Turkey records highest-ever femicide rate in 2024

Turkey's We Will Stop Femicides Platform reported 394 femicides in 2024, the highest recorded. The group criticized government policies, highlighted rising rates, and called for action on gun control, impunity, and transparency in official femicide data.

Friday January 03 2025 07:19 pm

Osman Çaklı / Gazete Duvar

The We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP) revealed that 394 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2024, marking the highest recorded figure to date. KCDP Secretary-General Fidan Ataselim shared the data during a press conference in Istanbul.

Ataselim highlighted the Istanbul Convention's significance, condemning government actions and family-centric policies. She stated that 71 percent of women were killed by current spouses, fathers, brothers, or relatives, and 57 percent of these murders occurred at home. She criticized government efforts to promote family policies while women faced violence and death in domestic spaces.

Ataselim called for stricter gun control, noting that firearms remain the most common weapon in femicides. She said failing to address this issue equates to complicity. She added that 10.6 percent of perpetrators had prior criminal records and were often fugitives or released on prison leave.

She also decried the lack of accountability for suspicious female deaths, saying authorities often classify these deaths as suicides, accidents, or natural causes. She referenced cases like Şebnem Köker, whose death was confirmed as murder four years later, and ongoing questions about victims such as Narin, Rojin, and Gülistan Doku.

She criticized impunity, pointing to cases where perpetrators were freed and women’s safety was compromised. “We protested hundreds of times against impunity, yet handcuffs are placed on activists, not killers or rapists,” Ataselim said.

Ataselim addressed discrepancies between KCDP's data and government statistics, calling for transparency. According to Interior Ministry figures, there were 284 femicides in 2022, 309 in 2023, and 276 in the first 10 months of 2024. She noted even official statistics show an upward trend.

She condemned victim-blaming narratives, citing cases where women under protection were murdered and ministries suggested the women themselves allowed attackers access. Ataselim called for the government to take responsibility and end manipulative statements.

Topics We Will Stop Femicides Law No 6284 Fidan Ataselim Femicides in Turkey violence against women