As gender inequality deepens, it also creates conditions in which violence against women can thrive. Its most widespread manifestation is domestic violence, one of today's most serious human rights violations.
Does the person you are married to, live with or date humiliate you or try to control everything you do? Do they frighten or threaten you, isolate you from your friends or even use physical violence against you? Do you avoid making them angry? If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you may be experiencing domestic violence: a pattern of behaviour used by one person in a relationship to control or exert power over the other.
Domestic violence can be physical, sexual or economic, but also emotional and psychological, and includes related acts and threats. It can range from intimidation and coercion to manipulation and humiliation, affecting people regardless of age, race, religion or social class. Although the violence may sometimes appear to diminish or disappear, a cycle of violence often continues in some form.
As a result, survivors may experience loss of self-confidence, withdrawal from friends and family, and isolation. Fear and anxiety, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating may also occur, while depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and even self-harm can become more common.
Global Progress Is Extremely Slow
The situation is so grave that, according to the United Nations, one woman is killed every ten minutes worldwide in femicide, the most extreme form of domestic violence.
A recent comprehensive report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners underlines that domestic violence remains one of the world's most persistent and under-addressed human rights crises, with little progress over the past 20 years. Nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced sexual violence during her lifetime.
Progress in reducing intimate-partner violence has been extremely slow, with an annual decline of only 0.2% over the past 20 years. Violence can begin at an early age and continue throughout life. Although it occurs in every country, women in least-developed countries, conflict zones and countries facing more severe effects of the climate crisis are affected to a greater extent.
Digital Violence Measured as a Separate Category in Türkiye for the First Time
The situation regarding domestic violence in Türkiye is also deeply concerning. The first large-scale study on the issue in ten years shows that domestic violence has not declined, but has changed form and become multilayered. The 2024 report, prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Family and Social Services in cooperation with academic institutions, is based on face-to-face interviews with more than 18,000 women.
According to the report, within one year, 11.6% of women experienced psychological violence, 3.2% economic violence, 2.6% physical violence and 0.9% sexual violence.
Psychological violence was the most widespread form. A major difference in the report was that it measured digital violence for the first time, recording a one-year rate of 3.7% in Türkiye. Online harassment, surveillance and stalking were also measured comprehensively for the first time. Young and divorced women are the groups most frequently exposed to these forms of violence.
March 2026 data from the Domestic Violence Emergency Helpline of the Federation of Women's Associations of Türkiye (TKDF) also demonstrate the continuing nature of the problem. The helpline received 247 calls in March. Of the 62 cases for which new records were opened following reports to the line, 38 concerned domestic violence.
QNB Türkiye Publishes Its Guide on Combating Domestic Violence
One important initiative to combat domestic violence in Türkiye has come from the business community. In 2013, the Business Against Domestic Violence (BADV) project and network were launched to make the effects of domestic violence on working life visible and encourage companies to establish institutional support mechanisms.
As a member of this network and an organisation focused on practical work on gender equality, QNB Türkiye treats domestic violence as both a human rights violation and a social and economic issue. One of its most important documents in this context is the Gender Equality Guide. Designed to make violence and discrimination against women visible, the guide addresses structural causes such as inequality and discrimination.
The bank has also prepared and recently published a guide dealing specifically with domestic violence. Entitled QNB Türkiye Guide on Combating Domestic Violence, it treats domestic violence not only as an individual issue, but also as an organisational and social one.
The guide is notable for its zero-tolerance policy, principles of confidentiality and safety, 24/7 support lines and comprehensive employee-support mechanisms. It aims to be inclusive by recognising the physical, emotional, sexual and economic forms of domestic violence and commits to providing employees with support appropriate to the incidents they experience.
It states that employees experiencing violence have access to information on legal rights and processes, support mechanisms through Human Resources and confidential reporting channels.
Emphasising the importance of rapid and effective intervention, the guide also states that the necessary disciplinary procedures and sanctions will be applied in domestic-violence cases occurring at the workplace or involving employees. It covers not only employees experiencing violence, but also children and young people who witness or experience it, and stresses the protection of their social development.
Through its sustainability and human rights approach, the bank also draws on United Nations programmes to highlight the effects of violence against women on the economy, health and social well-being.
A society living amid "silent noise" cannot describe itself as fair, safe or healthy. Ending this violence is not merely a matter of policy, but one of equality and human rights. It would be easy to fill this article with figures and statistics, but we must remember that behind every statistic are people whose lives have changed, and sometimes been taken away.
This is precisely why we must never forget that ending domestic violence is one of the most important foundations of peace, sustainable development and prosperity.
26 June 2026
