Closing the international gender gap: is Turkey’s foot stuck in the door?

By Harleen Roop, Human Rights Volunteer

Turkey’s recent discussion to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention comes at a harrowing time given the country’s historical struggles to grapple with gender equality and prevalence of femicide, particularly domestic violence.

Photo source @Metro

In 2018, Turkish artist Vahit Tuna, hung 440 pairs of high heels around buildings in Istanbul, representing each woman killed by their husband in 2018. The harrowing installation represents a poignant statement regarding the prevalence of VAW in Turkey.

What is domestic violence?

The United Nations defines domestic violence as a pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.

Contrary to popular belief, domestic violence contains other forms of abuse aside from physical, including sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.

Any individual can be a victim of domestic violence, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, faith or class; however, domestic violence disproportionately affects women.

Defined by the World Health Organisation, femicide, is generally understood to involve intentional murder or women because they are women, but broader definitions include any killings of women or girls.

The relevant legal instruments

In a bid to tackle gender inequality, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) in 1979. Described as an "international bill of rights for women", CEDAW is a powerful international treaty.

On a European level, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (also known as the “Istanbul Convention”) is the first European treaty specifically targeting violence against women (“VAW”). The Istanbul Convention is also the first legally binding instrument in Europe dedicated to prevent gender-based violence, protect victims and punish perpetrators.

The Convention was first signed by Turkey as it was opened for signature in May 2011 in Istanbul, and entered into force in August 2014.

Although the effectiveness of the Convention itself has been questioned, the symbolic value should not be discounted; no Member State has ever withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention, yet, Turkey is considering abandoning the treaty, fuelling widespread protests.

Following the murder of a 27 year old woman by an ex-boyfriend, outrage sparked in Turkey, shedding light on the country’s high femicide rate alongside governmental efforts to repeal legislation designed to protect women from gender-based violence.

Experts say the decision for Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention is related to Turkey’s “inability to accept gender equality”.

Domestic violence in Turkey

The prevalence of domestic violence and VAW is every-increasing; in 2019, 474 women in Turkey were murdered mostly by partners and relatives, the highest rate in a decade, expected to be higher in 2020 due to the coronavirus lockdowns

In an interview with CIVICUS, Elif Ege, a volunteer at Mor Çatı, a civil society organisation founded by Turkish feminists to tackle VAW, described Turkey’s national law on VAW as “very extensive and provides many rights for women who experience violence, if implemented correctly”. She continued, that the preservation of gender rights laws have been a struggle due to several government attempts to repeal them and that although there is no official data regarding VAW (a barrier in itself) the situation is of gender rights has deteriorated.

Turkey’s national Law 4320 adopted in 1998 and amended in 2007, established a protection order system whereby a victim abused by a family member under the same roof, male or female, can apply directly or through a prosecutor for an order from a family court. However, the law has legislative and enforcement issues; excluding divorced and unmarried women, while women have also reported being mocked by police officers and sent home to their abusers.

Turkey lags in implementing its national and international gender equality obligations, with gender-based violence being a major concern, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, VAW in Turkey was at an alarmingly high rate.

Exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown, a surge in domestic violence rates has occurred worldwide, making the timing of Turkey’s discussion to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention particularly concerning.

In a bid to raise awareness, a global social media campaign used the hashtags ‘#ChallengeAccepted’ and ‘#BlackAndWhiteChallenge’ as women across the world drew attention to Turkey’s femicide by posting black and white ‘selfies’.

The challenge also highlighted the importance of the Istanbul Convention; Fidan Ataselim, the general secretary of We Will Stop Femicide, stated the “Istanbul Convention keeps Turkish women alive. We call on women from all over the world to spread this message and stand side by side with us against inequality.”

What is the future of women’s rights in Turkey?

Amnesty International’s Women’s Rights Researcher, Anna Blus expressed the bitter irony to the fact the Turkish authorities are considering withdrawing from a Convention bearing the name of its most iconic city.

She continued, stating the discussion is “deeply worrying, coming at time when COVID-19 measures, such as lockdown, have led to a spike in reports of VAW with many women and girls trapped at home with their abusers or unable to easily access safety and support services.”

“Rather than becoming the first Member State to withdraw from the Convention, Turkey should ensure the treaty is fully implemented and take immediate action to better protect and promote the rights of women and girls", said Blus.

Evidently, Turkey’s must address the gap between law and enforcement, while fulfilling its legal obligations under the Istanbul Convention; discussion to withdraw from the Convention is set to have dire consequences for women and girls, threatening their safety, protection and livelihood.

Turkey’s possible withdrawal has sparked a domino effect as Poland is also considering retreating from the Convention; this ripple effect could lead to disastrous consequences for women in Europe given the impact of COVID-19.

To promote and facilitate women’s rights, Turkey should deeply consider the consequences of femicide, as opposed to retreating from the historic Istanbul Convention which centres the welfare of women.