Search

analysis-and-reports

Is the good conduct discount in femicides fair?

At the end of the movie, which is about Bergen's life story, Bergen is shot to death by his wife. The fact that Bergen was blinded in one eye and then shot dead by being thrown on his face is just one of the violence against women and murders of women.

Image

“My God, If You Forgive Your Bad Servants, I Will Not Forgive You”

BERGEN

Bergen's Life Story:

At the end of the movie, which is about Bergen's life story, Bergen is shot to death by his wife. The fact that Bergen was blinded in one eye and then shot dead by being thrown on his face is just one of the violence against women and murders of women. Violence against women and femicide is an important global problem that violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, arises as a result of unequal power relations between women and men, and is experienced both in Turkey and all over the world. men; In order to maintain their dominance over women through patriarchal culture, various social norms and gender stereotypes, they use disproportionate force to use violence and kill women.

Men Use All Kinds of Violence Against Women

Women are exposed to physical, psychological, economic, social, etc. violence. are exposed to all types. Among these, physical violence is the most common type of domestic violence that we encounter. Because in physical violence, men aim to control the woman in front of them and to realize their wishes by causing pain and fear. According to the results of the Research on Domestic Violence Against Women in Turkey (2014); 36% of women are exposed to physical violence by men, 44% to psychological violence, 12% to sexual violence and 30% to economic violence at some point in their lives. On the other hand, women generally tend to hide the violence they are exposed to because they think they should stay more private and because they are ashamed. In the movie, this situation is emphasized as follows; Bergen cannot open the door to her mother, whom she has not seen for a long time and comes to visit, as she has bruises on her face and eyes as a result of the beating she received from her husband.

Results of the Research on Violence against Women and Femicide

We have stated that violence against women and femicide is a social problem experienced all over the world, and the data proves this. According to the 2018 data of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); In 2017, 87,000 women were deliberately killed “just because they were women”. Every day, an average of 137 women are killed by their partners or family members. According to the UNODC report on the killing of women and girls by family members; In 2020, 47 thousand women or girls were killed by their families or relatives. It is emphasized that this means that, on average, one woman or girl is killed by a member of her own family every 11 minutes. According to the data presented by the report, femicide rates have increased in Asian and African countries. It is stated that the annual average number of murders of women and girls from 2019 to 2020 during the period of Covid-19 restrictions increased by 11 percent in the West and 5 percent in Southern Europe.

Femicide Data in Turkey:

When we look at the femicide data in Turkey; According to the Mapping of Femicides Reflected in the Media, 2534 women were killed between 2010 and 2020 in Turkey.

The data evaluated according to the results of the notifications made to the emergency hotline in March 2019 and March 2020 by the Federation of Women's Associations of Turkey show that there was an 81% increase in physical violence and a 93% increase in psychological violence. In addition, the rate of women who cannot reach legal support is 96%. According to the data of the Federation of Women's Associations of Turkey, there were 367 murders of women in 2021. According to the February 2022 report of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, there were 23 Femicide and 21 Suspicious Women's Deaths in February alone.

A study conducted in 2018 showed that 65.1% of women were killed by their partners, 41.6% by their civil partners, 4.8% by their ex-spouses, and 3% by their religious spouses. According to the study, 37.3% of the women reported their ex-husband's request for reconciliation or because of the argument, 11.3% of them jealousy and suspicion of cheating on their spouse, 11% of them demanding divorce or separation, 5.4% of them because of the argument. They were killed because they refused the request for a relationship.

What Was The Reasons for The Femicides? (https://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/)

Image
Image

Who murdered the women? (https://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/)

Could Bergen's Killer Be Released?

When we go back to the movie Bergen again, according to the information given about her husband who killed Bergen at the end of the movie, she was sentenced to 12 years, but was released after serving 7 more months in prison, considering her good behavior reduction and the time she spent in prison before. Also, in a recent interview with the perpetrator, "Do you regret killing Bergen?" He replied, "By God, I do not regret it." How did Bergen's murderer benefit from the good behavior discount?

What is the Good Conduct Discount in the Turkish Penal Code and How is it Applied?

Names such as reputation discount, good behavior discount are the common names of discretionary discounts in TCK 62 in practice. Discretionary Discount, "reduction of good behavior", which we know among the public, is included in Article 62 of our Turkish Penal Code No. 5237. According to this article:

(1) Life imprisonment instead of aggravated life imprisonment if there are discretionary reasons to mitigate the sentence in favor of the perpetrator; instead of life imprisonment, twenty-five years' imprisonment is imposed. Up to one-sixth of other penalties are reduced.
(2) As a reason for discretionary discount, The perpetrator's history social relations,

Behaviors after the act and during the trial,
Issues such as the possible effects of the punishment on the perpetrator's future may be taken into account. The reasons for the discretionary discount are indicated in the decision. It is stated in the TCK article 62 that the good behavior reduction is a discretionary situation and that it is given completely according to the observation of the judge.

