Empowering Recovery: The Green Crescent Women’s Forum on Addiction and Recovery (WFAR) and Gender-Responsive Models in Collaboration with the Gender Working Network (GWN)

This presentation will be featured at Indonesia 2025, on the 17.09.2025.

Authors:

Sedef Erçetin Gencosmanoğlu

Hendrée E. Jones

Abstract:

The Turkish Green Crescent Society (TGCS), established in 1920, has long been a pioneer in addiction prevention and treatment in Türkiye. Among its flagship services are the Green Crescent Counseling Centers (YEDAM), which provide free psychosocial support to individuals and their families through a holistic, family-inclusive recovery model. This model acknowledges the essential role families play in promoting long-term recovery and emotional healing.

A cornerstone initiative of TGCS is the Women’s Forum on Addiction and Recovery (WFAR), organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Services. This international platform addresses the gender-specific challenges women face in addiction and recovery, advocating for trauma-informed, stigma-reducing, and empowerment-oriented practices in both national and global recovery frameworks.

This case study showcases the evolution and impact of WFAR and TGCS’s broader female-centered recovery models. Drawing on evidence-based practices, the presentation explores how trauma-sensitive care, family involvement, and community-based engagement significantly improve outcomes for women navigating addiction recovery.

Qualitative findings from YEDAM underscore the strong correlation between family-oriented models and improved mental health, reduced substance use, and sustained long-term recovery in women. Case narratives further highlight the transformative power of services that are safe, voluntary, and rooted in dignity.

The initiative is grounded in ethical principles aligned with human rights and represents a successful model of civil society–government cooperation. Ultimately, it reinforces the need for gender-responsive recovery models that uphold dignity, autonomy, and sustainability.

This session, in collaboration with the Gender Working Network (GWN), including contributions from Prof. Dr. Hendree Jones, will also introduce practical tools for developing gender-sensitive treatment approaches within mixed-gender treatment settings.