ArticlePDF Available

Intimate Partner Violence and the Relation Between Help-Seeking Behavior and the Severity and Frequency of Physical Violence Among Women in Turkey

SAGE Publications Inc
Violence Against Women
Authors:

Abstract and Figures

This study explores the severity and frequency of physical violence from an intimate partner experienced by 15- to 59-year-old women and their help-seeking behavior by using data from the "National Research on Domestic Violence Against Women in Turkey." Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the relationship between severity and frequency of violence and women's characteristics. Of all ever-partnered women, 36% have been exposed to partner violence; almost half of these experienced severe types of violence. Women used informal strategies to manage the violence instead of seeking help from formal institutions. Help-seeking behavior increases with increased severity and frequency of violence.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Violence Against Women
19(9) 1151 –1174
© The Author(s) 2013
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1077801213498474
vaw.sagepub.com
Article
Intimate Partner Violence
and the Relation Between
Help-Seeking Behavior and
the Severity and Frequency
of Physical Violence Among
Women in Turkey
Banu Akadlı Ergöçmen1, I
˙lknur Yüksel-Kaptanog˘lu1,
and Henrica A. F. M. (Henriette) Jansen2
Abstract
This study explores the severity and frequency of physical violence from an intimate
partner experienced by 15- to 59-year-old women and their help-seeking behavior
by using data from the “National Research on Domestic Violence Against Women in
Turkey.” Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare
the relationship between severity and frequency of violence and women’s characteristics.
Of all ever-partnered women, 36% have been exposed to partner violence; almost
half of these experienced severe types of violence. Women used informal strategies
to manage the violence instead of seeking help from formal institutions. Help-seeking
behavior increases with increased severity and frequency of violence.
Keywords
help-seeking, intimate partner violence, severity and frequency of physical violence
Introduction
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most important violations of women’s
human rights worldwide and does not appear to have regional distinctions. Research
shows that IPV is pervasive in developed and developing countries (Ellsberg, Pena,
1Hacettepe University Institute for Population Studies, Ankara, Turkey
2UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office, Suva, Fiji
Corresponding Author:
I
˙lknur Yüksel-Kaptanog˘lu, Hacettepe University Institute for Population Studies, Sihhiye Campus,
D Block, 5th Floor, 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
Email: ilknury@hacettepe.edu.tr
498474VAW19910.1177/1077801213498474Violence Against WomenErgöçmen et al.
research-article2013
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1152 Violence Against Women 19(9)
Herrera, Liljestrand, & Winkvist, 2000; Garcia-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise, &
Watts, 2005; Heise, Ellsberg, & Gottemoeller, 1999; Heise & Garcia-Moreno, 2002;
Kishor & Johnson, 2006). Prevalence of IPV in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region does not differ from that observed in other regions of the world (Boy
& Kulczycki, 2008).
The World Health Organization (WHO) study, which produced internationally
comparable statistics through standardized survey methods, showed that reported life-
time prevalence of intimate physical partner violence against women varied between
13% and 61% (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005). However, despite the global pervasive-
ness of IPV, help-seeking behavior of abused women is an area that still needs further,
detailed exploration, especially in developing countries.
The WHO study showed that between 55% and 95% of women who had been
physically abused by their partners had never sought help from formal services or
from individuals in a position of authority (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005). With regard
to the MENA region, there are few studies on IPV; Boy and Kulczycki’s (2008) review
reveals the lack of knowledge about IPV in this region. Their review indicated that
among 25 countries in the region, only 8 had carried out research on the prevalence of
IPV. Furthermore, the prevalence of “ever experienced physical violence” in the region
ranged from 8.1% to 64.6%, but the methodologies and definitions used in the studies
were different and thus not comparable. There were, however, characteristics that were
common to abused women from all age groups in the region, namely, living in a rural
area, lack of financial support, and low levels of education (Boy & Kulczycki, 2008;
El-Zanaty, Hussein, Shawkey, Way, & Kishor, 1996; Mayda & Akkus, 2005; Maziak
& Asfar, 2003; Sahin & Sahin, 2003). Despite the high prevalence of IPV in the MENA
region, the percentage of women seeking help from formal institutions is not high
(Boy & Kulczycki, 2008; Cwikel, Lev-Wiesel, & Al-Krenawi, 2003). In the region,
women in general had a tendency not to seek help (Boy & Kulczycki, 2008); less than
50% of women in Egypt sought help and only 8% of women in Israel sought help from
institutions or organizations (Cwikel et al., 2003; El-Zanaty et al., 1996).
Generally, abused women may continue to stay with their abusive partners for a
variety of reasons, including fear of more violence, lack of economic independence
and social support from family and friends, concerns about their children, emotional
dependence on their partners, and fear of stigmatization. This is particularly true in
developing countries (George, 1998; Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002).
In some studies, fear of isolation or being shunned is given as the reason for underre-
porting and hiding IPV in the MENA region (Haj-Yahia, 2000; Sahin & Sahin, 2003).
However, in many countries around the world, when women seek help they prefer
informal social networks to formal institutions or organizations (Garcia-Moreno et al.,
2005; Hyman, Forte, Du Mont, Romans, & Cohen, 2009; Kaukinen, 2002).
The Setting
Within the MENA region, Turkey was the first country where women acquired politi-
cal rights, as well as legal and social equality. Women in Turkey have had the right to
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1153
vote and to stand for election for 77 years. However, these formal legal rights have not
been reflected in practice; currently, for example, only 14.4% of parliamentary seats
are held by women. Unequal gender ratios at various educational levels and low levels
of female participation in the labor force are indicative of other areas where women
occupy a subordinate position. It should be noted that legal achievements are not
always sufficient to ensure the practice of rights. Turkey is one of the leading countries
in the MENA region in combating IPV (United Nations Women [UN-Women], 2011).
The struggle against domestic violence in Turkey first appeared on the agenda of the
women’s movement in the late 1980s and was followed by the enactment of laws at the
government level in the late 1990s. The national mechanism on women’s issues was
established in the 1990s and, as a result, the first government-run shelter was estab-
lished. In the process of establishing legal protection for women against domestic
violence, the “Protection of Family Law” was enacted in 1998 and amended in 2007.
In 2006, a circular to eliminate domestic violence was issued by the Prime Ministry.
Moreover, legal regulations were amended to ensure the principle of gender equality
in the civil and penal codes as well as the Constitution.
In spite of the social and political rights of women in Turkey and the progress in
terms of legislation, IPV remains widespread (Altinay & Arat, 2009; Directorate
General on the Status of Women [DGSW], 2009). There have been a limited number
of studies on IPV in Turkey and of these, only a few have focused on the help-seeking
patterns of women. The first study that gave the prevalence of IPV was conducted by
a government institution in the early 1990s. In that study, physical violence from an
intimate partner was defined as the act of hitting, and prevalence levels were reported
as 30% by married women and 34% by married men. Help-seeking information in this
study was collected through in-depth interviews and the results revealed that women
generally did not seek help, but instead tolerated violence reluctantly and showed pas-
sive resistance such as keeping silent, staying calm, as well as being respectful and
obeying the abusive husband (Aile Arastirma Kurumu, 1995).
