The women’s network “Purple Solidarity” (Mor Dayanışma) and the feminist initiative Campus Witches published a comprehensive report on femicides, structural violence, and legal violations on Saturday in the southern Turkish metropolis of Mersin. At a press conference held at the local branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), they presented current figures and sharply criticized ongoing impunity as well as state policies that they said encourage violence against women.
Numerous activists and female students attended the event. A banner hanging behind the podium read: “At home, on the street, at the university, at work – women are resisting worldwide.”
More than 2,200 femicides since withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention
DEM Party MP Perihan Koca presented the key findings of the report. According to the data, at least 5,659 women have been killed by men over the past twelve years — excluding so-called “suspicious deaths.” Since Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in July 2021, more than 2,200 women have fallen victim to femicide.
Majority of women killed by firearms
Koca also pointed to the role of increasing civilian armament. Each year, between 4,500 and 5,000 people in Turkey lose their lives due to individual firearms — a development that directly affects femicides. The majority of murdered women were killed with firearms. For 2025, current data indicate that 201 women were killed by firearms. “Every political decision that fails to curb private armament and does not link gun legislation to the issue of domestic violence directly concerns women’s right to life,” Koca stated. Violence against women, she emphasized, is not limited to murder but reflects a broader structural problem.
Killed in their own homes
The perpetrator profiles are particularly alarming. According to the available data, perpetrators predominantly come from the victims’ closest social circles. In 2025, 104 women were killed by their husbands, 32 by former husbands, 28 by current partners, and 24 by former partners. In addition, 18 women were murdered by their sons, 14 by their fathers, seven by their brothers, and 28 by other male relatives. A total of 196 women were killed in their own homes.
“These figures clearly show that women are killed in the places presented to them as the safest spaces — by the men closest to them,” Koca said. Rising femicides, increasing armament, and female poverty are creating a structural order of violence that is further entrenched by state inaction or misguided political priorities, she underlined.
Violation of educational and protection rights
In the second part of the press conference, Nisa Tuzla from Campus Witches addressed the situation of female students at Mersin University in the 2025/2026 academic year. Women there, she said, are confronted with a worsening housing crisis, disciplinary proceedings, the denial of harassment cases, and growing economic pressure. In particular, female students in state dormitories (KYK) who exercise their democratic rights face suspensions or expulsion from dormitories. In some cases, scholarships have been revoked, effectively forcing them to discontinue their studies.
University administrations downplay harassment cases
At the same time, harassment cases on campus and in the vicinity of dormitories are reportedly denied or downplayed by university administrations. Instead of implementing effective protective measures, priority is given to safeguarding the institution’s image, Tuzla stated. Investigations into allegations of sexual harassment in academic settings lack transparency; perpetrators remain in their positions, while the statements of affected women are not adequately taken into account. The findings indicate that young women are systematically restricted in their rights to housing, education, and security, Tuzla emphasized.
Criticism of impunity
The organizations called for an end to impunity in cases of gender-based violence and demanded concrete political measures against private armament and structural discrimination. Without the consistent implementation of protection mechanisms and a clear political prioritization of women’s right to life, the dramatic trend will not be reversed, they underlined.
“Our report is intended both as documentation and as a political appeal not to treat femicides as isolated incidents, but as manifestations of a systemic problem of violence,” the organizations concluded.
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