Image by Arzu Geybullayeva.

November 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As women across the world took to the streets to mark the day, similar scenes were also witnessed in Turkey.

As in previous years, bans on public gatherings, roadblocks, heavy police presence and subsequent violence did not go unnoticed. According to some accounts, some 200 people were detained. The number of femicides keeps growing, and this year was no exception. According to We Will Stop Femicide, a local group documenting and monitoring violence against women, more than 400 women were killed in 2024 thus far. Another website called Anit Sayac (Turkish for “monument tracker”) reports the number at 412 for 2024.

Women's rights groups say the rise of femicides is the doing of the ruling Justice and Development Party and that the state's policies against abuse are inadequate and are heavily influenced by religious values and outdated norms that condone both abuse and abusers. The ruling government's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention has only worsened the environment of impunity for women in the country, even if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denies that this is the case.

Istanbul Convention

Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention — a treaty signed by member states of the Council of Europe to prevent violence and domestic abuse against women — over what the ruling government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) called the treaty’s “normalization of homosexuality.” At the time of the withdrawal from the convention, scores of ruling party supporters rushed to endorse the decision, calling the convention “wrong,” “marginal,” “evil.” Meanwhile, President Erdoğan assured women that the state will rely on national laws to prevent gender-based violence. However, numbers reported and documented by local women's organizations tell a different story.

As Esin Izel Uysal, a lawyer for We Will Stop Femicides Platform told DW, “Violence against women has taken on a new dimension. The crimes are becoming more brutal, and the victims and perpetrators are getting younger.” Exposure to violence within homes, attacks on the streets, and lack of changes on an institutional level attest that the promises to protect and prevent gender-based violence delivered by the authorities have thus far failed.

On the opposite end of the domestic political discourse is a proposal by Istanbul mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu who announced a new “360 degree action plan,” on November 25. The plan includes, among many things, making streets safer for women, introducing incentives for women's economic independence, and policy reforms. The mayor also promised a return to the Istanbul Convention.

“We have worked tirelessly to stand by women and children in this city, and we will continue to do so. Women and children will always be our priority. We will stand with you. You will never walk alone,” said the mayor, speaking in Istanbul on November 25.

Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Turkey witnessed a series of femicides. In October, two women were killed in Istanbul. İkbal Uzuner and Ayşenur Halil were killed by 19-year-old Semih Çelik, who took his own life after committing the crimes. Çelik reportedly had previous convictions and struggled with mental health. He also was connected to numerous “incel” (involuntary celibate) groups in Turkey, which are known for calling on men, via social media platforms, to rape, harass, and murder women. Rojin Kabaiş, a 21-year-old university student who was missing for 18 days, was also found dead.

Also in October, a two-year-old baby died after weeks in a coma after being sexually abused in Tekirdağ province. Speaking to journalists, the head of the Tekirdağ Bar Association, Egemen Gürcün, said child abuse has been on the rise in the province, “citing 283 requests for lawyers in child abuse cases from the bar association in 2023 alone, with 172 requests so far in 2024,” reported Bianet news website.

In September, a 26-year-old policewoman was killed by an assailant who held 26 criminal offenses. The same month, the country was rocked with the devastating news that eight-year-old Narin Güran's body was found near the village where she lived with her family. The little girl's death triggered country-wide protests and calls for state accountability.

In total, 48 women were killed in October and 34 in September. The data for November is yet to be shared by the We Will Stop Femicides platform.

Şebnem Gümüşçü, associate professor of political science at Middlebury College, recently penned a piece for the Wilson Center, in which the author arguing that the issue is political. The legislation, specifically Article 6284, which on paper serves to prevent all forms of violence and abuse against women, is not enforced, and the responsibility is with the state and its institutions, according to Gümüşçü. “Since 2012, hundreds of women have been killed by their partners or other family members. Many were seeking protection from authorities after submitting several complaints to the police. Authorities’ reluctance is partly cultural. However, the ruling party, the AKP, did not attempt to address the cultural components to prevent crimes against women and children. Instead, the party and its leader, Tayyip Erdoğan, not only failed to resolve the problem but exacerbated it in various ways. Erdoğan’s ideology and political concessions to different groups to stay in power played a crucial role in this process,” opined Gümüşçü.

The conservative Islamist narrative is one element, while weak institutions and protective measures are another. Official statements also add insult to injury. On November 21, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya blamed victims for their own murders on the grounds that they failed to follow the rules. Mor Cati, a leading Turkish NGO working to prevent and document domestic violence, responded in a statement blaming the authorities for the lack of state protection and support mechanisms, which often force women to seek their own solutions, including communicating with the perpetrator out of fear if they do not agree, they would subject to further violence.

“Yerlikaya's statement is also an example of the problems caused by treating the fight against violence against women as a public order problem in Turkey. It is not possible to combat violence by only issuing protective measures to women without any social work. We remind once again that the state's duty is not to blame women for being subjected to violence but to establish gender equality, protect women from violence, and punish the perpetrators, and that it should do so in coordination with the Family and Social Services Ministry,” read the rest of Mor Cati's statement.

Detentions

While most of those detained during the march on November 25 have been released, at least three foreign nationals remain in custody facing possible deportation. They are Azerbaijani citizens and queer activists Ali Malikov, and Parvin Alakbarova. Both have been subject to ill-treatment and beating. They are currently in Kocaeli Immigration Detention Center, one of many immigration detention centers where abuse and mistreatment are rampant, as per international watchdog reports. Friends who have had the opportunity to speak with the activists say the conditions in which the two are currently being held are inhumane and that both have been heavily mistreated by the police since their detention.