Another study conducted in 2008 gave the prevalence of ever experienced IPV as
35% (Altinay & Arat, 2009). In this study, violence was measured by physical acts such
as “slapping, shoving, and beating,” and help-seeking information was obtained through
attitude-type questions. Women were asked how they would have reacted and what
they would have done if they had been beaten by their husbands. Individual strategies
of ever-married women included staying inactive, reacting physically or verbally, get-
ting divorced, leaving home, and crying. Only 5% of ever-married women said that
they would go to the police (Altinay & Arat, 2009). However, the results were analyzed
only as overall frequencies without a breakdown of results by the background charac-
teristics of the women. This study lacks detailed information about how women’s
development of help-seeking strategies differs on the basis of their social, economic, or
demographic characteristics. In addition to the countrywide studies, findings from
province-based studies show variations. Prevalence of ever experienced IPV ranges
from 27.5% to 41.4% in different provinces (Kocacik & Dogan, 2006; Kocacik, Kutlar,
& Erselcan, 2007; Mayda & Akkus, 2005). The above-mentioned studies, in which
definitions of IPV vary considerably, focused mainly on the prevalence and type of
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1154 Violence Against Women 19(9)
violence experienced rather than the help-seeking behavior of women. Another prov-
ince-based study found the prevalence of physical violence to be 34% and less than half
of these women went to the police (Tokuc, Ekuklu, & Avcioglu, 2010).
Help-seeking behavior of women in Turkey has received scant attention and this
article seeks to address this gap in knowledge by exploring patterns of help-seeking
behaviors among physically abused women, particularly by severity and frequency of
lifetime physical partner violence. We have focused on characteristics such as wom-
en’s age, educational level, working status, and region, which are assumed to impact
women’s help-seeking behaviors. Questions on women’s experience-based strategies
rather than their attitudes have been used to gather data on help-seeking. Furthermore,
the operational definition used for physical violence is from the WHO, which is a
comprehensive definition in which six acts were used to measure physical violence.
The data for this article come from the most recent nationwide survey in Turkey
(DGSW, 2009). This survey, besides providing lifetime and current prevalence of
violence types from intimate partners and nonpartners, also explores the help-seeking
behavior of women who are exposed to physical violence by their husband(s) or
partner(s). In this article, we use the term IPV to mean physical violence from an
intimate partner.
Method
Quantitative data from the “National Research on Domestic Violence Against
Women in Turkey (NR-DVAW-TR)” were used for the analyses in this article. This
is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey and it provides the most recent,
as well as the most comprehensive, data on domestic violence against women in
Turkey. The data were collected in face-to-face interviews, with women aged 15 to
59 years, using a structured questionnaire, between July and September 2008. The
quantitative survey was designed to obtain prevalence data for different types of
IPV, by region, as well as by urban and rural settlement, with a defined 95% confi-
dence interval (CI). The Ethical and Safety Guidelines formulated by the WHO were
followed throughout the research (Jansen, Watts, Ellsberg, Heise, & Garcia-Moreno,
2004; WHO, 2001).
Sample Design
The sample design of the survey was a weighted, stratified, and multistaged cluster
sample. There are 81 provinces and 12 regions in Turkey. The sample selections
were performed using the PPS (probability proportional to size) method within the
strata. Settlements with a population of more than 10,000 are considered urban,
whereas those with fewer than 10,000 are rural. There was a total of 542 clusters, of
which 378 were urban and 164 rural. The clusters comprised 48 households in urban
settlements and 36 in rural settlements. The target sample size of the quantitative
survey was 24,048 households and the household response rate was 88%. One
woman per household was selected for interview using the Kish method (Kish, 1949
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1155
cited in DGSW, 2009). In total, 12,795 face-to-face interviews were conducted with
women aged 15 to 59 years. The response rate for the women’s questionnaire was
86.1% and only 2.1% of women refused to participate. Separate weights were calcu-
lated for households and women to correct the complexity of the sampling design
(DGSW, 2009).
Questionnaire
Two questionnaires were used for data collection: one for households and one for
individual women. These were designed based on the questionnaires of the WHO mul-
ticountry study on domestic violence (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005) with some modifi-
cations related to the specific needs of the country. Information about the household
population such as age, education, and marital status of the household members and
housing characteristics was collected using the household questionnaire. Information
on the woman and her partner’s background characteristics, general and reproductive
health of the woman, experience(s) of partner and nonpartner violence, and the impact
of violence on the woman’s life was collected from the women’s questionnaire. The
questionnaire also included a consent form.
Outcome Variable: Severity and Frequency of Physical Violence
NR-DVAW-TR used the same questions as the WHO study for measuring physical
violence, that is, ever having experienced physical violence was measured by asking
women whether any of their husbands or intimate partners had ever “slapped or thrown
something at her that could hurt her”; “pushed or shoved her or pulled her hair”; “hit
her with his fist or something else that could hurt her”; “kicked her, dragged her, or
beaten her up”; “choked or burnt her on purpose”; and “threatened to use or actually
used a gun, knife, or other weapon against her.” Women were also asked whether these
acts had happened in the 12 months preceding the survey. Frequency (once or twice, a
few times, or many times) of acts of physical violence was obtained for lifetime and
for the 12 months preceding the interview.
WHO classifies physical violence as “moderate” or “severe” based on the likeli-
hood of causing injury. According to this classification, “slapping or throwing some-
thing that could hurt” and “pushing or shoving” were considered as “moderate”; the
other acts were considered as “severe” physical violence (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005).
The outcome variable of this study, ever experienced physical violence, is divided
into three categories1 according to the severity and frequency of physical acts of vio-
lence. The first category, specified as “moderate only once,” comprised any of the
moderately violent acts experienced only once. The second category, “moderate more
than once,” comprised moderately violent acts experienced more than once. The third
category, “severe,” comprised any of the severe acts, regardless of frequency. If a
woman experienced “moderate more than once” and “severe” types of violence, she
was included in the “severe” category of violence. Therefore, these three categories
were mutually exclusive (Table 1).
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1156 Violence Against Women 19(9)
Explanatory Variables
Seven background variables were used to determine the relationship between severity
and frequency of IPV and women’s help-seeking behavior in Turkey. These variables
were place of residence (urban, rural), region (West, South, Central, North, East),
household wealth level (low, middle, high), age group (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-59),
educational level (none/primary incomplete, first-level primary, second-level primary,
high school and above), individual income (yes, no), and marital status (never married,
ever married).
Place of residence and region reflect the heterogeneous structure of the country.
