The Turkish authorities fail to combat domestic violence and protect victims in need of assistance despite courts issuing restraining orders and increasing penalties for abusers and murderers, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report released on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2022) The Turkish authorities fail to combat domestic violence and protect victims in need of assistance despite courts issuing restraining orders and increasing penalties for abusers and murderers, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report released on Thursday.
"As the cases examined in this report illustrate, Turkey's authorities face deep challenges in combating violence against women perpetrated mainly by former and current spouses and partners," the report read.
Human Rights Watch said, citing government studies from 2008 to 2014, that around four out of 10 women in Turkey have been subjected to domestic violence by husbands or partners at some point of their lives. Meanwhile, women's rights groups record hundreds of femicides (intentional killing of women) in the country every year.
The report also unveiled that violence against woman often continues despite courts issuing preventive and protective orders. This is partly explained by the fact that perpetrators manage to get away violating the orders without any sanctions, which, in turn, indicates the inability of Turkish law enforcement to fulfil its obligations and the inadequate coordination between state agencies to provide victims with effective protection.
"The Ministry of Interior's own figures show that between 2016 and 2021, 8.5 percent of women murdered by men had secured preventive or protective orders, and were thus officially being protected by the authorities at the time of their death," the report read.
In addition, many lawyers and human rights groups interviewed by HRW expressed grave concerns over Ankara's July 2021 withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. Even though the country has its own Law to Protect the Family and Prevent Violence against Women, which provides the necessary human rights base, the legislation fails to cover all issues related to violence and harassment, the report said.
Based on those facts, HRW called on the Turkish government to reverse its withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and reaffirm its commitment to eliminating all forms of violence against women at various levels.
Moreover, the human rights watchdog issued recommendations on how to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The measures include strengthening the data collection, increasing transparency in cases of violence and government actions, enhancing resources and support for combating domestic violence, and promoting cooperation with civil society organizations.
