The Biggest Challenge by Amelia Karakaya

The biggest challenge facing women and girls in Turkey is violence. The violence in Turkey against women and girls can range between physical and mental violence. Turkey was ranked 133rd out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Inequality Report. This is a staggering report and has affected many women and girls in Turkey. 

A survey made in 2020 by İstanbul’s Kadir Has University, showed that out of 1216 people from around Turkey, 68 per cent of the women thought that Turkey’s biggest challenge facing women and girls was violence and 63 per cent of the men said the same. When we compare these numbers to past years we can see that it has increased by 6 per cent. There have been many protests and social media movements to help spread awareness of this issue. Several protests were made because the İstanbul Convention, which was made for the purpose of preventing and combating domestic violence, was terminated in March of 2021. This resulted in a big step backwards. 

Women are exposed to violence in their own homes and by people that they know. 75 per cent of women that have been divorced or have been living apart have endured physical violence. In the last year, this number has gone down to 22 per cent. Although, this is still quite a high number. It is also estimated that 4 out of 10 women in Turkey are a victim of physical violence. 

A recent announcement made by the Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (We Will Stop Femicides Platform) said that 28 women were killed in January and throughout 2021, 280 women were killed in the hands of violence from men in Turkey. It was found that almost all of the women that were killed were killed by men that they had already known. Women and girls in Turkey say that they are afraid to walk outside after 8 or 9 o’clock because they might be exposed to violence. 1 in 3 women are being persistently followed in streets, social media, in workplaces; some are being constantly sent letters, text messages, social media posts by men that can not take no for an answer. This can be extremely frustrating and scary for women and girls. 

9 per cent of girls have been exposed to sexual violence. Most of these girls are child brides. According to some studies most child brides have been exposed to all forms of violence, namely sexual, emotional and physical violence. 14 per cent of girls under the age of 18 and 33 per cent of girls over the age of 18 said they had endured physical and or sexual violence. 10 per cent of these women have endured violence again in the past year. As I have stated before the rate of women and girls enduring violence is staggering amount. 

When we walk around in streets or in a shopping centre or anywhere else the amount of women and girls that have endured some kind of violence in Turkey is vast and even though it has gone down compared to past years it is still a large number. Turkey should put an end to this big issue and ensure the safety of women and girls all around the country. Men should start understanding that they need to take no for an answer and that violence is not okay.