2020 September Report*

16 femicides and 20 suspicious woman death in September

Thanks to women’s struggle, the withdrawal discussion on İstanbul Convention has ended up. The fight to stop femicides has been continuing for 10 years in Turkey. As platform, we have been declaring the data of femicides since 2010 that we thought it as a need.  The Ministry, which is responsible for declaring the data of femicides, falsifies the facts by saying that the data of femicides were prepared incorrectly, instead of explaining why,how, by whom and how many women were killed. According to İstanbul Convention, the government has to explain the data. In addition to explaining the reality of femicide and suspicious deaths of women, the government is also responsible for implementing concrete solution recommendations to stop femicides.We will continue to fight to activate all relevant ministries and all mechanisms in order for this task to be fulfilled.

The cause of 12 women’s death could not detected.

This month,16 women have been killed and 20 women have been found suspiciously dead. It could not be determined why 12 of the 16 women killed were killed,while 4 were killed while wanting to make decisions about their own life, such as asking for a divorce, refusing to make up and have a relationship. The inability to determine under what pretext the 12 women were killed is a result of violence against women and the invisibility of women's murders. Unless it is determined who killed the women and why;unless a fair trial is held and the suspects,accused and murderers receive deterrent sentences,preventive measures are applied,the violence continues to change in size.

By whom were the women killed?

Of the 16 women killed in September, 9 were men with whom he was married,4 were men with whom he was dating,and 3 were killed by someone familiar.

Women were most often killed in the middle of the street and in their homes.

9 of the women were killed in their home,3 in the middle of the Street,2 in the field,1 in the car,and 1 at work. Of the women killed this month,56 percent were killed in their homes and 19 percent in the street.

Women killed most by firearms.

8 were killed by firearms,6 by cutting tools,and 2 by strangulation.

The working status of the women is still undetermined.

It is very difficult to determine the employment status of women.We think that this data should also be taken into consideration by press members. According to the data TUIK (Turkish Statistical Institute) announced this month, the number of women ‘engaged in housework’ decreased by 1 million 240 thousand compared to the previous year. Thereby, according to TUIK, the number of women who are not even considered as labor force reached 10 million 075 thousand in June 2020. TUIK’s announcement of data in this way is to try to cover up the real dimension of women's unemployment. Women who are not included in working life or removed from employment become more vulnerable to the dangers of gender-based discrimination, violence and femicide. According to the available data, 2% of women work in a workplace, 13% of women’s status is unknown.

Stop Manipulation, Implement the Istanbul Convention!

Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services, also made statements in September, distorting the facts about femicide and suspected female deaths. With these statements, she ignored the fact that they have the authorities that needs to keep data, analyze these data, find the necessary solutions to the problems, implement the 6284 and the Istanbul Convention and follow the sanctions. As We Will End Femicide Platform, we have been collecting, analyzing and publishing the femicide and suspicious deaths of women according to the information we can only reach from the media and families since 2010, within the concept and context that we have announced to the public.

For the first time, it was Ministry of Interior who used the term ‘femicide’ and shared data in October 2018. Our past, current and future duties and responsibilities as We Will End Femicide Platform should not be confused with the duties and responsibilities of ministries. Ministry should not twist the circumstances. Instead of being occupied with manipulations, they need to work hard to collect data and share transparently. Although we requested a statement about data conflicts between our platform and Ministry’s since 2018, the statement for concept and context has never been made.  We would like to remind that the Minister’s statement will not exculpate themselves. Each woman subjected to violence and killed on the pretext of gender is under the responsibility of the relevant Ministries.

Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu made manipulative explanations on a TV show. He said that they worked day and night to reduce femicides and succeeded. He who says ‘Even 1 woman matters.’ should implement the İstanbul Convention and Protection law numbered 6284 efficiently.

Both Society and Women Are Changing

According to the results of the research conducted by Konda and announced this month, only 7% of the society currently advocates withdrawing the İstanbul Convention. The majority of those who support withdrawing the contract are men.

