There was a general recognition that standards and conditions in Turkish prisons needed to be improved and brought into line with international norms, particularly those operating in the EU in the context of closer EU-Turkey integration.

The contract will contribute to the improvement of institutional capacity of judiciary in terms of fight against drug addiction. In this context the contract will cover activities such as trainings, workshops, needs assessment, drug addiction awareness raising group programmes, family counselling programmes, establishment of a monitoring and integration

Mental health and drug addiction are challenges for penitentiary systems all over the world. The purpose of this project was to tackle these issues in Turkish prisons and to bring the country’s penal services into line with international and European standards.

Despite laws being passed in the 1990s to eliminate discrimination against women and a law to protect survivors of domestic violence being enacted in 1998, the country lags behind in implementing its national and international gender equality commitments. Women in Turkey continue to face challenges, with gender-based violence