Pursuant to Article 2(1)(b) of Law No. 6284, "domestic violence" means any physical, sexual, psychological and/or economic violence between the following:
Pursuant to Article 2(1)(e) of Law No. 6284 a "victim" is defined as the person who is directly or indirectly subject to or at risk of the attitudes and behaviors that are defined as violence and the person who is affected by violence or at risk of being affected by violence.
Violence will mean the acts that result or will probably result in a person having physical, sexual, psychological and financial sufferings or pain and any physical, sexual, psychological, verbal or economic attitude and behavior that include the threat, pressure and arbitrary violation of a person's freedom in a social, public and private space.Victims are entitled to a wide range of protective and preventive measures. These measures can be taken ex officio or upon the request of a judge, law enforcement officers or administrative chiefs.
The following protective cautionary measures are available to the civilian authority or, if the delay is considered risky, to the law enforcement chief:
The following protective measures are available to a judge:
The following preventive measures are available to a judge or, in case the delay is considered risky, to the law enforcement chief against the abuser:
The Turkish Criminal Code penalizes sexual abuse in general, which means the violation of the sexual immunity of a person. The abuser could be sentenced upon the complaint of the victim. Thus, the Turkish Criminal Code does not differentiate between sexual abuse of an independent individual and the sexual abuse of a spouse. As such, every provision of the Turkish Criminal Code relating to sexual abuse will also be applied to marital rape. If the sexual abuse is committed by inserting an organ or instrument into a body, the act constitutes a more severe form of the crime. The Turkish Criminal Code notes that in such a case, and if the victim is the spouse, the commencement of investigation or prosecution is bound to the complaint of the victim.
Among others — in relation to marital rape — the following circumstances could qualify as aggravating circumstances. If the sexual abuse is committed: