07/15/2026
📌 The World Press Freedom Index 2026 lists Turkey at 163rd out of 180 countries, measuring the status of media independence and freedom of expression, which is a record-low ranking. Authoritarianism is increasingly taking hold in Türkiye, diminishing any media diversity as about %90 of the media industry is owned by pro-state entities. All forms of arbitrary actions, including groundless arrests of media professionals, digital attacks, defamation campaigns, and social media account closures, are aimed at silencing dissident voices.
📌 Over the past decade, Türkiye has experienced a sharp decline in almost all democratic indicators, including those related to women’s rights. The OECD Violence Against Women Index 2023 enlists Turkey as the country with the highest level of violence.
📌 OHCHR estimated in 2018 that “approximately 600 women with young children were being held in detention in Türkiye as of December 2017. In almost all cases, they were arrested as ‘associates’ of their husbands, who were the Government’s primary suspects for connection to terrorist organizations, without separate evidence supporting charges against them.”
📌 In March 2021, Türkiye withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, a critical safeguard combating violence against women, which has steadily increased in Türkiye. According to We Will Stop Femicide Platforms’ statistics, there have been 151 women suspiciously killed in the first 6 months of 2026, which marks the highest since Türkiye`s unlawful exit from this flagship human rights treaty protecting women from domestic violence.
📌 The fight for press freedom and digital rights continues in Türkiye despite unprecedented limitations, including the arbitrary closure of the social media accounts of journalists, human rights defenders, and dissident voices on X, Instagram, and YouTube, which are predominantly becoming the mainstream news outlets for citizens in Türkiye due to heavy pressure on broadcasting TV channels.
