"Şikayetçi olmaya karar verdim..."“I decided to file a complaint...”"...قررت تقديم شكوى"تصمیم گرفتم شکایت کنم...“Min biryar da ku ez gilî bikim…”

Talking about sexual violence, especially about the sexual violence we faced, and disclosing it to someone is often not easy. The fact that the decision to seek “justice” in whatever form and have to explain the incident repeatedly can be a challenging process for us. However, this decision can also help us regain a sense of control over our lives, of empowerment and of positive closure by bringing the incident to a definitive conclusion. Having information about the current system and processes for filing a criminal complaint can be effective in reducing worries about unfamiliar situations and feeling more prepared.

The steps I should know (having priority);

• After deciding to report violence, first of all we can file a report at the police station (or gendarmerie), to the prosecutor’s office, or to the hospital closest to where we are. (You can find the service areas and contact information of the institutions you can apply to via Istanbul Units Map) 
• • If going to these places is difficult for us, you can dial 155 police hotline (or 156 gendarmerie hotline) in order to report the incident and ask for help.
• If we are in an environment where we cannot talk, we can download and use the Women’s Support App (KADES) linked to law enforcement officials for emergency support. KADES is a smartphone app and it has been developed for immediate intervention in cases of violence or threats of violence.
• When going to the police station, hospital or prosecutor’s office, being accompanied by someone we trust can be supportive.
• It is our right to request a lawyer at any of the institutions where we file our report. Upon our request, a lawyer will be assigned to us (by the police station, the prosecutor’s office or the court).
• • If the violence we are subjected to is rape, filing the first report at a hospital may be preferable in terms of both reaching healthcare support as soon as possible and being able to collect and preserve the evidence as soon as possible.
• • If the attack has just happened, going to the relevant institution as soon as possible (within the first 72 hours) to ensuring the evidence is not lost without bathing or changing the clothes is potentially important. If we have already taken off our clothes we were wearing during the attack, we can put the clothes in a clean, and if possible, a non-nylon paper bag (as moisture in the nylon bag can cause evidence to be lost) We can close and seal the bag and take it with us when we file our report. It is important to try to pay attention to these as much as we can, but we should not worry if we are not able to do part or all of this step due to our circumstances, there are cases where sexual crimes are proven by other evidence.
• We can preserve written and visual items such as messages and photographs that may be used as the evidence of the attack, and if possible, we can take the photograph of the marks, injuries, and evidence of the attack by ourselves.
• Those who want to support us including service providers, can have wrong, misguided, and judgmental attitudes. Service providers do not have the right to make us feel bad, verbally or behaviorally (by blaming, intimidating, judging, being indifferent, intervening without consent. etc.) during the process.