 United Nations Joint Programme (UNJP) Manager Nevin Şenol said that Local Equality Action Plans were being prepared under the UNJP and added that, “Local Equality Action Plans aim to achieve gender equality on a local level, and establish a gender-sensitive approach in local governments to make equality policies sustainable”
UNJP Programme Manager Nevin Şenol, evaluating the draft Local Equality Action Plans, stated that, "Local Equality Action Plans constitute the framework for local (urban) equality policies. Local Equality Action Plans aim to achieve gender equality locally, and mainstream a gender-sensitive perspective in local governments to make equality policies sustainable." Şenol noted that the Local Equality Action Plans aim to formulate local plans, programmes and policy strategies that will enhance participation of women in the local decision making processes and mechanisms, and develop local service proposals to help implement such strategies.
HOW ARE LOCAL EQUALITY ACTION PLANS BEING PREPARED?
UNJP Programme Manager Şenol stated that the Local Equality Action Plans are prepared by local partners through participatory processes, and added that, "The process started in March 2006 with workshops for informing local administrators and local women's organizations on gender equality, women’s relation to cities, and project cycle management training. The work continued with a three-day workshop in Ankara on 20-22 December 2006. Seventy local goverment officials and representatives of local women's NGOs from the six programme provinces participated in the workshop. These groups continued the December Workshop at the urban scale and now we are at the finalization stage of the Local Action Plans."
The UNJP Programme Manager Şenol noted that the drafts of the Action Plans are prepared separately for each city, and added that the Plans would be completed after a final revision based on the opinions and suggestions consulted. Şenol stated that the local partners prepared more than 45 project drafts in support of the Action Plans.
WHAT ARE THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF LOCAL EQUALITY ACTION PLANS?
• Gender mainstreaming,
• Adopting gender-sensitive approach/policies,
• Relying on an integrative approach and ensuring inter-governmental cooperation,
• Adopting good governance in service provision,
• Developing solutions by a process-oriented approach,
• Ensuring sustainability,
• Ensuring monitoring, supervision and transparency.
UNDER WHAT TOPICS DO DRAFT LOCAL EQUALITY PLANS OFFER SOLUTIONS?
1. Participation in local decision mechanisms
• Ensuring that local women's NGOs monitor works of local assemblies and participate in local specialized commissions,
• Ensuring that women’s participation increases in city councils and a women’s assembly is esta-blished,
• Ensuring that women's NGOs participate in preparation and implementation phases of strategic plans,
• Ensuring voluntary participation to municipal services,
• Establishing gender equality units in governor’s offices and municipalities,
• Empowerment of women to participate in local politics,
• Increase of in-service training etc. to provide opportunities to allow women grow in their careers in local governments.
2. Urban Services
• Collecting statistics by gender in the cities,
• Conducting studies to identify women's needs and demands for urban services,
• Improvement of the registry system of the city to allow collection of data by gender,
• Adopting a gender-sensitive plan and project approach in designing urban planning, mass housing and urban transformation projects,
• Preparation of a gender-sensitive local budget,
• Provision and propagation of gender sensitive urban services at quarter level.
3. Violence against women
• Conducting campaigns to raise awareness on violence,
• Establishing emergency/help hotlines for violence victims, accessible 7-days, 24-hours,
• Establishing an emergency action unit to take women victims under protection in emergency situations,
• Training public officials working with victims of violence,
• Establishing women's units in police stations,
• Opening women's counselling centers, temporary stations and shelters,
• Establishing a coordination unit or committee to monitor and supervise activities to prevent violence and protect victims,
• Initiating a study covering all public agencies for fight against prostitution.
4. Economic empowerment and work life
• Support of women's participation in work life (opportunities such as child care centers, elderly homes and patient homes etc.),
• Ensuring gender equality in creating job opportunities,
• Increasing employment-guaranteed occupational training, skills and capacity building programs, restructuring such programs according to women's demands and the market demand, and ensuring women benefit from such programs,
• Adopting and implementing micro-credit practices, empowering women,
• Working towards efficient and effective use of women's handcraft products,
• Ensuring that women benefit from the social security system.
5. Education and health services
• Strengthening the city registry system, and registering unregistered women and girls in the population register,
• Ensuring that girls complete compulsory education,
• Increasing education and student dormitory opportunities for girls,
• Informing the public on the harms of forced and early marriages, and marriage between relatives,
• Conducting studies to restructure and increase the effectiveness of reproductive health and family planning services,
• Training staff working with women on women's rights,
• Increasing the number of staff working with women (social services experts, psychologists, etc.),
• Establishing adolescent training centers, menopause clinics, and marriage counselling centers,
• Provision of free health services to handicapped women and children.
6. Internal Migration and Poverty
• Conducting field surveys/studies on problems in poor sectors of the city receiving migration, dealing particularly with women in such studies and developing particular solutions,
• Providing information for migrant women and girls to help them get to know the city and learn where to apply for services,
• Allocating a certain quota from the TOKİ mass housing to provide to women who live in such areas (priority on single parents and/or handicapped women).
7. Change of mentality and raising awareness
• Educating and informing the public (women, men, adults and children) on gender and human rights of women and the girl child,
• Establishing application units to monitor the language and the programs that involve gender discrimination in the local/national media, via the Supreme Radio and Television Board (RTÜK),
• Initiating, maintaining and strengthening applications and processes that increase communication among local administrators, women's organizations and women.
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