemic Map

The results of the first monitoring cycle have been made public on a map. Women’s Coalition also shared questions posed in this study for monitoring the municipalities as well as answers for each municipality. The map includes hotline phone numbers in each city to report gender-based violence.

With the “Pandemic Map of the Municipalities,” Women’s Coalition aims to make more women informed and make use of the services provided by the municipalities and encourage municipalities to see the varying problems and needs of women and provide services accordingly, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. The second cycle of the initiative started in December 2021 and is still underway.

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The initiatives currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

The LGBTI+ movement in Turkey has a long history, gaining momentum at the beginning of the 2000s and even more visibility during the Gezi protests of 2013. Since then, tens of thousands of people have taken part in the movement before it was banned in 2015. Although the LGBTI+ community has never lived an easy life in Turkey, the most recent developments — such as the ban of pride walks and LGBTİ+ events, stigmatization, hate crimes, discrimination against LGBTİ+ people and organisations, lack of legal protections, and sharpening of anti-gay rhetoric from the presidency — have put its very survival at risk.

In 2021, Turkey has ranked second-worst country in the “Rainbow Index” of the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. Under the conservative, anti-gender politics affecting the everyday lives of LGBTI+s in Turkey, finding alternative ways of resistance and solidarity has become inevitable for LGBTI+ organisations, initiatives, and groups.

Targeted by the government, the LGBTI+ community had to find creative ways for mutual support

The Queerwaves initiative and its campaign of support to queer nightlife workers during the pandemic were created in this difficult context. Queerwaves was founded in 2014 by a couple of queer DJs who wanted to bring a ‘queer touch’ to Istanbul’s nightlife and electronic music scene. The initiative puts forward partying as a form of resistance for the queer community in Turkey and organizes parties and special events to provide alternative ways of entertainment and create solidarity opportunities.

Queer nightlife workers and performance communities in Istanbul are already living under extremely precarious conditions. The most vulnerable people, whose vibrancy, labor, and creativity constitute the basis of the queer nightlife of Istanbul do not have any access to social security systems or receive any kind of government aid. For members of the community, paying rent and covering their basic needs have always been challenging, and the measures imposed to combat the spread of the pandemic have severely worsened these conditions.

With the cancellation of nightlife events during the pandemic, queer nightlife workers were in danger of slipping further into severe poverty

With the “Support to Queer Nightlife Workers” campaign, Queerwaves has aimed to support Queer Nightlife Workers who need urgent support and had no access to the social security system to survive during the lockdown period, providing for their basic needs. Given the unprecedented difficulties faced by these people during the lockdown, when venues were closed and events were cancelled, Queerwaves has urgently called members of the queer community who are financially more secure to support those in need.

As of May 2021, the campaign has reached 151 donors and raised a total of 5673 euros. In April 2021, Queerwaves reported having distributed a total of 53.200 TRY (4480 euros) to 12 people including bar staff, DJs, and performers.