full version - World Organisation Against Torture

Violence Against Women: 10 Reports / Year 2003Currently, there is one woman in the government and only 24 women outof 550 people (4.4%) in parliament.As a social group, women in Turkey are isolated from political and economicdecision-making. OMCT is deeply concerned by the lack of opportunityfor Turkish women to make decisions in the political, economicand cultural contexts as this has serious implications for the advancementof women and the full enjoyment of their fundamental rights. Specifically,the unequal gender power relations created by discrimination in education,employment and in political life renders women vulnerable to violence,both in the domestic and the community sphere.3. Violence Against Women in the Family3.1 Domestic ViolenceDomestic violence is a grave problem in Turkey with as many as 90% ofTurkish women experiencing violence at the hands of their husbands andboyfriends. 19 This violence within the home takes both physical and psychologicalforms. Many women report that their husbands beat them ontheir wedding night. 20 Although the problem of domestic violence isextensive in Turkey, there is no comprehensive legislation concerningdomestic violence. 21Very few women report domestic violence to the authorities. The fewwomen who do go to the authorities claim that the police are not gendersensitive and attempt to find a compromise between the husband and wiferather than treating the violence as a crime. 22 OMCT is currently assistinga victim of domestic from the region of Diyarbakir who tried to file acomplaint with the police. However, they refused to register the complaint,instead, they have beaten the woman.Additionally, when a complaint is successfully filed, the punishments areoften weak, sometimes as little as a week in prison, if there is any punishmentat all. 23 Within such a system, most women prefer to stay silent thanto report the crime to the police and risk retaliation by their husbands, orother members of the family, since the police will not likely take protectivemeasures for the victim.348