The research also includes a 5-year analysis, in which we can observe a significant fall in prejudiced thoughts that generate inequality for women. We continue to fight in pursuit of a society where no one is subjected to violence or murdered with their sexual orientation or gender identity used as an excuse. Ever since İstanbul Convention was controversially brought to attention, our resistance has grown bigger and stronger. However, it should be remembered that the outcomes of this research have not happened in two months. The positive change we observe in this research is the success of the continuous effort of women who have been speaking up about gender inequality, violence against women and femicides; organized women who fight to protect their rights.

The statements made by the ministries in September further attest to the success of the continuous work of women. As the attacks on İstanbul Convention have been in progress for months; this month the Ministry of Justice released a message on the matter for the first time. On their social media account, the ministry claimed to be “adopting new implementations in order to battle violence against women more effectively”. These implementations, which consist of actions and procedures that should already be in practice in accordance with Istanbul Convention, were presented as new. The Ministry of Justice must not forget that to effectively battle violence against women, all institutions and establishments should practice the procedures of Istanbul Convention and Protection Law number 6284 completely and actively. Further than releasing messages, the Ministry of Justice must primarily should fulfill their duty.

6284 and Its Consequences

If the law numbered 6284, which implements restraining order against people resorting violence, takes measures suc as close protection, strengthens women financially, entitles to change of identity cards of women and enters into force as a result of years of struggle of women, is carried out effectively, it saves women’s lives. Becoming law of 6284, which enters in force to protect women and prevent violence, could become possible after signing İstanbul Convention.

While 12 out of women who were murdered in September are not known whether they had protection order or not; it is known that only 4 women had complaining to police, divorcement application, restraining order or protection order.

Ayşe Taşdöven, living in Kayseri, was injured with a sharp tool and then tried to be strangled in front of her 16 years old daughter in a store by Okan Taşdöven who she had restraining order and in the process of divorcement.

24 year old Buket T, living in Kayseri and 5 months pregnant, was stabbed in the belly by Mustaya Aykut T. who she married and wanted to divorce. Buket T. is struggling for life.

35 year old Sevda Y.,living in Diyarbakır, was injured with a knife by Samet Y., who she was living apart from. Sevda Y. is struggling for life.

36 year old N.Ç who is mother of 1 year old infant and lives in Samsun was injured with a sharp tool by Z.Ç who is the man she was married to. N.Ç is still fighting for her life.

Pınar Gültekin’s autopsy report clarifies that she was tortured to death by the man she had refused.

All these reports prove that it is crucial for women that İstanbul Convention and the law numbered 6824 are implemented effectively.

In order for women to be protected; legal measures should be implemented, the process should be followed up, all institutions of government should stand by and protect women’s rights and public officials who fail to practice their responsibilities should be sanctioned.

Suspicious Deaths Should be Clarified Immediately

As clarified in our reports, the number of suspicious women deaths which are displayed as suicides or natural causes have incresead dramatically during the pandemic. Unfortunately, suspicious death cases of women are more challenging than femicides. The suspicious death cases of women should be clarified whether these were caused by accidents, murdered by society’s gender conflictions (if the cause is a femicide or not), were suicides or driven to suicides. 

In the case of Nadira Kadirova who was found dead suspiciously and whose following case was decided to be declined jurisdiction, Nadira's lawyer stated that there might had been a struggle in the room that Nadira was found dead in the light of the new video that was revealed this month.

Gülay Uygun ,mother of Ümitcan uygun who  gave testimony as a suspect of Aleyna Çakır’s death, was found dead in a free field , suspiciously shot with a firearm.

Two different police reports were prepared with reference to the same camera in Aleyna Çakır investigation.The police who derelict and cover the crime,Ministry of Interior and Justice,which do not impose sanction on the police,are responsible for the death of Aleyna Çakır and all other suspicious femicides.

Export report about Duygu Delen’s death has been revealed. According to the export report it determined that she was alive but unconscious while she was  falling, she had  indication of batteries and it is established that there was blood on the clothesline which she had hit before she fell. Findings which increase the suspicion of murder should be examined studiously.

