JINHA

AMED – R.D. says she is unable to obtain protection from her ex-husband, who has been threatening her with death for the last three years, because of the neglect of her police and employer. Her ex-husband will be released from jail in one month.

Turkey, in spite of being a signatory to a number of international agreements designed to prevent violence against women, gives remarkably light sentences to perpetrators of violence against women compared to perpetrators of other crimes. The policy has contributed to an epidemic of femicides in the country.

R.D., who works as a laboratory assistant at Dicle University in the city of Diyarbakır (Amed in Kurdish), says she fears being one of the femicide victims she reads about in the newspaper.Her imprisoned ex-husband communicates death threats to her from prison on a weekly basis. Although in theory she has received a protection order, no institution is willing to ensure her safety.

In spite of a court order for R.D.'s protection issued six months ago, police have taken no steps to ensure her safety. She says she has repeatedly called the police, but they have never answered the phone. When she went to the police station in person to ask what steps they were taking to protect her, they replied that they had taken a written report on her situation.

R.D. also asked her workplace for reassignment in line with the court order, going as far as the rector's office. Officials responded by telling her to quit if she was scared and making light of the possibility of her death.

R.D.'s ex-husband, S.K., began his violence and threats against her soon after they married in 2011. After three months of abuse, she filed for divorce. Because they had been married for less than six months, R.D. was able to annul the marriage by presenting doctors' reports on her injuries. Shortly thereafter, S.K. was arrested for selling drugs. He will be released from jail in one month.

"I don't want protection when I'm dead, I want it when I'm alive. We hear stories about women being killed every day. But when you're alive, they leave you at the mercy of your killer," she said.

R.D. has applied to the Human Rights Association (İHD) for legal aid.

(sg/fk/cm)