It has been 4 years since the Istanbul Convention, which is the life assurance of women, was cancelled by the Presidential order. As of 2019, The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence entered into force after being ratified in 34 countries at different times. 

 

Turkey was one of the first countries to ratify the convention, which has 46 signatories in total, by passing it through the Parliament on 24 November 2011. The convention, which obliges state parties to prevent violence against women, children and LGBTI+ persons, to protect those subjected to violence, to punish perpetrators and to produce holistic policies on violence against women in coordination with institutions working in this field, includes the most comprehensive definitions of violence against women and gender-based discrimination ever made.

 

*Protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence;

 

*Contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and promote substantive equality between women and men, including by empowering women;

 

* Design a comprehensive framework, policies and measures for the protection of and assistance to all victims of violence against women and domestic violence;

 

* Promote international co-operation with a view to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence;

 

*Provide support and assistance to organisations and law enforcement agencies to effectively co-operate in order to adopt an integrated approach to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence. 

 

OBLIGATIONS NOT FULFILLED

 

One of the most important features of the Convention is that it introduces a monitoring mechanism. The supervisory committee, or "GREVIO", consisting of representatives of the state parties, monitors the effective implementation of the convention and prepares reports. 

 

The only step taken in line with the convention when it was first signed was the amendment of the content of Law No. 6284. After the signing of the Istanbul Convention, Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women was passed as a 25-article law with the persistent struggle of women's organisations. The structure of the law was tried to be in line with the Istanbul Convention in terms of preventive and protective measures. 

 

However, despite the Istanbul Convention, Law No. 6284 and the circulars issued from time to time, the AKP government has failed to implement mechanisms to prevent the massacres of women, to protect women from male violence and to empower them against violence.

 

ATTACKS AND FAMILY-FOCUS POLICIES

 

In June 2020, the Convention was targeted by the AKP government, some media organs, religious communities and sects. A propaganda process was organised for withdrawal on the grounds that the convention "disrupts the family structure", "increases divorces" and provides legal guarantees for LGBTI+ persons to live their identities freely. The AKP government also accelerated "family-focus" policies during this period. Continuing the attack on the Istanbul Convention and the annulment process, projects such as hate marches, Family Workshops, Divorce Prevention Commissions were implemented to imprison women in the family and at home.

 

WOMEN DID NOT GIVE UP

 

The months-long struggle of women for the convention shelved the discussions on withdrawal for a while towards autumn. However, as March approached, the AKP government announced the decision to withdraw on the night of 20 March in order to strengthen its power by taking those who had campaigned for Turkey's withdrawal from the convention with it. The termination decision, which was taken in the middle of the night with the Presidential order, was published in the Official Gazette. On the same day, women's organisations organised mass protests everywhere and said "We are not giving up on the Istanbul Convention".

On 22 March, 35 bar associations filed a lawsuit at the Council of State demanding a stay of execution. Also on 22 March, Turkey notified the Council of Europe to withdraw from the convention and the 3-month process for withdrawal began.

 

THE COUNCIL OF STATE FOUND THE WITHDRAWAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW!

 

During this period, women's struggle continued and the "Istanbul Convention Implementation Campaign Group" organised many activities. During the process, many political parties, women's structures of parties, trade unions, legal organisations, individuals and women's organisations applied to the Council of State for the annulment of the decision and a stay of execution. 

 

On 1 July 2021, the 3-month period expired and Turkey officially withdrew from the convention. Women took to the streets across the country and defended the convention. The applications to the Council of State were rejected one by one. In the lawsuits, despite the prosecutor's opinion that the termination decision was unlawful and should be cancelled, decisions were made to the contrary. The Council of State, which found the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention in accordance with the law, rejected the cancellation cases.

 

Four years have passed since the annulment decision. The AKP said "domestic law is enough" and "zero tolerance to violence", but the process went in the opposite direction. According to the data of the Platform to Stop Femicide (KCDP), at least 1,280 women have been murdered by men since 1 July 2021, when the convention was abrogated.

 

On the anniversary of the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, Women's Defence Network member Rüya Kurtuluş made evaluations on women's struggle and the policies of the government targeting gains.

 

1 JULY AND WOMEN'S ANGER

 

Stating that they declared that the decision to withdraw is null and void for them with their actions, Rüya Kurtuluş said: "We said that we do not recognise the decision and that we will continue to fight against male violence, to defend and embrace the gains there as if the Istanbul Convention is in force. Especially in recent years, misogyny; the forms of seizing women's lives, bodies and labour have diversified. Laws are being made in this regard, and our gains are tried to be usurped. Therefore, that accumulated anger was reflected on the streets on 1 July. Of course the police did not march in Taksim. However, we were very resistant and the police barricades were overcome."

 

GAINS UNDER THREAT

 

Rüya Kurtuluş said that attacks on women's gains began: "Erdoğan's statement 'Every abortion is a Uludere' and the de facto abortion ban, the work of the divorce prevention commission under the name of family protection... Law No. 6284, the right to divorce, various gains in the Civil Code began to be discussed. Towards the end of 2016, they tried such a move again with the TCK 103, that is, the law whitewashing child abuse. This was prevented by our serious resistance. When we came to 2025, the 'Year of the Family' was declared. At the moment, a very strong hatred is being organised in Turkey, where the existence of LGBTI+'s has become debatable, where draft laws that even revealing one's own identity will be considered a crime are presented to the Parliament. There are serious attacks on women's right to divorce, their right to gain economic freedom, that is, to establish a life outside the family."

 

'PROTECT WOMEN, NOT THE FAMILY'

 

Emphasising that women are defending their rights and gains against the ideological attacks and oppression policies of the government, Rüya Kurtuluş concluded: "A serious work was done in neighbourhoods and marketplaces and this idea reached many women. Women told the state, 'Protect women first, not the family, we can still be killed in the street. LGBTI+'s can be exposed to that hatred on the street, we can see the heavy torture applied by the police during Pride Marches. Therefore, protect women, children and LGBTI+s first. Because you have to do this,' he says. In July 2021, we said 'The Istanbul Convention is ours, we will not give up our rights'. The implementation of the Convention is now in our hands. It is necessary to participate more in this struggle and insist on the streets. The Istanbul Convention is ours and we will not give up."

 

MA / Yeşim Tükel