Turkey withdraws from Istanbul Convention

Turkey withdrew from a European treaty on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, according to the country’s Official Gazette early Saturday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention that was signed in 2011.

What is the Istanbul Convention?

The Istanbul Convention is the first convention in international law that emphasizes that violence is the result of inequality between women and men and discrimination against women.

The Istanbul Convention is the first convention that includes four basic approaches consisting of “Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Support Policies” on combating all forms of physical, sexual, economic and emotional violence.

The Istanbul Convention is also the first binding convention that has an independent monitoring mechanism to combat violence and has the power of enforcement.