Men killed at least 28 women and a child in April, according to reports compiled by bianet from local and national newspapers, news sites and agencies.
Men injured at least 40 women, abused at least 20 girls and boys, and harassed 20 women in April. Men forced 184 women into sex work.
The deaths of 40 women and 8 children in April were “suspecious” cases where it could not be definitvely determined whether they were gender-based or not.
Suspicious deaths of women reported in the press in April
Adana (1), Afyon (1), Ağrı (1), Aksaray (4), Amasya (1), Antep (1), Aydın (3), Batman (3), Burdur (3), Bursa (1), Dersim (1), Diyarbakır (1), Düzce (1), Elazığ (1), Eskişehir (1), Hatay (1), Isparta (1), İstanbul (1), Kastamonu (1), Manisa (2), Mardin (1), Niğde (1), Rize (1), Samsun (1), Sinop (1), Sivas (1), Tekirdağ (1), Tokat (1), Urfa (1), Zonguldak (1)
Suspicious deaths of children reported in the press in April
Çankırı (1), Edirne (1), Hakkari (1), Isparta (1), Kars (1), Mersin (1), Urfa (2).
Femicide
Men killed at least 28 women in April, compared to 36 in the same month last year. One of the women killed by the men was a citizen of Azerbaijan.
Names of the women killed by men in April
Ayşe Karademir, Bahar A., B.I., Cangül Ç., Ceylinaz Ş., Deniz B., Elif K., Fatma Ekinci, Fatma K., Hatice Kocaefe, Hatice Kübra Duran, Hatice Yeysikan, Kerime A., Maise Bayramova, Medine H., Medine K., Müslümat Özer, Nazlı Yılmaz, Nurcan Ç., Ruhan Çalu, Selver S., Serap Yılmaz, Serpil Özlem Argüden, Sevimgül Bodur, Şahsenem Zoroğlu, Türkan Bildik, Yonca Kölge, Zekiye Z.
Men killed six women because they did not want to separate/make peace. Men killed two women to rob them. The men's excuses for killing 20 women was not reported in the press.
14 women were killed by their husbands, partners, and ex-husbands, four women by family members such as their sons and fathers, two women by their sons-in-law, one woman by her neighbor, and three women by her friends/relatives. The degree of acquaintance between one man and four women whom he killed was not reported in the press.
Men killed 20 women inside the house and eight women outside the house.
Men killed 21 women with firearms and five women with cutting tools. Men strangled a woman and beat and killed another woman.
Provinces where men killed women
Adana (2), Afyon (1), Ankara (2), Antep (1), Ardahan (1), Bursa (2), Çanakkale (2), Diyarbakır (1), Erzurum (1), Hatay (1), Iğdır (1), İstanbul (6), İzmir (2), Maraş (1), Mersin (1), Muğla (2), Samsun (1)
Legal proceedings
There were at least 34 perpetrators of femicide. 24 perpetrators were arrested. 10 perpetrators killed themselves.
Femicide solved in April
It has been determined that a woman named Havva Yıldırım, who was killed in Antalya in 2011, was strangled to death by a man named S.K. The man was taken into custody and arrested.
In Manisa, it was determined that Mürşide Böcüne (69), a woman found dead in her home in March, was strangled to death by a man named E.A. (32), who had stolen her gold. The man, who was taken into custody, was arrested. An investigation has been launched.
It was determined that Gülistan Doku, a woman who went missing on January 5, 2020, in Dersim, was shot to death by a man named M.T.S. After being taken into custody, M.T.S. was arrested on charges of “intentional homicide.” As part of the investigation, nine people were arrested on charges of “concealing and destroying evidence.”
Child murder
In April 2026, men killed at least one child. Last year, that number was two.
A father killed his child. He killed the child with a firearm inside the home.
Name of the child killed by men
Irmak Nehir B.
Province where men killed a child
Ankara (1)
Legal proceedings
There was one perpetrator who killed a child. He killed himself.
