President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan revealed more details about a new bill the Justice Ministry has been preparing as he pledged to end leniency for perpetrators of domestic abuse and violence against women.
Addressing an event organized by the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) held in Istanbul on Friday, Erdoğan said a reform package was prepared and would soon be sent to Parliament for approval. He highlighted that new regulations would prevent perpetrators' sentences from being reduced on grounds of "good behavior" during legal proceedings. "Perpetrators will not benefit from reduction if they do not genuinely regret their actions," the president said.
Domestic violence and femicides are two issues plaguing the country and lenient sentences for perpetrators often draw public outcry. 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.
Erdoğan said they had already enacted an exemplary law to curb violence against women and have supported women against violence. "We took a myriad of measures for the protection of women exposed to violence or with the potential of exposure to violence, from opening shelters for them to setting up monitoring centers, giving psychiatric and financial support to victims and imposing restraining orders for perpetrators," he said. He noted more than 1 million citizens benefited from the Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers (ŞÖNİM).
He acknowledged that Turkey was far behind most European countries in terms of tackling domestic violence and femicides but added that their work would not be "finished" until the crimes were completely eradicated.
"With new regulations, perpetrators will not benefit from any sentence reduction. Wearing a suit and tie to the hearings, folding their hands in front and bowing their head and similar acts will not be the basis for a reduction in sentences. If defendants are convicted of deliberate manslaughter, injury and torture, their sentences will be increased," Erdoğan said. He stressed that the minimum sentence for threatening one's partner with violence, regardless of marital status, would be increased from six to nine months.
"Acts of all forms of stalking (physical or through communication means) will be criminalized, with prison terms between six months to two years and in certain cases, defendants will be remanded in custody. New regulations will also facilitate the arrest of perpetrators involved in the deliberate injury of their spouses. The bar associations will be allowed to provide lawyers free of charge if female victims request," Erdoğan also said.