ASSOCIATION FOR STRUGGLE AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE BYLAWS
CHAPTER ONE
Name, Location, Purpose, Field of Study, Field of Activity and Principles of the Association
Article 1 – Name and Location of the Association
The full name of the Association is “Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence/Cinsel Şiddetle Mücadele Derneği”. Shortly, it is called as ”CŞMD”. The Association acts as a rights-based non-governmental organization. The office of the Association is located in Istanbul. The Association will not establish any branch offices.
Article 2 – Purpose of the Association, Field of Study and Type of Study of the Association for Achieving Its Purpose, Field of Activity and Principles of the Association
A) Purpose of the Association:
The Association was established: to work for ensuring the elimination of the existence, legitimacy of sexual violence and harms caused by it, which is one of the means of oppression and control of the patriarchal system; to have a legal struggle for ensuring the enforcement and development of the rights and prevention of violations of these rights; and also to ensure a solidarity among the survivors exposed to sexual violence.
B) Field and Type of the Study of the Association
1- To make research for providing and developing activities on the struggle against sexual violence,
2- To open the counseling center and shelter for the survivors of sexual violence, to provide support for the opening of these centers and to strengthen the existing ones
3- To have studies towards social workers and professionals, providing services to survivors of sexual violence
4 – To establish a network of solidarity between survivors of sexual violence, activists, NGOs, social workers and professionals,
5- To organize course, conference, seminar, panel, meeting, symposium, panel discussion, film screening, slide show, photo exhibition, expo, festival and day of remembrance and competitions on sexual violence and on the subjects related to sexual violence,
6- To rent out or lease the spaces needed for the activities to be conducted; to purchase or sell the necessary tools and equipment for buying the buildings and lands or for building them as well as to make institutionalization studies for the development and dissemination of science, art, philosophy, culture,
7- To organize conferences, panels, seminars, panel discussions, special nights, slide shows together with the institutions working on related subjects,
8- To establish study groups in order to conduct the activities of the Association,
9- To encourage the studies made against sexual violence against women, sexual violence against trans people, sexual violence against children, gender based violence, violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual violence against animals and the studies made for combating discrimination and gender inequality, promoting women’s rights; to promote the studies on the other related areas; to support these studies materially and morally; to ensure the publication and dissemination of the researches,
10- To supply all kinds of information, papers, documents and publications for the elimination of the legitimacy of sexual violence, to form a documentation center, to publish various publications (such as book, magazine, newsletter, newspaper, brochure, encyclopedia, website, blog, etc.) to inform its members and the public about its studies in line with its purposes, to have visual studies and to make films and to distribute them,
11- To produce scientific and artistic publications developed in Turkey and abroad and provide these to its members; to publish the books, magazines, complementary booklets, brochures, visual materials, films and public spots etc. that are written, translated or prepared by its members; to establish print houses and studios for this purpose; to establish representative agencies across the country for the promotion and distribution of these materials,
12- To have cooperation and joint studies with all relevant public and private institutions, local authorities, municipalities, mukhtars, associations, professional chambers in order to conduct the activities mentioned above. To have cooperation and joint studies with other associations, foundations, unions, individuals, institutions and similar organizations and other NGOs and to establish federations and platforms related to its field of study,
13- To provide a decent working environment for achieving the purpose and to obtain all kinds of technical tools and instruments, stock and stationery items,
14- To make production of publications such as magazines, newsletters, DVDs, web pages, brochures and books as well as of short films, multimedia materials, feature films,
15- To establish international study and coordination commissions and other partnerships to work towards the establishment of regional and global partnership among the all women of the world,
16- To cooperate with the relevant international organizations in all activities to achieve the purposes of the Association, to have fund raising activities and to receive financial aid within the country and from abroad,
17- To receive all kinds of aid in kind, financial aid and grants in accordance with the purposes of the Association,
18- To establish and operate economic, commercial and industrial enterprises in order to obtain the revenues required for the achievement of the purpose of this bylaws,
19- To establish clubhouse, restaurant, recreational facilities, performance hall and bibliotheca-library, to establish social and cultural facilities and to furnish these in order to meet the social needs of its members and to increase the communication and solidarity between them,
