Unmarried women not eligible for legal protection

Women subject to violence from partners to whom they have not been engaged or married will not be eligible for legal protection against domestic violence, following the removal of the clause “those living together in close relations” from a statute currently being drafted by the Family and Social Policy Ministry. The provisions of the proposed bill, “The Protection of Women and Family Members from Violence,” which is to be presented in the near future for consideration in Parliament by Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma ?ahin, will only pertain to couples who are married, engaged or divorced. A woman who has been exposed to or threatened with violence by a man she was formerly engaged to will, however, fall within the ambit of the statute.