We Will Stop Femicides Platform February 2022 Report
23 Femicides and 21 Suspicious Deaths of Women in January
The fight to stop femicides in Turkey has been going on for 12 years. As the platform, since we identified the need in 2010, we have been disclosing femicide data to the public. The Ministry of Interior, on the other hand, distorts the facts by saying femicide data were prepared incorrectly, instead of disclosing how many women were killed as well as why, how and by whom. Along with explaining the reality of femicides and suspicious deaths of women, it is the duty of the state to implement concrete solutions to stop femicides. We will continue to fight for the mobilization of all relevant ministries and mechanisms to fulfil this task.
The reason behind 11 femicides could not be determined
This month, 23 femicides were committed, and 21 women were found suspiciously dead. The reason behind 11 of the 26 femicides could not be determined. 10 women were killed on the pretext of wanting to make decisions about their own life, such as wanting a divorce, refusing to reconcile, refusing to marry, or rejecting a relationship, and 2 women were killed on economic pretexts. The inability to determine the excuse behind the murder of 11 women is the result of violence against women and femicides being rendered invisible. Unless it is determined by whom and why women were killed unless a fair trial is conducted and the suspects, the accused, and the murderers are given deterrent punishments and preventive measures implemented, violence continues to increase in size.
Femicide data in the month of February, by city:
We would also like to share the names of the women; our sisters
By whom were the women killed?
Of the 23 women killed in February, 10 were killed by the man they were married to, 4 by the man they were with, 3 by a relative, 2 by the man they used to be with, 2 by their brother, 1 by her son, and 1 by an acquaintance.
Women were mostly killed in their homes
16 of the women were killed at their home, 3 in the middle of the street, 2 in a deserted place, 1 at their workplace and 1 in a field. 70% of the women killed this month were killed in their homes.
Women were mostly killed with firearms
10 of the women killed this month were killed with firearms, 9 with sharp objects, 1 by strangulation, 1 with a hammer and 1 with an iron stick. It could not be determined with which weapon one woman was killed.
The employment status of women still cannot be determined
It is very difficult to determine the employment status of women. We believe that the members of the press should include this important data. According to the data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) this month, the number of women who were absent from the labour force due to their domestic labour was 9 million 770 thousand. Again, according to TÜİK, the number of women who were not included in the labour force is 21 million 375 thousand in the fourth quarter of the year (October-November-December). TÜİK’s warped data is trying to cover up the true extent of women’s unemployment. Women who are not included in or are removed from employment become more vulnerable to the dangers of gender-based discrimination, violence, and femicide. According to the data obtained this month, 3 of the women were employed, and 2 were unemployed. The employment status of 18 of the women is unknown.
Dance Protest Against the Economic Crisis: “No money, no work, we will take to the streets”
While poverty is rising in Turkey, we wake up to new price hikes every day, workers in many workplaces are fighting against insufficient wages, and women are being killed despite the fact that they had restraining orders; we do not accept the government putting the burden of the economic crisis on our backs and the lack of necessary policies to prevent male violence.
This is exactly why we held our “Dancing Protest against the Economic Crisis” in Kadıköy and İzmir recently. However, when we came to the square in İstanbul with our pots and pans, we were prevented from entering the area by the police on the pretext that our empty pots, which became the symbol of the economic crisis, were “injuring tools”. We ask; while 157 women have been killed with firearms since 2021, weren’t firearms “injuring tools”? Did the authorities, who count our empty pots as injuring tools, take any precautions against individual armament? The authorities who try to stop workers, women and LGBTIQ+’s who fight; what do they do to stop bosses, murderers and perpetrators of violent crime? We will not stop fighting until we eliminate all inequalities.
We Will Neither Live on the Brink of Poverty nor Under the Shadow of Violence. You Will Never Walk Alone!
