Discussions about violence against women and sexual violations in Turkey – RayHaber

Violence against women and sexual violations are being discussed in Turkey

Turkey is discussing with great concern the recent increase in violence and murders against women. In Istanbul, two young girls were murdered within half an hour, while a woman was sexually abused on the street. As new cases of femicide and harassment emerge every day, impunity is once again coming to the fore. Women demand effective implementation of the laws, saying: “We are not safe.”

It was alleged that 25-year-old İrem A., who was harassed by two people in Beyoğlu, did not report the incident because she did not want her family to know about the situation and because she did not want them personal information falls into the hands of attackers. The attackers Semir T. and Ömer K. were arrested after the public prosecutor’s office objected. Speaking to Cumhuriyet on this topic, lawyer Özlem Şen pointed out that sensitive data of victims falls into the hands of the perpetrator when they file a complaint. If no complaint is filed, the procedures will not be carried out.

“Pitch Darkness”

Şen continued his words as follows: “Article 102 of the Turkish Penal Code states: ‘Any person who violates the physical integrity of a person through sexual behavior shall be sentenced to five to ten years in prison upon complaint by the victim.’ If the sexual behavior remains at the level of harassment, a prison sentence of two to five years must be imposed.” The crime of simple sexual assault should no longer be the subject of a report. It’s not just the victim who is harmed by the crime, but all women who don’t feel safe. “In addition, an urgent arrangement should be made to ensure that complainants’ address and identity information remains confidential.”

When asked why women do not complain, Şen emphasized how scary the system is: “If the woman complains, the perpetrator may not even be punished, and on top of that, he knows all the information about the place of residence, phone number and identity of the woman who he harassed. We are dealing with a legal system that is not aware of this.”

Explaining that women face victim blaming, Şen said, “You can’t tell women that they didn’t complain!” You can’t prejudice victims without updating your laws to protect women’s information. We can’t bear to lose another woman! We are in the middle of complete darkness. This is no longer femicide, it is genocide. We find ourselves in a rotten system that always witnesses the last moment of women’s screams and then blames them as victims. Not only is a woman being attacked, but also women’s freedom to move freely on the streets. It is impunity that emboldens male perpetrators of murder and sexual assault. Women just want to live freely.”

“There is social decay”

Drawing attention to the fact that there are no deterrent punishments for violent incidents, sociologist Burcu Güdücü said: “The harshest punishments in our country today are probably the punishments for insults to the president.” While punishments are imposed for political crimes, violent incidents are , femicide and harassment are not met with the necessary penalties.”

Güdücü, who pointed out that the constant amnesties also increased violence, said: “Everyone says, ‘What’s the problem, I will kill and continue living my life.’ There are so many amnesties being issued. Maybe there shouldn’t be so many amnesties. The execution system has been changed many times in a short period of time. All of this creates elements that make it easier for people to commit violent crimes. There is social decay in Turkey; In fact, it has even surpassed social decay.”

People close to the government, on the other hand, associate the increasing violence with television series, programs and games. Defense lawyer Adem Sözüer stated that there is no scientific basis for directly attributing the cause of violent crimes to media content, saying, “Politicians and state officials who legitimize violence that do not conform to the rules they have set are trying to reinforce censorship practices.” the media by portraying television series as a cause of violence.”

“IQBAL WAS NOT PROTECTED”

We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP) organized a protest in front of the Edirnekapı Walls for İkbal Uzuner and Ayşenur Halil yesterday. During the protest, the slogans “AKP don’t watch, apply the law” and “You will be held accountable” were chanted. Banners reading “Ministry, open your eyes, women have been killed here” and “We will end impunity, we will stop harassment and murder” were opened. The press release issued during the protest, which was supported by many political parties, drew attention to the negligence during the murder trial of Ikbal Uzuner.

In the statement, they expressed their reaction by saying: “Semih Çelik made a video before killing İqbal. İqbal complained about Çelik many times. Çelik made a drawing in which he would kill İqbal. It is said that he killed him through planning. İqbal was not protected. Ministries, you know? When we explain the data here, people turn a blind eye. Iqbal was killed here yesterday and his head was thrown from the walls. Don’t you see that too?”