2026 First 6 Months Report*

It has been four years since Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on July 1, 2021. Over these four years, our data has made it clear just how vital the Istanbul Convention was for women. Looking at the first six months of each year since the withdrawal, we see that the number of femicides has increased. In the first 6 months of 2021, 131; in 2022, 164; in 2023, 147; in 2024, 205; in 2025, 136; and in 2026, 150 women were murdered.

Women are being killed by the men closest to them.

Today, women are still most often killed by those ‘closest to them’. Of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, 64 of them, or 43% of the women, were killed by the men they were married to. 17 women were killed by men they were with, 10 by men they used to be married to, and 4 by men they used to be with. In other words, 95 of the murdered women were killed by men they were married to, were with, broke up with, or divorced.

This picture reveals a very clear reality: Women are most often killed when they want to make decisions about their own lives, when they want to get a divorce, when they want to break up, or when they want to escape violence. Perpetrators from within the family make this picture even more grim. 10 women were killed by a relative, 9 by their father, 6 by their son, and 2 by their brother. While 9 women were killed by someone they knew, the relation between the perpetrator and 17 of the women could not be determined.

Policies that fail to protect women, render violence invisible by labeling it a ‘family matter’, and define women not as individuals but solely by their role within the family do not change this reality; on the contrary, they reinforce it. To stop femicides, policies must be implemented that prioritize not the family, but women’s right to life, freedom, and safety.

Women were most often killed in their homes.

While the ‘Year of the Family’ narrative constantly imposes domestic, family, and caregiving roles on women, the data reveals a startling reality: Women are most often killed in their own homes. Of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, 92 of them, or 61% of the women, were killed at home. Homes, which are supposed to be safe, often become spaces where violence against women is rendered invisible and where control and abuse increase.

Women are fighting for their lives not only at home but in every aspect of life. 17 women were killed in the middle of the street, 8 in a car, 6 in a deserted area, 4 in a field, and 3 at their workplace. 2 women were killed near water, 2 in other public spaces, and 1 in a hotel. The location where 13 women were killed could not be determined.

This data once again highlights just how dangerous policies that confine women to the home truly are. Any policy that limits women to their roles within the family, burdens them with care work as if it were their natural duty, and excludes them from public life does not promote women’s freedom, but reinforces control over women.

The home should not be forced on women; it should be a place where they can live safely, equally, and freely, and where they can freely make every decision about their lives. The path to this lies not in confining women to the home, but in ensuring they can participate equally in every aspect of life: on the streets, at work, in school, in politics, and everywhere else.

Women are not alone when they are killed.

When women are subjected to violence, it is not only they who are targeted, but also those around them. In the first 6 months of 2026, in 50 of the 150 femicides, someone who was with them at the time were also killed or injured. This figure indicates that in 33% of femicides, the violence was also directed at the people around the women.

The people by a woman’s side are often her children, mother, siblings, friends, or neighbors. Male perpetrators do not merely seek to take a woman’s life; they also seek to punish those who try to help her, those who witness the violence, and those who stand by her side. For this reason, femicides are not isolated incidents but the result of a systemic pattern of violence.

All policies that fuel violence against women aim to isolate women. They target women’s organized struggle, solidarity, support networks, and calls for help. Any policy that fails to protect women leaves not only women but also everyone standing by them vulnerable to danger.

To stop femicides, effective protection mechanisms must be implemented; the threat of violence must be assessed holistically: not only from the woman’s perspective but also from the perspectives of children, family members, and witnesses.

Under what pretexts were women killed?

No justification for depriving women of their right to life is acceptable. Of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, 17 of them, or 11% of the women, were killed because they wanted to make decisions about their own lives. Wanting to get a divorce, wanting to separate, ending a relationship, or asserting control over one’s own life is viewed by men as ‘disobedience’, and women are targeted for this reason.

