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Social Responsibility and Environmental Activities
The “No to Domestic Violence!” CampaignEnvironmental Health Donations and Aids The “No to Domestic Violence!” Campaign The theme of this year's conference “Domestic Violence and the Media” was part of a series of international conferences Hürriyet has organized jointly with the United Nations Population Fund. Journalists, media experts and politicians from Turkey and from other countries discussed the relationship between violence and the media on December 7-8, 2007 and tried to find solutions for the identified problems. Campaign Awards In November 2006, the “No to Domestic Violence!” campaign received a United Nations Special Prize, considered the “Oscar of public relations”, from the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). Organized since 1990 by the United Nations, the award is known as the most prestigious of the 22 awards granted by IPRA, currently celebrating its 52nd anniversary. In addition, the Izmir Karşıyaka Municipality, Turkey's only municipality to grant a human rights award, chose to award the “No to Domestic Violence!” campaign in 2006. Emergency Assistance Hotline Within the scope of the “No to Domestic Violence!” campaign and with funding from the European Union, the “Emergency Assistance Hotline” was established; it is available 7 days, 24 hours, to women who are victims of domestic violence. Established to provide legal, psychological and medical assistance to women who are subject to abusive treatment or violence domestically, the Emergency Assistance Hotline is expected to reach five thousand people in the one-year period from October 2007 to October 2008. Through the Emergency Assistance Hotline, psychological, legal and medical assistance is provided over the phone to women in Istanbul who are victims of domestic violence. Psychologists, specialized in domestic violence, inform and orient the callers based on their needs. In addition, a lawyer registered at the Istanbul Bar stands ready on line to provide legal assistance. Identification of the victims is kept confidential, but those who are under high risk are directed toward the nearest police station and the local Security Department is informed of the situation. In cooperation with a similar project of the Kadıköy Municipality, the hotline is made available to all victims of domestic violence in Turkey; medical support and shelter service are provided to women who are in need. The Emergency Assistance Hotline has 18 psychologists and 3 lawyers on staff, as well as 96 police officers selected from the security departments of Istanbul's 32 boroughs, all of which received training specific to this issue. The Emergency Assistance Hotline project received an award in the social responsibility field at the “Doğan Yayın Holding Creativity Awards” competition that is organized annually. Latest From the Campaign Of the total 4,676 calls received, 1,147 were from victims, relatives or acquaintances of victims. Of the 53 emergency cases, most of them were attended to by a police officer and shelter was provided. More than half of the victims complained about physical abuse, one third were subject to verbal or emotional abuse; a portion of this group was also subjected to social, economic or sexual abuse. The callers range in age from 15 to 70 and 2% of the callers are males. One fifth of the women offered psychological support by the hotline were directed toward specialized institutions. 50% of the victims spoke with a lawyer and 22% were directed toward the police station or the Bar Association to receive legal support. Although Istanbul was initially determined to be the service area for the hotline, calls were received from 50 cities and five countries. The campaign aims to expand the scope of the hotline, currently configured to provide services only to Istanbul; eventually it will include all of Turkey, as well as all countries around the world where Turks reside. Environmental Health Environmental health and protection at the printing facilities PAPER CONSUMPTION Recycled paper accounts for 21% of the paper consumed at Hürriyet facilities. Approximately 40,000 tons of recycled paper is used in newspaper printing. CHEMICAL TREATMENT Liquid chemical wastes from the production facilities are collected at the wastewater plant and sent to the chemical treatment plant. Chemically-treated wastewater is then sent for biological treatment. BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT Household wastewater produced by the facilities and chemically-treated wastewater are biologically treated and sent to wastewater collection channels, whose standards are determined by the relevant public bodies. The operation of the Company's treatment plants is under the supervision of specialized companies that analyze water samples taken from the facilities every day. In addition, every month, the treatment plants are inspected by official authorities. WASTE PAPER Paper waste is collected in special areas and sent to recycling. ALUMINUM MOLDS The aluminum molds used in printing are collected in special areas after production and sent to recycling. PLASTIC BINS AND METAL BARRELS Bins and barrels used to store tank water, solvents, oils and chemicals are collected in special areas and sent to recycling. LUBRICANT WASTE Used lubricants are not dumped into plumbing installations but collected in barrels to be sent away as waste. GAS EMISSIONS Hürriyet's newspaper printers run on electricity and therefore no gas is released into the atmosphere. PLANT CLEANING All plant facilities are regularly cleaned by a contracted cleaning company. CARE OF GREEN AREAS AND TREES All green areas of the facilities have undergone landscaping. Gardens are cared for regularly by professional firms. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS Industrial wastewater produced at the Company's headquarters (Hürriyet Media Towers) is regularly sent to a professional firm for treatment. Cooling equipment at the Company's headquarters was renewed four years ago. New-generation cooling equipment currently runs on an environment-friendly gas known as R 134a. All newly-acquired coolers and equipment using coolers have been specifically chosen in view of their environment-friendly gas content. The halon fire-extinguishers previously used in the buildings were removed and replaced by environmentally friendly and health-safety systems containing FM 200 gas; all are in compliance with EU standards. Donations and Aids The Company made the following donations to various social foundations and associations in 2007 (YTL):
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