Femicide

Femicide is not a separate offence in Turkish law. The intentional killing of a woman is prosecuted under Articles 81 and 82 of the Turkish Penal Code. Since 2022, committing the offence against a woman has been an aggravated circumstance of intentional killing, punishable by aggravated life imprisonment.

In public debate and civil society reports, the term describes the killing of women, mostly by men with whom they had a marital, former marital, partner or family relationship.

Legal basis

• Intentional killing of a woman (TCK 82/1-f): aggravated life imprisonment. The subparagraph took this form in 2022 under Law No. 7406.
• Against a spouse or former spouse (TCK 82/1-d): aggravated life imprisonment.
• Against a child (TCK 82/1-e): aggravated life imprisonment.

Stages before a killing

The law also takes into account whether threats and injuries are committed against a woman:

• Simple intentional injury (TCK 86/2): for an injury that can be treated by simple medical intervention, 6 months to 1 year 6 months’ imprisonment or a judicial fine is imposed on the victim’s complaint. If the offence is committed against a woman, the minimum term of imprisonment may not be less than 9 months.
• Intentional injury against a spouse or former spouse (TCK 86/3-a): the penalty is increased by one half and no complaint is required.
• Threat (TCK 106/1): threatening a person’s life or bodily or sexual integrity is punishable by 6 months to 2 years’ imprisonment. If committed against a woman, the minimum is 9 months.

Protective orders

Law No. 6284 provides protective and preventive measures for people who have experienced violence or are at risk of it. The judge may order the perpetrator to leave the shared home, not to approach the protected person or their home, school or workplace, not to harass them through means of communication and to hand over licensed weapons to the police (Art. 5).

No evidence or document showing that violence has occurred is required for a protective order (Art. 8). A person who breaches an order is subject to coercive detention of 3–10 days, and 15–30 days for each repetition; the total period may not exceed six months (Art. 13). See Law No. 6284.

Discretionary mitigation

Under a sentence added to Article 62 of the Penal Code in 2022, superficial conduct by the offender at the hearing that is aimed at influencing the court is not taken into account as a ground for discretionary mitigation. The grounds for discretionary mitigation must be stated with reasons in the judgment.

How it is counted in the data

Femicide is reported as a subgroup of homicides that resulted in death, not as a separate offence or index. The definition follows the statistical framework published by UNODC and UN Women in 2022, under which women and girls killed by a spouse, former spouse, partner or family member are counted. Women killed by an acquaintance or a stranger are not included, because a gender-related motive cannot be identified reliably from news reports. Femicides on the homicide page