Turkey: CFWIJ Welcomes Dismissal Of The Defamation Case Against Journalists Who Suffered Verbal Abuse
Location: Turkey, Adana
Date: February 24, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Dünya Newspaper regional representative Recep Şenyurt verbally harassed his female colleagues for a year. Resigning after his abuse, Şenyurt also disgracefully sued for defamation case against the female journalist who revealed the incident. The court dismissed the case against the woman journalist. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ), welcomes the court decision. We call on media outlets which are ruled by male domination to respect their female colleagues. Women journalists exist. They will continue to do their job.
Dünya Newspaper's Adana region representative, Recep Şenyurt, verbally harassed his female colleagues in the newspaper for a year. According to the report of DİSK Basın-İş, Şenyurt, who resigned after the harassment incident, first filed a business case against the newspaper. Afterwards, he sued a defamation case against the female journalist, who declared that she had been harassed. The Adana 3rd Civil Court of First Instance objected to the case, to which Şenyurt applied for moral compensation of 26 thousand TL from the journalist he harassed. The court ruled that there is no need for compensation.
Şenyurt denied the allegations, stating that the female journalist broke her silence after one year. The regional representative claimed that he was slander and revenge. Female journalists who were heard as witnesses in the court stated that they were also verbally attacked.
The lawyer of the defendant, Tuba Güneş, presented statistics on the silence reflex of the abused women to the court. She also emphasized that her client seeks rights by notifying the newspaper management, not through gossip mechanisms.
As a result of the court, the defamation case was dismissed. The court ruled that there is no need for compensation.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the court decision. We closely monitor that many of our female colleagues are subjected to verbal or physical abuse and violence at the news outlets they work for. We follow these processes with great concern. We demand media organizations ruled by male domination to provide women journalists with the opportunity to work on the basis of gender equality. Women journalists exist. Women journalists are not invisible. Women journalists are the building blocks of journalism.
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.