 |
Against sexual torture
Christiane Jungblut
In May 2002 I met Eren Keskin
and Jutta Hermanns (see picture below) in the Berlin "Women's Rights Bureau
against sexual torture"(1). Five years ago in Istanbul, together with other
lawyers they founded the project "Legal assistance for women, who have been
raped or sexually abused in another manner by security forces"(2).
Jutta
Hermanns was involved in 2000 with the creation of the Berlin Women's Rights
Bureau, which offers support for abused women, living in exile. For the project
work in Berlin the enforcement of the recognition of women-specific persecution
situations as political persecution in the sense of the Geneva Refugee Convention
and the German asylum right is of particular importance. In the Berlin Women's
Rights Bureau women can count on support whilst in exile for compensation
against state perpetrators as well as for all questions related to asylum
proceedings. Furthermore the Berlin group organises contacts with qualified
therapy centres, partners and groups, and provides broad-based information
and documentation activities.
The fundamental common goal of the Berlin and Istanbul Offices, which work in close co-operation together is the "Enforcement of prosecution of state perpetrators of general torture and sexual torture on women in particular on a national and international level" (3).
This article gives an account of what Eren Keskin reported on her work in Turkey (4).
We look after all these
women
I have been a lawyer for 17 years, mainly for political proceedings in Turkey.
All male and female lawyers who defend cases in political proceedings are
confronted with the reality of torture that has been carried out on their
male or female clients; the reality of torture is always present in our work.
In 1995 I was personally taken into custody and for the first time experienced
for myself that which has been reported by women in prison on torture, sexual
attacks and rape. Some of these women were my clients.
After my release from custody
I had discussions with clients and some lawyers, as to whether it would be
possible to begin a project that exclusively takes on this specific form
of torture - that is sexual torture. We have been working on this project
since 1997. Since then a total of 154 women have turned to the Istanbul project
and the Women's Rights Bureau against Sexual Torture in Berlin. We look after
all these women.
In our daily work we go
to the detention centres - we do not expect women to contact us themselves.
We try in particular to reach women in prison. Besides our project in Turkey
has become well known, and therefore women contact our office themselves.
In cities as well as in the country and in particular in Kurdish areas both
the reality of sexual torture and our work are discussed.
Concrete offers that we have available for women, are designed according to their wishes. If women want to report a crime against the torturer, we look after them from a legal point of view. If there are women who in particular require or even want psychological therapy, we show them the way in which they can obtain this therapy, and if women are in prison, custody or pre-trial detention we try in such cases to have them transferred to hospitals. Naturally in doing this work we are confronted with great difficulties.
The Turkish Criminal
Code
In terms of the law the difficulties lie in the fact that the different forms
of sexual torture with which women are confronted are not sufficiently defined
as criminal acts in the Criminal Code. Furthermore, from a legal point of
view the woman as such is not perceived as an individual, as all articles
dealing with these types of attacks against women, are to be found in the
Chapter "Criminal Acts against the family and general Morals". In this respect
the Turkish Government's way of looking at things becomes clear, family and
morals are placed in the foreground, and not the woman as an individual.
In addition sexual attacks are not defined as criminal acts at all.
The most common forms of
sexual attacks are however: to completely undress, touching of the entire
body, pinching, pushing or sexual abuse and insults. All these forms are
not treated in the Turkish Criminal Code as independent acts constituting
offences. Even the rape offence is not sufficiently defined: in Turkey it
is as before, that rape only constitutes rape if the man has inserted his
sexual organ into the woman.
However reality is such that: women are raped in all different ways, with objects anally, vaginally and to a certain extent also orally. None of these attacks are treated as criminal acts.
Proof and Expert's
Reports
The next problem is the problem of proof. In order to simply prove bodily
traces after a rape, normally an expert's report must be drawn up within
48 hours. The tearing of the hymen is physically provable for about 14 days.
Mostly the women are still in police custody during this period and can in
no way have any expert's report of a physical nature compiled. Or they are
afraid and need a lot of time to have the courage to talk about this. So
we are mostly left with the attempt to get proof from a psychological
report.
Even here we are confronted with serious difficulties: There are very few independent places in Turkey that compile such psychological reports. And even if an expert's report were to be compiled by independent places, these must have been confirmed by the official medical jurisprudence. Recently there has been an instruction to independent places, to only compile expert reports on the order of the court or prosecutor's office.
