According to the news compiled by bianet from local and national newspapers, news websites and agencies, men killed at least 302 women in several provinces of Turkey in 324 days between January 1, 2019 and November 20, 2019.
At least 10 murdered women were not citizens of Turkey (one woman was from Azerbaijan, two women from Syria, two from Afghanistan, one from Iraq, one from Ukraine, one from Morocco and one woman was from Uzbekistan).
64 percent of women were killed by their husbands/ex-husbands or boyfriends/ex-boyfriends.
198 women were killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends or ex-boyfriends. While 31 women were murdered by their family members such as fathers, brothers or sons, 20 women were killed by their neighbors or friends and eight women by their relatives. 19 women were killed by their ex-sons-in-law. One trans woman was killed by a police officer, one woman by her customer, one woman by a man whose child goes to the same school with hers and one woman was killed by her boss. The acquaintance/relation between the women and perpetrators in at least 23 feminicides was not reported in the press.
Men killed 49 percent of women with firearms.
Men killed 149 women with firearms and 74 women by stabbing them. While men killed 25 women by strangling them, they beat 20 women to death. Men burned four women to death and killed one woman with acidic water. Men crushed the heads of two women with a stone and ran over one woman with a vehicle. Men threw two women off the balcony. How men killed 24 women was not reported in the media.
According to the news compiled by bianet from local and national newspapers, news websites and agencies, men killed at least four transgender women from January 1, 2019 to November 20, 2019.
The names of killed transgender women:
Hande Kader Şeker, Esra A., Gökçe S., Defne K.
Men also led trans woman Didem A. to commit suicide.
Men wounded one trans woman and inflicted violence on at least seven trans people. Prison officers also addressed homophobic remarks to arrested transgender people and harassed them in different prisons.
Some highlights and details from the feminicides documented by monthly bianet male violence monitoring reports between January 1 and November 20, 2019 are as follows:
The deaths of two women (in Ankara and Aydın) were reported in the press as "suspicious". Men threatened two women with "death" if they break up with them.
While the deaths of three women were reported in the news as "unidentified murders", the murderer of Shakila Q. (38) and her children Navid (8) and Maryam (3) was understood to be A.Q. (28), the husband of the deceased woman, in February 2019.
Men attempted to kill two women (in Adana and Ankara). Two women suspiciously lost their lives in İstanbul and Ankara.
Men threatened two women with death in Samsun and İstanbul.
The perpetrator who killed a woman in Antalya 14 years ago could be identified in March 2019. One woman attempted to commit suicide in Antalya (The woman was dissuaded from suicide; afterwards, she told that she attempted to commit suicide as the man who raped her three months ago was released).
In April 2019, nine women suspiciously lost their lives (in Batman (2), Çorum, Kocaeli, Aydın, İstanbul, İzmir, Adana and Erzurum).
Killed in İstanbul on March 30, Najıa Arabzai's death was reported in the press in April after the man who killed her was caught. The death of Dudu Çeştepe, who was killed in Zonguldak in August 2018, was also reported in the news in April after the murderer was caught.
Moreover, in Aksaray, one man led one woman to commit suicide. One man attempted to kill one woman in Batman. The deceased bodies of two women were found in Dersim and Konya (both incidents were reported in the press as unidentified murders; while the name of the woman could not be identified in Konya, the name of the woman killed in Dersim was Gülsüm Taş).
In May, at least six women suspiciously lost their lives (in Ankara, Rize, Konya, Ordu, Tekirdağ and Denizli).
Men led two women to commit suicide (in Sakarya and Denizli). The suicides of at least four women (in Diyarbakır, Niğde, İzmir and Elazığ) were reported in the news as "suspicious".
The deceased bodies of two women were found in İstanbul and Şırnak (both incidents were reported in the news as unidentified murders; while one of the women was found burned in her car, the name of the woman killed in Şırnak was Aslıhan U.).
One of the women killed in May was a trans woman (in Antalya) and at least three women were killed despite protection orders.
In June, at least 12 women lost their lives in a suspicious manner (in Hakkari (2), Antep, Sivas, Tekirdağ, Erzincan, Çorum, Kütahya, Malatya, Burdur, Manisa (2)).
The suicides of at least four women (in İstanbul (2), Urfa and İzmir) were reported in the press as "suspicious".
The feminicides of two women were also reported in the news as "suspicious murders".
In July, at least 12 women suspiciously died (in Van, Manisa (2), Tekirdağ, Balıkesir, Antalya, Samsun (2), Muğla, İstanbul, Adana and Ankara).
The suicides of at least five women (in Bodrum, Urfa, Antalya, Van and İstanbul) were reported in the news as "suspicious".
Men also attempted to kill one woman (in İstanbul).
In July, the deaths of one woman and one child (in Hakkari) were reported in the press as "unidentified murders".