Three quarters of the population of Turkey live in urban areas. Regional breakdown
indicates the diverse geographical, cultural, social, and economic characteristics within
the country. The West region is the most densely settled, industrialized, and socioeco-
nomically advanced, while the East region is the least developed part of the country.
Primary education (5 years of first level and 3 years of secondary level) is compul-
sory in Turkey (Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies [HUIPS], 2009).
The wealth level variable indicated the wealth of the household where the woman
lives and was classified according to the wealth scores that were constructed based on
household assets. The index value was subsequently ranked and divided into three
groups to measure wealth status. Of the wealth scores, the lowest 40% constituted the
Table 1. Categories of Physical Partner Violence by Severity and Frequency as Used in This
Article.
Categories of physical
violence Acts of physical violence included
Frequency of physical
violence
Moderate only once Either one or both of the following
two acts only:
One or both of these
acts only once in her
life
Slapping her/throwing something at
her that could hurt her
Pushing/shoving her or pulled her hair
Moderate more than
once
Either one or both of the following
two acts only:
One of both of these
acts more than once in
her life
Slapping her/throwing something at
her that could hurt her
Pushing/shoving her or pulled her hair
Severe At least one of the following acts: Any of these acts at
least once in her life
Hitting her with his fist or something
else that could hurt her
Kicking or dragging her or beating
her up
Choking or burning her on purpose
Threatening to use or actually use a
gun, knife, or other weapon against
her
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1157
“low” group, the next 40% constituted the “middle” group, and the highest 20%
formed the “high” group (DGSW, 2009).
In NR-DVAW-TR, women were asked whether they sought help from institutions
or organizations. In this analysis, a public prosecutor or lawyer was considered a “legal
institution,” while nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), local governments, and
government offices (such as social centers) were considered as “social services.”
Data Analyses
The Pearson chi-square test of statistical significance was conducted to compare the
relationship between severity and frequency of IPV and women’s background vari-
ables. When asked about the causes of violence, women reported multiple reasons.
Information on disclosing the violence to their family, friends, or neighbors and get-
ting help from these people was also collected. Coping strategies such as applying to
formal institutions or seeking informal strategies were analyzed by the severity and
frequency of violence. The informal strategies were defined as disclosing violence,
leaving home, and fighting back.
To indicate the determinants of applying to any formal institution, a logistic regres-
sion analysis was performed. Bivariate regression models were constructed to explore
the crude relationship between help-seeking from any institution or organization and
women’s selected characteristics such as age, individual income, education level,
household wealth level, region and urban–rural residence, as well as severity of physi-
cal violence. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the factors that
would remain significant in seeking help from formal institutions.
Results
Of 12,795 women interviewed, 4,552 (36%) reported ever having experienced any
type of physical violence in their lifetime. The physical violence prevalence showed
variation by women’s characteristics such as age, education level, marital status,
household wealth level, region, and urban–rural settlement. All explanatory variables
were found to be statistically significant, except individual income (Table 2).
Women who live in the rural settlements and in the East and Central regions
reported more IPV than their counterparts in urban settlements and other regions.
Experience of physical violence for women with a low education level was higher
compared with women in other educational categories. As expected, a cumulative
effect of time was observed when the age of women was considered: Older women
were more likely to report lifetime experience of physical partner violence than their
younger counterparts. Moreover, women who lived in households with lower wealth
categories were more likely to experience physical violence.
Prevalence for severe physical violence in all explanatory variables was found to be
statistically significant. Of 4,552 women who were exposed to any type of physical
violence, 46% experienced severe violence, 31% experienced moderate violence more
than once, and 23% experienced moderate violence only once.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1158
Table 2. Prevalence of Physical Partner Violence Among Ever-Partnered Women by Level of Severity and Frequency of Physical Violence
and by Background Characteristics, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of violence
Any type of physical violence Moderate only once (n = 1,011) Moderate more than once (n = 1,392) Severe (n = 2,139)
χ2
Background characteristics % nχ2% % %
Type of place of residence 21.33** 12.3**
Urban 34.8 3,279 8.5 10.8 15.4
Rural 39.6 1,273 7.8 12.4 19.4
Region 149.31** 57.6**
West 30.4 894 8.2 9.7 12.5
South 37.6 405 7.0 9.9 20.8
Central 41.1 1,186 8.4 13.6 19.1
North 35.7 494 10.1 12.5 13.0
East 44.3 1,573 9.2 12.9 22.2
Household wealth level 272.43** 52.9**
Low 43.8 2,070 8.7 12.4 22.6
Middle 36.1 1,911 8.7 12.2 15.1
High 23.9 571 7.0 7.6 9.3
Age groups 332.14** 85.8**
15-24 22.0 454 7.4 6.3 8.3
25-34 35.5 1,443 9.4 11.3 14.7
35-44 39.4 1,265 9.1 11.8 18.4
45-59 45.1 1,390 7.3 14.6 23.2
Education 548.61** 88.2**
None/primary incomplete 51.2 1,458 8.2 16.4 26.6
First-level primary 39.2 2,229 9.1 12.2 17.8
Second-level primary 26.1 331 7.1 8.8 10.1
High school and above 21.6 534 7.5 6.1 8.0
Individual income 0.48 12.2**
Yes 21.8 881 9.8 10.0 16.7
No 78.2 3,666 7.9 11.5 16.3
Marital status 442.10** 43.8**
Never married 9.0 72 4.4 2.1 2.5
Ever married 39.3 4,480 8.8 12.3 18.1
Turkey 36.0 4,552 8.3 11.2 16.4
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1159
With regard to the severity and frequency of physical violence, some variation
among the categories of physical violence was observed. Severity and frequency of
physical violence categories were statistically significant for all explanatory variables.
However, the statistical significance of individual income was different for “any type
of physical violence.” In all categories of severity and frequency of physical violence,
more violence was reported by women who were ever married, in the 45 to 59 age
groups, with a low education level, who lived in rural settlements, in the East region,
and in households with low wealth levels.
Reasons for Violence: The Women’s Perspectives
Our findings showed that women’s help-seeking behavior is very much linked to their
perceptions of the reasons for the physical violence they experienced. The eight most
frequently mentioned reasons were “partner’s family-based problems,” “partner’s bad
habits,” “partner’s behaviors,” “women’s behaviors,” “women’s family-based problems,”
“children-based problems,” “economic problems,” and “no specific reason” (Figure 1).
“Economic problems,” “partner’s behaviors and bad habits,” “women’s behaviors,” and
“children-based problems” were statistically significant in relation to the severity catego-
ries; the more severe the physical violence, the more these reasons were mentioned.
