365 women killed in Turkey in first 11 months of 2017: Report

ISTANBUL

A total of 365 women were killed by men in the first 11 months of 2017, according to data compiled by the “We Will Stop Femicide” women’s rights activist platform based on news reported in the media.

The organization’s last report included figures for the month of November, in which 27 women were killed as a result of domestic violence.

The report stated that in November 15 percent of the women killed were victims of murder for “wanting to get a divorce,” 11 percent were killed for “taking decisions about their lives independently,” seven percent were killed for “financial reasons,” four percent were killed for “turning down [the man’s] reconciliation efforts,” and another four percent were killed over “debates about their children.”

Most of the women killed in Turkey in November were aged between 25 and 35, according to the compiled data, with 75 percent of the women in this age range becoming victims after wanting to get divorce.

In the same month, some 12 of the women were killed at their homes, five on the street, one in the car, two in their relatives’ houses, one in the garden, one while waiting at a bus stop, and one by the coast. The authorities had not determined where the other three were murdered.

Some 26 percent of the women were killed by their husbands, 14 percent by their fathers, 11 percent by their boyfriends, seven percent by men with whom they had previously broken up, eight percent by their sons, four percent by their relatives, and four percent by their former husbands. The rest could not be determined.

Some 52 percent of the killed women were shot dead by a firearm, 15 percent were killed with a knife, and four percent by suffocating to death through chocking.

The provinces with the highest femicide rates were Istanbul with four, the Black Sea province of Sakarya with three, the Mediterranean province of Mersin with three, the southeastern province of Şırnak with two, and the Mediterranean province of Antalya with two.

As for the cases of sexual abuse, 39 women were recorded to have been exposed to sexual violence in the country in November, while this figure totaled 29 for cases of child sexual abuse.

The report also stressed once again that women who are victims of sexual abuse tend to be neglected by their families, which pushes them to undertake independent measures for their self-protection. Among many victimized women, some end up committing suicide, the report stated.