İSTANBUL - In Istanbul, the Platform against Feminicide presented its report for September and presented a catalog of measures to stop violence against women within twelve months.
In Turkey, 16 women were murdered by men in September and 20 more women died under suspicious circumstances. This was announced by the "We Will Stop Femicide Platform” (Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu, KCDP) at a press conference in the Nazim Hikmet Cultural Center in Istanbul.
Fidan Ataselim, General Secretary of the KCDP explained that in twelve cases the background could not be determined. According to Ataselim, four women were murdered because they wanted to decide on their own lives and, for example, filed for divorce or rejected a relationship. Ataselim attributed the fact that the cause could not be determined for twelve femicides to the fact that violence against women is made invisible in public.
The fight against femicide and violence against women requires a holistic approach, which is guaranteed by the Istanbul Convention, Fidan Ataselim said and continued: "We have fought for years in many different ways for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. All the progress and enacted laws are thanks to this struggle. The Convention makes the public responsible for ensuring that women are empowered, protected and kept alive. It stipulates that appropriate regulations be made.
The women's organization believes that twelve months are sufficient to stop feminicide. Fidan Ataselim presented a catalog of measures with twelve proposals and said: "If one of these measures is implemented every month, at least part of the problems would be solved".
The proposals of the Women's Platform are as follows:
Law No. 6284 for the protection of the family and the prevention of violence against women must be implemented. If security officers do not apply the law, they should be convinced with sanctions.
There must be enough violence prevention centers and women's shelters.
The divorce procedure must be simplified. If violence is involved, no reconciliation must be proposed.
Women must be guaranteed equal and secure participation in working life.
Crimes against women must be legally punished.
Suspicious deaths of women must be carefully investigated and clarified.
Individual armament must be prohibited.
Emergency telephones for women must be available around the clock.
Gender justice must be included in the curriculum.
People with other sexual orientations and gender identities must not be discriminated against.
A separate ministry for women must be established.
Coordination between the institutions must be ensured.