Men Kill Seven Women and a Child in June

Men murdered seven women and a female child, injured nine women, raped eight and sexually harassed 12 more in June, according to news stories compiled by bianet from local and national newspapers, news sites and news agencies.

One woman notified the police regarding the death threats she received from her former husband, but the police merely consoled her and sent her back home, after which time her ex-husband murdered her.

The victims' husbands were the culprits in the largest number of cases in June. Despite a slowdown in the quantity of women's murders that appeared in press reports since February, however, the methods of killing grew only more savage, with offenders employing liberal doses of beating, torture, axes, pistols and knives in their acts.

By contrast, there was no let up in cases of sexual harassment and rape. Four women were raped in their homes and by men they already knew, out of a total of eight women raped in June. Sexual harassment most often took place on the streets and in the workplace as before.

Men killed some 78 women during the first half of 2012, while they also injured and/or employed violence against 116 women, raped 49 and sexually harassed 88 more during the same period.

Murder

Men killed seven women and one female child across six cities in June. One man committed suicide after the act, while another turned himself in to the police.

The victims' husbands were most frequently the culprits in June. Three women were killed by their husbands, one woman and her daughter by their fathers, one woman by her ex-husband, one woman by her son-in-law, and one woman by her lover.

A woman had notified the police regarding the threats she had received from her ex-husband, but the police had failed to register her complaint, and she had consquently established a security camera system around her flat.

Two men committed murder with pistols, one by torturing, one with a knife, one with an axe and by beating his victim to death.

The capital Ankara and the northwestern province of Bursa led the list in women's murders with two women killed in each province. The southwestern province of Muğla, the central province of Çorum and the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Gaziantep each saw a single woman killed in June.

The culprits' ages ranged between 33 and 84, while their victims' ages ranged between 13 and 74.

Violence-Injury

Men injured nine women across six provinces in June. The southern province of Adana once more topped the list with four women injured. Istanbul, the Black Sea provinces of Kastamonu and Zonguldak, the central province of Konya and the southeastern province of Diyarbakır followed with a single woman injured in each province.

Women's husbands were the leading culprits in cases of violence toward women. Three women were subjected to violence by their husbands, two by their ex-husbands, one by her husband with whom she had had a religious (unofficial) wedding, one by her lover, one by her ex-lover and one by her son-in-law.

Men battered seven women, injured one woman with a knife and another woman with a pistol.

Four women were hospitalized due to male violence in June, while authorities arrested only one man. They detained three more men, with suits filed against two, while three of the culprits then took flight.

The ages of the men who subjected women to violence ranged between 23 and 48, while their victims' ages ranged between 18 and 37.

Rape

Men raped eight women across seven provinces in June. Ankara ranked at the top with two cases of rape, while Istanbul, the western province of Afyonkarahisar, the southwestern province of Muğla, the Black Sea province of Samsun, the northwestern province of Tekirdağ and the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa each followed with a single case.

Women were most frequently raped by men they already knew. Two women were raped by their boyfriends, one by her ex-husband, one by her relative, one by her friend and three by strangers. Four cases of rape took place at home, two on the street, one at a hotel room and another case in a house where the perpetrator was holding the victim captive. The perpetrators also robbed the women in two cases.

Two men were put on trial on rape charges. Authorities detained three men, sentenced two to prison terms, while four of them evaded penalties.

The rapists' ages ranged between 18 and 48, and their victims' ages ranged between 16 and 45.

Sexual harassment

Men sexually harassed 12 women in six provinces in June, with Istanbul leading the list with four victims. Adana, Ankara, Samsun, Tekirdağ and the southern province of Antalya each witnessed one case of sexual harassment.

Strangers were the perpetrators in the larges number of cases. Seven women were sexually harassed by strangers, two by their superiors at the workplace, one by her grandfather and one by a cab driver.

Seven cases of sexual harassment took place outdoors on the street, two at the workplace, one at home and one inside an apartment building. Four men were also put on trial.

The culprits' ages ranged between 19 and 67, while their victims' ages ranged between 17 and 49.

Male violence by region

Some 34 incidents of murder, attempted murder, sexual harassment, rape, injury and violence took place in 16 provinces in June. The northwestern Marmara region turned out to be the most violent toward women.

10 of the incidents in question took place in the Marmara region, six in Central Anatolia, six in the Mediterranean region, five in the Black Sea region, four in the Southeastern region and three in the Aegean region, while there were no reported cases of violence in the Eastern Anatolian region.

Istanbul witnessed the largest number of cases with six incidents, followed by the province of Adana with five incidents. (ÇT)