عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Turkey: Over 300 Women Victims of Domestic Violence in 2019

Women hold placards as they march against domestic violence, in Paris, Saturday, Nov, 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Women hold placards as they march against domestic violence, in Paris, Saturday, Nov, 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
TT
20
TT

Turkey: Over 300 Women Victims of Domestic Violence in 2019

Women hold placards as they march against domestic violence, in Paris, Saturday, Nov, 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Women hold placards as they march against domestic violence, in Paris, Saturday, Nov, 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Domestic violence crimes committed against women have seen an alarming increase in 2019, with over 300 women losing their lives after being subjected to violence in Turkey.

According to statistics by Turkish organizations active in the field of defending women's rights and supporting women against violence, 302 women were killed and 532 others were severely injured by men in 324 day, from January 1 till October 20, 2019.

According to reports released by those organizations on Sunday, at least 12 women are hospitalized in dangerous conditions caused by domestic violence.

The reports revealed that 198 of the victims were killed by a husband, boyfriend, ex-husband, or ex-boyfriend, and 31 others were murdered by a brother, father, or son in the so-called "honor killing".

The figures also showed that 20 women were killed by a neighbor or friend, 8 women by relatives for different reasons, 19 women by the son-in-law or ex-son-in-law, one woman by the police, one by a parent of a student, and one by her employer.

The statistics show that the rate of domestic violence against women in Turkey has jumped to 75 percent over the past 15 years.

On September 28, human rights groups defending women against violence organized a march in Istanbul to protest against violence targeting women, during which the participants condemned "the failure of the government" in addressing this worsening phenomenon.

During the march, the protesting women shouted "stop killing women, do not stand still, do something to stop the violence."

The organization of the march came as a response to the recurrent incidents of violence against women, and mainly the murder of Amina Boulot, 38, by her ex-husband in August.

He stabbed her in her neck during a fight they had in a restaurant in Istanbul, and their 10-year-old daughter was there. The crime shocked the Turkish community, and still makes headlines in the local media until today.

After this crime, a video showing the stabbed woman, her hands on the man's neck and crying "I don't want to die," stirred a wave of condemnation among calls for more firm regulations aimed at putting an end to violence crimes committed against women.

The Turkish law gives the judges significant powers and provisions allowing them to reduce sentences of men violating women.

A Turkish women rights activist said Turkey was among the first countries to sign the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (also known as the Istanbul Convention), which came into effect in 2014. However, the convention didn't contribute to a stricter implementation of laws.

The court decisions in these cases are still loose, and judges can easily reduce sentences for many reasons such as good behavior, and being subject to provocation and severe emotions.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Elitist No More, Caviar is Turning Casual

Many caviar producers are embracing the trend. GEORGES GOBET / AFP
Many caviar producers are embracing the trend. GEORGES GOBET / AFP
TT
20
TT

Elitist No More, Caviar is Turning Casual

Many caviar producers are embracing the trend. GEORGES GOBET / AFP
Many caviar producers are embracing the trend. GEORGES GOBET / AFP

When Burger King announced it was selling caviar with nuggets at its French restaurants on April 1, many people assumed it was an April Fool's joke.

But as news spread on social media, buyers rushed to try one of the world's most expensive delicacies paired with a humble and highly commoditized piece of deep-fried chicken while limited stocks lasted, said AFP.

For 19 euros ($22), they got seven nuggets, mayonnaise and a 10-gram (0.35-ounce) pouch of Chinese-origin caviar from the Astana brand, which explained it had worked with the fast-food giant to "make the caviar of chefs available to as many people as possible".

It was a marketing coup -- the story quickly went viral after being picked up by French news outlets -- but it also revealed how the image of caviar as an out-of-reach luxury product is rapidly changing.

As with most new food trends, interest in the exclusive fish eggs is being driven by online influencers and celebrities.

Rihanna posted a video to her 150 million followers on Instagram on December 20 last year showing her eating nuggets topped with caviar.

"I don't like how much I like this," she began.

US celebrity chef David Chang is also a champion, with a 2022 Instagram video showing him dunking a deep-fried chicken leg into a one-kilogram tin of caviar -- "one of my favorite most obscene things to do" -- which racked up more than three million views.

He credits New York chef Wylie Dufresne with first adding it to the menu at his influential WD~50 restaurant in the 2010s.

Last year, the US Open tennis tournament caused a stir by selling a $100 box of six nuggets with caviar created by the luxury Manhattan fried chicken restaurant Coqodaq.

'Less formal'

Producers and food writers have mixed feelings about the popularization of the culinary indulgence, which sells for 1,000 to 30,000 euros a kilogram depending on the type.

The high prices are due to rarity and the high investment producers make in the sturgeon fish needed for caviar, which start to produce eggs only after eight or 10 years.

The most expensive caviar -- the one famously preferred by Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor -- is the roe of the beluga sturgeon, which takes at least 15 years to mature.

Mikael Petrossian, head of the French brand Petrossian, said there was a "demystification" of caviar underway.

"Caviar doesn't necessarily have to come in a large tin with silver serving pieces... You can enjoy the product in a much more relaxed way," he said. "I personally like eating caviar with crisps."

The founder of French caviar producer Neuvic, Laurent Deverlanges, says his company also aims to make it "less formal".

He posted a review of the "King Nugget Caviar" menu online, concluding that "it works, even if you can't really taste the caviar much".

But Olivier Cabarrot, the head of the France-based Prunier brand whose caviar restaurant is one of the most famous in the world, pushes back on the idea of it becoming a regular product.

"In terms of gastronomy, there is nothing as expensive. It's hard to talk about it becoming 'democratised'," he said. "But we can speak of greater accessibility, achieved through the sale of smaller quantities rather than lower prices."

Many distributors including Petrossian and Prunier offer tins of 10, 20 or 30 grams, helping to attract a younger clientele.

Dreamy

Remi Dechambre, a food journalist at Le Parisien newspaper, said people associated caviar with opulence and refinement less and less.

"We've completely moved on from that... Consumption has become a little more common, a little less formal -- even though it still makes people dream," he told AFP.

But knowing how to enjoy the product properly remains essential, said Francoise Boisseaud, managing director of the supplier Le Comptoir du Caviar.

"There's a whole education to be done," she said about the different types -- baeri, oscietre, sevruga or beluga .

For her, the best way to enjoy it is with a crusty baguette and butter, not with fried chicken or crisps.

Robin Panfili, a food journalist who runs the food blog "Entree, Plat, Dessert", said Burger King had pulled off a "marketing trick".

"By trying to bring together two worlds that are completely opposed -- luxury and fast food -- the aim is to shake up the codes, to demystify a product historically seen as luxurious and elitist. It's visual, it's viral, it sparks discussion because it's provocative," he told AFP.