Sida's work in Türkiye
Decades of economic and social development in Türkiye have stalled in recent years with a setback in democracy and human rights. Sida's development cooperation in Türkiye supports organisations that stand up for democracy, human rights, gender equality and the rule of law.
Sida’s support in Türkiye 2023
Why does Sida work in Türkiye?
Gender equality work faces challenges
Both the country’s constitution and laws contain various provisions to ensure gender equality and prevent violence against women. However, the country’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women has made it more difficult for independent women’s organisations fighting to end gender-based violence. Anti-LGBTQI rhetoric has become widespread, especially after the 2023 elections, which has led to concerns among LGBTQI organisations about their continued activities.
Economic inequality has increased
The worsening economic situation, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 earthquake have affected large parts of the population. One third of the population is at risk of poverty, with children being the most vulnerable.1
Decreased space for civil society and activists
In recent years, the space for civil society has decreased.2 The constitution and the international agreements signed by Türkiye guarantee freedom of expression, assembly, and association. However, there is room for improvement in their implementation and a need to reform laws affecting the exercise of these rights and freedoms. Challenges in these areas affect civil society organisations, activists, and journalists.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
Strengthening gender equality
In order to strengthen and promote gender equality in Türkiye, Sida supports, among other things, a project aimed at fathers in socio-economically vulnerable families, to support them in their fatherhood. Sidas support increases the number of women in the labour market, reduces the gender pay gap and raises the awareness of employers and employees about gender equality and trade union rights.
Supporting human rights of the most vulnerable
Sida’s support helps strengthen the human rights of the most vulnerable groups in Türkiye such as women, children, displaced people, LGBTQI, human rights activists and media workers.
Empowering people and civil society organisations
Sida supports a network of 300 organisations that increase citizens’ participation in politics and strengthen cooperation and dialogue between citizens, civil society organisations and the public administration. The organisations in the network have different political perspectives, gender, background, ethnicity, faith and geography.
Development cooperation in Türkiye
Decades of economic and social development in Türkiye have stalled in recent years. The opening of negotiations for EU membership in 2005 has raised hopes for a strengthening of democracy. Nevertheless, there has been a setback in democracy, gender equality and human rights in recent years. This democratic decline has had far-reaching consequences in economic and social spheres
Türkiye is characterised by a political polarisation that calls for an improved dialogue between central and local authorities from the different political parties.3
The earthquakes that hit Türkiye in February 2023 caused enormous devastation and led to extensive humanitarian needs. Both national and international actors, including Sida’s partners, participated in a large-scale response. It will take a long time for the affected areas to recover and for the population to return to normal life.
Sida’s development cooperation in Türkiye supports organisations that stand up for democracy, human rights, gender equality and the rule of law.
Türkiye ranks low with regards to the rule of law. International human rights monitoring bodies point to violations of various types of human rights for example, rights to fair trial and freedom of expression. Many media outlets are controlled by the government, and critical media outlets risk legal sanctions and fines sanctions.
Türkiye transitioned to a presidential system in 2018 following the 2017 constitutional reform referendum. This change led to a weakening of the legislative and a strengthening of the executive power. An independent civil society and media continue to exist despite challenging circumstances.
Sida supports civil society organisations and organisations that empower people, document human rights violations, and provide legal support to victims of torture and violence.
Here are some examples of organisations, programmes, and projects that Sida supports:
Women victims of violence need access to legal representation in order to obtain justice. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, Union of Turkish Bar Associations, and the Turkish Ministry of Justice train lawyers to address the needs of vulnerable groups. They also run violence prevention centre(s) where people can get support.
Although Türkiye officially has zero tolerance for torture, there are allegations of both torture and other human rights violations in prisons and detention centres. Sida supports the Human Rights Foundation of Türkiye (HRFT), which provides support to torture victims and documents human rights violations.
LGBTQI people face discrimination and hate speech from the media, the judicial system, and officials. Sida supports the organisation KAOS GL, which works for the rights of LGBTQI people and collects data and reports on violations. This organisation in turn supports several smaller organisations working on LGBTQI issues to reach more people.
Significant progress has been made in the field of gender equality in Türkiye through the women’s movement’s struggle for equal rights. The movement has worked hard to ensure that women’s rights are recognised as human rights. Despite this, democratic backsliding has led to the reversal of these achievements. The emergence of an anti-equality discourse has increased the difficulties for women to participate in the labour market and in politics.
Sida supports civil society organisations and organisations that promote gender equality, empower women and prevent gender-based violence. Here are some examples of organisations, programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Sida supports the International Labour Organization (ILO), which works to increase the number of women in Türkiye entering the labour market, reduce the wage gap between men and women, and raise awareness among employers and workers about gender equality and trade union rights.
Involving fathers in gender equality work is important. Sida supports ACEV’s “Involved fatherhood by transforming masculinities” initiative, which targets fathers in socio-economically vulnerable families. During the coronavirus pandemic, online platforms and local fatherhood initiatives were used. As a result, all districts in the city of Izmir have adopted an action plan to support fathers of young children. In the city of Samsun, shopping centres have introduced changing rooms for fathers.
KAMER prevents gender-based violence and empowers women in southeastern Türkiye. KAMER conducts home visits, strengthens relationships between authorities and organisations, and runs various centres for women who have been victims of violence. The Purple Roof women’s shelter works in a similar way in other parts of the country.
- Poverty statistics in Turkey on the Turkstat website
- On civil society space in Turkey on the Sage Journal website
- About the political polarization I Turkey on The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) website on political polarisation in Turkey
- On Turkey’s Rule of Law Index ranking on the World Justice Project website
Updated: November 24, 2023