The Justice Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) late Tuesday approved a bill that overhauls existing regulations to better prevent violence toward women and health care workers.

The bill introduces heftier sentences for crimes against these two vulnerable groups who have been exposed to cases of violence and sometimes, murder.

One of the most significant changes the bill brings is the limiting of legal interpretations that pave the way for reductions in perpetrators' sentences. Defendants will not be able to have their sentences reduced based solely on their so-called "good conduct" during court proceedings unless they show genuine regret for their criminal actions. Courts are also now required to openly declare the reason for a reduction in a sentence. "Good conduct" is often cited in commuted sentences and sometimes, can be tied to defendants’ attire in hearings, such as wearing a tie. Critics have long argued that "good conduct" cannot justify the crimes the defendants are accused of committing.

The bill also includes heavier sentences for deliberate manslaughter, deliberate injury, threat and torture if the victim is female. For instance, the sentence of life imprisonment usually handed down to people convicted of deliberate manslaughter will be converted to aggravated life imprisonment if committed against a woman. Those convicted of aggravated life imprisonment have little to no chance of being released on parole after serving part of their sentence.

Similarly, the minimum sentence for deliberate but minor injuries caused to women will be raised to six months from four months. The minimum sentence has been set at five years for crimes of torture and nine months for crimes of threat.

Under the bill, stalking is classified as a separate crime for the first time. Perpetrators will receive prison terms of between six months and two years if convicted of stalking through communication tools, physical means or by using third parties to exert pressure on the victim. The sentence will be increased if the victim is a child, the former spouse of the perpetrator or their current spouse who has filed for divorce. It will also be increased if the perpetrator's actions have forced victims to relocate, quit their jobs or schools and if the offender has an earlier restraining order filed against them. Legal action will only be taken against stalking if the victim files a criminal complaint.

The bill will also provide women who are victims of violence with a lawyer and free legal counsel.

Öznur Çalık, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told a committee meeting that the bill was very important "to end the perception that perpetrators are spared from punishment in violence toward women." Çalık, who serves on Parliament’s Investigative Committee for Violence Towards Women, cited the case of Belgin Sarılmışer, the popular singer better known as Bergen whose biopic is smashing box-office records in Turkey nowadays. "In the case involving Bergen’s murder, a reduced sentence was handed over and the perpetrator was sentenced to 15 years in prison, on the grounds of good conduct in the proceedings," she lamented. Bergen was killed in 1989 by her former boyfriend who was initially handed 15 years but walked out of prison seven months after he was formally sentenced when a court further reduced his sentence since he served 16 months in pre-trial detention.

Violence against health care staff

For health care workers, the bill defines "crimes against health care workers" as a separate offense for the first time in Turkish law. Thus, legal proceedings will be facilitated against perpetrators of crimes targeting all health care staff, from doctors and nurses to paramedics, who are subject to attacks while on duty. Sentences will be increased against perpetrators and they will be remanded in custody in severe cases. Currently, perpetrators involved in crimes against health care workers are often released with judiciary control during legal proceedings, something that draws the ire of victims.

The bill also increases sentences if the assaulted health care worker is female.

It also paves the way for the establishment of the Occupational Responsibility Board which will tackle medical malpractice cases and serve as the authority to greenlight criminal trials in cases of malpractice. The board will be tasked with deciding on the compensation physicians are required to pay in case of wrongdoing.

Union of Health Care and Social Service Workers (Sağlık-Sen) Chairperson Semih Durmuş says the laws alone cannot solve the problem of violence toward health care workers. "We need public awareness," he told reporters after an event in the western province of Kütahya on Tuesday.

Durmuş, however, hailed the bill as a step toward the absolute resolution of the problem, "which became more visible." "Classifying it as a separate crime is an appropriate decision, because so far, laws were interpreted differently by different courts. For instance, a perpetrator could be released for committing the same crime in one province while they could be arrested in another province," he said.