The Perception of Discrimination in Turkey: Types • Agents • Dimensions
Discrimination, which frequently blends in with various rights violations, is a common phenomenon, especially for the groups which are more at risk, despite being prohibited in many international conventions and national legislation. Discriminatory practices which prevent disadvantaged groups from accessing human rights are increasingly “absorbed” by these groups and as a result, are perceived as part of daily life.
Facilitating the visibility of discrimination which has become a phenomenon we encounter as part of the ordinary course of daily life and do not think too much on, as well as combating it, is crucial to ensure equality. However, issues such as the social internationalization of discrimination, the lack of effective prevention and compensation mechanisms for the victims, and the lack of utilization of existing means of remedies or seeking rights, all contribute to rendering discrimination invisible.
The complex networks of relationships on discrimination, and patterns where the lines between the person subject to discriminatory practices and the perpetrator often blur together, when contexts change, the “victim” might become the perpetrator, makes it difficult to monitor and combat discrimination. The question of how to make these patterns a bit more comprehensible was the driving force behind conducting a research about discrimination across Turkey. We have tried to plan this research, also by taking into consideration that, there has been no research done which encompasses all prohibited grounds of discrimination in Turkey.
The aim of the research is to reveal, how discrimination takes place in the minds of people, what they understand from discrimination, to whom and on what basis discrimination is practiced, and what positions the victims take in the face of discriminatory practices. For this purpose, we have identified the sample group and the number of provinces to undertake the research, so as to represent a general overview of Turkey.
The research is not only focused on the perpetrators or those who are exposed
to discrimination, on the contrary, it aims to discover the experience, feelings and
thoughts of each group with regards to discrimination as well as reaching to a conclusion which can be functional in combating discrimination through this vein. We hope, this research will provide a framework for those who undertake work on discrimination such as non-governmental organizations, academics and decision-makers as well as the wider public in general.
We would like to thank the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, without whose financial support, this research would not have been possible. We would like to thank to research assistant Seçil Doğuç and Assoc. Prf. Dr. Cem Özatalay, who planned and reported this field research, to Cemile Gizem Dinçer for translation and to Bulgu Research Company, which implemented the field research.
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