In terms of women’s shelters, Turkey sets a unique example due to the fact that the shelters are mainly established and run by public actors, whereas in other countries these institutions are mainly run by NGOs while funded by public authorities. By looking at the relation between the feminist movement and the public authorities from 1990s onwards, this paper argues that in the case of the public women’s shelters, the engagement of non-public actors in the policy making processes did not result in the retreat, but in the perpetuation of the state’s presence.