Women expose harassment in arts in Türkiye’s own #MeToo wave

ISTANBUL

A growing number of women in Türkiye’s arts and entertainment industries are turning to social media to share testimonies of sexual harassment and abuse, in what many describe as the country’s own #MeToo moment.

The movement began earlier this month with allegations against male photographers, accused of exploiting their professional power to pressure women into non-consensual nude shoots, circulate intimate images without consent and commit sexual assault.

Within days, accusations spread beyond photography to include musicians, filmmakers and editors.

The solidarity platform Susma Bitsin, formed by women in cinema, theater and television, issued a statement on Aug. 22, praising survivors’ courage. “We follow the disclosures that started with a few photographers and grew with the bravery of survivors. We embrace all individuals who found the courgae to confront perpetrators.”

The group condemned what it called the structural misuse of creative spaces by men to manipulate and exploit, warning that impunity would no longer be tolerated.

Well-known actors have amplified the testimonies. Actress Aslıhan Gürbüz shared a friend’s disclosure of harassment by actor-manager Ertunç Uygun, who was convicted in 2021 for illegally misusing personal data.

Actress Doğa Lara Akkaya revealed she was harassed on a TV set at the age of 21, pressured into silence because the perpetrator was a “married and well-known actor.”

Photographer Mesut Adlin was dropped by the girl group Manifest after alleged inappropriate messages to a minor surfaced online, while actor Ozan Güven, previously convicted of assaulting ex-partner Deniz Bulutsuz, withdrew from the musical “Yedi Kocalı Hürmüz“ after public backlash.

Experts described the movement to the media platform Medyascope as a long-overdue reckoning. Legal scholar Fulya Özelkan noted that #MeToo globally began with activist Tarana Burke in 2006 and spread after the Harvey Weinstein scandal in 2017, adding, “In Türkiye, feminist groups raised the issue of harassment as early as the 1980s. Today, online disclosures merge with offline solidarity, creating new visibility.”

Lawyer Hülya Gülbahar, however, cautioned that without institutional reforms, the impact remains limited.