Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul Convention

Leaving the Istanbul Convention amid a women’s-rights backlash

Turkey's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, widely known as the Istanbul Convention, provoked protests because it removed the country from an international framework that its own diplomacy had helped champion. The convention addresses prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated response to gender-based violence. The 2021 withdrawal exposed a conflict between the government's social-conservative rhetoric and the demands of women facing domestic abuse and lethal violence.

• 11 May 2011: The convention was opened for signature in Istanbul, attaching Turkey's largest city to an international legal agreement on violence against women.
• 2012: Turkey became the first country to ratify the convention; Advocates hoped it would increase prevention, shelter access, victim protection and accountability for perpetrators.
• 2014: The convention entered into force internationally, providing common standards for participating states and additional mechanisms for monitoring national implementation.
• 2020: Social-conservative campaigns in Turkey increasingly argued that the convention threatened traditional family structures; Women's organizations rejected these assertions and emphasized the agreement's focus on preventing abuse.
• 20 March 2021: A presidential decree announced Turkey's withdrawal; Protesters gathered in opposition, while the government maintained that domestic legislation could protect women without continued adherence to the convention.
• 21 March 2021: Foreign governments and rights organizations condemned the decision; U.S. President Joe Biden criticized withdrawal, arguing that it weakened international efforts to stop violence against women.
• 1 July 2021: Turkey's withdrawal took effect; Women's rights groups continued seeking protective measures and challenging the political legitimacy of leaving the treaty.

The principal criticism was that the state retreated from external accountability at a time when women's organizations documented persistent domestic violence and femicide. The legal departure did not itself abolish every existing Turkish protection, but it removed a recognized international commitment and monitoring framework. This affected rights protection for victims who needed reliable police intervention, shelters and effective investigation.

Government supporters argued that domestic legal tools remained available and that elected leaders had authority to reconsider international agreements. Opponents responded that the method—executive withdrawal without a new legislative settlement—illustrated presidential power concentration as well as a substantive retreat from protection. The political clash also put civic organizing under pressure as groups demonstrated and pursued legal remedies. Although the treaty concerns women rather than only reproductive health, the dispute intersected with broader gender and reproductive autonomy by raising questions about the security, agency and equal citizenship of women in Turkey.

The original convention also called for data collection, training professionals and coordinating institutions that encounter victims. Its withdrawal raised concerns about how police, prosecutors, health workers and shelters would maintain consistent protection. Reported violence against women made the operational implications much more urgent than symbolic disagreement about international treaties.

In March 2021, the announcement prompted visible demonstrations by women’s organizations and critical statements from international partners, showing that the withdrawal had immediate domestic and diplomatic effects.