Gender-sensitive women lawyers' perceptions and positions in handling cases of violence against women in Ankara

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2016

Öğrenci: CANSU OKAN

Danışman: AYŞE NUR SAKTANBER

Özet:

This thesis explores how the issue of violence against women appear in the discourses in general and perceptions and positions in particular, of gender-sensitive women lawyers who handle cases of violence against women on the case of women lawyers in Ankara Bar Association. The aim of this thesis is to understand how the daily life experiences and the gender identities of women lawyers are related to their professional experiences and how these experiences shape their approach to the issue of violence against women. Based on the interviews and courtroom observations, this thesis elaborates on how gender-sensitive women lawyers define their own positions, both professionally and personally, within the legal boundaries that they have to work in. This thesis argues that the women lawyers who were interviewed in this study, by adapting a feminist perspective and as defenders of women’s rights, perceive law as an instrument for carrying out their struggle. With their mediatory positions between the law and the individuals who seek legal guidance, they criticize and attempt to transform the existing legal procedures, regulations, attitudes of other professionals and legal parlance.