Amed — The SAMER Center for Field Research has released its report on "Cases of Violence Against Women and Girls Reflected in the Media" covering the period from January 1 to March 5, 2026.

The report, issued today, Saturday, March 7th, presents a grim picture showing that 95 women lost their lives in just 64 days, including 47 cases described as "suspicious deaths," an indicator reflecting the expanding scope and multiple forms of violence.

In preparing its report, the center relied on meticulous monitoring of news published on several media platforms, including Bianet, JINNEWS, the "We Will Stop Femicide" platform, the Mesopotamia Agency, in addition to other local and national agencies. After data collection, it was analyzed using the SPSS program to produce a detailed statistical reading of the incidents.

Numbers Beyond the Bounds of Murder

The data shows that violence was not limited to direct murder but extended to multiple patterns of violations. The report documented 48 murders of women, 6 murders of girls, 47 suspicious deaths of women, 11 suspicious deaths of children, 17 cases of child exploitation, 68 cases of physical violence against women and girls, 262 women forced into prostitution, 4 cases of harassment, 2 cases of sexual assault, and 2 cases of hostage-taking. These numbers reflect the expanding scope of violence and its diverse forms, including murder, exploitation, physical abuse, and sexual assaults.

According to the data mentioned in the report, the ages of 69.2% of the victims were unknown, while the remaining percentages were distributed across different age groups, from children to women over 65. This lack of information indicates significant gaps in documentation and that many victims' identities or life circumstances are not fully known.

The figures also indicate that 59.5% of the crimes were committed by unknown perpetrators, while the remaining cases were distributed among individuals unknown to the victim, spouses, spouses going through divorce, current or former lovers, fathers, and persons within the victim's circle of acquaintance. These data reveal that a large part of the violence comes from within women's close circles, while another part remains of unknown origin.

According to the report, Istanbul recorded the highest rate of femicides at 14.6%, followed by Ankara and Antalya at 10.4% each. Suspicious female deaths were concentrated in Istanbul and Samsun at 8.5% each.

Violence was not limited to women, as the report documented murders and exploitation of children. Child murders were evenly distributed across six provinces including Adana, Ankara, Antalya, and Istanbul. Suspicious child deaths were also recorded in provinces such as Manisa, Mardin, and Sakarya.

Regarding the sexual exploitation of children, the highest rates appeared in Aydın, Istanbul, İzmir, and Kayseri, while sexual assaults were evenly distributed between Hatay and Kocaeli.

The report confirms that last January was the deadliest month, witnessing 57.6% of the total cases, while 40.3% occurred in February, and only 2.1% in the first days of March.

The SAMER report presents a disturbing picture of the reality of violence against women and girls in Turkey, revealing a clear escalation in crimes, a diversity in patterns of assault, and a wide geographical spread. It also highlights the vulnerability of the most at-risk groups and the urgent need for effective protection policies, more accurate monitoring mechanisms, and legal and social measures to curb this escalating violence.