October 2024 marks highest number of femicides in Turkey in 14 years

Duvar English

According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform’s report for October 2024, 48 women were killed, and 23 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances in Turkey.

October also marked the highest number of femicides recorded in a single month since 2010, when the platform began to collect data.

Majority of the perpetrators were those close to the victims. Nineteen women were killed by their husbands, six by acquaintances, and five by their partners. Four women were killed by relatives, while three were killed by their fathers, three by their ex-husbands, and three by former partners. 

Additionally, two women were killed by their brothers and another two by their sons. The relationship of the perpetrator to one woman remains unidentified. 

Some 33 of the women killed were shot with firearms, 12 were killed with sharp objects, one was beaten, one was strangled, and one was run over by a car. In other words, 69 percent of the women killed in October were shot with firearms. 

The report also highlighted that since the beginning of the year, at least 36 women who had resorted to the police or prosecutors have been killed. 

In a written statement, the group stated, "As a platform, we have been publicly disclosing femicide data since 2010 after we had identified the need. Unfortunately, ministries do not systematically record or share data on femicides.” 

The platform underscored that it should be the government's duty to implement concrete solutions to stop these murders and added, “We will continue to fight for all relevant ministries and mechanisms to be activated in fulfilling this responsibility."