Turkey withdraws from European treaty protecting women from gender-based violence

Turkey has withdrawn from a landmark European treaty protecting women from violence.

The county was the first to sign the Istanbul Convention treaty, named after its largest city, a decade ago.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decree annulling Turkey’s ratification of the treaty is a blow to women’s rights advocates, who say the agreement is crucial to combating domestic violence.

The Council of Europe’s Secretary-General, Marija Pejčinović Burić, called the decision “devastating”.