20- To organize activities such as cocktails, concerts, theater performances, exhibitions, picnic organizations, trips and recreational activities for raising funds for the Association or to build the social relations and communication between the members and to allow its members to benefit from these activities,
21- To purchase all movable and immovable properties needed by the activities of Association, to sell them, to rent out or lease them and to maintain the rights in rem on the immovables,
22- To establish foundations, federations across the country or abroad or to affiliate with a federation for the achievement of the purposes if it is deemed necessary and to establish facilities by obtaining the necessary permits,
23- To inform the public about the purposes and / or activities of the Association through the media organs and to express the opinions of the Association publicly,
24- To establish and operate or to support training institutions, training centers, courses and dorms at all levels in order to meet the needs of the members regarding trainings,
25- To make research, investigations, developments, studies and surveys with the help of its members or the experts to achieve the purpose and field of study, to identify the recommendations and requests and to publish them with all means of publication,
26- To implement joint projects with the public institutions and organizations in the fields conforming their fields of activity, without prejudice to the provisions of the Law No. 5072 on Relations of Public Institutions with Associations and Foundations if it is deemed necessary for the achievement of the purposes,
27- To allocate a fund in order to meet the essential needs of its members such as food, clothing, and other goods, services and short-term credits,
28- To establish representative agencies where deemed necessary,
29- To collect the aid and grants and to provide them to others in accordance with the provisions of the legislation on fundraising and the provisions of the Bylaws; to accept conditional and unconditional legacies.
C) Field of Activity of the Association
The Association conducts political, cultural, scientific, social and artistic activities in order to eliminate the existence and legitimacy of sexual violence; to strengthen the existing mechanisms of struggle against sexual violence; to ensure the establishment of the necessary mechanisms needed and to establish a network of solidarity among the survivors of sexual violence, activists, NGOs and social workers and professionals and it provides support for the organizations that operate for achieving these purposes. It also supports animal rights organizations that struggle for the rights of animals for the animals exposed to sexual violence. The Association conducts its activities in line with solidarity and the principles of feminism; by having a firm stance against any kind of speciesism and discrimination based on language, ethnicity, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, philosophical belief, religion, sect, national origin, physical or mental disability.
The Association conduct its activities within social environment, within the country or in other countries.
D) Principles of the Association
Association For Struggle Against Sexual Violence,
- is an independent NGO struggling against sexual violence in the light of universal rights and freedoms.
- It is against all forms of speciesism and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, color, age, disability, political opinion, including but not limited to hate speech and discrimination in any form.
- It works by feminist methods and adopts an organization understanding based on collective study.
- It has a horizontal organizational structure, in which hierarchical and non-participatory practices are not accepted.
- No one can be the chair for more than one (1) period in a row.
- Decisions are taken by consensus.
- There is a zero-tolerance policy against violence.
- Survivors do not bear the burden of proof in their testimonies. No one is obliged to prove and document the violence they are exposed to.
- The understanding of help is not accepted; rather understanding of solidarity directs all the studies.
CHAPTER TWO
Procedures of Membership, Rights and Obligations of Members and Termination of Membership
Article 3 – Rights and Procedures About Membership
Any legal entity having legal capacity, who has the legal capacity to act and who has agreed to work by adopting the purposes and principles of the Association and who meet the conditions stipulated by the legislation is entitled to join the Association as a member. The first condition of being a member of the Association is the references provided by at least two of the members of the Board for the natural or legal entity who wants to become a member. However, foreign natural entities should have the residence permit in Turkey to become a member. This condition does not apply in case of honorary membership.
The applications for admission made to the Association in a written format, shall be evaluated within a maximum of 30 days by the Board and the applicants are informed regarding their admission or refusal by a written notification. Following the admission of the member, the related information on the membership status is added to the registry of the Association.
Applicants, who are known to have acts which are racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic and who commit physical, sexual and psychological violence against the all the living things, who commit hate crimes, who are perpetrator of sexual harassment, who are carrying firearms and making discrimination and who prevent the people from enjoying their rights cannot be members of the Association.
Full members of the Association are those accepted as members by the founding members and by members of the Board upon their application.
