These past few months have been full of terrible tragedies and terrifying crimes. But Özgecan Aslan's cruel murder has hit Turkey in an unexpected way; the public-wide reaction and anger is almost unprecedented. However, there is a tendency to divert this public outrage and anger into a political arena where it just does not belong. Many people have attempted to tie the murder with the efforts to prevent violence against women in Turkey. Certain individuals have called for the Family and Social Policies Minister, Ayşenur İslam, to resign, trying to place the blame for the brutal murder of a young girl by an unbalanced minibus driver on her shoulders.I have been involved in a heated debate on Facebook with friends and friends of friends. To tie Özgecan's death to the problem of violence against women is to do injustice to both causes. The problem of violence against women is predominantly concerned with domestic violence or harassment in the workplace. The opportunistic murder of Özgecan – if her friend had stayed on the bus and Özgecan had gotten off, for instance, it would have been the friend whose life was in danger – cannot be allowed to reduce the conversation about the much wider and significant issue of violence against women in the home and workplace. If we do so, we run the danger of having a number of perpetuators of domestic violence say, "Hey, I'm hitting my wife. I'm not raping or murdering a stranger. This issue does not concern me." To include these into the issue of violence against women is comparing apples and oranges. Özgecan's murder must be treated in the environment in which it was enacted: A sick, violent crime. Domestic violence, that is violence usually inflicted by men on women with whom they are related or familiar, must be treated in the environment in which this violence is inflicted. Neither case is acceptable in any way, but to tie the two together damages both arguments.The question with Özgecan is one of the local authority's responsibility to ensure the safety of women, and perhaps of men too. The fact that there is no GPS on the minibuses and no cameras is worrying. Even more worrying is that somehow a man whose own uncle said had "stabbed his father on two separate occasions and used to beat his mother almost daily" is given the responsibility of the lives of the public. The suspect in question, Suphi Altındöken, had been involved in a traffic accident in the past, in which he suffered head trauma. His uncle calls him "mentally unstable" and he was exempt from compulsory military service due to his condition. This brings up the question as to how culpable local authorities are in neglecting this matter; that is, rather than calling for the resignation of the national government, perhaps we should look on a more local level for solutions.In the West, girls – and boys – learn from an early age not to take candy from strangers, not to get into their cars and many other useful life lessons. However, although there are general guidelines given to children in Turkey, life here is much more innocent and much more trusting here. The community is still a strong organizing factor in the country, as evidenced by the outpouring of grief for Özgecan. There is still faith that people are fundamentally to be trusted. Even though someone might raise a price or reduce the weight of what you are buying, basically it is largely believed one is safe. This is what is shaking Turkey. Finally, the realization that we no longer have that safe, cozy world has set in. The real world has caught up with us. This is not to say that there have not been horrific murders and rape cases in Turkey before, there have. But what happened to Özgecan not only feels very close to home, in that it could have been anyone in her place, but also it could have been so easily avoided. This is a situation in which the innocence and trust that society feels in those who provide services has been wrenched apart. We have to face up to the fact that we are no longer safe and this hurts. Maybe the solution is pink buses or GPS, camera systems and panic buttons. Pink buses have been on the agenda before, but opposition parties react to such suggestions as "ushering in Shariah law." Turkey has this terrible dichotomy – it is a modern, forward-moving country, but it has a strong connection with traditional mores, indeed to Islam. So often, the latter is abused in the name of the former, whereas there is no reason the two cannot go hand in hand. Minicab services run by women were the solution we used in London. No one accused us of ushering in Shariah law. In fact, those who did not use the "Lady cabs" were considered foolish for putting their lives in danger.The dichotomy in Turkey runs deep. Perhaps this is the only place that we can connect what happened to Özgecan to ensuring that as few women as possible are victims of violence. The traditional patriarchal nature of Turkish society instills an image of a young girl as pure and innocent. There is no problem in this, however, with this comes the idea – unspoken and often unrealized – that a good girl is home in the evenings and does not go out on her own. Yet, at the same time, we want our girls to achieve whatever they can. We want them to go to university, be employed and be a modern women in a modern world. In this case, the first attitude prevents parents from giving the girls the equipment to protect themselves in the real world: A good girl does not need to know how to protect herself because she is good.This is what is hurting us. Our beautiful world has had many cracks and bruises over the years. Every time we hear of someone being raped or murdered we shudder. But we were always able to return to our "There is a safety in Turkey that doesn't exist elsewhere" attitude; we believe that, at heart, "the community is good and strong." The victims were foreigners who did not know the way, women who were taking a risk or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The perpetuators were evil, unnatural people. But for some reason, Özgecan was the final straw. A university girl who was going about her daily business, not doing something that she perceived as risky and simply trusting the public transport on offer, lost her life in a brutal and horrible way. While her parents were at home, expecting her to walk through the door, she was fighting for her life. This is the horror that Turkey is facing: Innocence fighting for its life with no one to help, even in the era of instant communication. The government has reacted as strongly as the people. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said at a press conference on Monday evening: "This is a savage and barbaric assault that can never be accepted by the human conscience. Therefore, we understand the outrage of the community and we share the same feelings … the judiciary system will hand down the severest punishment to the perpetrators of the crime." President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said that he will personally monitor the case and advocate for Özgecan so that the ruthless murderers will receive the harshest penalty they deserve. He called on judicial decision makers to show extra sensitivity towards the case, and noted that the same incident could happen to all of our daughters if necessary action is not taken. In conclusion, those of us living in Turkey have to address the matter of individual safety, and teach our children, boys and girls, not only to respect one another, but also how to defend themselves in moments of danger. Turkey has long been part of the modern world, and now it has to face up to the fact that there are negative implications of modernity. It is long past the time when we equip ourselves with the tools to combat them.