Harassment
In April, men harassed at least 20 women. That number was 15 in the same month last year.
The men harassed the women in public spaces.
One woman was harassed by a municipal employee, three by colleagues who were principals or teachers, and one by an academic. The identities of the men who harassed the remaining 15 women were not reported in the press.
Provinces where men harassed women
Afyon (1), Edirne (2), İstanbul (5), Kayseri (1), Kocaeli (1), Mardin (1), Muğla (1), Samsun (1), Sakarya (1), Tokat (4), Yalova (1), Zonguldak (1)
Legal proceedings
There were 16 perpetrators who harassed women. Legal proceedings were initiated against five of them. Arrest warrants were issued for six of them. Two of them were placed under judicial supervision. Two of them were taken into custody. The legal proceedings against one of them were not reported in the media.
Child abuse
Men abused 15 children in April. Last year, that number was 39. One of the children abused by men was a Vocational Education Center (MESEM) student.
Two children were abused by an imam, two by a friend/neighbor, one by an employer, one by school staff, one by a friend of the father, one by the father, one by a boyfriend, one by a cafeteria worker, and one by a teacher. The identity of the man who abused two of the children was not reported in the media.
Provinces where men abused children
Aydın (1), Antep (1), Balıkesir (2), Diyarbakır (3), Kocaeli (2), Konya (1), Muğla (1), Samsun (1), Sakarya (1), Şırnak (2).
Legal proceedings
There were at least 13 male perpetrators who abused children. Two perpetrators were placed under judicial supervision. Investigations were launched against two perpetrators. One perpetrator fled. Eight perpetrators were arrested.
Sexual assault/rape
Men raped one woman in April. He was a film director.
Provinces where men raped women
İstanbul (1)
Legal proceedings
There was one perpetrator who raped a woman. Legal action was initiaed against him.
Violence/Injury
Men injured at least 50 women in April. In the same month last year, that number was 44. The perpetrators included police officers and non-commissioned officers.
At least eight women were taken to the hospital with injuries.
At least 30 women were injured by their husbands or boyfriends; two by their neighbors; two by relatives; and eight by family members such as fathers or sons. The identity of the man who injured eight women was not reported in the media.
Men injured at least 16 women because they “did not want to reconcile or wanted to break up.” Men's pretexts for injuring 34 women was not reported in the media.
Men injured 23 women inside the home and 27 women outside the home.
Men injured at least 39 women with firearms and five women with sharp objects. They attempted to strangle one woman, set one woman on fire, and injured four women with firearms.
Provinces where men inflicted violence on women
Adana (2), Adıyaman (1), Ankara (1), Antep (1), Aydın (1), Bolu (1), Bursa (1), Dersim (1), Diyarbakır (2), Edirne (16), İstanbul (9), Kastamonu (1), Kırıkkale (1), Mersin (1), Muğla (3), Sakarya (3), Samsun (1), Sivas (2), Trabzon (1), Yozgat (1)
Legal proceedings
There were at least 49 perpetrators of violence against women. Only 6 perpetrators were arrested. Investigations were launched against at least 29 perpetrators. Six perpetrators fled. Four perpetrators were taken into custody. The legal proceedings involving eight perpetrators were not reported in the media.
Forced sex work
In April, men forced 184 women into sex work. In the same month last year, that number was 59. Children were also among those forced into sex work. All of the women forced into sex work were Turkish citizens.
Provinces where men forced women into sex work
Adana (9), Ankara (39), Antep (21), Erzurum (23), İstanbul (58), Maraş (21), Nevşehir (7), Samsun (6).
Legal proceedings
At least 143 men forced women into sex work. Fifty-eight perpetrators were arrested, and 85 were taken into custody.
Explanation
bianet Male Violence Monitoring Report only covers women who lost their lives as a result of male violence reported in the press.
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."
(EMK/VK)
