Every kind of torture is in use in Turkey. And the length of time someone is remanded in custody has a direct relationship to how much they are tortured. Now, I would like to discuss the specific methods of torture which are used against women, namely rape and sexual assault. Every woman who is arrested is subject to sexual assault. All women who are remanded in custody are immediately stripped naked and there is no difference in this respect between the treatment of political and other prisoners.
Assaults can be verbal or can take the form of physical touching.
Rape is mainly widespread in the war zones. There the feudal structure prevents women who are raped from seeking redress. The fear of rejection by their society and their families puts a huge obstacle in the way of our attempts to uncover and document these assaults. And there is a further problem regarding documenting and proving rape. Loss of virginity through rape can only be confirmed within ten days.