Violence against women is one of the most frequent and widespread women’s human rights violations. Until recently, violence against women did not feature very prominently on international human rights agenda. This was also the case in Turkey. There remains a lack of information in Turkey regarding the domestic status and rights of women and a conspicuous lack of systematic data regarding domestic violence.
Violence against women, particularly domestic violence, is the main concern to address to establish male-female equality and overcome the chasm that exists between men and women in the private and public fields. Violation of rights in the private field, especially various forms of violence, is among the chief obstacles to women’s emergence into the public arena. According to a survey we conducted in Ankara:
Ninety per cent of women reported that their husbands subjected them to psychological violence such as yelling, insults, verbal humiliation and cursing
Forty per cent of women stated that their husbands subjected them to physical violence such as hitting, kicking, beating and actual physical assault with a knife or gun
Fifteen per cent of women reported that their husbands forced them into sexual relations against their will.
In view of this, the first objective we established as an organization was to form an effective legal mechanism against domestic violence. Work on this objective, which was carried forward in collaboration with other Turkish women’s organizations, resulted in Law No. 4320 On the Protection of the Family.
Other anti-violence activities we have conducted in collaboration with other women’s groups fall under the following general headings:
Campaigns to protest honor crimes and murders
Campaigns against physical abuse
Campaigns against detention rape and state sponsored sexual violence
Campaigns to repeal the law that lightened the sentence of criminals where the victims of rape were sex workers
Campaigns to protest virginity testing
Work to alter the Turkish Penal Code
Our current priority areas regarding violence against women in Turkey are:
Legal recognition and prevention of honor crimes and murders; subjecting these crimes to heavier sentencing
Legal recognition and punishment of acts of rape, sexual harassment, marital rape and domestic sexual abuse as crimes
Obligating the state to support independent women’s shelters; repeal of regulations that prevent the establishment of independent women’s shelters.
Other relevant documents:
Myth of Sweet Home: Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse
We Have New Rights!
A Study on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse in Ankara, Turkey
Domestic Violence and Family Life as Experienced by Turkish Immigrant Women in Germany
It is Time To Say No!