Sezay Koçak from Gaziantep, who had been in the process of filing for divorce, suspiciously died after falling from the balcony of her home where she and her husband Ali Özahi were allegedly arguing.

Larysa Kuzkyk, a 43 year-old woman from Istanbul, suspiciously died after falling from the roof of a building.

Rihab el-Rihabi, a 25 year-old mother of four, was a seasonal agricultural worker in Adana, who was shot dead in her home.

Yağmur Eker, a 42 year-old woman from Istanbul, was suspiciously shot dead with the gun of a police officer, Bekir Özdemir, with whom she was living at the time.

We demand that the suspicious death of 20 women in September, come to light immediately. What needs to be done is clear: the protection law numbered 6284 along with all the initiatives of İstanbul Convention need to be implemented by the authorities efficiently in harmony with all establishments and institutions nationwide. The suspicious cases of femicide need to be investigated thoroughly, carefully and immediately.

What happened about women in September?

Discourses and implementations against women continue:

A student who visited the Orsay Museum in Paris, the capital of France, didn’t taken inside by teller because of her cleavage. Museum apologized from the young woman.

Japanese Airlines explained that from beginning of September, in announcements they will use only “good morning” or “good evening” instead of using “ladies and gentleman” in a sexist way.

In September 28, World Safe Abortion Day, Mexican Women filled the squares for the legalization of safe abortion.

In a TV program, Fatih Erbakan made discourses against İstanbul Convention and women again. He even claimed that Simone De Beavoir, who is famous with the words “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”, is a bisexual man.

Struggle for lives of 16 women who were murdered in September:

17 year old and 5 month pregnant Zeynep Sarıaydın, from Mersin, was killed at her home with a firearm by her husband Erdoğan Sarıaydın, on the pretext of seeing her family.

Handan Doğru, from İzmir, was shot and killed by Köksal Doğru, who was in the process of divorce, in her hairdressing shop with a firearm.

39 year old and mother of 2 children Özlem Güneş, from Kocaeli, was strangled to death at her home by Zülküf Güneş, who was in the process of divorcement. It was revealed  that Özlem Güneş appealed to the police for battering the perpetrator many times before.

18 year old Sevilay Kara, from İstanbul, was murdered with a cutting  tool by her male partner, Vüsal Oruçov, with an excuse of jealousy.

 
50 year old and mother of 2 children Meryem T., from İzmir, was murdered at her home with a cutting tool by her husband İrfan T..

It was revealed that Zeynep Söğüt, who disappeared at the age of 22 in 2013, was killed when the file was reopened.

30-year-old Döndü G., from Malatya, was stabbed to death at her home by A.G., to whom she is married.

66-year-old Fatma Altuner, from Konya, was shot to kill by Hüseyin Altuner, whom she is married to, with a firearm in the garden of her house.

40-year-old Ebru Aksu and her mother, 68-year-old Şükran Aksu, from Sivas, were shot and killed with a firearm by Şenel Bulut, whom Ebru was preparing for marriage.

23-year-old Handan Bul, from Bilecik, was shot dead by Yusuf Uğur, whom she wanted to break up with, in a car driven to a forested land with a firearm.

30-year-old Elif Yılmaz, from Istanbul, was shot and killed by Ersin Yılmaz, whom she was married to, on the pretext of having another relationship, in the forest area.

38-year-old Mahsune Kanbere, from Uşak, was killed in her home with a sharp object by Muhammet Fahim Kaderi, who allegedly wanted to marry her daughter.

30 year old Duygu Çelikten, who is mother of two children and from Antalya, was found dead with a sharp tool and as buried in a forestland while she was being searched for 13 days. It was revaled that she was murdered brutally by Veli Ünver, who she was in relationship with, under cover of defamation.

35 year old Meltem Dağ, from Bursa, was killed with a firegun by Hüseyin Dağ who she had the restraning order and in the process of divorcing, in the garden of her house.

26 year old Serap Öner, who is a mother of two children and lives in Adana, was killed with a sharp tool by Ali Ö. in her family’s house where she had recently returned with her two children. Serap Öner was murdered in the process of a divorce despite obtaining a restraining order.