At least two women were killed despite protection orders. At least three women were systemarically tortured before they were killed. One perpetrator who killed a woman was a specialized sergeant.
At least 12 women lost their lives suspiciously (İstanbul [2], Çorum, Kütahya, Mardin, Adana, Uşak, Edirne, Ardahan, Siirt, Niğde, Bayburt).
One woman was driven to suicide in Çanakkale. Deaths of two women in İzmir and Aydın were reported as "suspicious suicide" in the press.
There was a protection order against a man who killed a woman. One woman applied for protection at least twice before she was killed. Her applications were rejected.
One of the killed women was staying in a women's shelter. Two of the women had mental disabilities. Two men had been systematically torturing the two women they killed.
Men attempted to kill at least four women (Aydın, Karaman, Konya, İzmir).
Deaths of seven women (Ankara, Samsun, Kayseri, Aydın, Van, Samsun, İzmir) were reported as "suspicious suicide" in the press. One of them was a domestic worker from Uzbekistan. She was revealed to be uninsured.
Men threatened to kill at least five women (İstanbul [2], Ankara, Samsun, Düzce).
The attempted suicide by a woman in Adana was reported as "suspicious" in the press.
Deaths of at least 17 women were reported as "suspicious" in the press (İstanbul [3], Antalya [3], Konya [2], Aydın [2], Rize, Bursa, Kocaeli, Ankara, Denizli, Hatay, Adana).
One man drove three women in Samsun and Adıyaman to suicide. A man living in Germany hired a contract killer to kill his wife. A man attempted to kill his wife in Aydın.
Deaths of two women in İstanbul and Erzurum were reported as "unidentified murder." A man threatened his wife with death. He violated a protection order against him four times.
A woman's suicide at a metrobus station in İstanbul was reported as "suspicious" in the press.
A woman killed her uncle-in-law after he sexually assaulted her.
There were protection orders against the men who killed two women. A woman was killed one week after the protection order against the men who killed her expired. Two of the killed women had been systematically subjected to violence from their husbands.
November
At least 18 women were killed between November 1 and 20.
Deaths of at least 10 women were reported as "suspicious."
Men attempted to kill two women.
One woman was driven to suicide in Antep.
Violence/Injury
Men used violence against at least 532 women in 324 days between January 1, 2019 and November 20, 2019. The medical condition of at least 12 of the women who were subjected to violence was reported as "serious" in the press.
285 women were subjected to violence from their ex-boyfriends, husbands or boyfriends, 45 women from their relatives, 17 women from their employers and friends. The degree of the acquaintance of 42 women to the men who used violence against them was reported as "not known" and of 43 women was reported as "known."
The degree of acquaintance between 85 women and the men who used violence against them was not reported in the press.
Significant details in the cases of violence and injury
Photo: Journalist Zeynep Kuray
*One man inflicted violence on a woman despite a protection order against him.
*Men inflicted violence on more than one trans woman in January.
*Men used violence against one trans woman in February.
*Three of the women who were subjected to violence from men in February were not citizens of Turkey. The country where one woman came from could not be identified. One woman was from the UK and one was from Ukraine. At least three injured women's condition was serious.
*In March, three women were injured by the employees of the venue they went, one woman was injured by a customer who came to the store where she works.
*One of the women who were subjected to violence from men was transgender in April. A lawsuit was not filed against the man for his transphobic speech while the trans woman was sued for "resisting an officer."
*In May, men used violence against two children who were with the women.
*Men killed at least three children in May. All three of them were with their mothers while they were being subjected to violence from the men. In Adana, D.A. (22) battered his/her sibling B.A. (7). In İstanbul, a man drove toward a child and battered him/her.
*Men killed at least one child in June. In İzmir, a man injured his two daughters. A man kidnapped his 11-month-old baby.
*A man killed his sister on the excuse that "she didn't want to marry" in Adana in June.
*In July, a man battered his wife in Kayseri, killing the baby she was carrying. In Diyarbakır, two men battered a girl with clubs after an argument with the women who were with the girl.
*In July, H.Y. (14) battered R.H. (14), who was four months pregnant. The two children were forced to live together with their families. (Peer violence)
*One of the women who were subjected to violence from men in July was mentally disabled. Men had been systematically using violence against at least two women. Men threatened at least three women.
*" The woman should know her place," a man told a woman who was driving a car in July.
*In August, three men inflicted violence against their children in Kayseri, Antalya and İstanbul. Men in Denizli and Çanakkale attempted to kidnap girls who were playing on the street.
*An August, a girl was kidnapped in Samsun. A man who was in the process of divorce kidnapped his two daughters. A man battered his daughter in Bursa. A man battered his two children in Eskişehir. One child was driven to suicide in Diyarbakır. The death of a child in Bursa was reported as "suspicious" in the press. Two children jumped off a building under construction, the incident was reported as "suspicious" in the media.
