Women’s lives in Turkey are in danger.
Yesterday, Turkey withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Istanbul Convention is a human rights treaty to combat & prevent violence against women and domestic abuse in general. Turkey reports 1 femicide per day. This means withdrawing from that treaty is literally giving the women no guarantee of safety at all.
In 2019 alone, 474 women were brutally killed in gender-based violence. In 2020, with the lockdown, the number was 409. Again, with the Covid-19 lockdown, the number for 2021 is expected to be higher. Turkey’s legal system, by not giving these murderers their deserved sentences, legitimizes and normalizes violence against women. Men are often given reduces sentences after they claim to have acted on impulse or claim to be religious and dress smartly in court. And ironically, when groups of countless women tried to protest against it, they have been faced with police brutality.
Violence against women and the so-called “honor” killings are deeply rooted and widespread issues in Turkey. According to several studies, 42% of Turkish women aged between 14-60 have experienced some kind of physical or sexual violence by their husbands, boyfriends, or even strangers.
The government, instead of trying to stop this, is now backing up from the Istanbul Convention.
Istanbul Convention saves lives. Violence against women is political. Femicides are political.
We need your help. Women in Turkey need your help. This is serious.
You can help us by signing these petitions: here, here, and you can find more here.
You can learn more about the issue here.
Or, the least you can do, wherever you are, is to spread awareness.
Women’s rights are human rights. Istanbul Convention saves lives. Violence against women is political. Femicides are political.
