Turkey officially leaves treaty on violence against women

Published on : 07/01/2021 – 10:48

Despite a strong mobilization in the country against this project, Turkey officially withdrew on Thursday 1^er July of an international convention against violence against women, implementing a decision announced last March by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan which provoked criticism from many Turkish citizens and Western allies of Ankara.

Thousands of protesters are scheduled to take to the streets of the country on Thursday, as an appeals court this week dismissed an appeal to suspend Turkey’s withdrawal from the convention.

“We will continue our struggle,” Canan Gullu, president of the Federation of Turkish Women’s Associations, said on Wednesday. “Turkey is shooting itself in the foot with this decision.”

Since last March, she added, women and other vulnerable groups have become more reluctant to seek help and less inclined to receive it, while economic hardship linked to the health crisis in the country. coronavirus have accentuated domestic violence.

A convention negotiated in Turkey

The Istanbul Convention, negotiated in the Turkish city and ratified in 2011, commits its signatories to preventing domestic violence, initiating legal proceedings when necessary, and promoting equality.

However, many conservatives in Turkey and in the ranks of President Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) believe that the convention harms family structures that protect society.

Some even see it as promoting homosexuality because of the anti-discrimination principles linked to sexual orientation included in the text.

“Our country’s withdrawal from the Convention will not lead to any legal or practical loophole in preventing violence against women,” Erdogan’s services said in a statement sent to the administrative court on Tuesday.

With AFP