All News on Social Issues in Turkey

Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has sought to allay widening concerns over the growing number of Syrian refugees begging on streets as well as over the cheap labor force provided by the refugees, while calling on provincial administrations to deal with the issue, via assistance from civil society if necessary.

At a time when concerns are growing in Turkey due to an increasingly conservative and authoritarian political culture, which directly impacts the lives of women, the Istanbul Convention, a landmark treaty of the Council of Europe (CoE) dedicated to preventing and combating violence on women and domestic violence, is entering into force as of August 1.

Turkish transgender actor Rüzgar Erkoçlar was called to perform his military service after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Erkoçlar, who announced last year that he was transgender and replacing his name Rüzgar with Nil, wrote on his blog that he had been called up to the Turkish army.

Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security busted a cross-border criminal group involved in the traffic of large quantities of drugs via Turkey and Bulgaria to Western Europe.

Beaten, burned and threatened by her husband, Hayat has repeatedly turned to the Turkish authorities for help. But she still lives with the man who tells her she belongs either to him, or in her grave.

She says she has reason to be afraid. Last year, 13 women in Turkey were murdered by their partners whilst nominally under state protection, according to official figures.

The Ministry of Defense has announced the building of a fence designed to curb the influx of migrants at Bulgaria's border with Turkey has finished.

Over the next days, the Chief Directorate Border Police is take over all sections of the installation, the construction of which had been assigned to the Defense Ministry.