In the “moderate only once” category, 21% of women reported “women’s behav-
iors” as the main reason for physical violence. “Women’s behaviors” included refusing
sex, not obeying the partner, delaying household chores, and being jealous of
29 30
34
7
22
29
15 16
29
21
18 17
15 15
10
810 9
4
6
15
233
Moderate physical violence
only once
Moderate physical violence
more than once
Severe physical violence
Problems with partner's family Economic problems
Reasons related to partner Reasons related to women's behaviors
Problems related to children No specific reasons
Partner's bad habits Problems related to women's family
Figure 1. Causes of violence from women’s point of view by severity of physical violence.
Note. Partner’s family-based problems: χ2 = 10.7, economic problems: χ2 = 175.8**, partner’s behaviors:
χ2 = 113.2**, women’s behaviors: χ2 = 8.8**, children-based problems: χ2 = 24.5**, no specific reason:
χ2 = 1.3, partner’s bad habits: χ2 = 119.7**, women’s family-based problems: χ2 = 1.4, *p < 0.05, and **p
< 0.01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1160 Violence Against Women 19(9)
the partner, as well as blaming themselves without giving any reason. “Partner’s
behaviors,” which covered jealousy, being nervous or irresponsible, spending too
much time out of the home, and wishing to divorce/separate and/or to have another
wife, was reported by 15% of women. “Children-based problems” was reported by
15% of women and was also found to be significant.
In the “moderate only once” category, partner’s family-based problems was the
most frequently reported reason. However, despite being reported by 29% of women,
it was not statistically significant.
In the “moderate more than once category,” 22% of women cited economic prob-
lems, which also included being unemployed, partner’s problems at work, and/or
insufficient food at home, appeared as one of the significant reasons for IPV.
In the “severe” category, 29% of women cited economic problems and 29% cited
partner’s behaviors as reasons for physical violence.
First Step for Help-Seeking: Disclosing the Violence
Our study revealed that almost half the women in the study population who had experi-
enced physical violence disclosed their experience(s) for the first time to the interviewers.
Among women who experienced any type of physical violence, 35.2% reported that they
had disclosed IPV to their birth family members, in particular to sisters or mothers, fol-
lowed by friends or neighbors (23.1%). It is noteworthy that 11.9% of women disclosed
the violence to their mother-in-law or to female members of the partner’s family. Severity
of violence was one of the determining factors for disclosing IPV. Findings indicated that
as severity and frequency of physical violence increased, disclosure also increased. For
example, 61.7% of women who were exposed to severe types of physical violence dis-
closed it compared with 44.1% in the “moderate only once” category (Figure 2).
Disclosing violence was significant for region of residence, household wealth level,
age and education level of the women, and marital status. Among women who were
exposed to “moderate only once,” those who live in the West region (44.4%) and
wealthier households (53.8%), who were in the 15 to 24 age group (57.9%), who have
secondary-level education (58.3%), and who were single (63.6%) were more likely to
disclose violence than their counterparts. In fact, with regard to background variables,
the pattern for disclosing IPV did not differ in the other two categories of severity and
frequency. Among women who were exposed to severe types of physical violence,
findings reveal that those who live in the North region (67.0%), in wealthier households
(71.3%), who were in the 15 to 24 age group (63.9%), who have secondary-level educa-
tion (80.2%), and who were single (65.6%) were more likely to disclose IPV (Table 3).
However, 55.0% of women who experienced IPV reported that no one had ever
helped them, even though members of their social network knew about or witnessed
the violence they had experienced. Women’s birth families (17.3%) followed by
friends or neighbors (8.5%) were the first two groups who tried to help. Receiving help
increased with the severity and frequency of the violence. For example, 60.5% of
women in the “moderate only once” group did not receive help, but this decreased to
50.1% in the “severe” group. The percentage of women receiving help from birth
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1161
Table 3. Proportion of Women Getting Support Among Women Who Experienced
Physical Partner Violence by Level of Severity and Frequency of Violence, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of violence
Any type of physical
violence (n = 4,552)
Moderate only once
(n = 1,011)
Moderate more than
once (n = 1,392)
Severe
(n = 2,139)
χ2
Persons who tried
to help women % nχ2%n%n%n
No one 55.0 2,520 0.005 60.5 641 58.1 803 50.1 1,076 3.7**
Birth family 17.3 783 1,275.4** 9.4 95 14.3 183 23.4 505 99.3**
Friends or
neighbors
8.5 343 571.4** 5.5 37 6.8 78 11.3 228 9.4**
Mother-in-law
and women in
partner’s family
7.7 397 607.9** 5.9 69 7.2 110 9.0 218 35.5**
Others 4.4 211 294.7** 2.0 22 3.0 41 6.7 148 42.8**
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
53
35
23
12 5
44
26
17 10 4
48
30
20
11 4
62
43
28
14
7
Disclose the violence Birth family Friends or neighbors Mother-in-law or
women in partner’s
family
Others
Any type of physical violence Moderate only once Moderate more than once Severe
Figure 2. Disclosing violence by severity and frequency of physical violence.
Note. Any type of violence—disclose the violence: χ2 = 96.7**, birth family: χ2 = 2,845.4**, friends or
neighbors: χ2 = 862.5**, mother-in-law or women: χ2 = 1,752.4**, and others: χ2 = 341.8**. Severity and
frequency of violence—disclose the violence: χ2 = 99.7**, birth family: χ2 = 106.1**, friends or neighbors:
χ2 = 59.1**, mother-in-law or women: χ2 = 12.7**, others: χ2 = 17.8**, *p < 0.05, and **p < 0.01.
family members rose from 9.4% in the “moderate only once” category to 23.4% when
they were exposed to severe types of physical violence (Table 4).