Due to the economic crisis, our pots are empty, and we cannot pay our bills. Although women labourers do the same work as men, their work is called “side income”, and they are forced to accept lower wages. Besides poverty, women also fight with violence. The deaths of women are not being investigated effectively and are left suspicious. While hundreds of women get killed because they want to divorce, alimony, the only security some women have, is being targeted by the government. However, despite all these, there are thousands of women who fight every day to live equally and freely, as well as thousands of labourers who resist price hikes. It is possible to end this trend of poverty and violence with our organized fight.
This year, as every year, we are on the squares for 8th of March International Women’s Day. Together, we will fill the squares all over the country, saying, “We Will Neither Live on the Brink of Poverty nor Under the Shadow of Violence, You Will Never Walk Alone”. Join us and let our organized fight grow together!
Freedom for the Perpetrators, Detention for the Relatives of Women
Osman Çallı, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 4 women in Belgium in 2004, was released in Turkey, where he was sent to serve the rest of his sentence. The perpetrator told the newspaper, “I am enjoying the sun, the sea and the beach.” In the case of A.S., who was sexually assaulted in Istanbul by 20 people ranging between the ages of 8 and 15, the defendants were released pending trial.
Tuğrul Akan, who is prosecuted for the deliberate murder of Elif Sinan, who was initially alleged to commit suicide, has not been arrested during the trial process despite his fingerprints being found on the knife Elif was killed with. In the case regarding Ömer Ayas, who was on trial for sexual assault, the prosecutor gave the notion for the acquittal of the perpetrator, based on his statement that “she had consent”.
The perpetrators and the main suspects are released, released pending trial or enjoying the sun. However, Gülistan Doku’s family, who has been having a legal battle for 2 years, was beaten and taken into custody by the police in front of the Ministry of Justice, where they went to request an appointment. The legal process does not work meticulously to reveal the suspicious deaths of women, stop femicides and find Gülistan Doku for 2 years. It works to release the perpetrators and to prevent those who exercise their constitutional rights. As we will not allow the perpetrators to go unpunished, we will not stop asking, “Where is Gülistan Doku?”
Implement the Law, Keep Women Alive
16-year-old Sıla Şentürk was killed by her throat being slit by Hüseyin Can Gökçek, the man who stalked her persistently. It was learned that Sıla, who was placed in a state dormitory with a protection order because she was being threatened by the perpetrator, returned to her house to take care of her grandmother. The Ministry of Family and Social Policies said the perpetrator was arrested right before the incident but was released when Sıla withdrew her complaint. It is evident that the Ministry is trying to justify its negligence with this statement. There is a 16-year-old girl who is being stalked. The authorities should have worked for the best interests of the child and systematically followed the process from all angles. In the murder of Sıla, there was negligence by the authorities. As we fight for the perpetrators to receive the punishment they deserve, we will ensure a legal process is initiated and enforced against the officials who were negligent and did not fulfil their duties.
Women seek the authorities to be protected against violence, but protection measures are not implemented by the authorities, and women get killed despite their protection orders. While this is obvious, the Minister of Family and Social Policies Derya Yanık made a statement saying, “Of the women who were killed, 8% had requested protection, 92% did have such a request.” The Ministry should also explain their lack of policies in preventing the deaths of women who had a protection order. According to our data, since 2021, 11% of women who have been killed had a protection order. The authorities can prevent violence against and murder women who had not made a request for protection or the murder of women who had made one. We will implement Law No. 6284, and we will create a world where women and children live equally and freely.
University Women’s Council in Every University
As in all areas of life, young women continue their organized fight on campuses against the inequalities they experience. With the aim of establishing a women’s council in every university, they call on all young women to join the organized fight. With this call, in Elazığ a University Women’s Assembly was established. Young women will never walk alone.
LGBTIQ+ Assembly: Rainbow is not a crime; discrimination is
The trial in which 8 of our friends were tried on the grounds that they participated in the Istanbul Pride Parade resulted in acquittal. We will never give up our freedom and rights. Rainbow is not a crime; discrimination is.
Law No. 6284 regulates many measures, including restraining orders and protection measures. It provides women with many rights, from economic empowerment to changing their identity information. It entered into force as the result of the years-long fight by women’s organizations. If Law No. 6284 is implemented effectively, it protects women. The enactment of Law No. 6284 only became possible after Istanbul Convention was signed.
