WOMEN FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS (WWHR) NEW WAYS WOMEN FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS (WWHR) - NEW WAYS

WWHR-New Ways has been active for over two decades, and our efforts have been internationally recognized by a number of organizations:

1999: The Leading Solutions Award by the Association for Women in Development (AWID) in recognition of our contributions to advancing and social justice

2004: Recognition as one of the best tactics in human rights worldwide for Women for Women’s Human our Human Rights Education Program Rights (WWHR) – New Ways is for Women by the New Tactics in an independent women’s non- Human Rights Program of the Center governmental organization (NGO) for Victims of Torture founded in 1993, and aims to promote women’s human rights, equality and 2007: The Gruber Foundation non- in and International Women’s Rights Prize, worldwide. Its name was inspired by co-recipient with WWHR-New Ways the UN World Conference on Human co-founder Pınar İlkkaracan and the Rights held in Vienna the same year, Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights where it was affirmed that “women’s in Muslim Societies for contributing to rights are human rights.” WWHR- legal reforms to safeguard women’s New Ways works for the realization human rights and actualize gender of women’s human rights, supports equality in Turkey, and promoting the active and broad participation sexual, reproductive and bodily rights of women in all spheres of life as in Muslim societies free individuals and equal citizens, and strives for the establishment 2015: The International Women’s and maintenance of a democratic, Health Coalition Joan B. Dunlop egalitarian and peaceful social Award presented to WWHR-New Ways order at the national, regional and co-founder Pınar İlkkaracan for her international levels. exceptional record of work in Turkey and globally to promote the human rights of women and and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights of women

2 OUR APPROACH OUR AIMS WWHR-New Ways strives to promote • Equip women with critical sustainable social change and awareness and skills to exercise transformation to achieve gender their human rights, and encourage equality and the fulfillment of women’s them to become catalysts of social human rights at the local, national, change through human rights training regional, and global levels. It believes programs; that true and permanent change can only be affected when the struggle • Raise awareness on women’s and for women’s rights and equality is LGBTIQ rights through capacity integrated at all levels and all spheres. building for activists, NGOs, social workers, and professionals working in To this end, WWHR-New Ways adopts the field of women’s human rights; a holistic perspective in all its work and addresses the links between various • Build solidarity networks and bring issues concerning women (such as together international, regional, ; education; national, and local advocates of political, social, economic and legal women’s rights and gender equality rights; sexuality and reproductive issues to strengthen our efforts rights; and the rights of girls, to in promoting equality and non- name a few). Working actively in discrimination; women’s human rights coalitions in Turkey and abroad, WWHR-New Ways • Engage in advocacy work nationally seeks to advance women’s rights in and internationally to actualize national legislation and international women’s human rights and gender documents, and translate these rights equality; to the everyday lives of women. • Produce, share, and disseminate Collaborating with women’s and feminist strategies and knowledge. LGBTIQ organizations with similar objectives since its foundation, WWHR- New Ways combines various methods and tools in its efforts, such as action-research, publications, training, networking, and influencing decision- making and policy development mechanisms through advocacy.

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OUR PROGRAMS 1) THE HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN (HREP) Developed by WWHR-New Ways in 1995, • Including two pilot training programs, the Human Rights Education Program WWHR-New Ways has organized 11 for Women (HREP) is a 16-week training HREP Trainer Trainings to date, most program that aims to equip women recently in 2016. with the necessary knowledge, critical awareness, and skills to exercise their • HREP training materials and rights in every sphere of life. HREP is publications such as the illustrated a participatory program and covers booklet series “We Have Rights!” on issues related to women’s human women’s legal, sexual, reproductive, rights, constitutional and civil rights, and economic rights, and the 12-episode violence against women and strategies TV documentary The Purple Series have against violence, economic rights, reached tens of thousands of women communication skills, gender sensitive and serve as mass awareness raising parenting, rights of the child, sexuality, tools. sexual and reproductive health and rights, political rights, , and • “We Have Rights!” and The Purple community organizing. Series have been translated into Kurdish, thereby making comprehensive A unique model of sustainable state- information on women’s human rights NGO partnership in Turkey, HREP was accessible in Kurdish for the first time. implemented in collaboration with the General Directorate of Social Services • Serving as a catalyst for women’s at community centers between 1998 mobilization to organize around and 2011. Since 2011, partners have their own needs and promote social been expanded to include women’s change on a broader level, HREP has counseling centers of various instigated the foundation of around municipalities, and independent 20 independent local women’s women’s NGOs. organizations.

