Femicide in Turkey: A Growing Concern

An Alarming Rise in Femicides

According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform’s report for October 2024, a staggering 48 women were killed, and 23 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances in Turkey.

October marked the highest number of femicides recorded in a single month since 2010, when the platform began collecting data, highlighting a disturbing trend.

The majority of offenders were those who were close to the victims, with 19 women killed by their husbands, 6 by acquaintances, and 5 by their partners. Additionally, 4 women were killed by relatives, 3 by their fathers, 3 by their ex-husbands, and 3 by ex-partners.

Furthermore, 2 women were killed by their brothers and 2 others by their sons. The offender’s relationship with 1 woman remains unknown.

The methods used to commit these heinous crimes were also alarming, with 33 women shot with firearms, 12 killed with sharp objects, 1 beaten, 1 strangled, and 1 run over by a car. This means that 69% of the women killed in October were shot with firearms.

The report also revealed that at least 36 women who had turned to the police or prosecutors had been killed since the beginning of the year, highlighting a failure in the system to protect these women.

The We Will Stop Femicide Platform emphasized the need for concrete solutions to stop these murders, stating, “As a platform, we have been publicly disclosing homicide data since 2010 after we identified the need. Unfortunately, ministries do not systematically record or share data on femicides.”

The platform underlined that it is the duty of the government to implement concrete solutions to stop these murders and added, “We will continue to fight for the implementation of all relevant ministries and mechanisms to fulfill this responsibility.”