Turkish Charity Advises Abuse Victims to Arm Themselves

In response to the killings of hundreds of women in Turkey by abusive husbands or lovers, despite court protection, an anti-abuse charity in the country is advising victims on how to obtain firearms to protect themselves, according to The New York Times.

The organization, Sefkat (Turkish for compassion), published information in a brochure and on its Web site on how women can get guns and weapons training. “We believe the state should protect these women, but it is no use pretending it does,” said Hayrettin Bulan, director of the charity, which runs two shelters for battered women.

More than 250 women in Turkey were killed by partners or male relatives last year, up from 217 in 2010, according to the European Union-supported Web site Bianet. An activist group called We Will Stop the Killing of Women said nearly three-quarters of women who sought police or court protection between 2008 and 2011 ended up getting killed.

The Sefkat initiative was widely denounced in the Turkish press as an incitement to violence. Mr. Bulan said the group considers arms “strictly a last resort, when all the other precautions we recommend have been exhausted and the man who is trying to kill her is bursting in the door.”