JINHA

NEWS CENTER – According to information compiled by JINHA, men killed 40 women in Turkey in the month of October. Men also sexually abused 13 children and committed violence against 26 women.

The AKP government’s war policies continue to drive a rise in violence, sexual assaults, and sexual abuse against women and children. According to information JINHA compiled from local newspapers, news agencies, and news websites, men killed 40 women in Turkey in the month of October; sexually abused 13 children; and committed violence against 26 women. Compared to the previous month, this represents an increase in femicides of approximately 67% and an increase in child sexual abuse of 160%.

As the AKP’s war policies incite the use of violence, women’s lives continue to be in danger in Turkey. As state representatives use sexist discourse and discourse that legitimizes violence, women are killed and affected by harassment, rape, and violence in the streets, in their homes, and in their workplaces. While men in Turkey killed 24 women in September, they killed 40 in October. 13 of the femicides were committed by men close to the women, while 13 were committed by state armed forces. Four of the women died in accidents and nine under suspicious circumstances. In the face of rising femicides and violence against women, five women in October either killed themselves to save their lives or used their right to self-defense against the men attempting violence against them.

The rise in violence, rape, and harassment of women was also accompanied by a rise in sexual abuse and violence against children. While men sexually abused five children in September, in October men sexually abused 13 children, additionally depriving two children of their right to life. Meanwhile, Derya B., a child who was forcibly married and became pregnant at the age of 15, passed away of a cerebral hemorrhage.

State forces have been attacking the provinces of Kurdistan over the past year, whether through the 24-hour curfews declared in the region or otherwise. State forces, who have caused the death of hundreds of women and children so far in this period, killed 13 women by gunfire or bombardment and deprived three children of the right to life.

There was also an increase in violence against trans women in October. A spate of attacks against LGBTI+ people occurred in Ankara this month, while a trans woman faced an attempting lynching in her Istanbul neighborhood. Another trans woman died under suspicious circumstances in October.

During the first 10 months of 2016, men in Turkey have killed at least 234 women; abused 334 children; and committed violence against 264 women.