Informal Strategies to Manage IPV
The findings indicate that few women sought help from formal institutions; rather,
they used informal strategies to manage IPV. Respondents were asked about two infor-
mal strategies: fighting back and leaving home.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1162 Violence Against Women 19(9)
Table 4. Proportion of Women Who Had Disclosed Violence to Someone Among Women
Who Experienced Physical Partner Violence by Severity and Frequency of Violence and by
Background Characteristics of Women, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of physical violence
Moderate only
once (n = 1,011)
Moderate more than
once (n = 1,392)
Severe
(n = 2,139)
χ2
Background
characteristics of women %n%n%n
Place of residence 4.7
Urban 45.7 346 52.2 487 65.1 966
Rural 38.8 91 37.8 144 53.5 332
Regions 35.5**
West 44.4 102 54.9 142 63.2 239
South 36.9 27 52.1 55 64.8 143
Central 52.1 115 48.0 178 63.4 360
North 41.3 68 35.4 77 67.0 114
East 38.3 125 36.8 179 52.8 442
Household wealth level 64.94**
Low 36.2 135 39.8 216 57.2 618
Middle 46.5 206 50.2 314 64.0 528
High 53.8 96 63.6 101 71.3 152
Age groups 76.8**
15-24 57.9 76 52.9 65 63.9 117
25-34 45.1 176 56.4 245 62.4 377
35-44 43.5 115 45.5 168 63.8 385
45-59 31.8 70 41.3 153 58.8 419
Education 70.9**
No education/
primary incomplete
26.7 63 34.2 136 50.5 380
First-level primary 42.6 220 48.8 325 60.4 665
Second-level primary 58.3 52 60.5 71 66.9 94
High school and
above
57.3 102 70.0 99 80.2 159
Individual income 4.6
Yes 46.7 111 62.2 127 68.8 275
No 43.3 326 44.9 504 59.6 1,022
Marital status 30.4**
Never married 63.6 23 88.5 14 65.6 12
Ever married 42.9 414 47.4 617 61.6 1,286
Turkey 44.1 437 48.2 631 61.7 1,298
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1163
Fighting back. Of the women who experienced IPV, 30.9% fought back as an informal
strategy. When the effect of fighting back was considered in terms of the level of IPV,
physical violence remained at the same level or worse for 16.5% of women and it
either stopped or decreased for 13.8% of women. The effects of fighting back varied
according to the severity of physical violence. When women fought back in cases of
moderate types of violence, it resulted in decreasing or stopping violence. The effect
was different in cases of severe types of violence. Of the women who had been exposed
to any type of severe violence, 24.3% reported that if they fought back, the violence
stayed at the same level or worsened. However, 12.6% of this group said that the vio-
lence either decreased or stopped (Table 5).
In terms of the severity and frequency of physical violence, household wealth level,
age, education level, and women’s marital status were statistically significant variables
in the case of fighting back. Being young and single, living in a wealthier household,
Table 5. Proportion of Women Fighting Back, Leaving Home, and Applying to Formal
Institutions Among Women Who Experienced Physical Partner Violence by Severity and
Frequency of Violence, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of violence
Any type of physical
violence (n = 4,552)
Moderate only
once (n = 1,011)
Moderate more than
once (n = 1,392)
Severe
(n = 2,139)
χ2
Informal and formal
strategies % nχ2%n%n%n
Fighting back a168.0**
Fighting back 30.9 1,258 21.4 188 28.6 348 37.2 722
Fighting back resulting in
same or worse
16.5 684 7.2 58 12.1 161 24.3 465
Fighting back, resulting in
decreased or stopped
13.8 551 13.4 124 15.8 178 12.6 249
No answer 0.6 23 0.8 6 0.8 9 0.4 8
Leaving home 42.7** 401.8**
Leaving home at least
once
27.1 1,171 12.6 106 16.5 220 41.6 845
Left home once 13.1 586 8.6 74 9.9 137 17.6 375
Left home more than
2 times
14.0 585 4.0 32 6.0 83 24.0 470
Application to formal institutions
At least one application
to any institution
8.4 361 587.7** 2.2 22 2.0 27 15.9 312 256.9**
Police or gendarmes 4.7 199 352.2** 0.4 6 0.8 10 9.6 183 186.3**
Legal institutions 4.2 170 289.9** 1.1 11 0.8 11 8.0 148 130.0**
Health facility 3.8 172 1.2 0.9 9 0.4 5 7.6 158 137.8**
Social service, NGOs,
and municipalities 0.8 25 55.21** 0.0 0 0.2 1 1.6 24 30.3**
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases. NGOs = nongovernmental
organizations.
aAs only respondents who exposed to physical violence are considered, chi-square values cannot be calculated.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1164 Violence Against Women 19(9)
and having secondary-level education were the characteristics associated with women
fighting back as a response to IPV. For example, fighting back increased to 60.4% for
women with a higher education level in the severe violence category (Table 6).
Leaving home. Around 27.1% of women left home overnight, at least once, as another
informal strategy. This finding revealed that about 3 out of 10 women who experi-
enced IPV left their home at least once. The percentage of women leaving home tem-
porarily also increased with the severity of physical violence (Table 5).
Table 6. Proportion of Women Who Fought Back Among Women Who Experienced
Physical Partner Violence by Severity and Frequency of Violence and by Background
Characteristics of Women, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of physical violence
Moderate only once Moderate more than once Severe
χ2
% n%n%n
Place of residence 3.7
Urban 21.7 147 32.6 285 40.8 563
Rural 17.9 38 16.9 59 28.5 161
Regions 10.5
West 23.3 54 33.5 80 41.1 155
South 24.3 19 34.7 38 44.6 97
Central 18.6 41 25.6 93 35.0 190
North 20.3 25 24.2 50 45.6 81
East 14.2 46 17.6 83 24.6 201
Household wealth level 21.1**
Low 15.9 52 21.0 104 29.8 301
Middle 23.0 92 30.1 173 40.9 315
High 24.7 41 40.4 67 53.3 108
Age groups 58.6**
15-24 30.1 40 37.7 50 40.5 81
25-34 24.7 85 37.2 139 41.5 222
35-44 18.1 41 25.4 84 34.3 186
45-59 10.6 19 18.9 71 35.0 235
Education 39.4**
No education/primary incomplete 11.8 23 16.3 61 26.3 178
First-level primary 17.4 78 28.5 171 37.3 370
Second-level primary 33.3 27 39.5 42 48.5 64
High school and above 31.7 57 47.2 70 60.4 112
Individual income 1.3
Yes 23.8 49 37.2 78 49.2 185
No 19.8 136 26.1 266 33.9 539
Marital status 18.8**
Never married 35.2 13 42.3 9 51.6 10
Ever married 20.0 172 27.9 335 36.9 714
Turkey 20.8 185 28.2 344 37.1 724
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1165
Women, who left home at least once due to IPV, had similar background character-
istics to women who used “fighting back” as a strategy to overcome violence. Leaving
home was more common among women who experienced severe types of physical
violence (41.6%) compared with those in the moderate categories (16.4% and 12.6%,
respectively). Leaving home temporarily due to violence was also more common
among women living in wealthier households. Younger, single women with higher
education levels more commonly left home as a strategy than older, married women
with lower education levels (Table 7).
Seeking Help From Formal Institutions
The percentage of women seeking help from formal institutions was much lower than
the percentage of women disclosing violence, fighting back, and leaving home. Only
8.4% of women who experienced IPV sought help from institutions or organizations.
Help-seeking from formal institutions or organizations included reporting IPV to the
police or gendarmes, seeking medical care from hospitals or health facilities, asking
for help from public prosecutors and lawyers with legal issues such as divorce, and
seeking social and psychological support from women’s NGOs, social services, and
municipalities. Among these institutions, police or gendarmes (4.7%) was the most
frequently mentioned institution among women who experienced IPV. Seeking help
from the formal institutions was significantly higher among women who experienced
severe physical violence (15.9%) compared with women who experienced moderate
types of violence (2.2% and 2.0%, respectively; Table 5).
Women were asked about their reasons for seeking help from formal institutions.
