According to the platform “We will stop femicide” (KCDP), at least 19 women were murdered in Turkey in October. This brings the number of femicides this year to 253, compared to 275 cases in the same period last year. This is a decrease of eight percentage points compared to the previous year.

According to the report by the KCDP association, five femicides were committed in October because women wanted to make their own decisions about their lives: they wanted a divorce or rejected reconciliation after separation, marriage or a relationship. In one case, a “discussion” played a role; the reason for the remaining 13 murders could not be determined.

Around 58 percent of femicides carried out by husbands

In eleven cases, the killers were the husbands of the victims. Seven killers were ex-husbands, former partners, brothers, sons or other male relatives. Only one woman was murdered by an unknown person.

Most women killed in their own home

Thirteen women were murdered in their own homes, three women on the street, one in a public place and another in a remote area. In the case of one femicide, the crime scene could not be identified.

Methods of murder: shooting, strangling, slaying

Of the women murdered in October, twelve were shot, three were strangled and two were stabbed. Another two women were “beaten to death,” according to the report.

High number of unreported cases feared

The report by the Istanbul-based women's rights organization KCDP contains data on all femicides recorded by the police or published in the media. However, the actual number of femicides committed is likely to be significantly higher, the report emphasized. A further 18 women died under “suspicious circumstances” last month. Experience shows that perpetrators often construct scenes to make femicide look like a suicide, an accident or natural death, the platform said.