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Turkey
Women demonstrators clash with Turkish police as they protest against Turkey's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, in Istanbul, on July 1, 2021. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey was the world leader in committing violations against women journalists last month, a coalition for women journalists said in its monthly report released on Monday.
A total of 77 women journalists experienced some sort of violation worldwide, the Coalition For Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) said, with June seeing the highest levels of legal harassment so far this year.
Thirty-six violations were recorded in Turkey, according to the report.
“Turkey is one of the most dangerous countries with cases of legal harassment and intimidation by the state,” it said, noting that 25 women journalists appeared in Turkish courts in June.
In other violations, the coalition reported women being physically assaulted at a demonstration in Ankara, with others “brutally beaten” by police during a Pride march in Istanbul.
In addition, 17 women journalists and media workers were tried on charges of "being affiliated with a terrorist organization and leading an armed terrorist organization." The next hearing is expected to be held in November.
Rudaw English contacted CFWIJ Regional Coordinator Damla Tarhan, who was not immediately available for comment.
Turkey was among the top three countries committing violence against women journalists in May, the coalition said, and was the leading
country for attacks and threats against women journalists in CFWIJ's latest quarterly report.
Turkey has drawn ire after formally withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty to prevent and combat violence against women, on Thursday. It came three months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention to quit the landmark agreement.
His decision drew international condemnation from the United Nations, women's rights activists, and world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
"Turkey's shameful withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention today will put millions of women and girls at greater risk of violence," Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
A Turkish monitoring group reported 17 femicides and 20 suspicious deaths of women in May.
The country is known as one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists. Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based NGO with a focus on press freedom, recently listed Erdogan among global “press freedom predators.”
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