Gender based violence in Turkey has been on the rise both in the domestic and public sphere, and four out of 10 women in the country have experienced intimate partner violence, according to a recent report by United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on violence against women Reem Alsalem.
Official statements by Turkish authorities exacerbate gender-based violence, Alsalem noted, calling on the government to reinstate the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, which Turkey left in 2021.
In the past six years, police records show a steady increase in domestic violence throughout Turkey. The number of cases per year rose to 268,817 in 2021, nearly doubling 2016’s 162,110 figure.
Alsalem said insufficient and ineffective protection measures were a key issue, and that in many cases of murder committed by former or current intimate partners, victims had previously reported violence to the police, but sufficient and effective protection was not provided.
The Istanbul Convention came about following a similar case. The convention was drafted after the landmark European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling in the case of Nahide Opuz v Turkey that the country had failed to take reasonable steps to protect its citizen, and that gender-based violence was a form of discrimination under the law. Academics from Turkey were heavily involved in the drafting of the key document and it was signed in Istanbul, hence its name.
At least 3,175 women in Turkey have been murdered in a femicide between 2010 and 2020, according to official figures. The perpetrators were almost always intimate partners, former partners, or family members. Under reporting is an issue and the actual figure is believed to be much higher.
The report also addresses violence against women in politics, highlighting the low representation of women in parliament and the fact that there is only one woman in the Presidential Cabinet. It notes that one of the main obstacles to women’s participation in political and public life is the risk of gender-based violence or harassment.
Highlighting that the government does not include women’s organisations in decision-making processes concerning women’s rights, Alsalem further stresses that female human rights defenders, including Kurdish women, face violations of their rights to freedom of expression, thought, association, and peaceful assembly.
Child marriages in the country are another issue highlighted in the report. It states that although the legal age of marriage under the Turkish Civil Code is 18, with parental or guardians’ consent, it can be reduced to 17, and in exceptional cases, with court approval, to 16. While religious marriages are not recognised by Turkish authorities, they are met with tolerance.
A survey conducted in 2014 revealed that over 26 percent of women were married when they were minors. Twenty percent of child brides were forced into their marriages.
Refugee and migrant women are less likely to report crimes against their persons due to fear of deportation, and less able to relocate or seek protection, Alsalem found.
The report was released as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s ongoing 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council that began on 19 June in Geneva.
