Henry Abbott

415.

415 women.

415 murdered women.

415 murdered women in 2024.

415 murdered women just in 2024.

The Istanbul Convention, officially known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, wasn’t just a piece of paper about political decisions, but something that had real impacts on women’s lives, their safety and rights in Turkey. Signed in 2011, the convention covered various forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and so-called “honor crimes.” By ratifying it, Turkey showed the world that our government was serious about protecting women and recognizing the legal injustice women face. It wasn’t just about giving women rights on paper—it meant taking real action to keep women safe. However, in March 2021, Turkey suddenly withdrew from the convention, becoming the first and only country to do so. Its withdrawal sent a worldwide message that women’s safety was not a priority in the Turkish political agenda.

President Erdoğan’s government argued that the convention clashed with traditional Turkish values, saying it didn’t align with the country’s “family values.” Conservative and nationalist groups claimed that the convention threatened traditional family structures by challenging “typical gender roles” and weakening “family unity,” which they felt were crucial to Turkish society. And here I wonder, “Doesn’t letting femicides continue to grow also violate our so-called family values?”

Gender-based violence has been a widespread and systematic issue in Turkey for the past few decades, and without the framework provided by the Istanbul Convention, existing laws are not enough to address these real issues. Even though the Turkish Constitution has laws on gender-based violence, it leaves the door ajar for perpetrators to violate women’s rights with minimal consequences. It leaves room for judges to reduce sentences based on perpetrators’ “good conduct,” for showing remorse in court or based on the “provocation” they faced because of the victim’s “skimpy” clothing or “bad” behavior. The door is ajar for “perfect Turkish society” to blame the victims for the trauma they face.

If I will be blamed for being raped in the middle of the night because I wore a skirt that was “attracting” my rapist who apparently has a cleaner-than-a-new-born-baby mind—if this is enough to cross every single boundary existing in humanity and give him the “right” to assault me just so the laws align with our so-called family-values—then I’ll pass on that “family” bullshit. With these “family values” of ours, my rapist will be able to walk through the streets without humiliation while I will be trying to prove I was raped, because my word is not seen as enough in the eyes of the law.

Turkey must re-ratify the Istanbul Convention to provide comprehensive legal protections against gender-based violence and support survivors. Because the convention criminalizes all forms of gender-based violence, including psychological abuse, stalking, forced marriage and honor-based violence, re-ratifying it will create a legal baseline for consistent enforcement of justice without misinterpretation and abuse of power as it ensures preventing leniency and judicial bias. The problem in Turkey regarding increasing femicides is not only due to legal incompetence but also due to a society that brings humiliation upon victims—a society that accepts rapists and belittles victims. This violence is deep in Turkish society’s roots; therefore, we must rebuild our society with better qualities.

The convention promises public awareness campaigns and educational programs, and therefore, it fosters a society with better qualities. This shift in society will also shift our cultural attitudes that perpetuate gender-based violence, as we tend to forget that the judges also come from the roots of our society, the judges that have not been trained to handle gender-based violence cases. The Istanbul Convention will provide mechanisms to hold law enforcement accountable for failing survivors.

1,673.

1,673 women.

1,673 murdered women.

1,673 murdered women since Turkey withdrew from The Istanbul Convention in 2021.

These are not just random numbers. These are women. Women who were killed by their husbands, boyfriends, fathers, brothers and men in their lives because they did not obey them, because they wanted to divorce or break up, or for no reason at all. Withdrawal marked a dangerous turning point, weakening already weak protections for women and reinforcing traditional gender roles at the cost of progress toward equality and safety.

The convention will provide accountability and an international standard that pressures the government to act like it did just a few years ago. We’ve seen that without it, the authorities won’t respond as firmly or consistently to cases of violence against women. Ratifying the Istanbul Convention isn’t just a legal or political matter; it’s about whether women in Turkey can feel safe in their own communities and trust their government to protect them. And it is our responsibility to force our government to do so. Because “Are you home yet?” is not a safety check for women in Turkey anymore—the perpetrators are also home.