UNITED

NATIONS

Council

GENERAL

E/CN.15/1996/11/Corr.1

23 May 1996

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION

AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Fifth session

Vienna, 21-31 May 1996

Item 3 of the provisional agenda

Page 11

Paragraph 41 should read

41. Turkey considered violence against women as one of the serious problems of today and a cause of concern. The problem was raised during the 1980s by the feminist movement, and had remained on the agenda of the country since then. Together with efforts to raise awareness about the subject of abused women, six shelters had been set up. A data and information bank and a special unit providing free legal advice for female victims of violence had been set up within the Directorate-General for the Status and Problems of Women. There were three advisory centres run by volunteers, two of which were founded by voluntary associations. Studies on violence against women revealed that the perpetrators of such crimes were often the spouse or partner, and were usually motivated and justified by traditional considerations linked to family honour. It was considered that the role of the media in preventing such violence in the family was of considerable importance. Action was taken by the Ministry of State in charge of women affairs permitting only the night-time viewing of television programmes which portrayed violence as part of everyday life, and which could have harmful effects on young persons. A bill to improve legislation on the status of women was at the final stage of drafting. Turkey suggested a series of elements to be included in the plan of action.