MÎHRÎBAN SELAM KAKAYÎ

Halabja- According to statistics published by the police department in Halabja, city of the Kurdistan Region, 66 out of 90 domestic violence against women cases in the week of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, were psychological violence cases. Counseling psychologist Şehîn Omer thinks the lack of a center providing psychological support to the women victims of psychological violence in the city causes, “women to come to a dead end.”

‘Women need a center providing psychological support’

Stating that there are centers providing psychological support to women only in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, Şehîn Omer said, “Most people living in the Kurdistan Region are poor and they cannot buy medicines used in psychological treatment due to their high prices. People cannot go to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to receive psychological treatment because it costs very high for them.”

Şehîn Omer told us that they, as counseling psychologists in Halabja, demanded the regional government to open a center providing psychological support many times, “Although we found a place to open a center, we did not receive any support to open it.”

‘Psychological violence cases are not documented’

Underlining that women are subjected to all forms of violence, she said, “The number of women, who are subjected to psychological violence, is very high. Most women are not aware of violence against them is psychological violence. They do not know what they should do when they are subjected to psychological violence. Since psychological violence is not reported, psychological violence cases are not documented.”

Şehîn Omer added, “Women need a center providing both psychological and legal support to them in order to fight violence against women.”