Psychologists and women’s rights activists in Turkey are warning authorities not to blame rising violence solely on mental health issues, urging them to address the broader systemic factors behind the surge. They point to the withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention and the failure to enforce Law 6284, designed to protect women, as major reasons behind the spike in femicides and violent assaults.
There has been nationwide outrage at the brutal killings of two young women in Istanbul on 4 October by 19-year-old Semih Çelik, who later committed suicide. While the authorities initially cited Çelik’s psychological problems and alleged drug use, women’s rights groups argue that this narrative sidesteps the deeper issue of impunity for male violence. “Madness is not an excuse. You never hear of a woman suffering a breakdown and killing two men back-to-back,” said Fidan Ataselim, General Secretary of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, during protests in İstanbul.
In addition to femicides, other violent crimes have escalated, including a mass stabbing in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district. Experts stress that mental health cannot be used to excuse or justify these attacks. They argue that the root cause of the violence is the state’s failure to enforce protective laws like Law 6284, which allows for restraining orders. “The government’s policies and the impunity around violent crimes are creating learned helplessness in victims and emboldening perpetrators,” said lawyer Ceren Kalay Eken.
Women’s rights activists have repeatedly called for the reinstatement of the Istanbul Convention, from which Turkey withdrew in 2021, warning that legal gaps and unchecked male violence are turning femicides into an epidemic. This year alone, 296 women have been murdered, and activists argue that without systemic reforms, the violence will continue to escalate.
