last updated March 22, 2006

Legislation in the Member States of the Council of Europe in the Field of Violence Against Women, prepared in part by Jill Radford, United Kingdom, for the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Equality Between Men and Women, March 2004 (Doc. EG 2004 2).
This report details national legislation dealing with violence against women in 38 of the 45 Council of Europe member states. In 1995, the Council requested member states to complete a questionnaire on relevant legislation, and subsequent research completed by the Council allowed for a survey of the varying legislation of member states. The report consists of two volumes, ending with a list of good practices and effective legislation prohibiting violence against women. Pages 161-171 in Volume II contain information about Turkey.

2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Turkey, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 28 February 2005.
Section 5 of the report contains a paragraph on the status of women in Turkey, and a subsection on trafficking.

Simple Steps to Root out Torture: Increased Police Supervision Could Deliver Rapid Results, Human Rights Watch, 22 September 2004.
This report provides recommendations for improving the supervision of police stations in Turkey in order to protect detainees from torture and ill-treatment.

Turkey in Europe: More than a Promise? Open Society Network, 6 September 2004 (PDF, 26 pages).
This report presents the findings of the Independant Commission on Turkey--made up of concerned European citizens who have held high office--with the purpose of examing major challenges and opportunities connected with Turkey's accession to the EU.

Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International's Concerns in the Region: January-June 2004, Amnesty International, 1 September 2004 (PDF, 117 pages).
Information on Turkey begins on page 90, and includes information on a provision for the removal of gender-discriminatory articles from the Turkish Penal Code.

Violence Against Women in Turkey, A Report to the Committee Against Torture. World Organisation Against Torture, 7 July 2004. (PDF, 42 pages). The report highlights the fact that despite differences of social, cultural and political contexts, patterns and frequency of violence against women span both national and socio-economic borders as well as cultural identities. The lack of effective legislation on violence against women, inequality in society’s gender roles, and government laxity on punishing perpetrators of violence are all factors contributing to the continuing and  occurrence of violence against women.

Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 23 June 2004. (PDF, 11 pages).
This report discusses human rights and trafficking.

Turkey: Women Confronting Family Violence, Amnesty International, 2 June 2004 (PDF, 30 pages).
This report focuses on the prevalence of family violence against women in Turkey, and its recommendations are focused on the reforms of government systems needed to protect women from violence.

Turkey End Sexual Violence Against Women in Custody! Amnesty International, 26 February 2003 (PDF, 41 pages).
This report includes information about the prevalence of sexual and physical violence against women in Turkey.

Turkey: Justice Delayed and Denied for Victims of Sexual Torture, Amnesty International, 13 February 2003 (PDF, 3 pages).
This report provides information about the sexual assault of women while in police custody and the difficulty survivors face in their search for justice.

Islam and Women's Sexuality: A Research Report from Turkey, Pinar Ilkkaracan, Women for Women's Human Rights, published in Mary Hunt, Patricia B. Jung and Radhika Balakrishnan (eds.), Good Sex: Feminist Perspectives from the World's Religious (New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 2001) (PDF, 11 pages).
This article, which is based on data collected by Women for Women’s Human Rights in eastern Turkey within the framework of the international Women and Law action-research program, examines laws and practices related to important elements in shaping the context of women’s sexuality: civil versus religious marriages, bride prices, polygyny, women’s consent to marriage, reproductive health, the possible consequences of extramarital relationships for women, and domestic violence. The analysis is based on interviews conducted with 599 women in eastern Turkey.

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