Femicide on rise amid debate over law protecting women

ISTANBUL

Violence against women and femicide continue to be major problems in Turkey, with worrying statistics and daily updated death tolls showing that current preventive measures are far from sufficient.

Women’s rights defenders say that offenders were encouraged because existing laws are not being implemented effectively in Turkey, where 22 women were murdered by men in the last 18 days only.

Turkish Women’s Associations Federation Chair Canan Güllü said the main reason behind the surge in femicide was legal loopholes.

There is no defined article on violence against women in the Turkish Penal Code, according to Güllü.

“As long as the perpetrator of violence is not punished for the violence he committed, femicide will increase. Unless precautions are taken, the murders will not decrease,” Güllü said, adding that legal gaps should be filled and laws should also be implemented effectively.

Fidan Ataselim, secretary-general of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, pointed out that women are seen as easy targets, referring to the murder of Başak Cengiz, a young woman who was killed by a man with a samurai sword last week.

“Suspicious women’s deaths are on the rise because holistic policies are not followed.,” she noted, citing the ineffective enforcement of laws and the aggressive approach of the authorities toward women’s rights as the reason for this increase.

At least 345 women have been killed so far in 2021 in the country, according to the data given by the platform.