Turkey sees dramatic rise in femicides

DW (English)

Femicide, deadly violence against women or girls, is on the rise in Turkey. Aid groups say a lack of education and a social climate favorable to perpetrators is to blame.

Transcript

00:00Turkey, 2024.

00:03The country hasn't had this many cases of deadly violence against women in many years.

00:08In October alone, 48 women were killed, most by partners or family members.

00:19Every time I read about the murder of a woman, it all comes back.

00:23My body trembles, the adrenaline flows.

00:26I actually feel the pain these women must have felt.

00:33Abject fear still pursues Özgür Gülbaş whenever she leaves her apartment in Eskişehir,

00:39western Turkey.

00:41Five years have passed since she was nearly killed by her ex-husband.

00:46He stabbed her 16 times with a knife.

00:53Gülbaş carries a GPS receiver with her at all times.

00:57The culprit is back on the streets, with only an ankle monitor keeping track of him.

01:02If he gets too close to her, an alarm sounds.

01:04But she can't shake the uncertainty.

01:11I always have to carry this device with me and always keep the battery charged.

01:15But still, I rarely go anywhere.

01:22Gülbaş's voice can be heard at many a demonstration against femicide around Turkey.

01:35The offices of the We Will Stop Femicide platform are one of the few places Gülbaş still regularly

01:40visits.

01:41As a survivor, she does what she can to support women.

01:49These women have always supported me in my struggle for justice.

01:52And so I've decided to help other women and mothers who, like me, have become victims

01:58of violence in their own struggles.

02:05The activists plan the next protests.

02:08The organization is facing a potential ban.

02:12The government is accusing it of infringing on morals and family values.

02:18At the same time, Turkish women are increasingly having to worry about their safety out on

02:22the streets.

02:23At any time, I can be attacked or even killed by a man known or unknown to me.

02:30We can't allow ourselves to get used to living with that in this day and age.

02:39The number of fatalities recorded here keeps rising.

02:42By the end of 2024, there will be many more than the 400 already counted, not to mention

02:47unsolved murders.

02:54Women are allegedly falling out of hotel room windows or from their balconies.

02:59And the media report it as suicide.

03:01On top of that is the widespread culture of impunity that we have to fight against.

03:07After conviction, penalties for many of the perpetrators are reduced.

03:14This was the case for Özgür Gülbaş's ex-husband.

03:17Initially he was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder.

03:24For Gülbaş and her young son, it was a brief respite.

03:28But then came the appeal hearings.

03:33He was credited with time served in pretrial custody.

03:38Then the sentence was only one year in prison, and he didn't even have to serve all of that.

03:44At some point you start to wonder if you don't bear some of the guilt yourself.

03:50The courts and the authorities are always making you feel like you do.

03:56Turkey's opposition parties are outraged over the inadequate protection of women against

04:00violence.

04:01They accuse Erdoğan's administration of encouraging perpetrators.

04:08With just one signature, Mr Tayyip Erdoğan left the international convention combating

04:13violence against women.

04:15And with that, the state ended its support for our women.

04:21The people in the streets of Eskişehir lay the blame for the rise in violence against

04:25women on a lack of education.

04:31The more people read and educate themselves, the more understanding they develop for their

04:35partners.

04:39It's very clearly inadequate education, and a matter of how you raise your own children.

04:45Özgür Gülbaş agrees.

04:47She does what she can to keep her own son insulated against the culture of violence

04:51against women that's so widespread in Turkey.

04:55I want him to become a good member of society, above all, one that shows respect for women.

05:04I dedicate myself tirelessly to that end.

05:07Survivors like Özgür Gülbaş carry the banner of hope for Turkey.

05:12Hope for a world in which women can live without fear.

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