Although it was expected a decision would be issued in February, in the Pınar Gültekin case, there was no decision. Mertcan Avcı, the brother of the perpetrator Cemal Metin Avcı, who was released pending trial, was arrested.
The Municipality of Eyüpsultan closed a women’s shelter with the approval of the Governorship of Istanbul. It was claimed that the shelter’s address was deciphered, resulting in a security issue. There was no statement from the authorities regarding a new women’s shelter.
In the final hearing of the Aleyna Çakır case held in Ankara, Ümitcan Uygun was arrested with a prison sentence of 4 years and 10 months without any reduction. He was on trial for the crimes he committed against Aleyna while she was alive.
In the final hearing of Dilek Kaya, who was killed by Yusuf Çalışkan, the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment without any reduction on the charge of “deliberate murder”.
The proposal to establish a research commission in the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to reveal what happened to Gülistan Doku, who has been missing for 789 days, was rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP deputies.
Following the acquittal of the 7 defendants in the Leyla Aydemir case, the 4-year-old who lost her life in Ağrı in 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the acquittal of the defendants.
In Mersin, 20-year-old Edanur Candan was killed by the man she was with; in Istanbul, 21-year-old Hilal Adıyaman was killed by the man she was married to. Only after the reactions in social media, did the femicides receive media attention and the perpetrators were arrested.
In Konya, Tuğba Menek, who was pregnant and was a mother of one, died after being stabbed in the throat by Ramazan Menek. The court sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment without any reduction.
The case of the District Directors of Agriculture, who raided the house of engineer Mehtap Toptaş in Ordu, was concluded. Çaybaşı District Director of Agriculture Ahmet Sarıkoca and Kabadüz District Director of Agriculture Engin Odabaş were each sentenced to 1 year and 15 days in prison.
All these examples show how vital the full and effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention and Law No. 6824 is for women. For the effective protection of women, injunctions should be implemented, the process should be followed, all units of the state should protect women’s rights, and public officials who do not fulfil their duties should be punished.
Suspicious deaths of women should be revealed immediately
As we have been stating in our reports for a while, there is a very serious increase in the number of suspicious deaths of women presented as suicides or natural deaths and in the number of women who were found suspiciously dead during the pandemic. Unfortunately, shedding light on the suspicious deaths of women can be even more difficult than femicides. It is necessary to reveal whether women were killed, whether they were killed by accident, whether women were killed on the basis of gender (whether it was femicide), whether they committed suicide or whether they were driven to suicide.
The suspicious deaths of 28 women that took place in February should be enlightened as soon as possible. Actions needed to be taken in this regard are quite clear; the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention should be reversed, the Protection Law No. 6284 and the Istanbul Convention should be implemented effectively and holistically by all institutions and organizations. Investigations into the suspicious deaths of women should be carefully examined and concluded quickly.
In Sakarya, 19-year-old Damla Kuş was shot dead with a shotgun in the house she was staying in with M.C.B. It was found out the suspect, M.C.B. had a criminal record for various crimes, and he got out of prison 6 months ago.
In Kocaeli, 27-year-old Emine Çöp and 22-year-old Tuğçe Temiz were shot dead by people wearing ski masks, while they were waiting at a red light in their cars.
In Mardin, Gülden Ç., mother of 2, lost her life after falling from the 12th floor of a house belonging to her family. It was learned that Gülden came to her parent’s house after her divorce and was not allowed to see her children.
In Denizli, 22-year-old Melike Baki, was found dead hanging from a natural gas pipe in her apartment. E.K., with whom she was staying in the room, was released after his statement.
In Isparta, 20-year-old Merve Başkal was found dead in her home, where she lived alone. Police officers entered her house to find her dead after a bad smell started coming from her apartment.
In Istanbul, 27-year-old Kübra Diri was found dead in the sea. It was learned that her father, İbrahim Diri had reported her missing and she had drowned.
What happened regarding women in February?
