Violence against women is a global phenomenon that takes various forms ranging from sexual assault to femicide. Whether committed by an individual, a group, or the state, it is a serious problem that affects millions of women all over the world including Turkey, which has recently seen an alarming increase in the number of violent acts towards women. Even though the issue has started to draw more attention from the public, the media, and the academia, the focus has been mostly on the current events. Yet, it is impossible to understand and prevent violence against women in a given society without studying its historical origins. This paper explores sexual violence in the early Turkish Republic to shed light on the origins of the current problems, attitudes, policies, and debates regarding the topic in contemporary Turkey. Based on daily newspapers, memoirs, court records, statistical reports, and parliamentary proceedings, it examines a large number of cases both in urban and rural areas in the 1920s and 30s to determine the most common forms of sexual violence experienced by women, the identity and the motivation of the perpetrators, and the different methods women used to resist it. The paper also analyzes the ways in which sexual violence was defined, categorized, and discussed by different sections of the society in the press, in the legal system, and in the parliament. It studies the attempts of the government to prevent and punish sexual violence and the effectiveness of their policies. Finally, the paper demonstrates how sexual violence was connected to the rapid political, social, and cultural transformation in the country that entailed years of war, political upheaval, the nation-building project, and modernization, which caused serious tension and anxiety over women’s sexuality and morality.