Buca EVKA-1 Women, Culture and Solidarity Association (İZMİR)

The association was founded in 2004 and officially recognised in 2006, and its aims are to raise awareness about discrimination towards women and women’s legal rights, to create solidarity between women, and to fight violence against women.

We set out on March 8, 2004. We travelled from house to house, from apartment block to apartment block, attended meetings in people’s homes and began our organisation efforts with the selfless work of a group of women. As a result of our meetings which began at homes and cafes, we were able to secure our corporate identity in 2006 to continue our struggle.

The majority of our members are housewives. One of our primary aims is to protect the structure which allows each woman to express herself within her unique identity. We continue our work in an inclusive and egalitarian manner and through feminist methods.

BEKEV organises events on every subject that concerns women, and provides awareness courses and information meetings at schools and community centres about gender equality and violence against women.

We try to provide abused women with support by talking to them face to face or through the personal phone numbers of association members, however, we refer the majority of the women who apply to us to the Metropolitan Municipality Women’s Counselling Centre, other institutions that can help them, or law offices. We do not currently have a dedicated phone helpline but are working to achieve this.

We have not yet fulfilled all our goals regarding fighting violence against women but we continue to foul on it. We took part in an EU project for unemployed women who have been victims of domestic violence and gained experience while successfully completing the project.

To increase organised action amongst women and to fight for every cause that concerns women, we are a part of various different platforms such as the Women’s Labour and Employment Initiative, Women for Peace Initiative, Assembly on Women’s Shelters and Solidarity Centres, End Violence Platform, Izmir Women Against Violence Coordination, and Izmir City Council Women’s Assembly.