A man in the process of a divorce killed his wife and her two relatives on Friday in the northern Turkish province of Giresun.
The suspect, identified as N.Ç., visited the house where his wife D.Ç. was staying in Giresun’s Espiye district, allegedly to discuss the divorce proceedings. After a dispute, he started firing at his wife and her female relatives, before turning the gun to himself. D.Ç. and two other women succumbed to their wounds at the hospital they were taken to, while N.Ç. remains hospitalized.
Media reports said the couple got married one year ago, and the wife moved to her brother’s house before filing for divorce.
Domestic violence and femicides are two issues plaguing the country and lenient sentences for perpetrators often draw the public's ire. Though laws stipulate severe prison terms for perpetrators of assaults and homicides, the courts sometimes hand down reduced terms if defendants exhibit "good conduct," namely claiming remorse and "behaving well" during the hearings.
A few months ago, Turkey introduced a new bill that backed harsher sentences for crimes against women. One of the most significant changes the bill brings is limiting the legal interpretations that pave the way for reductions in perpetrators' sentences. The bill also includes stricter sentences for deliberate manslaughter, deliberate injury, threat and torture if the victim is a woman.
A total of 181 women were killed in Türkiye in murders stemming from domestic abuse between January and August, the latest available date. The murders of women often target divorced spouses or those seeking a divorce from their husbands and are often a product of a twisted patriarchal mindset, justifying murders as a way to "clear their honor" to prevent their ex-spouses from remarrying.
Divorces are on the rise in the country and official figures show they increased to 174,085 in 2021, from 136,570 in 2020, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). More than 33% of divorces occurred within the first five years of marriage, while the majority of divorces ended up with children’s custody handed to mothers.