Turkey released a report on honor killing numbers this week.
At least one person dies each week in Istanbul because of an honor killing.
Stop Honor Killings and the Turkish Daily News reported:
In Istanbul, at least one person dies every week because of honor killings according to the report, which is the most comprehensive in its field. The number of murders committed for honor in the last five years has exceeded 1,000. The murderers are treated as heroes in prisons and they do not regret their crimes.
“The Report on Honor Killings” was presented by the president of the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Directorate, professor Dr. Tahsin Fendoğlu, at a meeting called “Women and Participation: Problems and Solutions.” According to the report, the number of honor killings was 150 in 2002, while it rose to 220 in 2007. Occurrence of honor killings is inversely proportional with education levels. Not only women but also men fall victim to honor killings. Besides, around 9 percent of the murders are committed by children.
The report declares that metropolitan cities are leading crime scenes of honor killings. In the last five years, 167 people were murdered in Istanbul. Ankara followed with 144, İzmir with 121, and Diyarbakır with 69.