Local and international scientific professionals, community service professionals, communication staff, psychologists, psychiatrists, sexual health experts, psychological counseling staff, academic staff, expert staff, authors, research staff, trainers, legal staff, artists, who has experience in the field of women rights as well as the people, who contribute materially and morally to the Association with enthusiasm within the country and abroad can be granted with honorary membership.
Honorary members who are experts in any of the field of study of the Association are obliged to fulfill the responsibility of providing counseling and instruction to the relevant commission when necessary. The Association may nominate its honorary members as the representatives in its field of study or specialization, when necessary. Honorary members do not have the right to vote and to be elected. They are not obliged to pay the admission and annual fees, only the donations they made are collected. The termination of honorary membership is only possible with the decision of the General Assembly or resignation.
Article 4 – Obligations of Members
Obligations of Members consist of assuming the fees and duties.
a) Each person is obliged to pay the admission fee determined by the Board after the application for membership has been approved.
b) Each member is obliged to pay the membership fee determined by the Board. Members make this payment monthly or yearly with their own initiative. The Board is authorized to increase or decrease the admission fees and membership fees.
c) No member may be compelled to take part in any activities of the Association. However, the authorized boards of the Association may appoint the members in line with the purposes of the Association.
d) Members are obliged to comply with the bylaws of the Association, to fulfill the duties and responsibilities they assumed and to show their commitment to the Association. Each member is responsible for acting in accordance with the purpose of the Association, in particular, avoiding behaviors that may hinder or make it difficult for the Association to achieve its purpose. Members of the Association act responsibly in their speeches, statements made and in their writings that may affect the purpose, principles and vision of the Association and take care the Association in a way that not to harm it.
Article 5 – Resignation and Termination of Membership
Every member is entitled to the right to resign from the membership on the condition that they provide a written notification.
The related procedures are deemed complete upon receipt of member’s written notice by the Board. However, in this way, the members unsubscribed are obliged to pay the membership fee accumulated until the date they leave.
Conditions of Termination of Membership:
a) It is the authority of the Board to ask the final defense from and to issue the exclusion if necessary, for those who do not comply with the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board, who make the achievement of purposes and the studies of the Association difficult and those who act against the principles of the Association, who assumed a responsibility on behalf of the Association without any authority to do so.
b) The fees paid by those who have resigned or excluded are not refunded.
c) The resigned and excluded members of the Association cannot claim the right on the studies and assets of the Association.
d) In case that the provisions of the Bylaws have not been followed partially or completely and that the member has not paid the fees following a written notice in 6 (six) months, the member may be excluded from the membership by the decision of Board without any need for notification.
e) It is within the competence of the Board to ask for defense from those who have sexist, homophobic and transphobic acts and behaviors, who commit physical violence to others, who threat and blackmail, and those who commit hate crimes, if necessary.
CHAPTER THREE
Bodies
Article 6 – The Bodies of the Association
I) The compulsory bodies of the Association are;
1- General Assembly
2- Board (of Directors)
3- Supervisory Board
II) Other Bodies: In addition to the bodies listed in the first paragraph of this article, other commissions such as committee, commission, and study group having a temporary or permanent nature may be formed for various purposes by the decision of the Board. However, the duties, authorizations and responsibilities of the General Assembly, the Board and the Supervisory Board cannot be transferred to these bodies.
Article 7- Organization of the General Assembly of the Association, Time of the Meeting
General Assembly is the highest authoritative decision making body and consists of the members of the Association.
General Assembly;
1- convenes ordinarily in the time provided in this bylaw,
2- convenes extraordinarily within thirty days; in cases where the Board or Supervisory Board deems it necessary or by the written application of one fifth of the members.
Ordinary General Assembly meets up in October once in three years at the date and time to be determined by the Board.
The general assembly is called by the Board to the assembly meeting. The call to the General Assembly meeting is made by using one or more of the methods specified in the relevant legislation.
If Board fails to call the General Assembly to the meeting; following the application of one of the members, justice of the peace shall appoint three members to call the General Assembly to the meeting..
Article 8- Types and Procedures of Voting and Decision Making in the General Assembly
In General Assembly meeting unless a decision taken stating otherwise, the voting are made openly. In open voting, the method specified by the chair of the General Assembly shall be applied.
In the case of secret voting, papers or ballot papers sealed by the chair are put into a hollow container following voting of the members, and the result is determined by calculating the votes openly after the voting.
