Amid outrage over the murders of women by their spouses, the government is moving to take more effective measures against domestic violence. Justice Ministry spokesman Ertuğrul Çekin told reporters Tuesday that specialized courts would be established to speed up restraining orders and other rulings for the protection of women exposed to violence.

Çekin said that so far this year, authorities have issued 553,463 restraining orders and other similar measures to prevent a repeat of violence and harassment in domestic violence cases. A swift process will be implemented in domestic violence cases as social examination reports for each case will be presented to the specialized courts by prosecutors.

Domestic violence and the murder of women by their husbands, partners and relatives has long been a thorn in Turkey's side, yet thanks to broader media coverage in recent years, the issue is now more visible than ever. The latest murder of 20-year-old Ceren Özdemir, who was stabbed to death in front of her home in the northeastern province of Ordu, renewed public fury, while authorities acknowledged a lack of sufficient measures to stop the murders.

Figures by the Interior Ministry show 124,521 cases of domestic violence and violence against women in the first 10 months of 2019, a rate 19.1% lower than the previous year. According to the figures, there have been at least 299 murders of women this year so far – already up from 280 in 2018.