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From the Notebook of a Trademark-Patent Attorney
Ms. JANSET COME FACE TO FACE WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN…
Ms. Janset felt very happy
She had woken up early in the morning as usual with her husband, had a delicious breakfast together and chatted. In fact, every morning, she would leave the house with her husband, go down to the garage together and after kissing her husband, they would both head to their own cars and go to work.
But today, as usual, she had not gotten ready quickly, done her make-up in a hurry and left with her husband. Today was Ms. Janset’s day of pleasure.
Ms. Janset – unless there was an extraordinary situation – would leave home late one day a week, go to work late and enjoy her mornings to the fullest. Because once a week, Fatma would come to clean the house.
Ms. Janset would wait for Fatma to arrive in the morning and open the door for her. Then, she would describe the tasks to the poor woman, give her advice on certain things, and then lock herself in her bedroom and try on her clothes.
She would try to create different combinations from her very rich wardrobe, dress and undress without any hesitation, and then try on different clothes over and over again, without getting tired and with great pleasure.
But the best part was that on the days Fatma Hanım came, there would be a one-hour waiting period after sending her husband away. At that hour, she would immediately, quickly, get into bed that had not yet cooled down. She would have a short but wonderful sleep. That one hour was the best hour of Janset Hanım’s week. She would look forward to that morning.
Fatma Hanım would come to Janset Hanım every week for years. She was a calm woman who did not talk much unless asked, naive, and even more accurately, a downtrodden woman. If you looked carefully at her face, which had been worn out by early age, and her slightly hunched body, you would understand that this tired body had once belonged to a very beautiful, white-skinned, well-formed woman.
When the doorbell rang briefly and timidly that day, Janset Hanım was in her warm bed, wrapped in a quilt, her head on her husband’s pillow, and in a deep sleep
At first, she perceived the ringing of the bell as part of her dream. She continued to sleep and dream. However, when the bell rang for the second time, she came to a little more. A bell was ringing somewhere. I wonder where? As she thought, she remembered that Fatma Hanım was coming. Yes, it had to be Fatma… The bell was her own house’s bell…
She got out of bed with difficulty, half awake. She went to the door. She looked through the peephole. Yes, it was Fatma. But she had sunglasses on. Well, Fatma did not wear sunglasses,
Janset Hanım opened the door.
“Good morning Fatma, I fell asleep, did I keep you waiting at the door for too long?” she asked.
Fatma Hanım, who had taken off her shoes outside and picked them up, went towards the shoe cabinet without looking at Janset Hanım’s face, and heard her say in a different voice, as if she were whispering; “No, Janset sister, I didn’t wait too long.”
“What happened Fatma? Is there something wrong?”
The change in Fatma Hanım’s voice and behavior had caught Janset Hanım’s attention. Without hesitation, Fatma Hanım went to the ironing room to put on her work clothes and replied, “Nothing, Janset Abla.” This time, her voice was trembling even more.
“Come here, Fatma, there is something wrong with you. What happened, my daughter?” Janset Hanım asked what had happened in a stronger voice, grabbing Fatma Hanım’s arm and turning her towards her. Fatma Hanım’s voice, “Sister, don’t ask sister,” was heard with difficulty through the sobs.
Janset Hanım hugged Fatma Hanım, who was choking on her sobs, to her chest. She tried to comfort her with affection by stroking her hair. At the same time, she said, “What happened, Fatma, come on, tell me, why are you crying.” – she remembered that her father had been sick for a while – “Did something happen to your father, Fatma?”
“No, sister,” Fatma replied between sobs. After waiting for a while for Fatma to calm down, Janset Hanım separated from her and took off her glasses.
Oh my God, Fatma, what happened, did you have an accident, my dear, what happened?”
Poor Fatma, who was trying to hide her eyes under her glasses, had dark blood around them, they were swollen and had closed her eyes. Both of her eyes were tightly closed like a bloody fist… Neither the pupil nor the white of her eye could be seen.
Ms. Janset knew from her husband and friends’ conversations. They had talked one evening about how after severe head trauma, blood settles in the eyes, the surroundings swell and bruise, and the eyes completely close. Ms. Janset was very surprised by this information, how could a blow to the head close the eyes. This had to be a serious head trauma.
“Fatma, what happened to your eyes, did you have an accident, my girl? Did you fall off the minibus while coming here?” She could not think of any other possibility. She raised her voice, a little anxiously, “What happened, my girl, tell me, look, I am getting angry now.”
This imperious and determined voice was enough to make Fatma, who was already a timid woman, speak.
“Ahmet beat me this morning, sister, and he beat me very badly. He hit my head against the wall, I thought I was dying, I was dying thinking he would leave Ahmet, I screamed, please, that is enough, he didn’t stop.
” “My daughters woke up. They came to me in panic, crying, trying to help me, trying to take Yazid away from him, but he didn’t stop and started beating my daughters too
My daughters, don’t hit my mother, father, please hit us insted. ” As they shouted… The poor woman could not keep her words together and burst into sobs. She could no longer speak. She was just crying and sighing deeply.