As the economic crisis deepens, violence against women emerges under various pretexts. In the first 6 months of 2026, in 11 femicides, or in 7% of the time, the women were murdered under economic pretexts. However, the issue is not merely financial hardship; it is an effort to control, silence, and punish women. This system uses the conditions of the crisis to legitimize men’s domination over women. Women are made the targets of both poverty and the violence that uses that poverty as an excuse.

5 women were killed under ‘other’ pretexts. For 117 women, that is, 78% of the women, the specific pretext for their murder could not be determined. This high percentage indicates that the truth behind femicides is often obscured, and that the perpetrators and their history of violence are not sufficiently brought to light.

Women are being murdered because they want a divorce, because they want to separate, because they want to work, because the economic crisis is used as an excuse, or simply because they want to have a say in their own lives. That is why we say it once again: There is no excuse for violence against women. The way to stop femicides is to focus on women’s right to life, not on the perpetrators’ justifications.

Penal Enforcement Regulation: Impunity policies continue to protect perpetrators.

Amnesty measures are opening the door again for perpetrators of violence. Men who threaten women’s right to life are being released despite the crimes they have committed in the past; these individuals, whose criminal records are riddled with a history of violence, often target women first when they regain their freedom. Today in Turkey, many women are being killed by men who have previously committed crimes, served sentences, or been subject to restraining orders.

According to our data, in the first 6 months of 2026, 15 women were killed by men with criminal records. Amnesties do not ensure women’s safety; on the contrary, they provide new opportunities for perpetrators. The scales of justice are not tipped in favor of women, but rather in favor of those who commit violence against women and the policies that fuel gender-based violence.

We define femicide as the killing or forcing into suicide of individuals of the female gender, from embryo to fetus, infant to child, adult to elderly, by a man, simply because of their gender or on the pretext of their actions contrary to the gender stereotypes. and the perception of gender identity. In the first 6 months of 2026, 10 of the women killed were under the age of 25.

Femicides continue regardless of women’s age, life stage, marital status, or geographical location. Of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, 58 of them, or 39%, were between the ages of 36 and 65. 41 women, or 27% of the women killed were between the ages of 25 and 35.

Children and young women are not exempt from this reality. In the first 6 months of 2026, 3 girls aged 0–11, 2 girls aged 12–14, and 4 girls aged 15–18 were murdered. In other words, at least 9 children were murdered. In addition, 9 young women between the ages of 18–25/19–24 were also murdered.

Elderly women continue to be murdered as well. 10 women aged 66 and older, representing 7% of all murdered women, lost their lives. This data reveals that femicides are not limited to a specific age group; children, young women, adults, and elderly women are all being killed within this cycle of violence.

The age range of 23 women, 15% of the total, could not be determined. This uncertainty indicates that data on femicides, investigations, and information shared with the public remain incomplete.

Women are killed at every stage of their lives – as children, as young women, as adults, and as elderly women. Therefore, to prevent femicides, policies must be implemented that encompass every stage of life, feature effective protection mechanisms, and prioritize gender equality.

Women were most often killed with a firearm.

The methods used in femicides demonstrate how severe the violence has become and how easy it has become to access lethal weapons. Of the 150 women killed in the first six months of 2026, 78, or 52%, were killed with firearms. In other words, one out of every two women killed was taken from life by a firearm.

37 women were killed with sharp objects, 15 were strangled, 7 were beaten to death, and 2 were burned to death. One woman died after being pushed from a height, one from exposure to a chemical substance, and one from other methods. How 8 women were killed could not be determined.

This data once again highlights just how great a threat individual armament poses to women’s right to life. In a system where access to firearms is so easy, the risk to women under threat grows; the failure to implement protective measures makes this risk even more deadly.

To prevent femicides, policies are needed that take action not only after the fact but also before incidents occur. Controlling gun ownership, effectively enforcing protection orders, and ensuring that women are not left alone in the face of threats of violence are of vital importance.

