Coronavirus lockout deadly for women in Turkey, after 21 deaths in 20 days

Lock-out and social removal measures to combat the new coronavirus (COVID-19) have resulted in increased reports of domestic violence and abuse around the world. In Turkey, however, lockdowns are proving fatal for some women, as a women’s rights group reported 29 deaths of women in March 2020.

France and Australia reported for the first time an increase in the figures for domestic violence since the release of COVID-19 and the issuance of home maintenance orders. Research has shown that forced domestic life and isolation only encourage domestic violence within the household, taking into account factors such as financial stability and unemployment, both of which are growing concerns during the pandemic.

The deaths were reported by the We Will Stop Womens Murder platform which, according to their declaration“strives to stop femicide and protect it from violence” and monitors all types of violations of women’s rights. The group said that many women who had contacted the group were afraid to report violence from their husbands or partners, which had developed under conditions of family isolation.

According to the group, 29 women were kill by men in March this year, 21 have been killed in 20 days since March 11, when the government advised the country to stay at home to avoid spreading the virus. Among the deaths, 18 women were killed at home (14 since the order to stay at home), four at work, two while traveling, one in the field and two in the middle of the street.

The group’s report was presented to the Turkish Ministry of the Interior reported that the rate of femicide in the country had decreased by 22% in the first quarter of the year compared to last year. Last month, the ministry reported that the rate of femicide had decreased by 32% in the first two months of 2020 compared to last year.

Some of them have given up, “the group reported.” Some realized that violence against women increased after they returned home after the universities closed. Women also found it difficult to file an injunction because the women were elderly or sick.

Last week, Dilek Kaya was shot and killed by her military officer boyfriend at home in the eastern town of Diyarbakir, after much discussion. The same week, 46 years old Hatice Kurt was shot dead on the street in the seaside resort of Rize on the Black Sea by her ex-husband Ali Riza Havuz, 61, for allegedly posting a photo of her online.

The We Will Stop Women Murder platform reported earlier, 474 women had been killed in Turkey last year. According to the group, 27 women were killed for apparent economic reasons while 114 women were killed either because they wanted a divorce, because they refused to be reconciled, or because they refused a request for friendship . Some 218 women were killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, partners or ex-partners, while 101 women were killed by their relatives.

A total of 185 women were shot with a gun, 101 women were stabbed to death, 29 women were beaten to death, 27 women were assaulted to death and six women were killed with chemical drugs in 2019.

At one point, Turkey led the fight for women’s equality. The secular civil code of 1926 granted Turkish women the same civil rights as men. Religious and polygamous marriages are no longer recognized and women have the right to file for divorce.

In 1930 Turkish women could vote and even run for political office. In 1935, 18 women were elected to the Turkish Parliament, at a time when only eight women were sitting in the United States Congress and only nine were sitting in the British Parliament. In France and Italy, women only obtained the franchise in 1945, 15 years after women in Turkey.

However, in recent times, Turkey has experienced an appalling turning point in the women’s rights movement. In one speech Given in 2014, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan said: “Women and men cannot be treated equally. It is unnatural”.

Their characters, their habits and their physique are different You cannot place a mother who breastfeeds her baby on an equal footing with men, “he said. You cannot make women work in the same jobs like men, like in communist regimes. You can’t give them a shovel and tell them to do their job. It’s against their delicate nature.

Turkey has ratified a 2011 Council of Europe agreement, the Istanbul Convention, which prioritizes gender equality. He also passed a law in 2012 to protect women. But women’s groups say the authorities are not honoring their commitments under the Convention.

The reason for the increase in violence is that the judicial and security forces are not using the available mechanisms, said Canan Gullu, head of the Turkish Federation of Women’s Associations. Reuters. The perpetrators also believe that they can get reduced sentences through good behavior and act like a victim, she said.

During the coronavirus epidemic, hotlines for victims of domestic violence saw an increase in calls. Most of the appellants complain of physical violence, said Canan Gullu, head of the Turkish Federation of Women’s Associations. Al-Monitor, adding that emotional abuse was the second most common complaint.

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