• Over 14,000 women from 56 and Northern have participated in HREP, which has been running uninterrupted for over two decades.

4 2) ADVOCACY WWHR-New Ways forms pressure In collaboration with the women’s groups and organizes national and movement in Turkey, WWHR-New Ways international advocacy campaigns to has initiated and coordinated numerous push for legal reforms, the enforcement advocacy and lobbying campaigns for of relevant laws, and the establishment national law reform, furthering women’s of a non-discriminatory legal framework human rights and gender equality. that will improve the rights of women These include: and LGBTIQ individuals. Building * 1997 The Campaign against Virginity bridges among local, national, regional, Testing and international struggles to achieve √ An Administrative Ban against gender equality is a priority for WWHR- Virginity Testing was issued in 1997. New Ways. * 1997-1998 The Campaign for the Protection Order Law against Domestic Through continuous and persistent Violence activism, advocacy, and network- √ Law number 4320 was adopted in building efforts that span two decades, 1998. WWHR-New Ways has contributed * 2000-2001 The Campaign for Full to major legal reforms in Turkey, the Equality in the Turkish Civil Code advancement of sexual and bodily rights √ The Turkish Civil Code was reformed in Muslim societies and at the UN level, in 2001 to grant full gender equality in and the inclusion of women’s human the family. rights and gender equality in global * 2001 The Campaign for the Ratification policies. of the CEDAW Optional Protocol by Turkey • WWHR-New Ways spearheaded and √ Turkey ratified the CEDAW Optional co-founded the Coalition for Sexual and Protocol in 2002. Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) * 2002-2004 The Campaign for the in 2001, and served as its international Reform of the Turkish Penal Code from a coordination office between 2001 and Gender Perspective 2011, bringing together leading NGOs √ The Turkish Penal Code was reformed and academic and research institutions in 2004 with the amendment of over 30 working on these issues in the Middle articles safeguarding sexual and bodily East, North Africa, and South and rights. Southeast Asia. The only international * 2011-2012 The End Violence Campaign solidarity network working on sexuality for a more comprehensive protection in Muslim societies, CSBR currently law against has 38 member organizations from 15 √ Law number 6284 on the Protection of countries. the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women was adopted in 2012.

5 WOMEN FOR WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS (WWHR) - NEW WAYS

• WWHR-New Ways engages in and Domestic Violence (the international advocacy for the Convention) and played an active rights of girls, women, and LGBTIQ role in the process of nominating a individuals, most notably at the UN member from Turkey for the Group level. Having served on government of Experts on Action against Violence and NGO delegations in UN processes, against Women and Domestic including the Commission on Violence (GREVIO) successfully the Status of Women, Beijing+5, campaigning for the election of a Beijing+10, Beijing+20, ICPD+10, feminist scholar as its president. ICPD+15, and ICPD+20, WWHR-New Ways has most recently been an 3) PRODUCING & SHARING active part of advocacy processes FEMINIST KNOWLEDGE on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In collaboration WWHR-New Ways adopts an with the international women’s expansive and well-rounded movement, WWHR-New Ways publication and outreach strategy ensured that “gender equality and with diverse written, audio-visual, the empowerment of women and and digital materials in various children” was included as a stand- languages, targeting broad audiences alone goal (Goal 5). in efforts to generate and share feminist knowledge. With publications • WWHR-New Ways plays a prominent ranging from research articles to role in initiating and coordinating illustrated booklets for women of advocacy processes for Turkey’s lower levels, documentaries periodic reviews by the CEDAW to advocacy and policy reports, Committee; it organized the drafting human rights training manuals to of NGO shadow reports and the newsletters, WWHR-New Ways sees advocacy efforts of NGO delegations its publications as complementary at the review sessions in 1997, 2005, to all its programs; a way to create 2010, and contributed actively to knowledge and raise awareness; the 2016 CEDAW shadow reporting share experiences, strategies and best process. practices; and further advocacy and policy-making efforts. • WWHR-New Ways is among the co-founders of the Turkey Monitoring Platform for the Council of Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women

