The Project: Swich It!

Switch It:
From Dating Violence to Safer Relationships & Rights-based Journalism about Sexual Violence

Project Period: January – December 2018

Project Website: oyledegilboyle.org

Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence has been working on invisible, ignored forms of violence in society since its foundation. The fundamental element of our field of struggle is this invisibility regarding sexual violence, which is, in fact, restricted to private space, cannot be spoken easily and even if it is spoken, language used blames the person exposed to this violence. We see the reflections of this attitude in the streets, educational institutions, households and workplaces; in brief, in everywhere. And we encounter improper news language, mostly in the mainstream media. The language used in news banalises sexual violence, makes it invisible, marginalise the perpetrator and  treat the survivors as mistaken or stigmatize them.

With this project, we intend to put the transformative influence of communication and solidarity in the struggle against sexual violence by stating that sexual violence is only prevented through awareness, education and implication of protective/preventive approach. The project covers seminars discussing dating violence and introducing the concept of safer relationship, ‘rights based journalism about sexual violence’ trainings oriented to the university students studying media and communication as well as media workers  and also online tools and printed materials.

Aims of the Project:

• To raise awareness about gender based violence and sexual violence in both language used and in relationships.
• To transform the societal perception regarding gender based violence and sexual violence and related violent language and generalise a rights based feminist approach to practice in relationships  and “private” spaces.
• To change the sexually violent language and create an atmosphere in the media field based on mutual respect and independent from sexual violence.
• To reduce and make visible the violence experienced in the workplaces by motivating media institutions  to prepare a policy text on preventing sexual violence.
• To spread the awareness raised through the project to the general public by producing videos, informative brochures, visual materials and online tools.

Planned activities:

• To organise seminars titled “From Dating Violence to Safer Relationships” both in İstanbul and across Turkey with participation of university students.
• To organise ‘rights based journalism about sexual violence’ trainings oriented to the university students studying media and communication as well as media workers.
• To organise a workshop on a rights based visual production titled as ‘Switch it’  together with people working in the field of visual communication
• To produce a sexual violence policy text oriented to media workers and a directive for media workplaces, together with women and LGBTİ+ journalists after talking on their sexual violence experiences.

PROJE EKİBİ

Project Coordinator: Özge Karlık

Trainers: Şehlem Kaçar, Merve Karabulut

Content Development (Online and Printed): Nurgül Öztürk, Merve Karabulut, Hilal Esmer, Şehlem Kaçar

Graphic Design: Büşra Erinkurt

Web Application and Video Editor: Özge Özgüner

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This post is also available in: Turkish