General assembly decisions are taken by absolute majority of the members present at the assembly meeting. The decisions regarding the amendment of the bylaws and annulment of the association shall only be taken by two thirds of the members present at the meeting.
Article 9 – Duties and Authorizations of the General Assembly
1- Selection of the bodies of the Association
2- To discuss and decide on the draft of Board on amendment of Association’s bylaws,
3- Evaluation of the reports of the Board and Supervisory Board and acquittal of the Board,
4- Evaluation of the draft budget prepared by the Board and approval of the budget with or without any changes,
5-Audit of the other bodies and if deemed necessary, exclusion of them from their duties with justified reasons
6- Evaluation and decisions made regarding the appeals against the decisions of the Board about the rejection or termination of membership,
7- Provide authorization of the Board to purchase the immovable properties required for the Association or to sell existing immovables,
9- Provide authorization to the Board to establish a federation, to join or leave from existing federations to which the Association is a member,
10- Provide authorization to the Board to decide to establish branch offices and to follow all the procedures related to the branch offices to be opened,
11- Annulment of the Association,
12- Evaluations of the proposals of the Board and all the other bodies of the Association and decisions to be made in that regard,
13- Use of the authority and execution of all the actions assigned to any other body, as being the highest executive body of the Association
14- If it is deemed necessary to decide on the allocation of a fund,
15- Fulfillment of other duties assigned to General Assembly as stated in the Legislation.
ARTICLE 10 – BOARD
I) Organization of the Board
Board members shall be elected by the General Assembly as 5 (five) principal and 5 (five) alternate members. At the first meeting after their selection, Board shall make a division of labor with a decision and it assigns the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary General, Accountant and Member of the Board. The Board may convene at any time, if deemed necessary.
The members of the Board shall not be nominated and elected as chair of the Board at the next ordinary general assembly following the ordinary general assembly in which they are elected. This rule does not apply to elections held in extraordinary general assembly meetings.
The Board may convene the members at any time on the condition that all members are notified. It is convened on the condition that more than half of the total number of members present. In this case, decisions are taken by the absolute majority of the total number of members attending the meeting.
If there is a decrease in the number of the primary members of the Board due to resignation or other reasons, it is mandatory to call the alternate members for duties respectively.
II) Duties and Authorizations of the Board
1- To represent the Association or authorize one of its own members or a third party to represent the Association,
2. To generate recommendations regarding the field of activity and study specified in the bylaws, to discuss policies, strategies and priorities in order to achieve the purpose and activities, to perform the duties assigned to it by the general assembly,
3- To make transactions related to income and expenses accounts and to prepare and present the budget for the next term to the general assembly,
4- To purchase immovables, to sell movables and immovables belong to the Association, to construct buildings or facilities, to make lease agreements, to have mortgages or to maintain rights in rem in favor of the Association, with the authorization granted by the General Assembly,
5- To establish a federation, to join or to leave from the federations established; to join or leave from the organizations abroad, to make suggestions about having cooperation with them and to submit these to the approval of the general assembly, to take decisions and necessary actions in these matters within the framework of the authorizations granted by the general assembly,
6- To give authority to one or more of the members of the Association in order to establish and remove study groups on the subjects and areas that it finds necessary,
7- To make the transactions related to the income and expense accounts of the Association, to determine the upper limit of the cash reserves to be kept in the safe of the Association for the daily and compulsory expenditures, and also to determine the bank and branch of the bank to which the income of the Association will be deposited,
8- To conduct judicial, financial and administrative proceedings, to file a lawsuit, to come to an agreement, to grant a discharge, to waive from legal action or to accept the case and to give a power of attorney applied in these matters in all disputes related to Association,
9- To provide the power of attorney to its members in order for them to represent the entity of the Association against natural and legal entities and protocol and the judicial bodies,
10- To prepare, enact and amend the bylaws related to the internal studies of the Association and the study groups to be established,
11- To Establish the advisory committee from the study group members and experts, if needed,
12- To ensure the establishment of representative agencies where necessary,
13- To execute the decisions taken in general assembly,
14- To prepare a report explaining the balance sheet, income and expense tables and the activities of general assembly at the end of each year of activity and to present it to the general assembly when it convenes,
15- To ensure the implementation of the budget, to decide on taking loans by the Association,
16- To determine the membership and admission fees and to decide whether to increase or decrease them,
17- To decide on the admission or exclusion of the members; to decide on providing honorary membership and honorary presidency to those who have contributed to the Association,
18- To decide to establish partnership, economic enterprise, foundation and allocated aid fund or to participate in or join the similar which exist or which will be established,
19- To decide on behalf of the Association to have international studies, to join the organizations abroad as a member or to cooperate with them,
20- To assign the staff who will make the studies of the Association or to terminate their assignments when necessary,
21- To make every kind of decision it is authorized to do so for achieving the purpose of the Association
22- To perform other duties assigned by the bylaws and to use its authorizations
Article 11- Organization, Duties and Authorizations of The Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board shall be elected by the general assembly as containing three primary and three alternate members
If there is a decrease in the number of the primary members due to resignation or other reasons, it is mandatory to call the alternate members for the duties respectively relative to the number of the votes they took in the general assembly meeting.