Janset Hanım pulled the poor woman to the couch. She hugged her. She was completely confused. What was this like? What should be done? Fatma in her arms continued to cry, sighing so deeply that she was out of breath. Janset Hanım’s nightgown was soaked from the unfortunate woman’s tears. What should be done? Where are her daughters? How are they? What can I do?
Janset Hanım’s sadness gradually turned into anger.
She began to feel an irresistible desire to go and find this shameless man and break his mouth and nose. She was a strong woman. But would she have enough strength? What if the man was stronger, after all, he had the strength of a man.
Calling her husband crossed her mind. Her husband was a strong man. She wanted to go with him and show him to her husband and have him beat her up. She wanted to tell Ahmet, whose mouth and nose were broken, that women are not beaten like that, that if you go near Fatma again I will break your hands and arms too.
Fatma stopped crying. Now, she was just sighing. She was moaning and sighing and saying, “Sister, I am fed up, every other day he beats me, no matter what I do it is a crime, I give him all the money I earn and I still can’t please him. It really upsets me when he beats my daughters instead of me. Save me from this cruel sister… This guy will kill me and my daughters in the end.”
Janset Hanım had also calmed down. What was going through her mind a moment ago was starting to seem ridiculous to her. It was impossible, Ahmet was someone who was not worth even getting in touch with to beat her. “I have to do something,” she thought. What can I do? What can I do? As she thought to herself, she thought of calling the Ankara lawyer Hanım.
She left Fatma Hanım alone on the couch and got up. She picked up her phone. She was dialing the Ankara lawyer Hanım’s phone as she headed towards the bedroom.
Yes, the lawyer Hanım’s voice that gave her peace and confidence was in front of her. She told her what had happened in an instant. She told her that Fatma was important to her, that she had been serving her for years, and that she blamed herself for not noticing what had happened to the woman.
After listening to her silently, the lawyer Hanım told her what they needed to do;
First of all; It was important for them to go to a hospital emergency room and get a report so that the evidence would not be lost and documented.
Meanwhile, the lawyer lady was coming to Istanbul on the first plane. She would apply to the public prosecutor’s office about the abusive husband and initiate criminal proceedings against the defendant. She said that she would request his arrest after his interrogation.
In addition, in addition to the application to the prosecutor’s office; She would apply to the judge;
a- It will prevent the family residence from being sold by the defendant or from any transaction that will decrease its value,
b- It can prevent the father who uses violence from establishing personal relations with the children, or even from seeing them,
c- It can remove the husband from the shared residence and ensure that the residence is allocated to Fatma Hanım and her daughters, who are victims of violence,
d- It will prevent the aggressor, Koca Ahmet, from using the shared residence and even prevent him from approaching Fatma Hanım or the girls in any way, at school, at home, at work or anywhere they are,
e- It will prevent Fatma Hanım and her daughters from harming not only their bodies but also their belongings,
f- It will decide to seize the licensed weapon,
g- On the other hand, it will ensure that the state provides financial assistance to Fatma Hanım and her daughters,
h- If necessary, it can ensure that Fatma Hanım and her daughters are provided with 24-hour protection,
i- Or, depending on the developments and the situation, it can include the victims of violence in the witness protection program He stated that he could also provide protection measures such as changing identity, changing address and so on, as regulated.
Janset Hanım felt relieved when she heard every sentence of the Ankara lawyer. She felt that the feeling of trust was reducing her tension. She felt relieved when she hung up the phone after thanking her many times. What the lawyer said had comforted her. She could not prevent Fatma Hanım from being subjected to violence, but justice would be served.
The cruel man who did not hesitate to use violence against his wife and daughter would be punished. She felt the importance of justice and the confidence that came from believing that justice would be served.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE
– Tell the law enforcement officers (police, gendarmerie) in detail what you experienced during, before and after the violence and ensure that it is recorded in the report as you described it.
– Be sure to read the report before signing it. If there are any missing or incorrect statements in the report, request that they be changed. If you are sure that your statement is complete and accurate in the report, after signing the report, be sure to obtain a signed copy of the report for yourself and keep it.
– If the police or gendarmerie do not want to write a report, remind them that they must write a report and that they will be penalized if they do not do so, and tell them that they are neglecting their duty.
– When you apply to the law enforcement officer, police unit or gendarmerie command, it is the duty of the police/gendarmerie to refer you directly to the hospital and ensure that you receive a report of assault. If the law enforcement officers do not refer you to the hospital, be sure to request that you be referred to the hospital before the report is written and insist that this be done.
Assault Report
-Being examined and getting an assault report before the marks on your body disappear is an important issue in order to prove the violence you experienced.
– If it is not possible for you to go to the hospital to get an assault report, take a photo of the assault marks on your body in order to detect the marks. It will be important for proof to take a photo in a way that shows that the assault mark belongs to you and the date of the shooting is clear.