Istanbul tops the list with most rape cases in Turkey

ANKARA - Hürriyet

Over 1,480 lawsuits were filed in Istanbul over rape incidents in 2011, giving the country’s most populated city the highest number nationwide, according to Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin.

In response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by Republican People’s Party (CHP) Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Ergin disclosed the nationwide numbers of court cases related to rape, child abuse and sexual abuse incidents in 2011. Istanbul had the highest number of rape lawsuits at 1,486, as well as 2,488 child abuse incidents and 2,223 sexual abuse cases.

İzmir followed Istanbul with 568 rape cases, while Ankara came second in child abuse cases, with a total of 1,162. İzmir was also the second highest number city in sexual abuse cases after Istanbul, with 901 reported incidents.

Konya, the Central Anatolian city known as one of the country’s most conservative, made it into the top five cities with the highest number of child abuse cases at 609 lawsuits. Some 354 rape cases and 438 sexual abuse cases were also recorded in the city.

Adana had 461 rape cases in 2011 with 656 child abuse cases and 291 sexual abuse lawsuits. Antalya witnessed 432 rape cases, with 548 in cases of child abuse and 473 sexual abuses. Gaziantep, Bursa and Mersin all registered highly, with 558, 545 and 500 cases of child abuse respectively.

The numbers were relatively low in the eastern regions, with Diyarbakır registering 92 rape cases, 193 child abuse cases, and 75 sexual abuse cases. Tunceli had three legal cases in rape, five in child abuse, and three in sexual abuse.

Ergin noted that some of the incidents recorded as rape were also recorded as child abuse. “Sadly, this footnote forces us to face the fact that children are victims of incidents beyond abuse - meaning rape. That footnote on its own is a heartbreaking, traumatic situation,” he said.

Tanrıkulu, who had submitted the inquiry, stressed that all 81 provinces had recorded legal cases of sexual abuse, rape and child abuse. “It shows that these issues should be dealt with in Turkey as a priority. The country is in a unified state of rotting, and these numbers show that. The Parliament should immediately form a research commission and shed light to this issue. I will take steps regarding this,” he said.