Sena Dolar

ISTANBUL - Reacting to the passing of the 4th Judicial Package, which includes the requirement to seek ‘concrete evidence’ for sexual assault and abuse against a child, Lawyer Diren Cevahir Şen reminded that the government has had policies to legitimize sexual abuse for many years and said: ‘’The state paved the way for acquitting the perpetrators with this package. It is trying to normalize it by legislating it.’’

The 27-item ‘’Bill of Law on the Amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Some Laws’’, known as the ‘4th Judicial Package’ in the public, was accepted at the General Assembly of the Parliament on July 9. Despite the objections of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP), the requirement of "concrete evidence" for catalog crimes such as sexual abuse, willful murder and torture was accepted in the judicial package. While the requirement to seek "concrete evidence" in sexual abuse is considered as a move to abolish the principle of taking the statement of women and children as a basis, it also prepares the legal ground for legitimizing sexual abuse against children. In addition, the release and acquittal of the perpetrators who are prosecuted for catalog crimes are also in question.

The “execution package” presented by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey during the pandemic process was adopted on April 14, 2020, and became law. While the perpetrators of violence and sexual abuse were released within the scope of the execution package, the AKP-MHP government's efforts to legitimize child marriages and sexual abuse since 2016 have been reacted against many times. The discourses of the legitimizing sexual abuse and child marriage came to the fore by the Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık, the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey (TİHEK) Süleyman Arslan and the AKP MP Abdullah Güler. The government, which remained silent against the intense reactions from the public, has prepared the legal ground for the practices of legitimizing sexual abuse and rewarding the perpetrators with impunity with the 4th Judicial Package.

Lawyer Diren Cevahir Şen evaluated the condition of seeking "concrete evidence" in catalog crimes in the 4th Judicial Package.

‘What does this government mean by concrete evidence?’

Noting that the requirement to seek concrete evidence means ignoring the statement of women and children, Diren said: ‘’We have discussed the principle that the statement of women is essential for years. The government has an aim to blur the issue. Political power and its close circle do this. The Istanbul Convention and the campaigns against it continued with such manipulations. The statement of the sexually assaulted person was taken as basis and the perpetrator of the attack was expected to acquit himself, and then the investigation would begin. Now, step by step, they are turning to protect the perpetrators of sexual violence.’’ Asking, ‘’What does this government mean by concrete evidence?” Diren said that the government gave the message that if there was no concrete evidence, it would release the perpetrators.

‘They are displaying their political stance by protecting the perpetrators’

Diren underlined that with the relevant regulation, male violence against women and children will be covered and the perpetrators of violence are protected, and said that the government displays an ideological and political stance. Expressing that the government continues its policies of early marriage, Diren said: ‘’The statements of the spokespersons of the government on early marriage are something that paves the way for the sexual abuse of children. It also aims to acquit those who have committed this crime in the past. We know that perpetrators of sexual abuse take up too much space in judicial wards. Forgiveness of perpetrators of sexual assault has been on the agenda for years. With the 4th Judicial Package, it paved the way for acquitting the perpetrators, paving the way for what will happen from now on. State is trying to normalize it by legislating it.’’

‘Women killers will continue to attack in an organized way’

Emphasizing that the government's attempts to acquittal male violence against women and children can only be prevented by making loud noises on the street, Diren said: ‘’Women killers will continue to attack children and women in an organized manner. The aim of the government was not to make women and children feel safe in this society. In order to protect our achievements and go further, a joint struggle of women is required.’’