*A 17-year-old boy killed a 15-year-old girl in Denizli in August (Peer violence). Two girls went missing in Denizli.
*There were protection orders against the men who used violence against four women in September. Men had been systematically torturing three women.
* In September, men also burned down the houses of the women whom they used violence against. One of the men had served 10 years in prison for killing a woman and was released with an amnesty. Men also robbed the women in at least two cases of violence.
*At least six women who were subjected to violence from men are still in life-threatening conditions. The men who used violence against three women had protection orders against them. At least five women were subjected to systematic violence.
*One of the men who used violence against women in October was a judge and another was a brigadier general.
*One of the women who were subjected to violence from men was a citizen of Syria, another was a citizen of Jordan.
Explanation
The bianet Male Violence Monitoring Report only covers women who lost their lives as a result of male violence. We do not include any violence cases or crimes that are not gender-based.
Throughout the year, we keep track of unidentified murders and suspicious deaths of women in separate monthly tallies but do not add them to the number presented in the headline.
At the end of the year, we examine these cases of unidentified murders and suspicious deaths to determine whether the crimes were gender-based. We add the gender-based incidents into the report.
We do not include any murders in the reports that are committed by people with psychological disorders (such as murders committed by people with schizophrenia).
We include suicide or suicide attempt incidents in the tally only if the woman was subjected to violence/ systematic violence in her past. We cover these suicide incidents in a separate category and do not add suicide cases to the number presented in the headline.
In addition, we don't include femicide cases that occur in a mass murder in which the woman was not directly targeted under the condition that the debated incident is not gender based either.
Occupations of the offenders only included in the reports when the incident of violence is related to the occupation of the offender. For example, "Woman was murdered at home by his husband, who is a professional soldier."
We add the violence committed on children by men, to make the extent of violence visible.
bianet kadın ve LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü (Ekim 2018- Şubat 2025). bianet stajyerlerinden (2000-2001). Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, İMC TV için muhabirlik yaptı. Rize'de...
bianet kadın ve LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü (Ekim 2018- Şubat 2025). bianet stajyerlerinden (2000-2001). Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, İMC TV için muhabirlik yaptı. Rize'de yerel gazetelerde çalıştı. Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo ve sektör dergileri için yazılar yazdı, haberleri yayınlandı. Hemşin kültür dergisi GOR’un kurucu yazarlarından. Yeşilden Maviye Karadenizden Kadın Portreleri, Sırtında Sepeti, Medya ve Yalanlar isimli kitaplara katkı sundu. Musa Anter Gazetecilik (2011) ve Türkiye Psikiyatri Derneği (2024) en iyi haber ödülü sahibi. Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası Kadın ve LGBTİ+ Komisyonu kurucularından. Sendikanın İstanbul Şubesi yöneticilerinden (2023-2027). İstanbul Üniversitesi Avrupa Birliği ve Bilgi Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler bölümlerinden mezun. Toplumsal cinsiyet odaklı habercilik ve cinsiyet temelli şiddet haberciliği alanında atölyeler düzenliyor. Şubat 2025'den bu yana kadın haberleri editörü olarak çalışıyor.
bianet Erkek Şiddeti Çetelesi raportörü (Ekim 2019). bianet stajyeri (2015 Ağustos - Eylül). İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Gazetecilik Bölümü mezunu, aynı bölümde İletişim sosyolojisi dalında...
bianet Erkek Şiddeti Çetelesi raportörü (Ekim 2019). bianet stajyeri (2015 Ağustos - Eylül). İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Gazetecilik Bölümü mezunu, aynı bölümde İletişim sosyolojisi dalında yüksek lisans yaptı.
Police chasing protesters following a demonstration at Saraçhane Square. (Ali Dinç/bianet)
A woman detained during protests in İstanbul following the arrest of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has alleged that she was subjected to physical abuse and sexual harassment by police officers.
The woman, who was taken into custody on the night of Mar 22 and later placed under house arrest, described her experience in her police testimony.
“I didn’t damage any public property or resist the police," she wrote. "However, I was subjected to a very harsh intervention. I was pulled by my hair and dragged to the ground. While I was being taken away to be handcuffed, a police officer who said ‘I won't beat you’ took me to the back of the ambulance and I was harassed there. At that moment I wet myself out of fear. The clothes I was wearing were still soaked in urine. The woman officer said 'enough'. But the male policeman who had harassed me before continued to act as if he was in charge."
She further described the violence she endured while in custody. "The male police officer pressed my head with his foot. The doctor's report showed edema and swelling on my left side. While I was being taken to the detention vehicle, the female police officer insulted me by calling me ‘dirty’. I was kept in handcuffs for hours, my hands swollen and bruised."
