MALE VIOLENCE 2019
Men Kill At Least 328 Women in 2019
With thanks to journalist Murat Utku for his voice-over in the video...
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
According to the up-to-date data based on the news compiled by bianet from local, national and Internet media from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, men killed at least 328 women and 15 children, including babies, raped 51 women, forced 712 women to sex work, harassed 232 women and abused 279 children in Turkey throughout 2019.
Men also inflicted violence on at least 630 women in 2019. The deaths of at least 134 women were reported in the news as "suspicious".
While the deaths of at least 134 women were reported in the press as "suspicious" in 2019, the deaths of at least 12 women were reported in the news as "unidentified murders."
Throughout 2019, men attempted to kill at least 20 women. Men threatened at least 23 women with death in 2019. The deaths of 30 women, including transgender women, were reported in the news as "suicides", "driven into suicide" or "suspicious suicides".
Murder / Feminicide
In 2019, men killed at least 328 women, 15 children, including babies, and at least 29 men who were with the women at the moment of feminicide. 19 women killed by men in 2019 were not citizens of Turkey.
The rate of feminicides increased by 29 percent in comparison with the previous year. The rate of male violence in 2019 also increased by 27 percent when compared to 2018.
Where did men kill women?
Men killed 171 women at home and 84 women in public places such as workplaces, streets, woods and traffic. The places where men killed 73 women were not reported in the news.
While men killed 52 percent of women at home, they killed 26 percent of them in public places such as parks, woods, traffic, hospitals and medical centers. In 23 percent of feminicide cases, the scenes of incident were not reported in the press.
Who killed women?
56 percent of women were killed by their husbands/ex-husbands.
In 2019, at least 185 women were killed by their husbands/husbands of religious marriage/ex-husbands, 44 women by their boyfriends/ex-boyfriends, 39 women by their relatives (such as fathers, big brothers, sons-in-law, brothers, sons and grandsons), six women by male acquaintances, nine women by male strangers, one woman by a police officer, one woman by her customer, four women by their neighbors, nine women by their friends, one woman by her employer, one woman by a burglar that broke into her house and one woman by her householder. The relation/acquaintance between perpetrators and women in at least 27 feminicide cases was not reported in the press.
How did men kill women?
Men killed 52 percent of women with firearms and 28 percent of them with sharp objects. Men killed 11 percent of women by battering and poisoning.
Men killed 170 women with firearms, 91 women with sharp objects such as knives and saws, 37 women by burning, throwing acidic water, battering and torturing. While men killed 20 women by strangling them, the methods of killing in at least 10 feminicide cases were not reported in the news.
Under what 'pretext' did men kill women?
In 2019, men killed 16 percent of women because they did not want to divorce and nine percent under the pretext of jealousy.
While men killed 54 women under the pretext that "they wanted to divorce" or "did not want to reconcile", they killed 28 women under the pretext of "jealousy", 21 women on "economic" excuses, nine women under the pretext that "they did not let the men see their children, the men did not like them or exerted pressure on them" and men killed eight women under the pretext that "their daughters did not want to reconcile."
While the "excuses" of men for killing at least 192 women were not reported in the news, men killed one woman because she warned him while he was cheating in an exam, two women following a sexual assault and three women during burglary/mugging.
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Judicial process According to the news compiled by bianet from local and national newspapers, news websites and agencies, among the men who killed women in 2019 were also two police officers and one gendarmerie officer. One of the perpetrators was younger than 18. At least 337 men killed women in 2019. In some feminicide cases, there were more than one perpetrator. Only 93 perpetrators were arrested. The judicial status of 147 perpetrators was reported in the press as "taken into custody" or "turned himself in", the status of 54 perpetrators was reported as "committed suicide" and that of 15 perpetrators as "fled." While two perpetrators were reported in the news as "wanted", 16 perpetrators were reported as "released" and one perpetrator as "an investigation was launched." The judicial processes of 25 perpetrators were not reported in the press. |
The provinces where men killed women
Child murders
According to the updated data based on the news compiled by bianet from local, national and Internet media in Turkey between January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, men killed at least 15 children under the pretext of harming or taking revenge on the women that they inflicted violence.
There were also babies among the children killed my men in 2019. Two of the killed children were from Afghanistan. One child had down syndrome.
While 10 children were killed by their fathers, two children were killed by their maternal uncles, two children by their big brothers and one child by his/her cousin.
The names of following killed children were reported in the news:
A.D., Efkan B., K.K., Nadiv Q., Maryam Q., Sude Naz A., Z.Y.
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Judicial process Six perpetrators were taken into custody and four perpetrators were reported in the news as "fled." The status of at least five perpetrators was not reported in the news. |
Rape
According to the updated data based on the news compiled by bianet from local, national and Internet media from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, men raped 51 women in 2019.
In five cases, women were also mugged by men. At least three women were threatened to not tell others about the rape.
One woman raped by men was a transgender woman and one woman was not a citizen of Turkey. While one woman raped by men in 2019 was sight-disabled, ten women had mental disabilities.
Among the perpetrators were also a private clinic owner veterinary-academic and a research associate.
Who raped women?
In at least three cases, there were more than one perpetrator.
32 perpetrators were male strangers. While six women were raped by their neighbors/friends, five women were raped by their husbands/boyfriends and five women were raped by their relatives such as maternal uncles and big brothers. Three women were raped by the burglars that broke into their houses, two women were raped by research associates/academics, one woman by the man who called her for a job interview and one woman by the man that she met on social media. The relation/acquaintance between the perpetrators and women in at least seven cases of rape was not reported.