The most frequently reported response was that women could not endure the violence
any longer (42.7%). This was followed by needing legal advice about divorce or how
to be protected from violence. One out of four women who sought help applied to
health facilities because they were badly injured due to violent acts. Another frequently
mentioned reason was that the woman had been threatened with death, or she was
afraid that her intimate partner would kill her or someone from her family (18.6%).
The findings of this study reveal that women did not apply to formal institutions until
they were injured or their lives were endangered. Moreover, the need for psychologi-
cal support for some women (11.1%) indicated the harmful effects of partner violence
on women’s mental health (Table 8).
Women were also asked why they did not seek help from any available service
providers. Many women who did not apply to any formal institutions considered the
violence they were exposed to as “not serious” (58.1%). With regard to the severity
categories of physical violence, women who did not consider the violence as a seri-
ous problem had generally experienced moderate types of violence. In the severe
physical violence category, considering violence as “not a serious problem” was
significantly lower (32.1%). Some women reported that they would not seek help
due to fear and threats of more violence (25.9%). The “fear and threat of more vio-
lence” category included the following reasons: “being afraid to be blamed,”
“embarrassed/ashamed to seek help,” “afraid of shaming her family name,” “afraid
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1166 Violence Against Women 19(9)
that her children would be unhappy,” “partner threatened her or her children,” or
“partner’s family threatened her.” Another commonly mentioned reason was related
to the institutions. Some reported that they “didn’t know where to apply” or there
were “no institutions in their living area,” while others reported that they “didn’t
believe that they would be helped” (11.8%). Among the most reported reasons for
Table 7. Proportion of Women Who Left Home Due to Violence Among Women Who
Experienced Physical Partner Violence by Severity and Frequency of Physical Violence and by
Background Characteristics of Women, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of physical violence
χ2
Moderate only once
(n = 1,011)
Moderate more than
once (n = 1,392)
Severe
(n = 2,139)
Number of women
who left home
Background
characteristics of women %n%n%n n
Place of residence 8.8
Urban 13.7 85 18.4 173 43.1 611 869
Rural 9.2 21 11.5 47 38.1 234 302
Regions 19.3
West 14.1 33 17.4 44 40.1 149 226
South 18.2 13 18.6 20 44.5 97 130
Central 11.3 23 16.0 61 42.2 235 319
North 10.3 12 16.3 35 48.0 76 123
East 7.7 25 14.0 60 39.2 288 373
Household wealth level 19.2**
Low 11.7 38 13.6 74 38.0 399 511
Medium 12.2 48 14.9 103 43.8 345 496
High 15.6 20 29.3 43 48.5 101 164
Age groups 24.7**
15-24 17.0 18 21.3 27 37.0 62 107
25-34 11.7 44 18.2 80 46.0 259 383
35-44 12.5 25 17.3 60 42.9 248 333
45-59 11.0 19 12.6 53 38.8 276 348
Education 46.8**
No education/primary
incomplete
7.5 11 7.9 39 32.6 242 292
First-level primary 10.9 50 17.0 116 43.5 438 604
Second-level primary 20.2 17 31.6 32 47.7 58 107
High school and
above
19.4 28 23.9 33 56.0 107 168
Individual income 3.9
Yes 15.9 35 18.8 44 48.8 187 266
No 11.5 71 15.9 176 39.8 658 905
Marital status 33.1**
Never married 43.8 3 0.0 0 30.8 4 7
Ever married 12.1 103 16.5 220 41.7 841 1,164
Turkey 12.6 106 16.4 220 41.6 845 1,171
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases.
**The associations are statistically significant with p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1167
Table 8. Main Reasons for Seeking Help and Not Seeking Help Among Women Experiencing Physical Partner Violence by Severity and
Frequency of Violence, Turkey 2008.
Severity and frequency of violence
Number of women who applied to
any formal institutions (n = 361)
Moderate only
once (n = 22)
Moderate more
than once (n = 27)
Severe
(n = 312)
% n%n%nχ2%n
Most reported reasons for seeking help
Could not endure more 13.6 3 38.5 8 45.4 139 8.7* 42.7 150
Badly injured 28.6 5 4.0 1 25.8 92 6.2 24.4 102
Afraid of being killed 0 0 0 0 9.6 56 12.4 18.6 56
Get legal support 42.9 9 30.8 9 27.2 85 2.5 28.4 48
Get psychological support 9.5 3 19.3 4 10.6 30 1.8 11.1 37
Encouraged by family or friends 4.5 1 3.8 2 8.9 30 4.9 8.1 33
Children related 0 0 0 0 9.6 26 9.5 7.2 26
Moderate only
once (n = 989)
Moderate more
than once
(n = 1,365)
Severe
(n = 1,825)
Number of women who did
not seek help from any formal
institutions (n = 4,191)
% n%n%nχ2%n
Most reported reasons for not seeking help
No serious problem 84.7 868 76.3 1,057 32.1 653 983.2** 58.1 2,578
Fear from violence and threats 8.5 78 17.1 255 40.7 928 421.6** 25.9 1,261
Reasons related to partner 13.2 145 13.8 193 13.7 320 0.2 13.6 658
Reasons related to institutions 3.0 27 7.4 94 19.3 391 199.0** 11.8 512
Note. Percentages are based on weighted and numbers are based on unweighted cases. Categories have been calculated independently of each other, the sum-
mation may exceed 100.
The associations are statistically significant with *p < .05. **p < .01.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1168 Violence Against Women 19(9)
not seeking help, “not considering the act as a serious problem” was the highest in
the moderate categories of violence (84.7% and 76.3%, respectively). However,
“fear of and threats of violence” was the highest (40.7%) among women who expe-
rienced severe physical violence (Table 8).
Determinants of Seeking Help From Formal Institutions
Results of the multivariate logistic regression models indicate that seeking help from
formal institutions was highly associated with women’s educational level, the region
they lived in, and the severity and frequency of physical violence. The likelihood of
seeking help among women who experienced severe physical violence was 10.5 times
higher than among women who experienced moderate types of violence. Seeking help
was 3.6 times higher for women who had secondary-level education and 2.45 times
higher in the higher education group compared with the no education/primary incom-
plete education group. In terms of region, levels of seeking help from institutions were
higher in all regions compared with the East region. Women who had an individual
income were 2.21 times more likely to seek help from formal institutions than women
who did not have an individual income, and women who live in urban areas were 1.44
times more likely to seek help than their counterparts in rural areas. After controlling
for all characteristics of women, household wealth level was no longer associated with
help-seeking from formal institutions even though it was associated at the bivariate
level (Table 9).