Dr. Mehmet Nuri Aydin, who prepared the forensic report for the Şule Çet case, was banned from his profession for 6 months. The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) stated the report contained statements incompatible with forensic medicine. The TTB upheld the ban on the doctor.
A defamation lawsuit had been filed against Ezgi Mola, who protested against the release of the sexual assault perpetrator Musa Orhan. Ezgi Mola, who appeared before the judge at the second hearing of the case, said that the plaintiff had requested a settlement for 50 thousand TL, and she does not accept it. The notion of the prosecutor demanded Mola be punished.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said: “The number of femicides was 353 in 2017, this had constantly been decreasing”. According to the data of the We Will Stop Femicides Platform, the number of femicides in 2017 was 409. In the same speech, Soylu stated that sexual violence crimes have increased in European countries such as Germany and France. He stated that in Turkey, 499 perpetrators of sexual violence were monitored with electronic handcuffs.
It was learned that thousands of indigenous women living in Canada were sterilized without their consent in hospitals where they went to give birth. Lawsuits filed in 5 different states of the country have revealed that indigenous women who went to the hospital for the operation were forcibly sterilized.
The Supreme Court of Colombia decriminalized abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. According to the new regulation, no legal process will be initiated against those who have abortions.
In Iran, 17-year-old Mona Gazal Haydari, was beheaded by the man she was allegedly married to. It was revealed that Mona had a three-year-old child, and the man she was allegedly married to had fled to Turkey due to “violent behaviour” but was brought back to Iran by his family. After the murder, two suspects were arrested, and they confessed to killing Mona Gazal Haydari.
The stories of the life struggles of the 23 women killed in February
In Zonguldak, 58-year-old Şahizer Ayçelebi was first strangled by Ahmet Ayçelebi, the man she was married to, and then killed by getting hit on the head with a hammer. The perpetrator was arrested and sent to prison.
In Istanbul, 20-year-old Hasret Dalkoparan was shot dead with a firearm, in front of her 1.5-year-old child, by Ozan Dum, the man with whom she was in unofficial religious matrimony. The perpetrator later amputated her arms and legs. Hasret was 5 months pregnant when she was killed. It was revealed the perpetrator had 18 different criminal records and had been violent against Hasret for a long time. It was also learned that Dalkoparan’s father filed a complaint against the perpetrator in 2020, saying, “I am concerned about my daughter’s life”. Ozan Dum was arrested and sent to prison.
In Istanbul, 21-year-old Hilal Adıyaman was shot in the head by Mustafa Adıyaman, the man she was married to when she was 16. It was learned that Hilal had been subjected to physical and psychological violence by the perpetrator before, and the perpetrator tried to make the murder seem like a suicide.
In Bursa, 45-year-old the teacher Yasemin Ağır, mother of one, was shot dead in the middle of the street by the police officer Bilal Ağır, the man she was in the process of divorce. 17-year-old Şeyma Ü. who was passing by at the time of the incident and the man next to Yasemin Ağır was also injured.
In Bursa, 48-year-old Azime Akman was killed by her throat being slit by Muhammed Ergül, her son. The perpetrator also injured his 13-year-old sister Merve Akman with a knife during the incident. The perpetrator was detained.
In Samsun, 38-year-old Gülbahar Kaya was stabbed to death by Baki Kaya, the man she was married to, on the day her restraining order expired. It was learned that Gülbahar Kaya, who was in the process of divorce, could not extend the restraining order because she was in quarantine. The perpetrator Baki Kaya was taken into custody.
In Istanbul, 53-year-old Arife Arda was shot dead by her relative Cihan Arda. The perpetrator was caught a day later.
In Balıkesir, 19-year-old Hazal Alpyörük was stabbed to death on the pretext of jealousy Kadir Meşe, the man with whom she was in unofficial religious matrimony. Hazal Alpyörük was 4-months pregnant at the time of the incident. The perpetrator was detained.
In Uşak, 39-year-old Nazife Bulut was shot dead with a hunting rifle in the forest by Önder Bulut, the man she was in the process of divorce. The perpetrator attempted suicide after the incident.
