Armed Violence Victims Bring Controversy

Along with their earlier suggestion of "every woman needs in their marriage package", Şefkat-Der has realized on Sunday a shooting workshop with 17 battered women from refuge houses, attracting a fair amount of mainstream media coverage.

"We are sending along a message here. Some say women should press on panic buttons to alert the police. What will women do until police comes? Is it religiously allowed for women to protect themselves. Everybody has the right for self-defense," Şefkat- Der President Hayrettin Bulan said.

The association also announced that they were planning to run new self-defense workshops against police violence, peppers sprays or courses related to martial arts, anger management and legal help for pistol licenses.

"I used to play with dolls. Now I have a gun in my hand and I need it to survive," a battered woman on the workshop said.

How did the mainstream Turkish media cover the issue?

While the mainstream media barely issued the protest walk on violence against women, several newspapers included articles on the Şefkat- Der association.

* With its headline "Man on target", Aksam warned about the controversy that the workshop might bring.

* Habertürk and Hurriyet used headlines "Bullet to violence”, "Man aimed" and "Armed course to women".

* With its headline "VIOLENCE", Posta said Şefkat-Der president defended women violence on men when necessary.

* Sabah used headlines "This is too much" and "Most radical way to protect women"

* Şok criticized the workshop with the targets pictured as man. "While the main point is to struggle against violence, violence exercise training is controversial," it said.

* Takvim warned the perpetrator men by saying "Violent husbands, think twice now"

* Vatan emphasized that the workshop was the most interesting event on Nov 25. (ÇT)