Duties and Authorizations of the Supervisory Board
Supervisory Board audits the activities of the Association at certain intervals in a year in line with the procedures and methods defined in bylaws to ensure that whether it makes transactions in line with the conditions of work which are stated as necessary to achieve the purposes in the bylaws, whether it keeps books, accounts and registries duly in line with the legislation and bylaws of the association and Supervisory Board prepares a report in accordance with the data it collected and present it to the Board and the General Assembly when these convene.
The Supervisory Board, when necessary, calls the general assembly to the meeting.
CHAPTER FOUR
Miscellaneous Provisions
Article 12 – Income Sources of the Association
The income sources of the Association are listed below.
Membership Fee and admission fee: The amount of these is determined by the Board.
Donations and aids made willingly to the Association by natural and legal entities,
The income generated from activities organized by the Association (such as tea party, cocktails, trips and recreational activities, sport contests, conferences, etc.),
The income generated by the sell of the materials such as brochures, books, paintings, postcards, etc. prepared by the Association or prepared by others allowing the Association to sell, and the income generated by economic enterprises of the Association,
The income generated from the assets of the Association
Donations and aids to be collected in accordance with the provisions of the legislation on fundraising,
Profits gained from the activities of Association that was organized in order to provide the income needed to achieve its purposes,
The other income generated from the scientific (such as congress, conferences, seminar) and social (tea party, ball, lottery, cocktail, recreational activities, concerts) events held by the Association in order to achieve its purposes.
International funds,
interest income on bank deposits,
Other revenues.
Article 13 – Registries With Principles and Procedures of Bookkeeping
Principles of bookkeeping;
The books of the Association shall be kept in accordance with the method of operating account. However, if the annual gross income exceeds the limit stated in article 31 of Regulations on Associations books are kept on the basis of balance sheet starting from the following financial period.
In case that books are kept on the basis of the balance, if the Association is under the abovementioned limit for two consecutive financial periods, operating account method will be used again starting from the following year.
Without adhering to the abovementioned limit, bookkeeping can be performed on the basis of balance by the decision of the Board.
In case the Association establishes an enterprise, books shall be kept for this commercial enterprise according to the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law.
Procedures of Registry
The books and records of the Association shall be kept in accordance with the procedures and principles specified in the Regulations on Association.
Bookkeeping
The following books are kept in the Association.
1-Minute Book: The decisions of the Board are recorded in this book respectively according to their date and sequence numbers and it is signed by the members of Board that attend the meeting.
2-Member Registry: ID information, the dates of admission and termination of the membership of members are recorded in this book. Admission fees and membership fees paid by the members can be recorded in this book.
Document Registry Book: Incoming and outgoing documents are recorded in this book respectively in accordance with their dates and sequence numbers. Originals of the incoming documents and copies of the outgoing documents are filed. Incoming and outgoing documents via e-mail will be kept by taking their printouts.
4- Operating Account Book: Incomes received and expenses made on behalf of the Association are explicitly and regularly recorded in this book.
Approval of the Books
Before starting to use the books obligatory to be kept in the Association, (except Ledger), the books have to be approved by the Provincial Directorate of Associations or the notary public. The use of these books is continued until the pages are finished and no intermediate approval of the books shall be allowed. However, the books and the books with forms or continuous forms kept on the basis of a balance sheet should be approved by notary public annually in the last month of the preceding year of use.