Discussion
This study reveals the relationship between severity and frequency of physical vio-
lence and the help-seeking behavior of women. The results show that IPV is wide-
spread in Turkey and that severe types of physical violence are more common than the
moderate types. The findings are similar to those from other studies in showing that
the vast majority of physically abused women do not seek help from formal institu-
tions or organizations (Ellsberg, Winkvist, Pena, & Stenlund, 2001; Fugate, Landis,
Riordan, Naureckas, & Engel, 2005). Instead, like the women in other studies, women
in Turkey use informal strategies to manage violence (Ansara & Hindin, 2010; Ellsberg
et al., 2001; Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005; Heise & Garcia-Moreno, 2002).
Other researchers have suggested that disclosing the experienced violence can be
considered as the first step in seeking help from formal and/or informal networks
(Brown, 1997; Ellsberg et al., 2001; Postmus, Severson, Berry, & Yoo, 2009). As
almost half the women in Turkey who experienced IPV said they had not talked about
it to anybody before, their reporting of the IPV during the interview might be inter-
preted as the first disclosure (Altinay & Arat, 2009; Ellsberg et al., 2001; El-Zanaty
et al., 1996; Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005).
As was seen in studies of other countries, when abused women in Turkey disclose
IPV, their first choice is to talk to their birth family, followed by their friends and neigh-
bors, although not all of them receive help from their close circle (Garcia-Moreno et al.,
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1169
Table 9. Crude and Adjusted Logistic Regression Models Ever Applying to Any Institutions/
Organizations to Overcome With Intimate Partner Violence.
Crude Adjusted
Variables OR 95% CI OR 95% CI
Age groups
15-24 1.00 1.00
25-34 1.09 [0.74, 1.60] 1.05 [0.69, 1.60]
35-44 1.23 [0.83, 1.81] 1.11 [0.72, 1.69]
45-59 1.25 [0.86, 1.82] 1.14 [0.74, 1.74]
Education
None/primary incomplete 1.00 1.00
First-level primary 1.84* [1.35, 2.50] 1.85* [1.32, 2.59]
Second-level primary 3.08* [2.06, 4.62] 3.60* [2.23, 5.80]
High school and above 2.55* [1.76, 3.68] 2.45* [1.55, 3.86]
Individual income
No 1.00 1.00
Yes 2.44* [1.94, 3.07] 2.21* [1.71, 2.85]
Household wealth level
Low 1.00* 1.00
Middle 1.14 [0.89, 1.46] .99 [0.72, 1.56]
High 1.62* [1.19, 2.19] 1.06 [1.06, 1.96]
Region
West 1.84* [1.25, 2.70] 1.45* [0.96, 2.20]
South 2.47* [1.60, 3.80] 1.57* [0.98, 2.50]
Central 1.95* [1.30, 2.91] 1.56* [1.01, 2.40]
North 1.97* [1.16, 3.35] 2.43* [1.37, 4.31]
East 1.00 1.00
Type of place of residence
Urban 1.54* [1.18, 2.03] 1.44* [1.06, 1.96]
Rural 1.00 1.00
Severity of physical violence
Moderate only once 1.00 1.00
Moderate more than once 0.89 [0.50, 1.59] 1.01 [0.56, 1.81]
Severe 8.36* [5.35, 13.06] 10.48* [6.65, 16.54]
Nagelkerke R2.21*
Note. All figures are based on weighted data. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval.
*p < .05.
2005; Moe, 2007). In Turkey, the family is the source of women’s primary relationships
and is thus pivotal in their lives. Despite legislative advances in combating IPV, it
remains a family issue and our findings indicate that women can be trapped by the fam-
ily and familial concerns. Although the family can be an important source of support for
women, it can also be an unsafe place. Thus, raising family awareness of IPV and
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1170 Violence Against Women 19(9)
providing gender equality in public and private life would help women’s empowerment
in developing support strategies to cope with IPV. This, in turn, would contribute to the
overall goal of eradicating IPV.
The results of our study show that leaving home temporarily and fighting back as a
response to physical violence are among the informal strategies that women most fre-
quently use to manage violence, despite the fact that these strategies are not always effec-
tive in decreasing or stopping violence. However, even informal strategies were found to
be more commonly used in cases of severe physical violence than in moderate cases.
Women who use informal strategies have distinctive features in terms of their back-
ground characteristics—they are more likely to be young, never married, more edu-
cated, and living in wealthier households. This highlights the fact that not all women
have opportunities that will enable them to use informal strategies and underlines the
importance of living in developed regions and having more education as factors that
improve women’s power to overcome IPV.
Not seeking help from formal institutions is a major concern of our study. The
results indicate that reasons for not seeking help differ according to the severity and
frequency of physical violence. Women who are exposed to moderate IPV are less
likely to consider it as a serious problem, while more than two thirds of women who
are exposed to severe IPV perceive it as serious. However, in cases of severe violence,
the fear of more violence or threats by the partner and partner’s family emerges as the
common reasons for not seeking help from formal institutions.
Another important finding regarding the reasons for not seeking help is related to
the institutions. In spite of the fact that women’s NGOs, local governments, and social
service institutions can, in principle, play a vital role in empowering women through
their programs and activities, they were the least mentioned among the formal organi-
zations. Women cited inadequate numbers of institutions and lack of belief in such
institutions’ ability to help them. Thus, these findings indicate the need for increasing
the number of institutions and organizations that provide legal, psychological, and
other support to women. Women’s counseling centers and shelters run by NGOs,
municipalities, and government are few in number relative to the population of the
country. Although the number of institutions and organizations has increased in the
past two decades, there are only 103 women’s shelters for a population of 75.6 million
(Republic of Turkey Ministry of Family and Social Policies, 2012).
Although about one third of women use informal coping strategies, seeking help
from formal institutions was rare. Reaching a breaking point at which the IPV can no
longer be tolerated appears to be the trigger for women to seek help from formal insti-
tutions. Being badly injured and afraid of being killed by their partner and/or their
partner’s family were other commonly mentioned reasons for seeking help from for-
mal institutions.
In terms of legislation relating to IPV, Turkey emerges as a leader among the MENA
countries (UN-Women, 2011). In the past decade, legislative advances, such as revi-
sions to the Constitution as well as civil and penal codes, aimed at combating IPV have
been accomplished in Turkey. However, despite these advances, our study indicates
that IPV remains high and few women seek help from legal institutions. This would
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1171
suggest that empowerment of women through such legislative advances is not enough,
in and of itself, to substantially reduce IPV.
Studies show that even though some women want to leave their abusive intimate
partners, social, economic, and cultural conditions compel them to stay in that rela-
tionship (Ellsberg et al., 2000; Heise et al., 1999; Heise & Garcia-Moreno, 2002). Our
findings show that besides the social and economic conditions that prevent women
from seeking help, experiencing less frequent and less severe physical violence was
also a deterrent to seeking help and thus not leaving the partner. Gelles (1976) observes
that “the less severe and less frequent the violence, the more a wife remains with her
husband.” (p. 659)
It is important to understand the perceptions of abused women about the causes of
IPV to develop preventive strategies. Also knowing women’s views of the reasons for
violence will help to understand how the issue is perceived at the societal level. For
instance, in our study, issues relating to women’s behavior were frequently mentioned
by women in the “moderate only once” category. However, as the frequency and
severity of violence increased, economic problems and partner’s behaviors gained
importance as reasons for IPV. This may imply that women blame themselves when
the violence is less severe or less frequent, but with an increase in frequency and sever-
ity of violence, women cite other reasons, in particular those that are partner-related.
