ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has withdrawn from a European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree early Saturday annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women’s rights advocates who say the agreement is crucial to combat domestic violence. Violence against women and killing of women is on the rise, according to rights groups. Some officials from Erdogan’s Islam-oriented party had advocated a review of the agreement, claiming it encourages divorce and promotes LGBT culture, which they say are contrary to the country’s conservative values.
