Celebrity incest scandal yanks abuse out from under Turkish rug
A scandal over a celebrity’s incestuous relationship has forced Turkey to discuss its dark secrets about widespread abuse.
Photographs of a celebrity kissing a bikini-clad woman other than his wife on a yacht off the resort town of Bodrum would normally be relegated to the back pages of Turkish newspapers. But when it emerged that the woman was his adult niece, Turkey was thrust into a painful debate about incest. Much of the ire has been directed at a journalist who wrote about the prevalence of incest within Turkish families.
In the mass-circulation daily Hurriyet, Melis Alphan cited research from the Federation of Women’s Associations of Turkey (TKDF) showing that 40% of Turks were victims of incest. The figure was based on a broad definition that includes both physical and non-physical behavior for purposes of sexual arousal by family members.
