| Summary: | In Turkey, approximately 42 percent of all women, and 47 percent of women in rural areas, have experienced physical or sexual violence by a husband or partner at some stage in their lives. This report documents the experiences of women in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Van, Trabzon, and Diyarbakır who endured violence and sought help from the state. Women we interviewed described brutal and long-lasting violence by husbands, in-laws, and other family members. Human Rights Watch documented women and girls as young as fourteen being raped, stabbed, kicked in the abdomen when pregnant, beaten with hammers, sticks, branches, and hoses to the point of broken bones and fractured skulls, locked up with dogs or other animals, starved, shot with a stun gun, injected with poison, pushed off a rooftop, and subjected to severe psychological violence. Despite some impressive law reforms to address violence against women in Turkey, including the availability of civil protection orders, there are gaps in law and even greater failings in implementation, making the protection system unpredictable at best. Domestic violence shelters in Turkey, far too few to meet the demand, exclude certain categories of women, and in some cases have poor conditions and inadequate security. The Turkish government should amend the family protection law to fill the gaps and should systematically and proactively improve its implementation. Failing to do so constitutes not just a violation of Turkish law, but also violations of international and regional human rights law.
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