Femicides in Turkey: A Crisis of Governance, Justice, and Legal Protections

(Image Via Wikimedia Commons)

In September alone, there were 34 femicides and 20 suspicious deaths of women reported in Turkey. Over the first eight months of 2024, 261 women were killed, and this number is increasing daily. These killings are political, resulting from the disregard of the government’s judicial branch and law enforcement failures.

While Turkey has implemented domestic laws such as Article 6284, based on the Istanbul Convention to protect women and prevent domestic violence, these laws have not been effective. This was evident just last month with the brutal murder of two innocent girls in Istanbul by a 19-year-old man, which shook the entire country. One of the victims was decapitated despite having gone to the police multiple times seeking help. Instead, she was dismissed by the authorities. As a result, demonstrations against the government sparked all over the country. Protestors blamed the government for its failure to protect women, lack of legal enforcement, unjust dismissal of perpetrators, and they attempted to push the government to reapply the Istanbul Convention and Article 6284. Women, students, and all citizens marched to demand laws that protect the lives of women. However, the increasing rates of femicides show that there's a problem with the implementation of these laws. Not only is the legislation in Turkey insufficient, but the real problems arise from the executive and judiciary branches of government, making these femicides a political issue. The inability to stop these killings, stemming from insufficient political action, inadequate judicial authorities, and poor law enforcement, needs to change.

The Istanbul Convention, established by the Council of Europe, aims to prevent violence against women and domestic violence, creating a legal framework at a pan-European level. By implementing this convention, it could be the solution to femicides in Turkey. Article 35 of the Istanbul Convention states, "This article criminalizes any intentional act of physical violence against another person, irrespective of the context in which it occurs." Most women believe they could have more rights if this convention were properly implemented.

The signatory parties of this convention are encouraged to prevent gender-based violence and protect victims. Turkey was the first country to sign and ratify this European treaty in 2011. However, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, withdrew from it 10 years later with a presidential decree. The Istanbul Convention was opened for signature on May 11, 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. By January 2024, all EU members had signed the convention. On March 20, 2021, Erdoğan announced Turkey's withdrawal from the Convention by presidential decree, stating that it promotes divorce, undermines traditional family values, and is inconsistent with conservative values. The President's spokesperson stated that the original intention of the Istanbul Convention, to promote women's rights, had been hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalize “homosexuality," which is against the state's social and family values. This withdrawal has raised questions about its legitimacy, as the President didn’t have the authority to unilaterally withdraw without parliamentary consent. According to Article 80 of the convention, withdrawal should be done through notification to the Council of Europe, not via a presidential decree.

The main reason behind these femicides is the policies implemented by the current government, which protect the perpetrators. The sentences imposed on the perpetrators are not adequate for the offenses. Offenses are being committed under the claims of ‘crimes that are motivated by passion’ or by using the victim’s silence as consent. The Istanbul Convention led to the creation of Article 6284, which was adopted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on March 8, 2012. It is based on the principles of the Istanbul Convention and references the convention in its preamble, regulating measures for the protection of women, children, and family members who are at risk of violence. However, Article 6284 has a narrower scope and is not fully aligned with the convention’s principles. The key provisions of the Istanbul Convention are missing from Article 6284, Turkish criminal law, or civil law.

One of the key issues is the failure of the Turkish judicial system. The sentencing of criminals often results in inadequate penalties, early releases, and sentence reductions. This is achieved by the felons using policies such as ‘unjust provocation,’ where perpetrators claim they were provoked, blaming the victim. Another policy that helps reduce sentences is “good conduct abatement,” which allows for sentence reductions in cases where there is no prior criminal record. This also depends on the perpetrator's background, social relations, and behaviors, as well as whether they showed remorse after the act and during the trial process.

"We Will Stop Femicide Platform" is a non-governmental organization aiming to stop femicide and domestic violence. According to them, out of 46 women who sought help from the organization in January, only 22% of the women had a protection order under Article 6284, 9% stated that the protection order had expired, and 69% stated that they did not have a protection order. According to their data, in 2024, the perpetrators of the 31 women who were killed had previous criminal records. This clearly shows that the failure to impose sufficient punishments and other sentence reductions is encouraging perpetrators.

To protect women, the state should improve the enforcement of Article 6284 and ensure the implementation of relevant national laws in line with international standards. This includes accurate data collection on suspicious deaths of women and proportional and effective punishments that will discourage further crimes.

The increasing femicide rate in Turkey is a concerning situation and an indication of governmental and judicial failure. The withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, insufficient legal protections, and the failure to implement Article 6284 have made the country a dangerous place for women. Turkey needs to take urgent action to reinforce its legal protections and implement laws that prevent further killings of women. The contents of the article represent solely the ideas and opinions of the author and in no way the opinions of Bocconi University or the IUS@B association.

Works Cited

Amnesty International Turkey. "İstanbul Sözleşmesi'ne Geri Dönülmesini ve 6284 Sayılı Kanunun Korunmasını Sağlayın." Amnesty International Turkey, www.amnesty.org.tr/icerik/istanbul-sozlesmesine-geri-donulmesini-ve-6284-sayili-kanunun-korunmasini-saglayin. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Council of Europe. Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights, www.coe.int/en/web/impact-convention-human-rights/council-of-europe-convention-on-preventing-and-combating-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence#/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Council of Europe. Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. www.rm.coe.int/168046031c. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.

Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu. "Veriler." Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız, www.kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/kategori/veriler. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.