Turkey - NGO gives Women prone to violence shooting training.

Turkey - NGO gives Women prone to violence shooting training.(HD).By Erdem Güneş.A Turkish NGO has launched a new course to teach women at risk of violence how to handle guns, citing the lack of state protection for such women. “We believe that armed women will be a deterrent for men with murderous intent,” Hayrettin Bulan, the head of Şefkat-Der, told the Daily News yesterday. The aim of the classes is to teach self-defense, Bulan said, adding that they also aimed to provide deterrence and safety to women who were not given protection by the state. The classes also include training on pepper gas, anger management and advice for using the legal system. But an official with the Family and Social Policies Ministry said it was impossible to solve domestic violence with more violence. A non-governmental organization, Şefkat-Der (Compassion Association), kicked off weapon training courses for “women under the threat of male violence” on Nov. 25, the Struggle Against Violence Toward Women Day.
The state should grant licensed, tax-free arms to women under threat in order to defend themselves in emergency situations, according to Bulan, who added that the association had received over 20,000 phone calls since they had announced the course. Bulan also said the association planned to spread the course across Turkey, which would also include transsexuals who are under threat of hate crimes. “This is only for self defense,” he stressed. Anyone over 21 is free to obtain a gun license in Turkey.Read the full story here.