Türkiye to unveil new action plan on combating violence against women

ANKARA

Türkiye is preparing to introduce a wide-ranging new strategy to combat violence against women on Nov. 25, coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, outlining measures to address several alarming issues, including legal protection gaps and digital abuse.

Covering the 2026–2030 period, the plan will be announced at an event attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The upcoming plan is expected to focus on legal protection, risk-based and specialised services, psychological well-being and socio-economic empowerment. It is also set to cover behavioural change and social integration, as well as the promotion of a culture of respect and non-violence.

Rising forms of digital violence will also feature prominently.

The announcement comes as U.N. Women launches its 16 Days of Activism campaign focusing on the urgent need to eliminate technology-facilitated violence targeting women and girls worldwide.

Running from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, the campaign aims to emphasize that online harassment, digital stalking and other tech-enabled abuses have tangible and often severe real-world consequences.

These developments unfold against a backdrop of escalating violence documented by women’s organizations across Türkiye.

According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, 235 women were killed in the first 10 months of 2025, while 247 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances — the first time suspicious deaths have surpassed confirmed femicides since systematic monitoring began in 2008.

The organization’s data further revealed that the vast majority of perpetrators are men known intimately to the victims. In the first half of 2025, husbands were the most common attackers, followed by ex-husbands, other relatives and current partners, with strangers accounting for 1 percent of the femicide cases.