‘Domestic Violence Has Increased by 38.2 Percent in İstanbul’

"It is not a coincidence, it is male violence"

Click to read the article in Turkish (1) (2)

The data of İstanbul Security Directorate have shown that the number of crimes committed against public order in the city dropped in March 2020 upon the measures and "stay home" calls amid COVID-19 outbreak.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), 13 thousand 538 incidents of domestic violence, theft, murder, injury, robbery, burglary from a workplace, auto theft, burglary from an automobile, burglary from home, pickpocketing, stealing with snatching and fraud took place the city in March 2019. This figure has dropped to 11 thousand 578 in March 2020, which marks a 14.5 percent decrease in comparison with the same month last year.

Only domestic violence on the increase

While 1,804 domestic violence incidents occurred in İstanbul in March 2019, this figure has increased to 2,493 last March, marking an increase of 38.2 percent. An average of 80.4 incidents of domestic violence took place in the city in March 2020 and 99 percent of them have been solved.

'Violence not confined to battlefield'

Within this context, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres also made a statement yesterday (April 5).

In a reference to his repeated appeals for a ceasefire in war and conflict regions around the world, Guterres has pointed out that violence "is not confined to the battlefield as for many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest: in their own homes".

Urging "all governments to make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19", he has concluded, "Together, we can and must prevent violence everywhere, from war zones to people's homes, as we work to beat COVID-19."

The UN data have shown that the incidents of domestic violence and violence against women have been on the increase in the UN, India, South Africa, France, Turkey and Australia over the past weeks.

CLICK - bianet Male Violence Monitoring Reports

The bianet Male Violence Monitoring Report March 2020 also showed that at least three women lost their lives and at least nine others were wounded as a result of male violence in İstanbul last month.

CLICK - Men Kill 25 Women in March

(EMK/SD)