Turkey – 173 Women Killed in First Five Months of 2017: Report – Femicide & VAW on the Rise
Author: WUNRN
Date: October 27, 2017
June 5, 2017 – Some 173 women were killed by men in the first five months of 2017, according to a report released by a women’s rights activist organization on June 5.
The report from women’s rights organization “We Will Stop Femicide” stated that 39 women were killed in May, more than any other month.
The organization also stated that 38 children and 17 women were sexually abused in May.
Previously, 137 women were killed by men in the first five months of 2016, meaning that there was a significant increase in the first five months of 2017.
In May 2017 six women were killed in Istanbul province, five were killed in the Aegean province of İzmir, and three were killed in the Marmara province of Bursa, the southeastern province of Gaziantep and central Anatolian province of Kayseri, according to the report.
“Women are tortured. They are killed in front of their children or with them. Unexpected death cases are also increasing, while some barbaric practices have been used to kill women such as even placing explosives in houses … All of these are symptoms of increasing misogyny,” stated the report.
The report also noted that news reports about killing of women in the Turkish media were decreasing even though the number of such murders are increasing.
Some 4,090 news reports about violence against women were published in the first 100 days of 2016, while 2,044 news reports about violence against women were published in the first 100 days of 2017, according to the report.
“This fall in press reports, even as violence against women was increasing, is another sign of violence against women. The closure of a number of media outlets and restrictions in press freedom in Turkey likely played a role in this situation,” stated the report.
It also claimed that cases of abuse against children had been closed by prosecutors even before they were opened.
“In one case, a 16-year-old child wrote about abuse by his father in a school writing project. His counsellor transmitted the incident to prosecutors. But the Children Monitoring Committee issued a report on the issue claiming that the child was schizophrenic. The prosecutors closed the case before it was opened,” the report stated.
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TURKEY – RISE IN FEMICIDE & VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN – 35 TURKISH WOMEN KILLED IN SEPTEMBER – REPORT
A total of 35 women were killed in September and 44 others were subjected to sexual violence, according to a report released by the Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu, a women’s rights activist organization that keeps track of violence against women.
Violence against women and murders have been on the rise and a total of 15 children were abused in September, the report also said.
“Women continue to be killed by the people closest to them when they want to make decisions regarding their own lives,” the report said, adding that 59 percent of the murders in September were carried out by women’s husbands, boyfriends and relatives.
“Women are being killed because they are not protected,” the report also said, criticizing measures to protect women from violence in Turkey.
The report also said three hate crimes were committed in September.
According to the report, which was prepared using news reports and notices the organization received from the victims or their relatives, the number of murdered women reached 237 in the first nine months of 2016.
The statistics in the report showed that of the 35 women killed in September, 43 percent were killed for unknown reasons, 34 percent were murdered for taking decisions regarding their own lives, 11 percent were killed for ending their relationships, 9 percent were killed for seeking a divorce and 3 percent were killed for economic reasons.
“Women can make decisions regarding their own lives, they should be able to do so and the result of it shouldn’t be them being murdered,” the report said.
Forty percent of the women were killed by unknown assailants, 23 percent were killed by their husbands, 11 percent were killed by their former boyfriends, 9 percent were killed by their former husbands, 9 percent were murdered by a relative or someone they knew and 6 percent were killed by their current boyfriends.
The organization could not determine the relationship status of 37 percent of the murdered women. According to the report, 26 percent of them were single and 37 percent were married.
While 12 percent of the murdered women were of undetermined aged, the platform said 47 percent were above the age of 36, 26 percent were between the ages of 25 and 35 and 15 percent were between 18 and 25.
A total of 35 children were left without a mother as a result of the murders.
In addition, the report said women were repeatedly subjected to torture before being murdered.
“Women are being killed by beating, beheading, burning, shooting and torture,” the report said, adding that 35 percent of the murdered women in September were killed by weapons and 29 percent were killed by sharp objects.
The report stressed that violence against women, child sexual abuse and sexual violence has been on the rise. According to the organization, a total of 303 women were murdered in 2015, higher than the number in 2013, which was 237.
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