Patriarchy, violence and the legal system: Experiences of female lawyers in violence against women

In policies to combat violence against women, constitutional regulations are prepared to protect women, but since they are not properly implemented, women continue to be victimized, subjected to violence and ultimately killed. This thesis addresses the issue of violence against women in the context of gender inequalities and evaluates it from a feminist perspective based on the experiences of women lawyers within the legal system in Turkey. The aim of this thesis is to reveal the problems experienced by women lawyers in cases of violence against women, the processes of experiencing these problems and the ways of coping with these problems. The study is based on field research conducted with feminist women lawyers affiliated to Eskişehir, İzmir and İstanbul bar associations. The results of the research reveal that women lawyers are exposed to the problems they experience as women in the professional field as well. It also reveals that the policies produced in the fight against violence against women are insufficient and that laws and conventions are rendered dysfunctional at the implementation stage. This research aims to contribute to revealing the laws, regulations and practices that make it difficult to prevent or punish violence against women in the patriarchal legal system and to make visible the experiences of feminist women lawyers who struggle against this system.