MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Since the 24-hour curfews imposed in the Sur district of Amed between 2015 and 2016 were lifted, the rate of prostitution, use of drugs, and sexual harassment cases have significantly increased. The citizens of the district worry about the increasing incidents. Women living in the Alipaşa and İskenderpaşa neighborhoods of the district are afraid of going out in the evening due to the increasing sexual harassment incidents. In the last two weeks, women were subjected to sexual harassment by two men in the district. The residents caught the men and exposed them.

Women exposed the harasser

According to the residents, a young woman was sexually harassed by a 40-year-old man three days ago in the İskenderpaşa neighborhood. The young woman took shelter in a tea shop after being sexually harassed. The citizens in the tea shop went out and found the man. When women of the neighborhood heard the incident, they went out by holding sticks and exposed the harasser. We have learned that another incident occurred in the same neighborhood and the women of the neighborhood exposed another harasser before.

“We don’t feel safe in our neighborhood”

Ayfer Çelik, one of the residents spoke to us about the incidents. “Young men were beating a man; we didn’t know what was happening. Then, we learned that that man had sexually harassed a woman and we reacted to the incident. Women cannot go out in the evening anymore we don’t feel safe in our neighborhood. The young women working in another part of the city return their homes by watching their back. We are out of patience now.”

Residents demand a definitive solution

Another young woman of the neighborhood told us they are subjected to sexual harassment even in front of their houses. “The harassers are from outside of the district,” she told us, “We worry about what is happening in our district. The harassers, who were handed over to the police, were released the next day.” The young woman told us they had caught a harasser and the harasser threatened them by saying, “Police will arrest me today but they will release me tomorrow. When I am released, I will harass you.”