Income Statement and Balance Sheet Arrangement
At the end of the year, (31 December) in case of keeping records on the basis of operating account, “Operating Account Table” is issued (as mentioned in Annex 16 of Regulation on Associations). If books are kept on the basis of a balance sheet, balance sheet and income statement are issued at the end of the year (31 December) based on the General Communique of the Accounting System Application published by the Ministry of Finance.
Article 14 – Internal Audit of the Association
In addition to the internal audits that can be performed by the General Assembly, the Board or the Supervisory Board, audits can also be performed by independent auditing firms. Audits conducted by the General Assembly, Board or independent auditing firms, do not remove the obligation of the Supervisory Board in that regard.
The audit of the Association is conducted by Supervisory Board once a year at the latest. General Assembly or Board may conduct audits or may call independent auditors to do so, when deemed necessary.
Article 15 – Procedures of Taking Loans in the Association
The Association may take loans with the decision of the Board if it is needed to conduct its activities and to achieve the purposes of the Association. The borrowing can be made by means of credit purchasing of goods and services and can also be in the form of cash loans. However, this borrowing cannot be in the amounts that exceed the income sources of the Association in a way that will make the Association to feel pinched.
Article 16 -The Ways to Amend the Bylaws
Amendments in bylaws can be made by the decision of general assembly.
In order to amend the bylaws in the general assembly, a quorum of two thirds of the members of the Association entitled to attend and vote must be present If the meeting is adjourned due to the absence of the quorum, no quorum is sought for the second meeting. However the number of the members attend this meeting shall not be less than the double of the number of the total members of the Board and Supervisory Board.
Votes of two thirds of the members who attend the meeting entitled to vote are needed for amending the bylaws. Voting for the amendment in the bylaws is made openly in General Assembly.
Article 17- Annulment of the Association and Methods of Liquidating the Assets
The general assembly can always decide to the annulment of the Association.
In order to discuss this matter in the general assembly, two thirds of the members entitled to attend and vote shall be present at the general assembly. If the meeting is adjourned due to the absence of the quorum, no quorum is sought for the second meeting. However the number of the members attend this meeting shall not be less than the double of the number of the total members of the Board and Supervisory Board.
The decision of annulment of the association may be taken only by votes of two thirds of the members those attend and entitled to vote. In the general assembly, voting for decision of annulment is made openly.
Liquidation Procedures
When the General Assembly decides to annulment of the association, the cash, assets and rights of the association is liquidated by a liquidation committee consisting the members of the last Board. This process starts on the date the General Assembly meeting where the decision to annul the Association is taken or when the annulment takes place automatically. During the liquidation process, the name of the association is referred as “Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence in Liquidation” in all operations of the Association.
The liquidation committee is responsible and authorized to liquidate the association’s cash, assets and rights from the beginning until the full annulment. This committee first inspects the bank accounts of the Association. During the inspection, books, receipts, expenses, deeds, bank accounts and other documents of the association are examined and its assets and responsibilities are collected in a minute. During the liquidation proceedings, the creditors of the association are called, any available assets of the association are liquidated and the creditors are paid. If the association is the creditor itself, the receivables are collected. When all receivables are collected and creditors are paid fully, remaining cash, assets and rights of the Association shall be transferred to the most convenient NGO specified in the general assembly. If no organization is determined in the general assembly, those are transferred to the association determined by liquidation committee.
All processes regarding the liquidation are recorded in the liquidation minute and those shall be finalized within three months unless there is an extension provided with justified reasons by administrative authorities.
Following the completion of liquidation and transferring of the money, assets and rights of the Association,
it is obligatory for liquidation committee to inform the local administrative authorities within seven days in a written format by attaching the liquidation minute.
Members of the last board of directors are responsible for keeping the books and documents of the Association as being the liquidation committee. This duty may also be assigned to a member of the Board. The period of keeping the books and documents is 5 (five) years.
Article 18 – Absence of Provisions
Concerning the matters not mentioned in the bylaws, provisions of the Law on Associations, Civil Code and provisions of legislation on associations of Regulations on Association and other related legislation shall be applied.
