Istanbul, July 1, (dpa/GNA) – Violence against women is rising in Turkey, Amnesty International warned on Thursday, as the country prepares to depart from the Istanbul Convention, a human rights treaty to prevent and combat domestic violence.
“Turkey has set the clock back 10 years for women’s rights,” said Amnesty’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard.
She said Turkey’s withdrawal from the convention sent a “reckless and dangerous message” as perpetrators could avoid punishment.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Turkey’s withdrawal from the treaty in March, in a move that takes effect on Thursday.
The Istanbul Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe in 2011. It aims to create a Europe-wide legal framework to prevent and combat violence against women.
As in many other countries, violence against women is a widespread problem in Turkey. At least 300 women were killed by men there last year, according to the organization Wir Werden Frauenmorde Stoppen, a German platform whose name translates as “We Will Stop the Murders of Women.”
GNA