Twenty-five women were killed by men in Turkey in July and 31 others died under suspicious circumstances, according to a monthly report by the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP).
Eleven of the women were killed by their husbands, three by current partners, two by former husbands, two by former partners, two by relatives and two by acquaintances. A father, a son and a brother were responsible for one killing each.
The platform said four women were killed over decisions concerning their own lives, such as seeking a divorce, while three were killed for economic reasons and one for allegedly making too much noise at home. The motives could not be determined in the remaining 17 cases.
Thirteen of the women were killed in their homes and five in the street. Fourteen were killed with firearms, six with knives or other sharp objects, three were strangled and two were beaten to death.
The platform criticized authorities over what it described as a six-year failure to effectively investigate the disappearance of Gülistan Doku, who went missing in the eastern province of Tunceli in January 2020. Prosecutors have recently said they obtained evidence indicating that Doku’s body may have been buried or disposed by people linked to the suspects. Twenty-eight people have been arrested in the investigation.
In Manisa 55-year-old Sultan Gürel Gök was stabbed to death by her husband despite a restraining order she had earlier obtained after he assaulted her.
In Adana 40-year-old Hatice Mine Kocamaz was shot dead by her husband, while the couple was in the process of divorcing.
In Kırklareli 26-year-old Çisem Çalkantı was shot dead by her ex-husband at a playground. Her 4-year-old daughter, who was seriously wounded in the attack, died the following day.
In Gaziantep Gülseren Doğu was stabbed to death by her former husband, who was on temporary leave from prison.
Violence against women remains a pervasive problem in Turkey, where women are frequently killed, raped or subjected to physical abuse, according to women’s rights groups and monitoring organizations.
According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, at least 294 women were murdered by men in 2025.
Critics say policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government contribute to the problem by allowing perpetrators to avoid accountability. Such criticism intensified after Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, formally known as the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
The convention is an international accord that requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
Despite opposition from the international community and women’s rights groups, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a decree in March 2021 that pulled the country out of the international treaty.
