The struggle to earn a bid to join the European Union has forced Turkey into improving a number of its policies and relationships with other countries. It could also help reduce the number of “honor killings” – grisly acts in which women and girls are killed by family members for what they believe is dishonorable behavior by religious definitions.

Such killings have been in and out of the public eye for years, but they've have been thrust back under the limelight by the Turkish police’s recent discovery of a dead 16-year-old girl who was gruesomely buried alive by her family for having male friends. These types of brutal killings account for at least half of the murders that occur each year in Turkey, usually in the impoverished southeastern regions.

In order to bolster its human rights record in the eyes of the European Union, Turkey has cracked down on those who engage in honor killings, imposing life sentences for anyone convicted, regardless of how young the guilty are. As this week’s murder gains press, Turkey will likely feel pressure to serve adequate justice in the eyes of EU authorities.

The problem with stricter punishment for honor killings, however, is that that the murders turn into suicides – families encourage women who’ve broken codes of conduct that they don’t deserve to live and convince them to take their own lives. If honor killings are seen as a serious reason for not allowing Turkey entrance to the Union, the EU must equally consider honor suicide prevention before granting a bid.