Femicide in Turkey

Violence against women is not uncommon in Turkey. The recent killing of 27-year-old student Pinar Gültekin at the hands of her former boyfriend, however, sent shock waves through the country. The woman from Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province was beaten and strangled to death by the man. He then tried burning the corpse in a nearby forest. After failing to do so, he disposed of her corpse in a bin, which he then filled with concrete.

Several days after the murder, the man was apprehended thanks to CCTV footage captured at a gas station where he was loading a fuel canister into his vehicle. The police say the man acted out of jealousy. According to the We Will Stop Femicide online platform, this year alone, 27 women were murdered for similar motives; a further 23 suspected femicides were recorded as well.

Violence against women and so-called “honour” killings are deeply rooted and prevalent issues in Turkey. According to a 2009 study on prevention strategies, 42% of Turkish women aged between 15–60 had suffered some physical or sexual violence by their husbands or partners.

Every year, the problem is getting worse: in 2019, 474 women were murdered, mostly by partners and relatives, the highest rate in a decade in which the numbers have increased year on year. The figures for 2020, affected by coronavirus lockdowns, are expected to be even higher.

“Violence against women is a problem everywhere. In Turkey we have a strong women’s rights movement but we also face a lot of opposition,” said Fidan Ataselim, We Will Stop Femicide’s general secretary. “In the last 20 years society has changed a lot: more women are demanding their right to work and go to university. The more choices we have, the more intense the backlash gets.”

Turkey was the first country to adopt a 2011 Council of Europe convention on gender-based violence and domestic violence, a groundbreaking legal framework designed to protect victims and effectively prosecute offenders, known as the Istanbul Convention.

Since then, however, even basic rights and protections won by Turkish women have come under threat as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s conservative Justice and Development party (AKP) has tried to roll back legislation politicians say threaten traditional family values.