Elif Başak SARIOĞLU

Violence against women and children is a major problem in Turkey. The number of court cases which include violence against women and children has increased substantially in recent years. In the legal proceedings, particularly in the case of homicide of women, the release of the defendant, or good conduct abatement gathers a lot of criticism. In cases where the public feels that the justice mechanism fails to be fair, individuals respond through social media. After legislative, executive and judicial power, “media” is considered to be the fourth power. In addition, it is gaining more power in digitalization era. Twitter provides its users the opportunity to shared their messages fast and easy. The study was supported by examples of “Tweets” prepared to raise awareness of the violence.

Raising awareness through social media is becoming more popular among parts of society, with the hope that it will have an impact on the legal processes, favoring the defendant in terms of fairness and speed. This study focuses on several cases involving violence against women and children in which the reactions on social media has resulted in reversal of the courts’ decisions. The analysis confirms that social media is increasingly used as an outside force for proper functioning of the justice.

Keywords: Social Media, Violence Against Women, Violence Against Children, Justice, Turkey