6 SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• We Have Rights! Illustrated booklet • “Re/Forming the Penal Code in series (in Turkish, Kurdish) Turkey from a Gender Perspective: • The Purple Series Documentary TV The Case of a Successful Campaign” Series (in Turkish, Kurdish) (in English; in Citizen Engagement and • The Human Rights Education National Policy Change, Institute of Program for Women (HREP) Utilizing Development Studies) state resources to promote women’s • Turkish Civil and Penal Code Reforms (in English, from a Gender Perspective: The Turkish) Success of Two Nationwide Campaigns • Human Rights Education as a Tool (in English) of Grassroots Organizing and Social • “Advocating Sexual Rights: The Transformation: A Case Study from Campaign for the Reform of the Turkey (in English; in Intercultural Turkish Penal Code” (in English; in Education 16/2, Taylor and Francis) Building Feminist Movements and • The Purple Newsletter (periodical, in Organizations, Zed Books & AWID) Turkish) • Myth of A Warm Home: Domestic • Deconstructing Sexuality in Violence and Sexual Abuse (in Turkish) the Middle East: Challenges and • Towards Gender Equality in the Discourses (in English) Labor Market: Work-Family Life • Women and Sexuality in Muslim Reconciliation Policies (in Turkish) Societies (in English, Turkish, Arabic) • United Nations CEDAW Process • CSBR E-News (periodical, in English) and Advocacy and Lobbying with • “How Adultery Almost Derailed Non- Governmental Organizations Turkey’s Aspirations to Join the – Shadow Reports from Turkey: European Union” (in English; in Sex Experiences of 1997 and 2005 (in Politics: Reports from the Front Lines, Turkish) Sexuality Policy Watch) • “Legal Reforms on Violence against • Of War and Siege and Lebanon (in Women in Turkey: Best Practices” (in English) English; in Gender and Violence in the • Gender, Sexuality and the Criminal Middle East, Routledge) Laws in the Middle East and North • Beijing+5: Women’s Human Rights Africa: A Comparative Study (in in the UN and Turkey’s Commitments English) (in Turkish)

A full list of our publications from 1994 onwards can be found at www.wwhr.org. Please contact us at [email protected] to request digital or hard copies. 7 Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways is a member of numerous national and international networks and joins forces with them in advocacy efforts and campaigns:

International Coalitions and Solidarity Networks • Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) • Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) • Global Coalition for Human Rights Education • European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population and Development (EuroNGOs) • Cairo+20 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Platform • Women’s Major Group (WMG) • CSW Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC)

National Coalitions and Solidarity Networks • End to Violence Platform • European Women’s Lobby Coordination in Turkey • The Turkey Monitoring Platform • Women’s Coalition • Women’s Labor and Employment Initiative (KEIG) • Women’s Platform on the Turkish Penal Code

Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways Inonu Caddesi, No: 29/6 Saadet Apt. Gumussuyu, Beyoglu, 34437, Istanbul/TURKEY T: +90 212 251 00 29 F: +90 212 251 00 65 E: [email protected] www.wwhr.org / www.kadinininsanhaklari.org / KadininInsanHaklariYeniCozumler / @kadinih