Men Killed 12 Women in January 2012

According to the tally compiled by bianet based on reports of local and international newspapers and news agencies, male culprits killed twelve women, four children and three men in Turkey in January 2012.

In the first month of the year, men wounded 26 women and two children. Ten women were raped and five women were forced to sex work. 35 women were sexually harassed.

The majority of cases of violence against women was reported for the Marmara region in north-western Turkey.

Murder

Male culprits in eight provinces killed twelve women, four children and three men. Two men committed suicide after the offence, two perpetrators surrendered to the police.

Most of the murders were committed with knives. Four women were stabbed to death, three were shot with a hunting rifle, one with a pump rifle, one was strangled and one beaten to death.

One woman who was confined at home died when she jumped off the balcony in order to escape. The body of a woman was found on the beach; the reason for her death has not been clarified yet.

The majority of women murdered in January were killed by their husbands. Six women were murdered by their husbands, one by her husband she was married to in an imam wedding, one by her brother-in-law, one by her son, one by her son-in-law. The murders of two women are unsolved.

Most of the women murders happened in Istanbul. Women murders were reported for the cities of Istanbul (3), Antalya (2), Antep (2), Çanakkale, Kocaeli, Konya, Tekirdağ and Urfa.

The perpetrators were aged between 19 and 48 years; the murdered women were between 16 and 60 years old.

One man killed first his wife and then his parents-in-law. Two men killed their children after having murdered their wives. One man stabbed the man his cousin wanted to marry into his heart and killed him. Another man shot somebody who he thought had raped his wife. One man strangled a twelve-year old girl after raping her.

Violence - Injuries

Male assailants in 15 provinces wounded 26 women and two children in January 2012. The most cases of violence occurred in Urfa. Cities where incidents of male violence were reported are Adana (2), Ağrı, Aydın, Çanakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Istanbul (3), Izmir (2), Kırşehir, Konya (2), Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun (2) and Urfa (4).

The most cases of violence against women involved the women's husbands. 17 women were treated violently by their husbands, three by their husbands married to in an imam wedding, two by their fathers, one by her ex-husband, one by her boy-friend, one by a woman who had previously refused the assailant and one male applied violence to a teacher at school.

13 women were beaten by men they were acquainted with, five were wounded with a knife and four with a gun. One man poured boiling water over his wife; one tortured a woman with nippers.

One man seriously injured his wife and children with a gun, another male severely wounded a woman who had rejected him. Both culprits committed suicide afterwards. One man attempted to kill himself after he had wounded his girl-friend with a knife.

At least eleven women were taken to hospital in January on the grounds of violent treatment by men. Four women found a place in women shelters.

One woman was injured by her husband with a gun after she had been granted protection. One male offender who injured his wife with a gun had received two restraining orders before.

The age of the offenders varied between 17 and 69 years. The women exposed to male violence were between 16 and 61 years of age.

Rape

Male perpetrators in eleven provinces raped ten women. Five women were forced to sex work. Rape cases were reported for the cities of Adana (2), Ankara, Aydın, Bursa, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin, Nevşehir, Samsun and Urfa.

Most of the rapists were not known by the women whereas one woman was raped by her husband in an imam marriage, one by a relative and one by her colleagues.

One woman was raped at home, one at her workplace, four women in the street. The remaining cases happened at places the women were being confined in.

31 men were taken to court on the grounds of rape in January. Five men were arrested and one suspect was released pending trial.

The rapists were between 21 and 43 years old. The raped women were aged between 15 and 52 years.

Harassment - Sexual Violence

35 women were harassed by males in five provinces; most of these cases were reported in Istanbul. On New Year's Eve, at least 22 women were sexually harassed at street parties. 17 males were taken into custody, two were arrested.

Incidents of harassment were reported in Balıkesir (4), Istanbul (25), Izmir (2), Samsun (2) and Trabzon (2).

Most of these incidents happened in the street. Two women were harassed at their work place, one by three men who broke into her house.

Twelve suspects were arrested; two were released pending trial.

Child Abuse

At least seven children were abused in six provinces in January 2012. These cases were reported in the cities of Izmir, Adana, Koya, Niğde, Isparta and Eskişehir.

38 male culprits were taken to court in the context of these seven incidents of child abuse. Two men were arrested; a teacher who was abusing his students was laid-off.

Violence caused by violence

It was observed for the month of January that women who had been treated violently by men for a long time resorted to violence themselves.

One woman injured her father who was beating her and her mother; one woman wounded her husband with a knife. Two girls stabbed their fathers to death. One of them had been abused by her father and the other one had been treated violently.

Regional Distribution

92 women in 29 provinces experienced violence against women in January including cases of murder, attempted murder, rape, harassment, injury and child abuse. Again, most of these cases were reported for the Marmara region.

43 out of these 92 incidents were reported for the Marmara region; ten for the Black Sea Coast; ten for the Aegean Coast; nine for the Mediterranean region; nine for Central Anatolia; nine for South-Eastern Anatolia and two for Eastern Anatolia.

The province where the most incidents of violence were reported was Istanbul with 32 cases. (ÇT/VK)