Interior minister claims violence against women declines in Turkey

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Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has said that violence against women has declined in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the last year.

As a result of the efforts by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, the number of feminicides decreased by 21 percent compared to the last year, he said at a meeting on combating violence against women today (April 9).

According to bianet's Male Violence Monitor, men killed at least 91 women in the first three months of the year, with 22, 33 and 36 feminicides in January, February, and March, respectively. In the first three months of 2020, at least 61 women were killed in feminicides.

In the last year, at least 284 women were killed in feminicides and at least 255 women were killed in incidents that couldn't be definitely identified as feminicides, shows the Monitor. Released monthly, the Monitor keeps track of different types of male violence, namely femincides, child abuse and murders, violence and injury, sexual assault and harassment and forced sex work.

The minister also said that the number of incidents considered within the scope of Law No. 6284 on preventing violence against women was 55,231 in the first three months of the year, with an eight percent decrease from the same period last year.

CLICK - Men kill 36 women in March

CLICK - Men kill 33 women in February

CLICK - Men kill 22 women in January

CLICK - Men kill at least 284 women in 2020

Also speaking at the event, Family Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk defended President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's overnight decision to pull Turkey out of the İstanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty on combating violence against women.

"Also with the will of our president, we continue to show our will stronger day by day in combating violence against women," he said. "We don't get our strength from text, we get our strength from the nation's will."

Erdoğan's move has drawn criticism and protests from women's rights advocates and opposition, with several lawsuits filed against the decision. (DŞ/VK)