A Victim or a Criminal? Lessons from the Simek Kitty Case from the Perspective of Twenty Years

Abstract

The case of Simek Kitty garnered a lot of interest in the media between 2002 and 2005. The fourteen-year-old girl, who endured her stepfather’s physical, verbal, and sexual abuse for ten years, one day shot the aggressive man with his own weapon. Although the court sentenced the young girl for her deed, the President of the Republic gave her amnesty, so she did not have to go to jail after all. However, her life turned even worse after the incident. In my study, I examine why the events turned out the way they did and how the tragedy could have been avoided.