22/12/2023 | Writer: Selma Koçak
LGBTI+ organizations, women’s studies departments at universities and women’s organizations in Ankara contributed to the Çankaya Municipality Local Equality Action Plan.
The preparatory meeting of the Çankaya Municipality Local Equality Action Plan brought together LGBTI+ organizations, women’s studies departments at universities and women’s organizations in Ankara.
The Local Equality Action Plan 2024-2028 was discussed at a meeting held yesterday (December 21) at Zübeyde Hanım facility, moderated by İlknur Üstün and the Gender Equality Unit of Çankaya Municipality’s Directorate of Women and Family Services.
The preparatory meeting, which started with a presentation by Şaziye Dağlı, Director of Women and Family Services, continued with the title “What is the Local Equality Action Plan” and the participants were divided into six groups. The groups presented their ideas by working on the following questions: “What kind of Çankaya do we want, what are our problems and how to solve them, and what can we do together?”
Inclusion, monitoring activities and housing were among the key issues. One of the important issues discussed at the meeting was the need for civil society organizations working with discriminated groups to work hand in hand with the municipality, to understand the problems of the target groups and to propose solutions. Other issues raised by the associations included the situation of women’s shelters, the lack of temporary accommodation centres, inclusiveness and the inadequacy of hostels.
The need to make voluntary counselling and anonymous HIV testing centres more inclusive and diverse was also discussed, as was the need for communities to build advocacy. During the meeting, it was pointed out that the gender training provided by municipalities to their staff should be regular, sustainable and accountable, and that this should be done in cooperation with civil society organizations working in the field of women’s, children’s and LGBTI+ rights. In addition, regular training for mukhtars (local authority), all municipal staff and Voluntary Testing and Consultancy Center (GTDM) staff was suggested by the participating CSOs. The importance of establishing cooperation and information circles between the municipality, mukhtars and civil society organizations was also mentioned. The participating CSOs also discussed the need for a mechanism to carry out monitoring activities within the municipality.
Tags: human rights, women
