Law Change Against Violence Against Women and Health Care Workers

Lawyer NevinCan said that the bill containing regulations on the prevention of violence against women and healthcare workers has been approved and will be published in the Official Gazette.

Emphasizing that violence and sexual crimes against women have increased in our society, Lawyer Can pointed out that although this law amendment is positive, it is important to educate and raise awareness of the society.

Lawyer Can said: “Although this latest change has positive aspects, it is clear that increasing the penalties for crimes is no longer a deterrent in our society. Because over the years, the penalties for crimes are gradually increasing, but instead of a decrease in crime rates, more increases are observed. In my opinion, increasing education, awareness and psychological support activities in order to prevent the aforementioned crimes would be much more beneficial than the adoption of increasingly severe punishments. There is no doubt that acquiring the awareness that certain behaviors are wrong and learning methods of self-expression other than violence by controlling anger will be much more effective than fear of punishment in order to prevent these crimes.

RESTRICTION ON 'TIE DISCOUNT' IS COMING

Attorney NevinCan, who gave information about the change in the law, said, "The "Draft Law on Amending the Turkish Penal Code and Some Laws", which includes regulations for the prevention of violence against women and health workers, was accepted and enacted in the session of the Assembly dated 12/05/2022. The law, which is expected to be published in the Official Gazette in the coming days, will enter into force on the date of its publication and changes will be made in the relevant laws. With this law amendment, the reasons for discretionary reduction, which are sometimes expressed in terms such as "tie reduction" in the public, have been restricted. While in the previous version of the law, the reasons for the reduction were not counted as limited, and the judges were given wide authority to reduce the reduction, after the amendment, only the behavior of the accused showing his remorse during the trial can be accepted as a reason for reduction, and it will have to be clearly stated in the reasoned decision.

'Persistent follow-up' will be counted as a crime

Lawyer Nevin Can also noted that a new crime under the title of "persistent pursuit" has been added to the Turkish Penal Code, especially for the protection of women.

Can said, “Persistently; The penalty for this new crime, which is defined as "causing a serious unease on a person or worrying about the safety of himself or one of his relatives, by physically following or trying to contact by using communication and communication tools, information systems or third parties", is from six months to two years. determined as a prison sentence. In addition, the case of committing this crime against certain persons, such as children, ex-spouse, and persons who have been suspended, was determined as a qualified case and was accepted as a reason to increase the sentence. Another change has been the expansion of the cases where victims of violence against women can benefit from free legal assistance. While previously only victims of sexual assault or crimes with a minimum penalty of more than five years could benefit from free legal assistance upon request, after the change, victims of sexual abuse of children, persistent stalking, intentional injury to women, torture and torture will now be able to benefit from this right. used the phrases.