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We must reratify the Istanbul Convention, and we must do it now – The Bowdoin Orient

We must reratify the Istanbul Convention, and we must do it now – The Bowdoin Orient

December 6, 2024

This piece represents the opinion of the author.

Henry Abbott

415.

415 women.

415 women murdered.

415 women murdered in 2024.

415 women murdered in 2024 alone.

The Istanbul Convention, officially known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, was not just a piece of paper on political decisions, but something that had a real impact on the lives of women, their security and their rights in Turkey. Signed in 2011, the convention covers various forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and “honor killings”. By ratifying it, Turkey showed the world that our government is committed to protecting women and recognizing the legal injustice they face. It was not just about giving women rights on paper, but also about taking concrete steps to ensure their safety. However, in March 2021, Turkey suddenly withdrew from the convention, becoming the first and only country to do so. Her withdrawal sent a global message that women’s safety was not a priority on Turkey’s political agenda.

President Erdoğan’s government argued that the convention contradicted traditional Turkish values, saying it did not correspond to the country’s “family values.” Conservative and nationalist groups claimed that the convention threatened traditional family structures by challenging “typical gender roles” and weakening the “family unit”, which they saw as crucial to Turkish society. And here, I ask myself: “Doesn’t letting femicides continue to multiply also violate our so-called family values?

Gender-based violence has been a widespread and systematic problem in Turkey for several decades, and without the framework provided by the Istanbul Convention, existing laws are insufficient to address these real problems. Even though the Turkish Constitution contains laws on gender-based violence, it leaves the door ajar for perpetrators of violations of women’s rights with minimal consequences. It leaves the possibility for judges to reduce sentences based on the “good conduct” of the perpetrators, their remorse in court or the “provocation” they faced due to the “skinny” or “bad” clothing. » behavior of the victim. The door is ajar for “perfect Turkish society” to blame victims for the trauma they face.

If I’m blamed for being raped in the middle of the night because I was wearing a skirt that “attracted” my rapist who apparently has a mind cleaner than a newborn baby – if that’s enough to upset everyone . unique limit existing in humanity and give him the “right” to attack me just to make the laws align with our so-called family values ​​– then I will pass on this “family” bullshit. With our “family values”, my rapist will be able to walk the streets without humiliation while I try to prove that I was raped, because my word is not considered sufficient in the eyes of the law.

Turkey must re-ratify the Istanbul Convention to provide comprehensive legal protections against gender-based violence and support survivors. Since the convention criminalizes all forms of gender-based violence, including psychological violence, stalking, forced marriage and honour-based violence, its new ratification will create a legal basis for consistent application of justice, without misinterpretation or abuse of power, while guaranteeing prevention. leniency and judicial bias. The problem in Turkey with the increase in feminicides is not only due to legal incompetence, but also to a society that humiliates victims – a society that accepts rapists and demeans victims. This violence is deeply rooted in the roots of Turkish society; we must therefore rebuild our society with better qualities.

The convention promises public awareness campaigns and educational programs and therefore promotes a society with better qualities. This societal change will also change our cultural attitudes that perpetuate gender-based violence, because we tend to forget that judges also come from the roots of our society, judges who have not been trained to handle cases of gender-based violence. The Istanbul Convention will provide mechanisms to hold law enforcement accountable for failing survivors.

1,673.

1,673 women.

1,673 women murdered.

1,673 women murdered since Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention in 2021.

These aren’t just random numbers. They are women. Women who were killed by their husbands, boyfriends, fathers, brothers and men during their lives because they did not obey them, because they wanted to divorce or break up, or for no reason at all. The withdrawal marked a dangerous turning point, weakening already weak protections for women and reinforcing traditional gender roles at the expense of progress toward equality and security.

The convention will provide accountability and an international standard that will put pressure on the government to act as it did just a few years ago. We found that without this, authorities would not respond as strongly and consistently to cases of violence against women. Ratification of the Istanbul Convention is not just a legal or political issue; it’s about whether Turkish women can feel safe in their own community and trust their government to protect them. And it is our responsibility to force our government to do so. Because “Are you home yet?” There are no longer security checks for women in Türkiye: the attackers are also at home.