In recent years, significant changes have been made in Turkey to tackle the issue of violence against women. Turkey has adopted new policies and enacted important legislation in line with international regulations. In spite of this progress, there are problems with implementing existing regulations. This indicates that more needs to be done, in compliance with international standards, to prevent violence against women.
Various changes have been introduced in Turkey, including Turkish Constitution No. 2709, Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 and the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721. In May 2011, Turkey signed the Council of Europe's Convention preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence ("Istanbul Convention"). Turkey was the first country to ratify the Istanbul Convention in March 2012, with a unanimous vote from all parties represented in the Turkish Parliament, which resulted in the Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women No. 6284.
Law No. 4320 on the Protection of the Family, which was established in 1998, was the first legal text on domestic violence in the country and was insufficient in preventing violence against women. Therefore, Law No. 6284 was adopted in 2012 on the basis of the Istanbul Convention.
- Turkish Constitution No. 2709[1]
- Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237[2]
- Turkish Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271[3]
- Turkish Civil Code No. 4721[4]
- Turkish Labor Law No. 4857[5]
- Juvenile Protection Law No. 5395[6]
- Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women No. 6284[7]
- Implementation Regulation on the Law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women No. 6284[8]
Law No. 6284 provides protection for domestic violence in general regardless of gender. It aims to protect the women, children, family members and victims of stalking who have been subject to the violence or are at risk of violence (Article 1/1 of Law No. 6284).
Important remarks on the recent updates concerning the status of the Istanbul Convention and Law No. 6284 in Turkey
Since the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the pro-government and conservative segment in Turkey have been constantly trying to discredit it, claiming that it is a threat to Turkish family structure. They have claimed that the Istanbul Convention "damaged family unity and encouraged divorce, and that its references to equality were being used by the LGBT community to gain broader acceptance in society." On 20 March 2021, the president of the Republic of Turkey announced Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention with a Presidential Decree,[9] which constitutes a usurpation of legislative powers.
Hundreds of women gathered at demonstrations all over Turkey to protest against the move. Domestic violence and femicide remain a serious problem in Turkey. Last year, 300 women were murdered and the rate is speeding up, with 225 killed so far in 2021.
The withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention constitutes an unconstitutional setback in the protection of women. As per Article 90/1 of the Turkish Constitution, international agreements are subject to adoption by the Turkish Parliament with a statutory law approving the ratification; this article does not foresee any procedure for withdrawal or termination. However, the principle of parallelism requires procedural coherency for enactment and withdrawal. In line with the principle of parallelism of competence and procedure, the Turkish Parliament should have the authority to withdraw from international agreements by enacting a statutory law. This argument is reinforced by the fact that per Article 90/5 of the Turkish Constitution, international agreements that are duly put into effect have the force of statutory law. The Turkish Constitution does not grant any explicit authority to the president to issue a Presidential Decree to terminate an international agreement.
Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 9 regarding the termination of international agreements, which was adopted shortly after the adoption of the presidential system in 2017, served as a legal basis for the presidential decision terminating the Istanbul Convention. Yet, Article 104 of the Turkish Constitution stipulates that presidential decrees may only be issued on matters pertaining to the executive power, and fundamental rights and freedoms should be regulated exclusively by laws.
The opposition parties in Turkey applied to the Turkish Constitutional Court arguing that the presidential decree was unconstitutional. There is optimism among the opposition that the constitutional court may announce a verdict that the convention will stay in place as it was ratified by parliament. If the Turkish Constitutional Court agrees that the presidential decree is unconstitutional, the Council of State can cancel the presidential decision (statement from the Association of Research on Constitutional Law (ARCL) on the Presidential Decision on the Istanbul Convention).[10]
Furthermore, the Law on Amending the Criminal Procedure Code and Certain Laws, commonly known as the "4th Judicial Package," introduced by the government to the Parliamentary Justice Commission, was adopted by the Turkish Parliament and published in the Official Gazette No. 31541 dated 14 July 2021. The amendments to the Turkish Criminal Procedure Code introduce a concrete evidence condition for the catalogue offenses, which include terrorism, genocide, crimes against humanity, intentional killing as well as sexual assault and sexual harassment of children.
Intentional murder, intentional injury, torture and deprivation of liberty committed against a former spouse have also become qualified forms of the relevant crimes, as crimes committed against a spouse, and the punishment is accordingly aggravated.
Prosecutors, family courts, courts of first instance and criminal courts are involved in domestic violence cases.
In addition, special courts have been created to expedite decisions within the scope of Law No. 6284. The Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors has appointed special courts to accelerate the "preventive and protective injunction" as a result of the increase in violence against women and domestic violence. The decision was published in the Official Gazette on 30 December 2019.[11]Domestic violence victims can civilly sue and initiate a criminal proceeding against an abuser.
- Article 58 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 stipulates that nonpecuniary damages can be requested due to an attack on personal rights.
- In addition, in Articles 24 and 25 of the Turkish Civil Code, it is stated that compensation can be requested in cases arising from the violation of personal rights.