According to data compiled by bianet based on news reported by local and nation-wide newspapers and news agencies, a total of 24 women were killed by men in February 2012. Ten women were wounded; ten women were raped. 16 women experienced sexual harassment.
One of the women who were killed in February in Turkey was a transsexual women murdered by her older brother.
Considering the regional distribution, most cases of male violence were reported for the Aegean region. As far as provinces are concerned, Istanbul took the lead.
Looking at the figures of January 2012 in comparison, twelve women, three children and three men were killed; 26 women and two children were injured; ten women were raped and 35 women were sexually harassed.
Murder
As reflected by the news, male culprits killed 24 women in 14 different provinces. One man committed suicide after the offence, one perpetrator attempted to kill himself and one surrendered to the police.
Most of the female victims in February were killed by their husbands. Eleven women were murdered by their husbands; three by men they had previously rejected; two by men they did not know; two by their older brothers; one by her father, one by her former husband, one by her husband she was married to in an imam wedding and one by her boy-friend.
Most of the murders were committed with knives. 13 women were stabbed to death; four were shot with a pump rifle; two with a hunting gun; three with a pistol and one woman was killed with an axe.
One of the killed women had previously obtained a restraining order for her husband. Another woman had complained about her murderer nine times before the offence.
Most of the women murders were reported for Ankara (5) followed by Aydýn, Balýkesir, Istanbul (4), Kastamonu, Kayseri (2), Manisa, Maraþ, Muðla, Niðde, Osmaniye, Urfa, Uþak and Van.
The perpetrators were between 24 and 87 years old; their victims were between 16 and 80 years of age.
Violence - Injury
Men in Turkey wounded ten women in eight different provinces in February 2012. Two incidents each were reported for Istanbul and Konya and one each in Bursa, Denizli, Izmir, Kocaeli, Muðla and Sakarya.
The majority of reported cases of violence involved the women's husbands. Four women were treated violently by their husbands; three by their boy-friends; one by her former husband; one by the family of her husband and one by a man she did not know.
Eight women were beaten; two were wounded with a knife. One of the women said that she had complained about her husband several times before. One of the male culprits had a restraining order.
One woman filed a complaint about her husband after he had treated her violently. One woman encountered violent behaviour on her way back from the police station after having filed a complaint. One man was arrested after he beat his wife.
The men who treated women violently in February 2012 were aged between 25 and 40; the women were between 21 and 37 years old.
Rape
Men raped ten women in five provinces in February. Three incidents each occurred in Istanbul and Ankara; two in Muðla and one each in Konya and Samsun.
Most of the reported cases of rape happened at the women's homes. Seven women were raped at home; three women were raped in houses they were confined in.
Three women were raped by their elder brothers; two by their friends; two by unidentified men; one by her father; one by her uncle; one by her husband she wanted to divorce.
The rapists were aged between 21 and 53 years old; the women were between 16 and 32 years of age.
Harassment
Men sexually harassed 16 women in four provinces in February. Most of the cases were reported for Istanbul and Izmir: Istanbul (5), Izmir (9), Aydýn (1) and Bursa (1).
Most of the women were harassed on the street. 13 women experienced sexual harassment on the street; two on the phone and via the internet; one at home.
One woman was harassed by her father-in-law and the others by men they did not know.
Child abuse
Male culprits sexually and/or physically abused 17 children in eight provinces. Most of these cases were reported for Muðla and Antalya: Adana (2), Antalya (4), Bursa, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Manisa (3) and Muðla (4).
One child was treated violently by her father. 16 girls were exposed to sexual abuse. Five of the children were abused by family members; the other victims were abused by unknown perpetrators.
A total of 17 children were exposed to abuse in 13 reported cases. Five of these incidents happened at home; the remaining cases occurred on the street. One girl was forced to sex work; one girl was accommodated in a children's home after the incident.
One woman was arrested and imprisoned because she had allegedly abused 15 boys.
Regional distribution
72 cases of violence against women, murder, attempted murder, rape, harassment, injury and child abuse in 20 provinces were reported for the month of February. Most of the incidents that involved male violence against women were reported for the Aegean region.
Out of a total of 72 cases, 26 incidents were reported on the Aegean coast; nine in the Marmara region; 15 in Central Anatolia; eight in the Mediterranean region; two on the Black Sea coast; one in South-Eastern Anatolia; one in Eastern Anatolia.
The province with the majority of reported incidents was again Istanbul with 14 incidents of male violence against women.
* Bianet releases a monthly charter on violence against women