At least 327 women were murdered by men across Turkey last year, according to a report on the Bianet news website.
Bianet drafts a monthly list of violence perpetrated by men against women in Turkey as reported by the press.
According to Bianet’s “2022 Male Violence Monitor,” men killed at least 327 women in Turkey, with 236 of them murdered by their partners and 22 by their relatives.
Men killed 110 women because the women “wanted to break up with them” or “did not accept their marriage proposal.” They murdered seven women “out of jealousy,” two women with the aim of “extortion” and 10 for “economic interest” such as inheriting their wealth.
The number of women killed was at least 339 in 2021, 284 in 2020, 328 in 2019 and 255 in 2018.
In 2022, 32 women were raped and 238 children were subjected to sexual abuse. Seven hundred ninety-three women were the victims of physical violence, 548 of them by their partners. The report also showed that 442 women were forced into prostitution by men in the same period.
Femicides and violence against women are serious problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten every day. Critics say the main reason behind the situation is the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which protects violent and abusive men by granting them impunity.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked outrage in Turkey and the international community after he issued a decree in March 2021 that pulled the country out of an international treaty that requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is an international accord designed to protect women’s rights and prevent domestic violence in societies and was opened to signatures of member countries of the Council of Europe in 2011.
