A striking incest report from Turkey

An incest debate is still going on in Turkey, amid all the other political and diplomatic issues facing President Tayyip Erdoğan.

A court in Turkey recently placed a ban, citing "obscenity," on the broadcasting of controversial paparazzi video footage of TV personality Murat Başoğlu cavorting with his niece Burcu Başoğlu Kabadayı on a boat in the Aegean. The debate has now narrowed down to two points: What is considered incest and how widespread is incest in Turkey?

A generally accepted definition of incest, (including by the United Nations), is any sexual activity between close blood relatives, including step relatives and family members who are forbidden by law from marrying.
Başoğlu's case fits into that category as he and his niece are blood relatives forbidden from marrying by law (Turkish Civil Code, 129). However, their actions are not considered a crime as there does not seem to be any sexual assault involved—in fact, it seems to be consensual. What's more, there has been no legal complaint (Turkish Penal Code, 102) and neither of the parties is below the age of 18, which requires immediate action by prosecutors (Turkish Penal Code, 103). Başoğlu is 50 years old and his niece is 35 years old. 

The debate heated up last week when Hürriyet columnist Melis Alphan quoted Canan Güllü, the head of the Turkish Women Associations Federation (TKDF), as saying that according to a survey they carried out but never made public, the incest level in Turkish families was 40 percent.  

It received a strong reaction from another Hürriyet columnist, Ahmet Hakan, who dismissed the written rate as fictitious and said there should be a distinction between forced and voluntary sexual or marital activities. That brings in the social pressure...