Femicide, deadly violence against women or girls, is on the rise in Turkey. Aid groups say a lack of education and a social climate favorable to perpetrators is to blame.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Turkey, 2024.
00:03The country hasn't had this many cases of deadly violence against women in many years.
00:08In October alone, 48 women were killed, most by partners or family members.
00:19Every time I read about the murder of a woman, it all comes back.
00:23My body trembles, the adrenaline flows.
00:26I actually feel the pain these women must have felt.
00:33Abject fear still pursues Özgür Gülbaş whenever she leaves her apartment in Eskişehir,
00:39western Turkey.
00:41Five years have passed since she was nearly killed by her ex-husband.
00:46He stabbed her 16 times with a knife.
00:53Gülbaş carries a GPS receiver with her at all times.
00:57The culprit is back on the streets, with only an ankle monitor keeping track of him.
01:02If he gets too close to her, an alarm sounds.
01:04But she can't shake the uncertainty.
01:11I always have to carry this device with me and always keep the battery charged.
01:15But still, I rarely go anywhere.
01:22Gülbaş's voice can be heard at many a demonstration against femicide around Turkey.
01:35The offices of the We Will Stop Femicide platform are one of the few places Gülbaş still regularly
01:40visits.
01:41As a survivor, she does what she can to support women.
01:49These women have always supported me in my struggle for justice.
01:52And so I've decided to help other women and mothers who, like me, have become victims
01:58of violence in their own struggles.
02:05The activists plan the next protests.
02:08The organization is facing a potential ban.
02:12The government is accusing it of infringing on morals and family values.
02:18At the same time, Turkish women are increasingly having to worry about their safety out on
02:22the streets.
02:23At any time, I can be attacked or even killed by a man known or unknown to me.
02:30We can't allow ourselves to get used to living with that in this day and age.
02:39The number of fatalities recorded here keeps rising.
02:42By the end of 2024, there will be many more than the 400 already counted, not to mention
02:47unsolved murders.
02:54Women are allegedly falling out of hotel room windows or from their balconies.
02:59And the media report it as suicide.
03:01On top of that is the widespread culture of impunity that we have to fight against.
03:07After conviction, penalties for many of the perpetrators are reduced.
03:14This was the case for Özgür Gülbaş's ex-husband.
03:17Initially he was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder.
03:24For Gülbaş and her young son, it was a brief respite.
03:28But then came the appeal hearings.
03:33He was credited with time served in pretrial custody.
03:38Then the sentence was only one year in prison, and he didn't even have to serve all of that.
03:44At some point you start to wonder if you don't bear some of the guilt yourself.
03:50The courts and the authorities are always making you feel like you do.
03:56Turkey's opposition parties are outraged over the inadequate protection of women against
04:00violence.
04:01They accuse ErdoÄŸan's administration of encouraging perpetrators.
04:08With just one signature, Mr Tayyip ErdoÄŸan left the international convention combating
04:13violence against women.
04:15And with that, the state ended its support for our women.
04:21The people in the streets of EskiÅŸehir lay the blame for the rise in violence against
04:25women on a lack of education.
04:31The more people read and educate themselves, the more understanding they develop for their
04:35partners.
04:39It's very clearly inadequate education, and a matter of how you raise your own children.
04:45Özgür Gülbaş agrees.
04:47She does what she can to keep her own son insulated against the culture of violence
04:51against women that's so widespread in Turkey.
04:55I want him to become a good member of society, above all, one that shows respect for women.
05:04I dedicate myself tirelessly to that end.
05:07Survivors like Özgür Gülbaş carry the banner of hope for Turkey.
05:12Hope for a world in which women can live without fear.