Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector Vice-Chancellor, Director of the Institute of Addiction and Forensic Sciences Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy addressed the topic of ‘Femicide’ (kadın kırımı) at an event organized by İstanbul Altınbaş University. Stating that unfortunately, the place where women are most often killed is their own homes, in front of their children, Atasoy noted that it is the female identity that is under attack.
“What is attacked is actually the female identity”
Explaining the medical definition of femicide, Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy said; “The term 'kadın kırımı' (femicide) is not a very common concept; we usually hear it as 'kadın cinayetleri' (women murders). I now find it more appropriate to define what is happening in Turkey as 'kadın kırımı' (femicide). Femicide is the killing of all individuals of the female sex, from embryo to fetus, from infant to child, from adult to elderly, by a man either solely because of their gender or on the pretext of actions contrary to their social gender identity, or forcing them to commit suicide. What is attacked is actually the female identity.”
“The place where one should feel safest becomes the scene of their death”
Stating that children who witness violence cannot overcome their traumas, Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy continued her speech as follows; “In November, the rate of women killed despite having a protection order was 8%, but the 'We Will Stop Femicides' platform could not identify the rest. However, in our own research, we found that approximately 50% of women killed in the last two years had protection measures. Unfortunately, the place where women are most often killed is their own home. The place where one should feel safest becomes the scene of their death. In November 2021, 56% of the women killed had children. We see that women’s own children witness the murder. This is a very serious problem because it must not be forgotten that a child facing such a great trauma will not be able to cope with it in the future, and these children will either commit crimes or become victims of crimes within society.”
“Femicides are truly political”
Atasoy, speaking about the relationship between gender inequality and femicides; “We see that the more widespread gender inequality is in a society, the higher the rate of femicides in that society. One should look at the number of female MPs in parliaments. It is one of the easiest understood indicators of gender inequality. Unfortunately, in our country, we do not encounter a situation where women are equal either in the number of MPs or ministers. We have had only one female prime minister in 100 years. Furthermore, the severity of punishment for crimes is not a deterrent. They execute drug traffickers, yet they continue to smuggle drugs. Other measures must definitely be taken for femicides. These measures are actually known, but require significant resources. Femicides are truly political. If there is no political will behind this, the protection of women will not be possible.”