On September 9, our CAEPV Member in Turkey -- Hurriyet (a newspaper group) -- launched its “Liberty is Our Right Train” for a second year – this time focusing on children's rights and the environment. The journey began in Izmir and will end on October 29 in Istanbul – visiting 41 stations in 33 cities and 8 boroughs throughout Turkey.
The “Human Rights Train Project” is a partnership of Hurriyet Newspaper and Turkish Railways. The aim of the “Liberty is Our Right Train” is to insert the concept of rights into people’s daily lives, inform them of the rights they possess based on declarations such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
There will be a variety of activities at the stations such as music, theater plays, exhibitions, forums, and workshops, and other events. Because 2009 is the 20th anniversary of Turkey signing the UN Declaration of Child Rights, these activities are designed to keep children’s rights, the theme of this year, in primary focus.
Hurriyet’s hallmark “Say No to Domestic Violence!” Campaign will also be part of these events at every stop.
And while you may not be able to read Turkish, you will be able to get the sense of all that is going on by visiting http://www.hurriyettreni.org . Trust me, it is worth taking a look!
I love the way that Hurriyet goes out of their way to find ways to reach out - they take the message to the people - by train or by bus. People are always surprised when I tell them we have a CAEPV member in Turkey. . .and when I tell them all that Hurriyet does to spread the message regarding domestic violence and human rights, they are even more surprised.
Is there a newspaper group in the US doing the same? If there is, I'd love to know about it. Hurriyet certainly sets a great example.
Showing posts with label Hurriyet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurriyet. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Friday, December 07, 2007
What IS the Media's Role Regarding Domestic Violence Reporting?
This is one of the questions being discussed at the fourth international conference in Turkey this week. You may be surprised it is being spearheaded by a newspaper group. They want to discuss whether or not (and I quote here) “The Turkish media is dominated by close-minded men who can't realize the gravity of domestic violence and thus fail to stand up to it. Whether the ‘male-domination’ paradigm is being replaced by more open minds and concerned manner of news making will also be discussed.”
People are always amazed when I tell them that one of our CAEPV member companies is the Hurriyet newspaper group in Turkey. These conferences on domestic violence have been held annually since 2004, when Hürriyet launched its "No to Domestic Violence" (Aile İçi Şiddete Son) campaign. With an impressive logo of an eye in tears, the project aimed at both helping women who are persecuted by their husbands, and raising consciousness on this serious problem, which has been one of the gravest yet rarely spoken maladies in Turkish society. I was part of this conference in 2006, and we talked with businesses in Turkey about how to start their own workplace programs, and to start a “Corporate Alliance” in Turkey.
Temuçin Tüzecan, the communications director of Hürriyet has big plans – he wants to bring 25 of the largest companies in Turkey on board!
Hurriyet has established a 24/7 call center, which is an emergency line for victims of domestic violence. Just a few weeks ago the call center saved the life of an 18-year old wife in Ağrı, who was almost freezing to death while hiding in a barn, Tüzecan said. "She was escaping her family-in-law," he said. "They, for some bizarre reason, had been infuriated with her and had decided to punish her."
The "End to Domestic Violence" campaign also focuses on the root causes of this problem, and this year's conference topic, the media, is right on target. "The language that the media uses while reporting such incidents is crucial," Tüzecan said. In the past there used to be rhetoric in the Turkish media, which did not regard the problem seriously enough. It rather sometimes used a tone that treated domestic violence as if it were a normal fact of life, even a funny one. This has changed to a great extent, Tüzecan said. Campaigns like that of Hürriyet have raised consciousness. Moreover, “there is now a younger generation of editors and reporters who don't think within the old machoistic ways,” he said.
I think to myself – how much different is that than here in the US? Those of you following the Stacy Peterson case may be dismayed (and rightly so) by the lack of emphasis in the media on the issues surrounding domestic violence. CAEPV Board Member Anne Glauber wrote a thoughtful piece in Women’s eNews about her personal experience trying to engage the national media.
However – I DO want to congratulate Bill Cameron and WLS News/Talk Radio 890 AM in Chicago for taking time to actually devote a show to the issues surrounding domestic violence that were stirred up as a result of this situation. If you want to listen to the podcast featuring Cook County State’s Attorney Deputy Chief Anita Alvarez and myself, click here for the link.
So – we all have a long way to go on this issue. I look forward to the day that there are more media outlets like WLS Radio in Chicago taking this issue seriously, and more companies like Hurriyet that are looking at the role they have externally and internally in addressing the issue.
As always, for anyone who is interested, our website at http://www.caepv.org/ has lots of great resources to help.
People are always amazed when I tell them that one of our CAEPV member companies is the Hurriyet newspaper group in Turkey. These conferences on domestic violence have been held annually since 2004, when Hürriyet launched its "No to Domestic Violence" (Aile İçi Şiddete Son) campaign. With an impressive logo of an eye in tears, the project aimed at both helping women who are persecuted by their husbands, and raising consciousness on this serious problem, which has been one of the gravest yet rarely spoken maladies in Turkish society. I was part of this conference in 2006, and we talked with businesses in Turkey about how to start their own workplace programs, and to start a “Corporate Alliance” in Turkey.
Temuçin Tüzecan, the communications director of Hürriyet has big plans – he wants to bring 25 of the largest companies in Turkey on board!
Hurriyet has established a 24/7 call center, which is an emergency line for victims of domestic violence. Just a few weeks ago the call center saved the life of an 18-year old wife in Ağrı, who was almost freezing to death while hiding in a barn, Tüzecan said. "She was escaping her family-in-law," he said. "They, for some bizarre reason, had been infuriated with her and had decided to punish her."
The "End to Domestic Violence" campaign also focuses on the root causes of this problem, and this year's conference topic, the media, is right on target. "The language that the media uses while reporting such incidents is crucial," Tüzecan said. In the past there used to be rhetoric in the Turkish media, which did not regard the problem seriously enough. It rather sometimes used a tone that treated domestic violence as if it were a normal fact of life, even a funny one. This has changed to a great extent, Tüzecan said. Campaigns like that of Hürriyet have raised consciousness. Moreover, “there is now a younger generation of editors and reporters who don't think within the old machoistic ways,” he said.
I think to myself – how much different is that than here in the US? Those of you following the Stacy Peterson case may be dismayed (and rightly so) by the lack of emphasis in the media on the issues surrounding domestic violence. CAEPV Board Member Anne Glauber wrote a thoughtful piece in Women’s eNews about her personal experience trying to engage the national media.
However – I DO want to congratulate Bill Cameron and WLS News/Talk Radio 890 AM in Chicago for taking time to actually devote a show to the issues surrounding domestic violence that were stirred up as a result of this situation. If you want to listen to the podcast featuring Cook County State’s Attorney Deputy Chief Anita Alvarez and myself, click here for the link.
So – we all have a long way to go on this issue. I look forward to the day that there are more media outlets like WLS Radio in Chicago taking this issue seriously, and more companies like Hurriyet that are looking at the role they have externally and internally in addressing the issue.
As always, for anyone who is interested, our website at http://www.caepv.org/ has lots of great resources to help.
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