Thirty-two women were murdered by men in Turkey in November and another 26 died under suspicious circumstances, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing data from the We Will Stop Femicide Platform.
Of the 32 women who were murdered, 17 were killed by their husbands or boyfriends and five by other relatives.
At least seven of the victims were murdered over their decisions concerning their own lives, such as asking for a divorce, rejecting reconciliation with a romantic partner or declining a marriage proposal or romantic relationship.
On November 2, in Hatay, nurse Elif Gözen, a mother of one, was shot and killed with a firearm at her home by her husband, Alaattin Gözen.
On November 3, in Adana, 29-year-old Fahriye Asena Eskikanbur was shot and killed with a firearm at the pastry shop where she worked by her former partner, M.K.D., after refusing his request to reconcile.
Femicide and violence against women are chronic problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten almost every day.
According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, at least 193 women were murdered by men and an additional 149 women died under suspicious circumstances in the first half of 2024.
Many 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 courts have repeatedly drawn criticism due to their tendency to hand down lenient sentences to offenders, claiming that the crime was merely “motivated by passion” or by interpreting victims’ silence as consent.
In a move that attracted national and international outrage, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used a presidential decree to withdraw the country from an international treaty in March 2021 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 the signature of Council of Europe member countries in 2011. Turkey had been a party to the convention until 2021.
Erdoğan’s allies have also been calling for further rollbacks, urging the repeal of a domestic law that stipulates protection mechanisms for women who either have suffered or are at risk of suffering violence.