Photo: APTurkish police prevented a protest march in Istanbul on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. On the same occasion, the President of Turkey stated that no woman should be exposed to violence. The Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on the Protection of Women from Violence is criticized by conservative politicians in many countries even after 11 years.
According to the "We will stop femicide" group, at least 349 women have been killed in Turkey since the beginning of the year.
And yet, yesterday, Friday, Turkish police in Istanbul broke up a protest organized on the occasion of the International Day against Violence against Women. Participants in the protest called for an end to violence against women and for Turkey to return to an agreement aimed at protecting them, and dozens of people were detained.
Also yesterday, speaking at an event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said he would "continually raise the bar" in preventing violence against women.
"We cannot give consent for even one woman to be exposed to violence," he said.
Last year, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe, which aims to protect women from all forms of violence and prevent, process and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence. This decision was made by President Erdogan, without a parliamentary debate and the voice of Turkish civil society.
The decision to abandon the convention came after some officials in Erdogan's Islamist party argued that it ran counter to Turkey's conservative values and that the convention encourages divorce and undermines the traditional family unit.
The Istanbul Convention is the first European treaty and the most far-reaching international treaty to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The Istanbul Convention states that men and women have equal rights and commits the country's authorities to take steps to prevent violence against women, protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
The Convention provides protection against forms of violence that are often not incorporated into national laws, such as sexual harassment or forced marriage, and requires protection for all victims, regardless of age, origin, sexual orientation or immigration status. It was founded in 2011, and so far 34 countries have signed it, and 12 have not yet.
Conservative politicians and groups believe that the Convention threatens "traditional" families, promotes homosexuality and so-called "gender ideology" and erodes "national values".
Polish Minister of Justice Zbignew Ziobro announced in July last year that he would request the country's withdrawal from the Convention. The Hungarian parliament blocked the ratification in May last year. The Slovak parliament has blocked ratification several times, the last time in February last year. It took Croatia five years after signing to ratify the Convention, with great opposition from right-wing groups and pressure from the Catholic Church.
Azerbaijan and Russia are the only countries of the Council of Europe that have not yet signed the agreement.
Montenegro signed the Istanbul Convention in 2011, and it entered into force in 2013. Serbia ratified it in 2013, and that document entered into force in August 2014, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Slovenia ratified it in 2015, and Macedonia in 2018. Kosovo did so last in September 2020.
S.Ć./RSE
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