Under the coordination of Kırşehir Governor's Office, Kırşehir Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services and Kırşehir Ahi Evran University held a Workshop for the Preparation on the Provincial Action Plan for Combating Violence Against Women for the Year 2022 - 2025. Kırşehir Governor İbrahim Akın, Kırşehir Mayor Selahattin Ekicioğlu, Rector of KAEU Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya, Provincial Police Chief Murat Türesin, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander G. Colonel Sadık Gülecen, Kırşehir Family and Provincial Director of Social Services  Abdullah Kömürcüoğlu, and related institution personnel attended.

Kırşehir Family and Social Services Provincial Director Kömürcüoğlu: “We have Reached 3650 Women in Kırşehir and Conducted One-on-One Guidance Work”

Kırşehir Provincial Director of Family and Social Services Abdullah Kömürcüoğlu made the opening speech of the meeting. Kömürcüoğlu started his speech by saying that the 4^th National Action Plan for Combating Violence Against Women, which entered into force on 1 July 2021 in the charge of the Presidency, would constitute a source for provincial action plans that would be in effect for four years.  Kömürcüoğlu expressed that violence against women cannot be accepted in any culture or group, and stated that they also carry out activities with this awareness and that they continue to work supporting and empowering women with the understanding of a 24/7 service. Kömürcüoğlu further underlined that in Kırşehir, within the body of the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services, Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center (ŞÖNİM), Women's Guest House, and Women's Services Contact Points provide services with the supportive personnel and opportunities in every area where women are victimized. Kömürcüoğlu stated that they have provided one-on-one guidance work by reaching 3650 women thanks to ŞÖNİM, and said that they have given training to 3950 people on 101 different platforms in order to raise awareness about violence against women. Kırşehir Provincial Director of Family and Social Services Abdullah Kömürcüoğlu mentioned that women's employment is important and stated that they have created projects for this purpose. He ended his speech by reminding that the "Bacıyan-ı Rum Workshops" and "Woman at Work" projects they presented to the Konya Plain Regional Administration were entitled to grant.

Rector Karakaya: “Our Purpose is to Prevent Moral Erosion on the Basis of Violence and to Empower Women through Education”

Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya started his speech by expressing that Kırşehir Ahi Evran University established the Fatma Bacı Women's Studies Application and Research Center three years ago to reveal the value of women, and said that they provided important services to the country and the city thanks to the center. Karakaya stated that their aim with this center is to redefine the value of women and, overall, human values, and noted that preventing the moral erosion at the root of violence and empowering women through education are their other goals. Karakaya stated that their aim for the future is to organize compulsory courses to increase women's awareness and to publish their work as a book. Rector Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya continued his words as follows: “There are two delicate and fragile parts of society: one is children and the other is women. As a society, we must prevent this violence in society in general, by emphasizing concepts such as tolerance and being able to love, especially for our women. We are an educational institution, and people change with education, so we are ready to do our part with such organizations.”

Chairman Ekicioğlu: “All Stakeholders Should Participate in the Process; Prevention, Protection, Punishment Processes Should Be Evaluated Together”

Kırşehir Mayor Selahattin Ekicioğlu, who went up the rostrum after Rector of KAEU Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya, stated that a holistic approach is essential in violence against women, as in all other fields. Ekicioğlu said that on such an important issue, the prevention, protection, and punishment processes should be evaluated together with all parties, with the participation of all stakeholders in the society and the participation of policymakers in the process. President Ekicioğlu indicated that all kinds of physical, sexual, psychological, and economic acts based on gender, whether occurring in the public or private sphere, should be prevented, and Ekicioğlu reminded that not doing these would mean a violation of basic human rights. Kırşehir Mayor Selahattin Ekicioğlu concluded his speech by stating that within this framework, the provincial action plan to combat violence against women guarantees the right of women to live without discrimination and violence.

Governor Akın: “Violence against Women Is Not Incompatible With Our Humanitarian, National and Spiritual Values”

Kırşehir Governor İbrahim Akın started his speech by emphasizing that violence against women is an important social problem that negatively affects the lives of women regardless of their status and cultural levels all over the world. Pointing out that the violence against women they face is incompatible with the humanitarian, national, and spiritual values, Akın noted that they were deeply saddened by the difficulties women experienced. Governor Akın stated that whatever the reason may be, domestic violence directly affects women and children, endangers women's lives, and prevents them from realizing their basic rights. Underlining that the Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center and the Women's Guest House within the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services provide shelter to women who are victims of violence, Akın stated that thanks to these centers, the necessary psychological services are provided to the relevant people. Governor Akın, who said that the opinions and suggestions that will emerge as a result of this workshop would be taken into consideration, finished his speech by thanking all the institutions that contributed to the workshop.

Fatma Bacı Director of Women's Studies Application and Research Center and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Prof. Dr. Nur Çetin gave information about the work of the center in her speech. She said that the slogan of the Bacıyan-ı Rum Organization, "Own your job, your family, your spouse" is still up-to-date and emphasizes the importance of the family. Expressing that the center is making great efforts to make women more educated and better equipped, Çetin stated that they have prepared and published the book "Women and Family" and that they have started to teach the course of Women and Family at the Faculty of Economics in the fall semester of 2021-2022. Emphasizing that they have started the training of the 2^nd Women's Academy this month, Çetin underlined that they will organize the "The Women Who Left a Mark in History" symposium with international participation in the coming days.

The workshop was followed by the presentation of Didem Dirlik Sevinç, who is a social worker in Kırşehir Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center on the work at ŞÖNİM, the presentation of Fatma Öksüz, Deputy Director of Family Support and Victim Services at Kırşehir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, on the work carried out within the scope of the provincial action plan to combat violence against women, the preseantation of Kırşehir Police Department Head of Combating Domestic Violence and Against Women, Kübra Toprak. Kırşehir Provincial Gendarmerie Command, Combating Domestic Violence and Child Division Chief Zeliha Uyar gave information about the work carried out, and Kırşehir Provincial Mufti Religious Services Specialist Gökhan Öztürk talked about the work of the institution. Semra Cebeci, who works as a psychologist at the RAM affiliated to the Kırşehir Provincial Directorate of National Education, gave information, and the presentations ended with the Kırşehir Provincial Health Directorate Psychologist Esengül Kaya explaining the work done there.

The workshop continued throughout the day, ended after being held in groups in different halls.