Where did men rape women?
Men raped 21 women at home and 22 women in public places such as a veterinary clinic, street, park and woods. It was not reported in the news where men raped eight women.
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Judicial process 33 perpetrators were arrested. 14 perpetrators were detained. An investigation was launched against three perpetrators. Eight perpetrators were referred to courthouse. At least four perpetrators were released on probation. The judicial status of one perpetrator was reported in the news as "fled" and that of another as "wanted." The judicial process of one perpetrator was not reported in the news. |
Harassment
Men harassed at least 232 women in 2019. Two of the harassed women were from the Netherlands and one was from Morocco. One woman had disabilities.
Three of the women harassed women when they get out of prison "on leave."
Who harassed women?
Women did not know 120 men who harassed them. At least 90 women were harassed by public officers such as doctors, university presidents, research associates, police officers, prison wardens and judges, one woman was harassed by a fake dentist, three women were harassed by their relatives, and three women were harassed by religious officials. The degree of acquaintance between at least 15 women and men who harassed them was not reported in the press.
How did men harass women?
Men verbally and physically harassed at least 188 women. Harassing at least 25 women with cyberattacks (mobile phone-social media), men harassed 10 women by shooting their photos or videos. Men showed their sexual organs to eight women and interfered with one woman's skirt length.
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Judicial process Only 30 men were arrested and 47 men were detained. Not any action was taken against 12 perpetrators. Investigations were launched against 22 men. 23 perpetrators were released. Seven perpetrators were killed by the women they harassed or relatives of the women they harassed. Duty places of at least three perpetrators were changed. One perpetrator was put under house arrest. The judicial situation of one perpetrator was reported as "at large." A case was filed against one perpetrator. Five perpetrators were extradited. Protection orders were issued against two perpetrators. The judicial situation regarding at least 76 perpetrators was not reported in the press. |
Child abuse
Men abused 279 children, including boys.
Three of the children were from Syria. Four cases of abuse were revealed after it was understood that the children were pregnant.
Who abused children?
Children did not know 184 men who abused them. 43 children were abused by officials including school principals, teachers and school bus drivers. At least 25 children were abused by their fathers, step-fathers and elder brothers. Two children were abused by their employers, one child by a dentist, and five children by their neighbors. The degree of acquaintance between the perpetrators and 41 abused children was not reported in the press.
Where did men abuse children?
Men abused 154 children in public places (school, schoolyard, school bus, grocery store, Quran course), 41 children at home, 12 on social media. Where men abused 62 children was not reported in the press.
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Judicial process 166 perpetrators were arrested. At least 76 perpetrators were detained. Investigations were opened against nine perpetrators. Three perpetrators were reported as "at large," six were reported as "wanted" in the press. At least 14 perpetrators were released. The judicial situation regarding 13 perpetrators was not reported in the press. No sanctions were imposed on six perpetrators. One perpetrator committed suicide. Five perpetrators were killed by the relatives of the children. One perpetrator was sentenced to house arrest for 90 days. |
Violence / Injury
Men inflicted violence on and injured 630 women. Men burned down or attempted to burn down the houses of four women whom they inflicted violence on.
Six of the women who were subjected to violence by men were trans women. There were police officers and neighborhood guards among those who used violence on trans women.
Police officers committed a hate crime, using homophobic expressions when trans women went to the police station to file a complaint.
Men used violence on at least 16 women despite having protection orders against them. Men systematically used violence on at least eight women. Medical conditions of at least 12 women were reported as "critical" in the press.
At least five women who were subjected to violence from men were not citizens of Turkey (Jordan, Morocco, Syria). Only three of the women were placed in women's shelters.
Who inflicted violence on women?
427 women were subjected to violence from their husbands/ex-husbands/boyfriends/ex-boyfriends/men whom they married in an unofficial religious ceremony. 32 women were subjected to violence by men whom they do not know. 42 women were subjected to violence from family members / relatives (father, elder brother, son, son-in-law). Eight women were subjected to violence from taxi drivers, 10 women from their neighbors, at least three women from their employers, and five women from their friends. At least 20 women did not know the man who inflicted violence on them.
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Judicial process Only 63 of the perpetrators were arrested. At least 120 perpetrators were detained. The judicial situation regarding at least 70 perpetrators was reported as "an investigation has been launched", "inquiry is continuing" in the press. Any action was not taken against seven perpetrators. Eight perpetrators were killed by women they inflicted violence on or relatives of the women. The judicial situation regarding 18 perpetrators was reported as "at large," 20 perpetrators were reported as "wanted" in the press. Restraining orders were imposed on three perpetrators. One perpetrator was given a fine of reading a book. One perpetrator was sentenced to house arrest. Women filed criminal complaints against at least 20 perpetrators. Any action was not taken against perpetrators who inflicted violence on trans women. The women were investigated instead. |
Forced sex work
Men forced at least 712 women to sex work. Five of them were children under the age of 18, three of them had mental disabilities.
289 of the women were not citizens of Turkey. At least three of them were forced to sex work at gunpoint.
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Judicial process 225 of the perpetrators were arrested. 304 perpetrators were reported in the press as "detained." 107 of the perpetrators were released. The situation of 21 perpetrators was reported as "a lawsuit was filed" and of three perpetrators were reported as "at large." Four perpetrators were given monetary fines. The judicial process regarding 20 perpetrators was not reported in the press. |
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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. |
(EMK/VK/SD)