A Victory for Turkish Women Against Domestic Violence and Why it Probably Doesn't Mean Anything

This week the ECHR ruled that Turkey failed to protect a woman against her abusive ex-husband, whose behavior eventually led to the murder of her mother. He claimed that he killed her because she had threatened his honor by taking his family away and leading his wife into an "immoral way of life." I don't know what he meant by that, but I am so tired of women's bodies and sexuality being used as tools to justify men's violence and the oppression of women.

While this case may be extreme, statistics show that 4 out of 10 Turkish women are beaten by their husbands, including 1 out of 10 pregnant women. Pregnancy is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman's life and she is especially susceptable to problems such as domestic violence. Domestic violence is also bad for the fetus, both in terms of the mother's stress levels/ psychological state as well as the possibility of injury. Men who commit violence against their pregnant wives show that not only do they not value her, but they do not care about their children at all. But I digress...Perhaps the saddest statistic is that 40% of Turkish women believe they deserve to be beaten. I wish I could just shout out to the women of the world (and have them believe me) that there is NO JUSTIFICATION for domestic violence. Ever. It doesn't matter what happens, whether a wife burns dinner or has an affair--violence is always wrong. This goes for the women as well.

The ruling for the case, which is Opuz v. Turkey, said that "discriminatory judicial passivity in Turkey created a climate that was conducive to domestic violence." Those are harsh but very straightforward words. According to the article, "Legal experts said the ruling sets a precedent throughout Turkey and Europe for governments to protect women from domestic abuse." Precedent is good, but my line of works has made me rather cynical. The upside to this case is that Turkey is interested in joining the EU and knows it has to make many, many changes before it has the slightest chance of being able to accede.

The downside is that that probably isn't enough. I read CEDAW reports all the time for work. They laud the accomplishments of the country and try to make it sound like a paradise (if the country is Myanmar, they just come right out and tell you it's a paradise for women). Yet there is almost never any change. Countries create lots of programs and pass lots of laws, but it is much rarer to see an actual change in practice. Mechanisms such as CEDAW are self-reporting and so you are much more likely to see exaggeration of good things and minimalization of bad things. Case in point: according to Myanmar their maternal mortality ratio is 1. One! The best countries in Europe aren't even that low.

So to conclude, I am glad that the ECHR has taken this opportunity to address a really important issue and I hope it leads to some change, even if just in the short-term. However, until there are real, tangible consequences, little positive change is likely to be enacted for Turkish women.