The number of women killed in Turkey by an intimate partner has increased significantly over the last three years, with 129 victims killed in 2011, 140 in 2012 and 229 in 2013. More than 114 women have died as a result of domestic violence in the first six months of 2014. Twenty-one of these women sought help from the police before they were killed.

Turkish NGOs Anıt Sayaç and the Umut Foundation gathered the statistics on femicides and police complaints from public records and media reports because the Turkish Government “does not compile official data on violence against women.” According to a 2012 survey published by UN Women, nearly 40% of Turkish women have experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner, and more than 15% have experienced sexual violence.

Turkey has launched a pilot program to reduce deaths from domestic violence in three large Turkish provinces, in coordination with the European Union. The project, “Strengthening the Mechanism of Combatting Violence through Local Cooperation,” will work to increase the capacity of women’s human rights organizations through 2015. The project will fund trainings, increased coordination among women’s groups, and activities to raise public awareness about domestic violence, in addition to home visits to women at risk and provision of free legal and psychological services to victims.

Compiled from:  Fatal violence against women on the rise in Turkey, Daily Sabah (July 4, 2014); EU, Turkey launch project to stop violence against women, Andalou Agency (July 3, 2014).