'Death threats'
When she attempted to report the harassment, she said she received a sarcastic response from officers. “I told a blonde female officer that I had been harassed. She laughed and told me sarcastically, ‘Oh, you were harassed?’
"During a body search, they tied ropes around my wrists and neck to remove the plastic handcuffs. When I said it violated my rights, no one cared.”
The woman said that she was subjected to constant pressure and threats by four women police officers during her detention, and that one of the most severe threats came one of those officers: "They frightened me, put me under constant pressure. A black-haired policewoman told me, 'If you stay in our hands, we will kill you.' The other officers were joking and laughing."
Saying that the dose of violence and torture increased gradually in detention, the woman alleged that they forced her to give a statement and at one point she fainted because she could not bear the pain.
İstanbul Bar following the case
The İstanbul Bar Association’s Women’s Rights Center and lawyers affiliated with the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), including attorneys Ekim Yolcu, Büşra Çakır, and Erdener Doğan Işık, are following the case. The legal team has appealed the court's decision to place her under house arrest.
Protests erupted across Turkey following the Mar 19 detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key opposition figure from the Republican People’s Party (CHP). He was formally arrested on corruption-related and suspended from office on Mar 23.
Protests continued nationwide, with Saraçhane Square in front of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality building being center of the demonstrations.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that between Mar 19 and Mar 27, a total of 1,879 people were taken into custody during the protests. Of those, 260 were formally arrested, 468 were placed under judicial supervision, and 489 were released. Legal proceedings for the remaining 662 individuals are ongoing. (EMK/VK)
bianet kadın ve LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü (Ekim 2018- Şubat 2025). bianet stajyerlerinden (2000-2001). Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, İMC TV için muhabirlik yaptı. Rize'de...
bianet kadın ve LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü (Ekim 2018- Şubat 2025). bianet stajyerlerinden (2000-2001). Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, İMC TV için muhabirlik yaptı. Rize'de yerel gazetelerde çalıştı. Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo ve sektör dergileri için yazılar yazdı, haberleri yayınlandı. Hemşin kültür dergisi GOR’un kurucu yazarlarından. Yeşilden Maviye Karadenizden Kadın Portreleri, Sırtında Sepeti, Medya ve Yalanlar isimli kitaplara katkı sundu. Musa Anter Gazetecilik (2011) ve Türkiye Psikiyatri Derneği (2024) en iyi haber ödülü sahibi. Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası Kadın ve LGBTİ+ Komisyonu kurucularından. Sendikanın İstanbul Şubesi yöneticilerinden (2023-2027). İstanbul Üniversitesi Avrupa Birliği ve Bilgi Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler bölümlerinden mezun. Toplumsal cinsiyet odaklı habercilik ve cinsiyet temelli şiddet haberciliği alanında atölyeler düzenliyor. Şubat 2025'den bu yana kadın haberleri editörü olarak çalışıyor.
LGBTI+ activist İris Mozalar was among the encircled group after the demonstration.
More than 100 women and LGBTI+ activists were detained following the Feminist Night March in Beyoğlu İstanbul on Mar 8.
After the demonstration ended in Cihangir neighborhood, police encircled a group of activists and eventually detained 112 of them. During the confrontation, officers cited the chanting of "banned slogans" as the reason for their action.
Feminist activist Feride Eralp criticized the police response, saying, “There are probably 100 to 200 of us here. Out of a protest attended by thousands, you have somehow managed to trap this small group. This is disgraceful. What you are doing here is completely arbitrary.”
She called on the police to allow the crowd to disperse peacefully. “Do not use violence against women on Mar 8 Women’s Day. If you try to detain us here, you will have to use force on all of us—and you know that. Let this day end without violence. Your duty is to protect women from violence, not to inflict it. These women marched today for their rights and freedoms, for an end to male violence. Let us go.”
Police deployed vehicles to the scene and eventually detained all the encircled demonstrators.
LGBTI+ activist released after arrest request
Among those detained was LGBTI+ activist İris Mozalar, who was later referred to İstanbul’s 3rd Penal Judgeship of Peace with a request for arrest on charges of “insulting the president” and violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.
Mozalar spent the night in police custody before being transferred to Çağlayan Courthouse.
According to Mozalar’s lawyer, Gizem Karaköçek, prosecutors requested the arrest without even taking a statement from Mozalar.
The case file did not provide detailed reasoning for the arrest request, but one of the slogans chanted during the march—“Jump, jump, those who don’t jump are Tayyip”—was listed as evidence for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
During police questioning, Mozalar was also asked about slogans including “Jin, jiyan, azadî” (Woman, life, freedom), “Resistance against all odds, freedom against all odds,” and “If women were free, the world would shake.”
Mozalar was ultimately released under judicial control, with an international travel ban. (TY/VK)
Photo: Journalist Zeynep Kuray
