02/08/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
On the tenth anniversary of the Istanbul Convention, from which Turkey has withdrawn, the Women for Women’s Human Rights has called on the Constitutional Court to “put an end to this precarious situation.” The association highlighted that the withdrawal has been accompanied by an increase in hate speech targeting LGBTI+ people.
Photograph: Evin Arslan / csgorselarsiv.org
Women for Women’s Human Rights Association (WWHR / KİH) issued a statement regarding the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention. Recalling that the Istanbul Convention entered into force on 1 August 2014, the association said, “For the past 10 years, the Istanbul Convention has been the greatest guarantee that millions of women, children and all those at risk of domestic violence, without discrimination based on race, language, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation and gender identity, age or disability, can live free from violence, fearlessly and freely in the countries where it is in force.”
“LGBTI+ citizens were targeted with hate speech at the highest level of the state”
Noting that Turkey withdrew from the Convention by presidential decree in 2021, the association said:
“Unfortunately, the Istanbul Convention is no longer a legal guarantee for millions of women, children and victims of domestic violence in Turkey, because Turkey withdrew from the Convention overnight in March 2021 with a presidential decree, despite months of struggle by the entire society, especially women, and became the first and only country in the world to withdraw from a human rights convention. In the justification for the withdrawal prepared by the Directorate of Communication, LGBTI+ citizens were targeted with hate speech at the highest level of the state.
In the last three years, there has been no rights-based approach to gender equality in the fight against violence. Due to family-oriented policies and practices that define women not as equal citizens, but only in the role of motherhood within the family, violence against women and domestic violence in Turkey continues with all its bitterness. While women’s rights under the Civil Code and Law No. 6284 are discussed at every opportunity, perpetrators of violence are rewarded with impunity through amnesties disguised as enforcement provisions and sexist judicial and police practices. While the Istanbul Convention remains the most effective shield of protection for millions of women, children and victims of domestic violence around the world, we in Turkey have been deprived of the guarantee of the Convention for three years.”
“We expect the Constitutional Court to put an end to this precarity”
However, the association stressed its continued determination to fight for these rights saying “We women and LGBTI+ people want to live free from violence, without fear, in equality and freedom.” The association also urged the Constitutional Court to put an end to this precarious situation:
“We expect the Constitutional Court to put an end to this precarity that has lasted for three years. We will not give up our lives, our rights and the Istanbul Convention. We will definitely take back the Istanbul Convention and ensure that it enters into force. Because the Istanbul Convention is ours!”
Tags: human rights, women
