Five percent of women exposed to sexual violence in one year in Turkey

Five percent of women in Turkey have been exposed to sexual violence over the past 12 months, according to a report shared by Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık on May 20 at parliament. This number puts Turkey in fourth place in the world, following Kenya, Ethiopia and India.

Thursday May 20 2021 06:15 pm

Protesters chant slogans during a rally to mark International Women's Day in Istanbul in this March 8 photo.

Müzeyyen Yüce / DUVAR

Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık on May 20 made a presentation to parliament with regards to the violence targeting women, saying that five percent of women in Turkey have been exposed to sexual violence over the past 12 months.

Citing a survey of the Services General Directorate on the Status of Women, Yanık said that 26 percent of women have been exposed to emotional violence, 15 percent to economic violence, 8 percent to physical violence and 5 percent to sexual violence in one year.

The minister said it is only 11 percent of the suffered women that file a complaint with the police.

Yanık also made a reference to a UN report which puts Turkey globally at 13th place in terms of the percentage of women who have been exposed to physical violence in the country.

According to the results of the UN report, Turkey ranks 4th in the world in terms of the percentage of women who have been exposed to sexual violence, following Kenya, Ethiopia and India.

The minister said that the “Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers” (also known as ŞÖNİM) have so far given service to 702,734 women, 56,454 men and 97,515 children, since they were launched in 2013. ŞÖNİMs are responsible for coordinating the services of the shelters run or licensed by the ministry.

The minister further noted that a total of 125,047 women have so far asked for help through the KADES mobile application – developed by the police for reporting on domestic violence – since the app was launched in 2018.

Femicide rates roughly tripled in Turkey over the last 10 years according to a monitoring group. So far this year 154 women have been murdered by men or died under suspicious circumstances, according to We Will Stop Femicide Platform.

Despite the rising domestic violence, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in March withdrew the country from the Istanbul Convention, an international accord designed to protect women.

Top government officials have since said domestic law rather than outside fixes would protect women’s rights.