Saying "like" in the second paragraph of Article 62 of the TPC No. 5237, after listing the reasons for discretionary reduction, means that, according to lawyers, the reasons for discretionary reduction are not limited to those listed in the law, on the contrary, they are stated as examples. Reasons listed in the law as "the past of the perpetrator, his social relations, his behavior after the act and during the trial, the possible effects of the punishment on the perpetrator's future" can be guiding reasons, not restricting the judge in practice. As a result of this, it is accepted that it has adopted the free evaluation system, not the limiting system in terms of discretionary discount reasons.

Does Good Conduct Act Increase Murders?

The conclusion we can draw from this is that the behaviors before and during the hearing in the second paragraph of Article 62 of the Turkish Penal Code are included in the scope of good conduct discount as a reason for the increase in femicides in Turkey from year to year. The murderers of Bergen and thousands of other women managed to influence the court, the judge, by pretending during the trial, and benefited from discretionary discounts, although they did not regret it. Generally speaking, criminals who commit murder, whether it is a woman killed by a man, a woman killed by a woman, or a man killed by a woman, should not have the option of a remission of good behavior or a remission of remorse.

Increasing Penalty Instead of Abolishing “Good Conduct Reduction” in Femicide!

The bill increasing the criminal sanction in crimes of violence against women and femicide was presented to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in March 2022 and accepted.

With the new regulation, the condition of regret is introduced for the judge's "discretionary discount", which is regulated in Article 62 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, which we explained above and which is considered the reason for commuting the sentence. In addition, the sentence "issues such as the past of the perpetrator, his social relations, the possible effects of the punishment on the perpetrator's future", which gives the judge an open-ended discretion, is limited by removing the word "such as". Because the expression "things like..." caused criticism and discussion from time to time. It was constantly discussed by lawyers and women's associations that the term "such matters" should not be written in the law and that the issue of which discount would be applied was left to the discretion of the judge.

What Do Behaviors Showing Regret Mean?

In addition, with the new regulation, the provision that the right of discretionary discount can be used according to the behaviors of the perpetrator after committing the crime and during the trial process is introduced. During the hearing, the acts done only to influence the trial court and the judge, acting during the trial will no longer be considered as a reason for discretionary reduction. Well, who will be played a role and who will be deceived with the new regulation? In these evaluations, the convicts participated in the rehabilitation and education-training programs, social-cultural and sports activities, culture and art programs, the certificates they received, their reading habits, their social relations, and the regret they felt for the crime they committed. His behavior, compliance with the rules and the disciplinary penalties he received will be taken into account.

Conclusion

The entry into force of the Istanbul Convention in terms of ensuring gender equality has been one of Turkey's most important achievements. Because one of the aims of the convention was to protect women from all forms of violence, to prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence. The convention brought obligations to states to make legal arrangements in this regard. However, Turkey wanted to get rid of these obligations by leaving this contract in March 2021. The new regulations presented and accepted by the government to the parliament are wanted to be shown as a solution. So, will the changes made in the articles of law stop or reduce femicide? What does discretionary discount mean according to the "repentant behavior" that comes with the new regulation? While the convict is being watched, he will fulfill the duties given to deceive the administration and the observation board, and when he is released by displaying the positive behaviors expected of him, he will say "I swear I don't regret it".

No one should see in himself the right and power to take away the right to life of another. There should be no remorse or discretionary reduction in killing people, and these articles should be removed from the law. Administrative, legal, judicial and cultural patriarchal structures and sexist cultures of societies need to change. First of all, people should be educated and explained about this. The problem of violence against women can be solved not only by punishing men or increasing the penalties, but also by creating a social structure that does not have gender discrimination. Men and women should be regularly informed about the place of women in society and their rights. Women should be given training that strengthens and develops them both physically and spiritually. Instead of trying to make the criminal who committed a murder show himself remorse, individuals who cannot commit that crime should be raised.

Previous
Findings Regarding the Application of the British National Public Performance Management Model
Next
What is morality and what is not?
Serbest Yazar Fatma Aksoy GÜRKAN
Author Fatma Aksoy GÜRKAN
All Articles
  • 06.04.2022
  • Time : 6 min
  • 3252 Read

Google Ads