Originally published 2021-03-24.
On 20 March 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a decree pulling Turkey out of the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe treaty on preventing and combating violence against women. Within hours, thousands of women gathered in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and other cities to protest. The withdrawal took effect on 1 July 2021, making Turkey the only country so far to have left the treaty.
The decision was striking because Turkey had been the treaty's first supporter: the agreement was opened for signature in Istanbul and carries the city's name. Here is what the convention does, why the government left, how women responded and what has happened since.
What the Istanbul Convention is
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was opened for signature in Istanbul on 11 May 2011. Turkey signed it that day and, in March 2012, became the first country to ratify it. The treaty entered into force in August 2014.
It treats violence against women as a human rights violation and a form of discrimination. Its approach is often summed up as the "four Ps":
- Prevention: awareness campaigns, education and training for professionals.
- Protection and support: shelters, helplines, emergency barring orders and help for victims.
- Prosecution: criminalising offences such as psychological violence, stalking, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and so-called "honour" crimes.
- Integrated policies: coordinating the work of police, courts, health and social services.
An independent expert group called GREVIO monitors how each country puts the treaty into practice and publishes reports on its progress.
Why Turkey withdrew
The decision was announced by presidential decree late at night, without a vote in parliament. Officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and their conservative and religious allies had argued for months that the treaty undermined traditional family values. Some claimed its language on gender and non-discrimination promoted homosexuality, a reading the Council of Europe has disputed; the treaty does not require countries to recognise same-sex relationships.
The government said women did not need an international agreement to be protected. Family, Labour and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk said the guarantee of women's rights lay in Turkey's own laws, "primarily our constitution", and that the judicial system was strong enough to adopt new rules as needed.
Opposition parties, led by the Republican People's Party (CHP), argued that a treaty approved by parliament could not be cancelled by the president alone. Turkey's top administrative court, the Council of State, ruled the withdrawal lawful on 29 June 2021, two days before it took effect. The Council of Europe, the European Union and the United States all criticised the move.
How women responded
Protesters gathered in Istanbul's Kadıköy district, in Izmir and in the capital, Ankara, many carrying the purple flags of the women's movement. Banners and chants defied the decision, with messages declaring that women would win this fight and that they were tired of a patriarchal state and of not feeling safe.
One protester, 43-year-old Çiğdem Karadağ, told reporters she had brought her daughters along. Although she felt the convention had never been properly applied, she said scrapping it was "another level", and she wanted her daughters to grow up free, equal and safe.
Women's groups had good reason to worry. Campaigners such as the We Will Stop Femicide Platform have counted hundreds of women killed in Turkey each year, often by partners or former partners, and they saw the convention as one of the few tools they could use to hold authorities to account.
How common is domestic violence in Turkey?
It is often said that one in four Turkish women experiences domestic violence, but national research suggests the figure is higher. Large surveys by Hacettepe University's Institute of Population Studies found that about 39% of women in the 2008 survey, and about 36% in the 2014 survey, said they had experienced physical violence from a husband or partner at some point, with 12% to 15% reporting sexual violence.
Numbers like these help explain why the treaty mattered so much to campaigners. It did not prevent violence by itself, but it gave a framework for shelters, protection orders and independent monitoring, and it gave women's organisations an outside standard to measure government action against.
Did other countries leave too?
At the time, it was widely reported that Poland had already pulled out. That was not the case. In July 2020 Poland's justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, announced that he would start the withdrawal process, arguing that the treaty pushed gender ideology into schools. The plan triggered large protests but was never completed, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's new government formally dropped it in January 2024.
Other countries have resisted joining. Bulgaria's Constitutional Court ruled in 2018 that the treaty was incompatible with its constitution, Slovakia's parliament rejected the treaty in 2020, and Hungary's parliament urged its government not to ratify it that same year. Russia and Azerbaijan never signed it. In October 2025, Latvia's parliament voted to withdraw, but the president vetoed the law, so its future there remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, others moved in the opposite direction. Ukraine and the United Kingdom both ratified the treaty in 2022, and the European Union itself joined in 2023.
The wider political picture
The withdrawal fitted a broader pattern in Turkey's politics. Human rights groups describe Erdoğan's government as increasingly authoritarian, pointing to the jailing of journalists, prosecutions of opposition politicians and restrictions on online speech. Its growing emphasis on conservative religious values sits uneasily with the secular foundations of the modern Turkish republic.
Supporters of the decision see it differently: as defending family life and national sovereignty against outside pressure. Understanding both views helps explain why the treaty became such a lightning rod.
Where things stand
Leaving the convention did not repeal Turkey's own laws against domestic violence, including its 2012 law on protecting the family and preventing violence against women. But it removed independent international monitoring and sent a political signal that campaigners say emboldened abusers. Women's groups in Turkey continue to protest, document killings and call for the country to rejoin.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, local helplines and support services can offer confidential advice and, in an emergency, contact the police.
Sources: Wikipedia: Istanbul Convention; Sen and Bolsoy, BMC Women's Health (2017), citing Hacettepe University national surveys; The Guardian, 20 March 2021.
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