Turkey has withdrawn from Istanbul Convention protecting women against violence.

News Center- Last night, Turkey’s President Erdoğan issued a decree to leave Istanbul Convention. The decree has been published in Turkey’s Official Gazette.

The decree says; “‘The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)’ signed on 11.05.2011 and approved on 10.02.2012 with the Council of Ministers decision No. 2012/2816 on behalf of the Republic of Turkey has been dissolved in terms of the Republic of Turkey in accordance with Article 3 of the Presidential Decree No. 9.”

The Istanbul Convention was opened for signature on May 11, 2011, and Turkey was the first country to sign the convention.

The withdrawn spark anger among women and women call for action. After the announcement, women in many cities of Turkey call on women to protest the decision. Women will gather in the following cities;

Istanbul: In Kadıköy, on March 20 at 17:00

Ankara: In front of Çankaya Municipality, on March 20 at 17:30

Izmir: In front of Alsancak Türkan Saylan Cultural Center, on March 20 at 16:00

Eskişehir: In front of Kanatlı AVM, on March 20 at 14:00

The purposes of this Convention are:

“To protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence;

To contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and promote substantive equality between women and men, including by empowering women;

To design a comprehensive framework, policies, and measures for the protection of and assistance to all victims of violence against women and domestic violence;

To promote international co‐operation with a view to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence;

To provide support and assistance to organizations and law enforcement agencies to effectively co‐operate in order to adopt an integrated approach to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence.”