women, girls' chastity and marital fidelity. This is usually how it is formulated by particularly men, some of the women in more traditional circles and some professionals. Within this context, honour is the wife, i.e. the 'lawful wife', the sister or the mother, other women in the family and even women in a man's immediate environment. A man is obliged to keep a "protective eye" on all these women. Such an understanding extends the men's responsibility and increases the pressure on women.

The findings disclosed the perception of honour within the society, the factors and actions that constitute this perception and the meaning of "dishonourable" conduct. A male university student from Sanliurfa says, "Honour is the reason for our living. That means we live for the cause of honour. Without honour life has no meaning. You can go without money, but you must have dignity." This quotation from the report highlights how "honour" is regarded as a basic necessity.

The report also cites the reasons behind the honour killings:

1) socio-economic deprivations and underdevelopment; 2) patriarchal relations as a consequence of men establishing control over women; 3) role of the family within the society and how people raise their children; 4) social pressures which render men helpless and 5) personal factors.

The analysis of these findings point to four key messages that may shape recommendations for future action in Turkey to reduce honour killings:

1- While honour exists as an important concept within society, honour itself should be de-linked from acts of crime and violence.
2- The younger generation is actually more accepting and supportive of killing in the name of honour than their elders. This finding is reinforced by recent findings that 63% of the young women aged 15-19 expect to be beaten as part of their marriage. These findings show that the young generation needs to be trained profoundly for combating violence against women.
3- Some public officials actually contribute to honour killings by creating an environment and a set of attitudes in which killing in the name of honour is tolerated within the society despite it violates a women's ultimate freedom and rights.
4- At the same time, there are signs of hope as some public officials actively work through initiatives and policies to eradicate the notion of "honour killings".

Media should play a significant role in raising public awareness against honour killings
As it is stated in the report, the democratic institutions in Turkey should be fully committed to the rule of law and universal principles of freedom and equality for protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls. To get rid of the mentality behind the honour killings, state must introduce a zero tolerance policy, which should be supported by all parties including all state employees such as teachers, policemen, religious leaders, legislators, prosecutors, judges and NGOs, community leaders, families and the media.

In the report there are examples of public officials who are committed to actively protect the rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens, as well as those who support beliefs and promote honour killings. A police officer aged 25 from Istanbul says, "What does a person work and live for? It is first for his honour and second for earning his bread. If you are hungry, you can eat a small portion and feel satisfied. However, if one loses his honour, there is nothing to be done, no return. What is honour? It is your wife." Another police officer from Sanliurfa however cites how they help women escaping their plight: "We helped her to be sent to a shelter. Later on she went to another shelter in Ankara. They make them go from one shelter to another in order to make the family lose her track. After a certain time, if the girl wants she can leave the shelter."

The report proposes actions to develop a zero tolerance policy:

(1) Establishing shelters, station services and hotlines to protect the women and girls in danger; (2) Training state employees in gender equality and the social and personal ill effects of honour crimes; (3) Restructuring the national education system to promote gender equality; (4) Training young people, men, women, NGO activists, related professionals on honour killings; (5) Establishing local "discussion centres", especially for families; (6) Working with religious leaders and community leaders; (7) Empowering women and girls through education, training and social activities; (8) Working as a pressure group for the implementation of the recent legal changes.

According to the report the media has a critical role. The media, and particularly local media, should have an informative, critical and transformative role in raising public awareness; provide people with accurate information about both NGOs and other organizations; try to show that violence and murder for the sake of honour violates human rights by quoting social leaders, religious officers, people liked and respected by the society and popular people from the world of science, arts and sports; introduce good examples in the fight against violence, including training and NGO activities.
You can find the full version of the report on: http://www.undp.org.tr/docs/HonorKillings/HonorKillingsReport.pdf