Of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, 8, or 5%, were under a protection or precautionary measure process under Protection Law No. 6284 at the time of their deaths. These decisions, issued by the state and intended to be effectively enforced, are of vital importance to women. However, this year, 8 women were killed despite the existence of these protection mechanisms.

According to the data, protective orders were in place for 7 women, shelter arrangements for 2 women, and childcare arrangements for 1 woman. This situation demonstrates that Law No. 6284 must not remain merely on paper; the fast, effective, and accountable implementation of these decisions by all institutions is vital.

It was determined that 4 of the women murdered did not have a decision under Law No. 6284 in effect at the time of their deaths. For 138 women, or 92%, their status under Law No. 6284 could not be determined. Information regarding the type of protective measures was also unavailable for 140 women. This high level of uncertainty reveals serious shortcomings in women’s access to protection mechanisms, the tracking of application processes, and the public disclosure of data.

When Law No. 6284 is effectively implemented, it can protect women’s lives. Therefore, women’s access to application mechanisms must be facilitated, protection orders must be enforced without delay, and coordination among institutions must be strengthened. It is not uncertainty but effective protection that will save women’s lives.

Women who want to get a divorce or file a complaint are not being protected.

According to the data we were able to access, 9 of the 150 women killed in the first 6 months of 2026, or 6 percent, were in the process of getting a divorce. It is known that 4 women filed complaints with the police or the prosecutor’s office, while 3 women were both in the process of getting a divorce and had filed legal complaints.

This data shows that women are not adequately protected even when they turn to legal mechanisms to separate, divorce, or escape violence. When women’s requests are not effectively followed up on, and when protective measures are not implemented in a timely manner, women are killed.

Information regarding the status of legal proceedings for 134 women, that is, 89%, could not be obtained. This high percentage indicates that the processes surrounding these cases, including complaints and risk assessments, are not sufficiently transparent to the public.

Data on women’s employment status in cases of femicides often does not reach the public. Yet this information is crucial for understanding women’s economic independence, social security, access to support mechanisms, and their vulnerability to violence. For this reason, when reporting on femicides, members of the press must also highlight information regarding women’s employment status.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜİK) May 2026 labour force data, the labour force participation rate for women is 35%, while the employment rate stands at 31.4%. The same data indicates that the number of women not in the labour force is 21,982,000. This data illustrates that women are unable to participate in the workforce on an equal and secure footing; they are either excluded from employment or kept out of the labour force due to caregiving and domestic labour.

In TÜİK’s classification, those “engaged in household chores” are considered outside the labour force – defined as individuals who are not seeking work and are not ready to start work due to household duties in their own homes. However, this definition renders the economic and social value of the labour women perform within the home invisible. Tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, the elderly, and the sick constitute a real form of labour that goes unpaid but is essential to sustaining life.

According to the data we could access, it is known that 15 of the women killed in the first 6 months of 2026 were employed. However, information regarding the employment status of the vast majority of women remains unavailable. This uncertainty is not merely a data gap; it also reveals that women’s labour, economic status, and living conditions are systematically rendered invisible.

Any policy that defines women solely by their domestic roles, imposes care work on them as if it were a natural duty, and excludes them from secure employment leaves women even more vulnerable. The way to protect women’s right to life lies not in confining them to the home, but in ensuring true, not merely symbolic, equality in education.

At least 68 of the women who were murdered had children.

Femicides profoundly affect not only the lives of women but also the lives of the children they leave behind. According to the data we were able to obtain, 68 of the 150 women killed in the first six months of 2026, that is, 45%, had children. Two women were pregnant.

It was determined that 11 of the women had no children. However, information regarding whether the remaining 69 women, or 46%, had children could not be obtained. This high percentage reveals that information about children is often overlooked in news reports and public discourse regarding femicides.

Strengthening mechanisms to protect women and children is possible only through effective social policies that are implemented not just after an incident occurs, but the moment a risk arises. When women’s right to life is not protected, the safety and future of children cannot be safeguarded either.