Repression
In the meantime our work in the project has become very well known, even
by the State. The latter is very unsettled by our work. Therefore it is
inevitable that the State will reply with repression. In total five proceedings
were opened against female clients and lawyers from the project. Furthermore
two preliminary proceedings are ongoing. Even the women who have reported
torture carried out on them or who have laid criminal charges, have been
hit with repression
About 2 years ago several
women reported torture that they had experienced at a large congress in Istanbul.
A case was opened against these women before the main criminal court in Istanbul.
In addition cases were opened against some of them for the same reason before
the national security court.
In March of this year I
also spoke at an event in Cologne. Thereafter the newspaper Hürriyet,
in particular, which has a high circulation, started a large press campaign
against me in Turkey. However there are also a lot of people who stay on
the streets, wish us luck and say: what you are doing is right and good.
We also experience a lot of solidarity, especially after this dirty and
slanderous press campaign.
Often women from Kurdish
areas, who lay charges, are forced to leave their settlement areas. They
are confronted with constant repression, are threatened, such that they have
to leave the area. This form of repression has recently increased to an
extreme.
Sexual torture is therefore clearly a State policy. The State attempts at
all cost to prevent us from continuing our work, for sexual torture is an
intended form of repression.
Courage to speak
Some families also put a lot of pressure on women. There are women who do
not expect their families to understand. They partly fear that their families
will throw them out. Therefore very few speak up in the beginning. Unfortunately
family members also kill women and girls in order to save their honour. Some
women and girls have committed suicide.
Normally women, who are
from families in which there are several politically aware members or even
politically active family members, are supported, at least partially supported
by family members. Therefore it seems that for Kurdish women it is often
easier than for other women to find the courage to speak and to share the
experience with others. In the Kurdish areas the women also have incredible
support from their own television viewers - that is through MED-TV (5). The
Kurdish women consider this type of attack to not only be an attack against
them as a woman, as a personality, but at the same time also as an attack
against their national struggle for freedom. When they start to speak, for
them it is as if they go one step further in becoming active in the national
struggle for freedom and not only as an individual. Therefore the decision
to speak about sexual torture is easier for them.
Women, who are not politically
organised or who do not fight in any structure are more inclined to lock
the experience within them. They remain totally alone with it and often have
a breakdown under this load.
When women have the courage
to lay a charge and to demand prosecution of the torturer, or to report on
that, which has happened them, they are confronted with enormous
difficulties.
The 154 women who have turned
to us are only the tip of the iceberg. We are convinced that they only make
up a small portion of the women to whom it has happened. There are thousands
of women, who have been through it and who have remained silent until
today.
All women become like
one woman
We were able to observe that when women begin to relate their story, they
become like a single woman. Even if as women they have very different
personalities, in that moment in which they relate their experience, they
become like one woman. Their facial expressions are overwhelmingly similar.
The traces that have been left in the psyche by the trauma of sexual torture
are the same in all women.
It is however also a positive
experience for women to speak. Speaking on the one hand means sharing the
experience with others. It however also means looking for support: to experience
real support and solidarity through women's groups and different social groups.
This is extremely important for the women.
Most of them speak about
what was done to them for the first, when they come to us. Therefore we have
close relations of confidence with the women. But the growing confidence
leads to the expectation in some that we can solve all their problems. As
they are confronted with diverse problems of a social or therapeutic type,
this also poses a great burden for us.
Taboo is broken
Our work also has positive sides: the taboo has been broken. In Turkey sexual
torture is discussed, the subject is on everyone's tongue. Before it was
also known that torture took place in Turkey. It has however always been
said that the police carry out torture. We would like to also point out that
the Military also perform torture.
Our project work has therefore
contributed to the subject being discussed under various aspects: sexual
torture in the form of repression that is used against women, therefore also
sexuality in itself, and militarism in Turkey. Militarism was a great subject
of taboo. And the fact that we are making it a subject is really unsettling
the State.
Political Strategies
and Targets
The basis of our work lies in the fact that those affected are women and
the perpetrator is the State. The project deals with the State's crimes.
For this reason we are open to all women who through state forces have
experienced this type of crime, irrespective of whether they took place for
social or ethnic reasons.
We want to break certain
taboo subjects within Turkey and the Kurdish areas and make it possible to
discuss them. Through the project work we encourage discussions on the role
of women in society and that which is being done to women by the State. We
want women to more clearly recognise their role and to develop a consciousness
about it, which they can and want to use for their rights. In Turkey women
are always at the forefront of the battle. We believe that women's activities
in battle were encouraged by our project work.
