“With the introduction of Istanbul Convention, the balance between men, women and children in the families, which were set up to share a common life and to build the future, was destroyed and police, prosecutors and judges were incorporated into the privacy of family. This situation has made marriage undesirable and replaced love and loyalty within the family with legal obligations," Sağlam said.

Underlining that the project of Technical Assistance for Promoting Gender Equality in Education (ETCEP) is still being implemented in Turkey, Sağlam said: "No serious steps have been taken to prevent violence since the adoption of the convention, allegedly signed to prevent violence against women. The issue has been left almost entirely to feminists, with women becoming more isolated. President Erdoğan's words that the convention is not indispensable and Numan Kurtulmuş's statement that Turkey can withdraw from the convention in due course has created a serious social expectation for the termination of the convention. (ILKHA)