Erdogan announces new plan to curb violence against women

The Turkish government presented on Tuesday a new state action plan to combat femicides and violence against women during an event led by the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, held in Ankara. He said the strategy will allow for an early response to possible cases of gender-based violence as well as greater efforts to rehabilitate perpetrators.

“We are here today to show our strong solidarity with all the women whose lives were cut short by violence, who have suffered hardships, who have shed tears and who often had to keep silent about their problems,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying by Turkish media, expressing his condolences for the victims of gender-based violence. The president also stressed that Turkey is ahead of European countries in implementing preventive and protective regulations “that those countries, which are considered a reference for us, have not or have not been able to implement”.

“As president and as a father of two daughters, I am at the forefront of the fight against violence against women. Violence against women is a crime against humanity. No principled man can commit such acts. And for us, followers of a faith that teaches that Paradise is at the feet of mothers, it is especially shameful,” Erdoğan told a mainly female audience at an event organised by the Ministry of Family and Social Services.

The president added that “to have even a single woman suffering from domestic violence is an unacceptable situation for us”, and recalled that every case that appears in the media “means a life cut short, a child orphaned, a dream lost”. “Even losing just one person to violence is too much. We have come a long way in the fight against violence, but we still regret not being able to eliminate it completely every time we come across a new case of violence against women”.

“An equal distribution of roles between men and women is essential“

Erdoğan further insisted that “a more equal distribution of roles between men and women is essential. We cannot expect old behaviours to remain unchanged”, and called for parents to take greater responsibility for the education and protection of minors, especially in the face of threats from the digital world and social networks. “We must be more supportive of our wives, with whom we share our lives. I urge fathers to take more responsibility and to really get involved,” he added.

According to official data from the Interior Ministry, 217 women were murdered in the first ten months of 2025 in Türkiye, a figure however lower than the 290 victims recorded in the same period in 2024. Since 2007, Turkey has implemented four national plans against violence against women, with this new plan covering the period 2026-2030.

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Edited and reviewed by:

✅ Pablo Gómez

Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.

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