Turkey records at least 31 femicides, 25 suspicious deaths in January

At least 31 women have been killed by male violence in Turkey in January, with another 25 dying under suspicious conditions, according to We Will Stop Femicides Platform’s (KCDP) monthly monitoring report.

The report showed that 11 women were killed by their husbands, four by their boyfriends, two by their ex-boyfriends and nine by their relatives, including fathers, brothers and sons.

According KCDP’s 2022 annual report, last year Turkey saw at least 334 femicides and other 245 women were found suspiciously dead.

Male violence which remains a serious problem in Turkey has further increased after the country withdrew from an international treaty to combat violence against women, according to rights groups.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year pulled Turkey out of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, after pro-government conservative and Islamist groups argued that it undermined Turkish family values and promoted homosexuality.

According to KCDP’s monthly report, 65 percent of the women were killed inside their houses, while 19 percent in the streets in January.

12 out of 31 women were killed because they wanted to make their own decisions about their lives, such as asking for divorce, refusing to reconcile, refusing to marry or refusing to have a relationship, KCDP found.

Men killed 42 percent of the women with firearms and 32 percent with sharp objects, the report showed.