Turkey withdrew on Saturday from a landmark European treaty that protects women from violence. Ten years ago, the country was the first to sign the pact, named after its main city.
The decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan annulling the ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a major setback for women’s rights advocates, who argue that the agreement is crucial to combating domestic violence.
Violence against women and femicides are on the rise in the country, according to human rights groups.
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A total of 77 women have been murdered since the beginning of the year, according to the Stop Feminicide Platform. According to its data, at least 409 more lost their lives in 2020.
Some officials from Erdogan’s Islamist-leaning party had advocated revising from the pact on the grounds that it encourages divorce and promotes LGBT culture, which they claim goes against the country’s conservative values.
Turkey was the first country to sign the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence during a committee of ministers meeting in Istanbul in 2011. The standard entered into force in 2014.
The Istanbul Convention affirms that men and women have equal rights and obliges state authorities to take measures to prevent violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.
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