Turkey is governed by a
military system and in this system women are treated differently to men.
There is no equality. We are therefore making a contribution to the promotion
of democracy and civilisation in Turkey and the Turkish system.
The problems, upon which
sexual torture carried out on women is based, do however exist throughout
the world. Therefore our work also has international claim. We look after
a lot of contacts on the international level and develop international strategies
with women. We also strive on an international level to further attack male
predominant rule for all over the world the systems and the men owe a lot
to women. On an international level this type of crime in war situations
and in situations of armed conflict has in the meantime been defined as a
war crime. This stage has however come far too late.
Kurdish women as war
victims
According to our statistics (6) a large portion of the women who have reported
torture have been identified as Kurdish women. These numbers are express
two facts. Women from the Kurdish population are more likely to take the
step to lay a charge against the torturer and the State. But this is not
the only aspect. In terms of numbers the Kurdish women have also experienced
more of this type of crime, because in the last 15 years a war situation
has reigned in the Kurdish areas. Therefore Kurdish women were also viewed
as war victims. Thousands of women in the Kurdish areas were sexually tortured
simply for reasons of war. One of the war strategies of the Turkish forces
was to humiliate women on the sexual level and to torture them.
The European Court of
Justice for Human Rights
With regard to women affected we have up until now brought 27 cases before
the European Court of Justice for Human Rights (ECHR). In one case Turkey
was sentenced for rape in the Kurdish areas. The verdict contains important
statements. The importance of expert psychological reports is mainly emphasised.
These must be compiled by independent female and male doctors. However Turkey
ignores this pronouncement, even though they were sentenced for this very
reason.
Another court case will
probably be finalised soon. All other cases are delayed with correspondence,
often for years. During the period of the proceedings before the ECHM renewed
oppression may arise.
Amongst other things, with
Kurdish women we open the proceedings according to Article 14, which says
that the type of human rights crime was carried out due to ethnic affiliation
(7). However until now the European Court for Human Rights has handed down
no verdict according to Article 14. This of course greatly comforts Turkey.
On this point we are of the impression that the ECHR's decisions are also
based on Europe's politics with regard to Turkey.
Turkey in the EU?
The full membership of Turkey in the European Union is a topic of great
discussion in Turkey. The actual holders of power and those actually ruling
in Turkey are however as they always have been military rulers. And they
do not really want Turkey's entry into the European Union, because by doing
so their power could be reduced. The military ruling is supported by its
own financial companies, banks and trading companies as well as arms.
Besides I am of the opinion,
that Europe itself does not really want Turkey's entry, for full membership
of Turkey would mean a swarm of emigration of Islamic people. The EU certainly
does not want this. I am of the opinion that Turkey will possibly be granted
a special status. The political relations between Europe and Turkey are
determined by mutual profit. For years there have been a lot of violations
of rights and human rights in Turkey, war has been waged against the Kurdish
population for years - all with Europe's support.
Therefore we, as male and
female human rights defenders in Turkey do not consider democratisation and
the building up of a civil society to be predominantly Europe-related. We
are of the opinion that democratisation can only take place through internal
dynamics of social forces and we base ourselves on these internal dynamics,
in co-operation with other democratic social forces in other European countries.
Our demands and a strengthening of social forces in Turkey must come from
within, not from above and not from
Europe.
(1) FrauenRechtsBüro
gegen sexuelle Folter e.V., also see:
http://www.womensrightsproject.de/
(German)
(2) Kuloglu mah, Tunacibasi sok, Fikret Tuner ishani no 5557, kat 2, Galatasaray
- Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey, phone: 0090-212-2454593
(3) Annual Report Berlin 2001 of the "Women's Rights Bureau against sexual
torture", Berlin 2002.
(4) During the interview Jutta Hermanns translated her speech.
(5) MED-TV - Kurdish satellite televisions:
http://www.ib.be/med/ (English)
(6) Statistics at the End of June 2001 of the Istanbul Project in Kurdistan,
circular No 24, Jg.14, 27.11.2001:
http://www.kurdistan-rundbrief.de/2001a/kr012402.htm
(German)
(7) "European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedom"
of 4 November 1950, Art.14: a binding discrimination prohibition for members
of the Council of Europe with regard to members of national minorities
Christiane Jungblut
is editor of LOLApress europe.
Translated from German by
Heather Batchelor.