Turkish minister works to prevent divorces

The Family and Social Policies Ministry is working on a project in which the family ombudsman will offer psychological support to married couples who are seeking to get a divorce.

The families who applied to court for a divorce will be offered support and they will be able to receive four-session consultations to address their problems if they prefer to do so, Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Sahin told reporters after attending a conference about violence against women held in Ankara yesterday.

“The family will decide [whether to continue the support] after four sessions. If deeper support and consultancy service is needed, then we will manage this with different methods. We will monitor the process closely. If the couples decide to continue [their marriage] with a happy and peaceful process, this would benefit us all,” said Sahin.

The legal ground is being prepared for the project, which is to be conducted jointly by the Family and Social Policies Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and family court judges.

“We have a law in the budget talks now. We will firstly prepare the legal ground by inserting this project into the current law,” said Sahin. She also emphasized that there wouldn’t be any pressure on families to attend the support sessions.


/HurriyetDailynews/