A Turkish lawyer has criticized authorities for failing to enforce restraining orders issued to women facing gender-based violence, who often fall victim to femicide, in an interview with the Diken news website.
Lawyer Tuba Torun stated that since the enactment of Law 6284 in 2012 — aimed at protecting families and preventing violence against women — family courts had been issuing restraining orders without difficulty. However, a 2016 report by a parliamentary inquiry commission, established to examine factors undermining family unity and rising divorce rates, adversely affected the implementation of these orders.
“Restraining orders were typically issued for a period of six months, and not only the person facing the threat but also their close relatives could benefit. For example, if the person who obtained the restraining order has children or elderly parents at risk of violence, they too can be protected. Even the possibility of violence was enough to justify such an order. One of its key features was that it could be issued without requiring evidence or documentation,” she said.
A woman or man subjected to violence can apply for a restraining order. If granted, the order is communicated both to the complainant and to the person being restrained. The complainant must then go to the local police station to obtain a written copy of the order and carry it at all times.
Restraining orders can have various conditions such as banning all communication or prohibiting physical proximity.
According to Torun, since the commission’s report, Law 6284 began being perceived as the government promoting divorce, and it was portrayed as if families were being torn apart
“Due to the influence of headlines in conservative newspapers, courts began reducing the typical six-month restraining orders to three months or even one. Some restraining order requests were outright denied, despite the law clearly stating that no evidence is required for issuance,” Torun explained.
She added that enforcement of restraining orders weakened during this period, with police often slow to respond to reports of violations. Yet, under the law’s implementation regulation, officers are required to periodically contact or visit the restrained individual to ensure compliance.
“We need proper monitoring because telling someone to stay 10 kilometers away is meaningless in practice. Take the case of Emine Bulut. She took refuge at a police station, filed a complaint — but police sent her home. She was murdered within half an hour of leaving the station,” Torun said.
Bulut was murdered by her former husband in the Central Anatolian city of Kırıkkale on October 21, 2019 in broad daylight.
Torun added that under Law 6284, courts have the authority to confiscate firearms from individuals subject to restraining orders and mandate rehabilitation for those with addiction or psychological issues. However, courts rarely exercised their powers in domestic violence cases.
“The lack of enforcement emboldens perpetrators,” she said. “I recommend that when a protected individual calls for help, police respond immediately and issue a clear warning to the offender. Courts should carefully assess restraining order violations to prevent fostering a culture of impunity. Women facing severe or repeated threats should receive close protection, or the perpetrator should be fitted with an electronic ankle monitor.”
According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP) 79 women have been killed in incidents of domestic violence across Turkey in the first five months of this year.
Femicides and violence against women are serious problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten every day. Many critics say the main reason behind the situation is the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which protects violent and abusive men by granting them impunity.
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 an international treaty that requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is an international accord designed to protect women’s rights and prevent domestic violence in societies and was opened to the signature of member countries of the Council of Europe in 2011.
