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Pressure Grows on Turkey to Reverse Decision on Women’s Protection Pact

European leaders have called on Turkey to reverse its decision to pull out of the Istanbul Accord meant to protect women from violence.

European leaders have called on Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to pull out of the s0-called Istanbul Accord designed to protect women from violence. Erdogan’s government announced its withdrawal from the accord on Saturday saying its own laws on domestic violence were enough to protect women. The decision drew thousands of women to the streets to protest the move and to underscore that femicide, or the killing of women, has surged in the country in recent years. “We cannot but regret deeply and express incomprehension towards the decision of the Turkish government,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, adding that the move “risks compromising the protection and fundamental rights of women and girls in Turkey (and) sends a dangerous message across the world.”