Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey, What Did Women Say?
Abstract
Gulten Kaptan, Ayse Yalili, Nilgun Vardarli and Cigdem Fulya Donmez
The present study presents the findings about domestic violence women experienced by their husbands in 2015 in Turkey. A total of 50 women between the ages of 18 and 50 participated in the study. They answered the questions about physical, psychological, and sexual violence which they experienced by their husbands, on social media. The findings of the study have shown that all participants have been exposed to physical, psychological or sexual violence at least once. Various risk factors related to violence against women have attracted attention: alcohol; the idea of that men have the right to control women; men’s excessive instinct of aggression; insufficiency emotion that the men contain within their personality (men’s excessive instinct of inferiority); insufficient education intended for avoiding violence during the school years and in family and the perception of violence as a sign of male superiority. However, women have explained their reasons to accept violence as their lack of economic freedom and the family’s economic problems, their desire to have children and to maintain the integrity of the family by following the customs and traditions. It has been observed that women react to violence by responding to their husbands with physical violence, leaving the environment, trying to forget the violence by concentrating on different activities and accepting violence. The data of the study revealed that none of the women who are subjected to violence have reported violence and thought to get help from any official institutions. The necessity of violence prevention policies, the importance of early intervention of harassment and violence experienced in childhood and educations about violence have been discussed. The data collected in the present study is intended to contribute to the studies conducted to prevent violence against women and to create a positive change even if on a small scale.