In Giresun, 16-year-old Sıla Şentürk was killed by her throat being slit by Hüseyin Can Gökçek. It turned out that Sıla Şentürk’s family had previously filed a criminal complaint against the perpetrator due to the threat, and the perpetrator had a criminal record for 10 different crimes. The perpetrator was arrested at the airport while he was trying to escape.
In Mersin, 20-year-old Edanur Candan, who had a hearing and speech impairment, was found dead in a forest with her throat slit. Mehmet Can Yılmaz, who was detained in connection with the incident, confessed that he committed the murder on the pretext of jealousy and with the instigation of Ramazan Acun. The perpetrators were arrested.
In Konya, 38-year-old Güler Gül, mother of 5, was shot dead with a firearm by Serdar Özgün, the man she used to be with. It was learned Güler Gül had gotten a restraining order two weeks ago. The perpetrator was caught.
In Düzce, 39-year-old Tülin Çetin was shot dead by Faruk Şahin, the man with whom she was in unofficial religious matrimony. The perpetrator, who said that the gun fired accidentally, was arrested.
In Samsun, 62-year-old Hüsne Ersoy, who was mentally disabled, was killed by getting beaten on the head with an iron stick on an economic pretext by Ramazan Tongal, a relative. The perpetrator was arrested.
It was revealed that 41-year-old Beyhan Biçer, mother of two, who was found dead in the basement of her house in Eskişehir, was killed by Ercan Biçer, the man she was married to. In the incident that took place on the 26th of August 2020, it was revealed that the perpetrator tried to make it look like a suicide by having Beyhan write a suicide note. It was learned that the perpetrator Ercan Biçer committed suicide in prison.
In Ankara, Gülsüm Kuyar mother of two, was stabbed to death by Mehmet Kuyar, the man she was in the process of divorce with, at the school where she worked as a cleaner.
In Kahramanmaraş, 60-year-old Hatice Dik was shot dead with a shotgun by B.D., the man she wanted to divorce. The perpetrator was detained.
In İzmir, 58-year-old Vasfiye Emekdar was stabbed to death by Vedat Emekdar, the man she was married to. The perpetrator pleaded guilty through a letter. The perpetrator was arrested and sent to prison.
In Sivas, 24-year-old Duriye Taşdelen was stabbed to death by Nihat Kara, her relative. It was learned that the perpetrator entered Duriye Taşdelen’s house with the intention of theft. The perpetrator was arrested.
It was alleged that 14-year-old Elif Gültekin committed suicide on the 25th of July 2019 in Malatya. The prosecution office reopened the investigation. As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Elif Gültekin was killed by her brother Bayram Gültekin and it was an honour killing. Bayram Gültekin was arrested and sent to prison. Other family members were sentenced to house arrest with electronic handcuffs.
In Istanbul, Olha Erdem was killed in her home with a sharp object by Nihat Erdem, the man she was married to. The perpetrator committed suicide after the incident.
In Ankara, Esin D. was shot dead with a firearm by Mustafa Ö., the man her daughter had divorced. Esin D., who went to save her daughter, who the perpetrator forcibly withheld, was shot by Mustafa Ö. and Şadan Ö. The perpetrators were detained.
It was revealed that Narin Tarhan, who was found dead in 2006 in a field in Van, was killed by A.E., her relative. The perpetrator was arrested.
*Our Report: It includes news about violence against women reflected in the press each month, about details on cases, recent events and the women’s movement. We compile the news reflected in the press and the applications that come directly to us, reach a number and prepare our report within this framework. We handle, bring together and evaluate our Femicide Report according to the concept of femicide. In other words, the conceptualization of femicide is; “the killing or forcing into suicide by a man of a woman, from embryo to fetus, baby to child, adult to elderly, simply because of their gender or on the pretext of their actions contrary to the gender stereotypes. Femicides should not be perceived merely as murders in which people of the female sex are killed. In these murders committed with hatred, what is attacked is the identity of the woman herself”