Seeking help as an active process to manage IPV includes disclosing violence and
using informal and/or formal strategies. In our study, even in the most severe cases of
physical violence, informal strategies are much more commonly used than approaches
to formal institutions. Having an individual income and a high education level gained
importance in seeking help from formal institutions to manage IPV.
One of the limitations of this study is that there is no information on the timing of
the IPV and seeking formal or informal help. Collecting information only from women
appears to be another limitation of the study. Despite these limitations, this study was
the first in Turkey to explore the help-seeking behavior of women in response to IPV
by focusing on the severity and frequency of physical violence, using a large, compre-
hensive, population-based, representative sample.
Authors’ Note
An earlier version of this article was presented at the “Gender-Based Violence in the MENA
Region” workshop of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, March 24 to 27, 2010.
Acknowledgment
We would like to generously thank the many thousands of women, who agreed to be inter-
viewed, as well as the research and project assistants, and the field and data entry staff, who all
made this study possible.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1172 Violence Against Women 19(9)
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article: This study was conducted by the consortium of ICON-Institute
Public Sector GmbH, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies (HUIPS), and BNB
Consulting Ltd. Co., with the financial support of the European Commission. The Republic of
Turkey Ministry Directorate General on the Status of Women was the beneficiary institution
and the Central Finance and Contracts Unit the contracting authority. The research team con-
sisted of the key experts Henrica A. F. M. Jansen, Sunday Üner, and Filiz Kardam, and of the
experts Sabahat Tezcan, Banu Akadlı Ergöçmen, A. Sinan Türkyılmaz, İlknur Yüksel, İsmet
Koc, Elif Yiğit, and Yadigar Coşkun.
Note
1. The coding scheme for establishing the hierarchy of severity of physical violence was first
developed by Lori Heise.
References
Aile Arastirma Kurumu. (1995). Aile ici siddetin sebep ve sonuclari [The reasons and conse-
quences of domestic violence]. Ankara, Turkey: Author.
Altinay, A., & Arat, Y. (2009). Violence against women in Turkey. Istanbul, Turkey: Punto.
Ansara, D., & Hindin, M. J. (2010). Formal and informal help-seeking associated with women’s
and men’s experiences of intimate partner violence in Canada. Social Science & Medicine,
70, 1011-1018.
Boy, A., & Kulczycki, A. (2008). What do we know about intimate partner violence in the
Middle East and North Africa? Violence Against Women, 14, 53-70.
Brown, J. (1997). Working toward freedom from violence. Violence Against Women, 3, 5-26.
Cwikel, J., Lev-Wiesel, R., & Al-Krenawi, A. (2003). The physical and psychosocial health
of Bedouin Arab women of the Negev area of Israel: The Impact of High Fertility and
Pervasive Domestic Violence. Violence Against Women, 9, 240-257.
Directorate General on the Status of Women. (2009). Domestic violence against women in
Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.hips.hacettepe.edu.tr/eng/dokumanlar/2008-TDVAW_
Main_Report.pdf
Ellsberg, M. C., Pena, R., Herrera, A., Liljestrand, J., & Winkvist, A. (2000). Candies in
hell: Women’s experiences of violence in Nicaragua. Social Science & Medicine, 51,
1595-1610.
Ellsberg, M. C., Winkvist, A., Pena, R., & Stenlund, H. (2001). Women’s strategic responses to
violence in Nicaragua. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 55, 547-555.
El-Zanaty, F., Hussein, E. M., Shawkey, G. A., Way, A., & Kishor, S. (1996). Egypt Demographic
and Health Survey 1995. Cairo, Egypt: National Population Council.
Fugate, M., Landis, L., Riordan, K., Naureckas, S., & Engel, B. (2005). Barriers to domes-
tic violence help seeking: Implications for intervention. Violence Against Women, 11,
290-310.
Garcia-Moreno, C., Jansen, H. A. F. M., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., & Watts, C. (2005). WHO
Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against women: Initial
results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. Geneva, Switzerland:
World Health Organization.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Ergöçmen et al. 1173
Gelles, R. J. (1976). Abused wives: Why do they stay? Journal of Marriage and the Family,
38, 659-668.
George, A. (1998). Differential perspectives of men and women in Mumbai, India on sexual
relations and negotiations within marriage. Reproductive Health Matters, 6, 87-95.
Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies. (2009). Turkey Demographic and Health
Survey, 2008. Ankara, Turkey: HUIPS, Ministry of Health, State Planning Organization,
and TUBITAK.
Haj-Yahia, M. (2000). Wife abuse and battering in the sociocultural context of Arab society.
Family Processes, 39, 237-255.
Heise, L., Ellsberg, M., & Gottemoeller, M. (1999). Ending violence against women (Population
Reports, Series L, No. 11). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University School of Public
Health, Population Information Program.
Heise, L., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2002). Violence by intimate partners. World report on violence
and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Hyman, I., Forte, T., Du Mont, J., Romans, S., & Cohen, M. (2009). Help seeking behavior for
intimate partner violence among racial minority women in Canada. Women’s Health Issues,
19, 101-108.
Jansen, H. A. F. M., Watts, C., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2004). Interviewer
training in the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence.
Violence Against Women, 10, 831-849.
Kaukinen, C. (2002). The help-seeking of women violent crime victims: Findings from the
Canadian violence against women survey. International Journal of Sociology and Social
Policy, 22, 5-44.
Kishor, S., & Johnson, K. (2006). Profiling domestic violence: A multi-country study. Calverton,
MD: ORC Macro.
Kocacik, F., & Dogan, O. (2006). Domestic violence against women in Sivas, Turkey: Survey
study. Croatian Medical Journal, 47, 742-749.
Kocacik, F., Kutlar, A., & Erselcan, F. (2007). Domestic violence against women: A field study
in Turkey. Social Science Journal, 44, 698-720.
Krug, E., Dahlberg, L., Mercy, J., Zwi, A., & Lozano, R. (2002). World report on violence and
health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Mayda, A. S., & Akkus, D. (2005). Domestic violence against 116 Turkish housewives: A field
study. Women & Health, 40, 95-108.
Maziak, W., & Asfar, T. (2003). Physical abuse in low-income women in Aleppo, Syria. Health
Care for Women International, 24, 313-326.
Moe, A. (2007). Silenced voices and structured survival: Battered women’s help seeking.
Violence Against Women, 13, 676-699.
Postmus, J. L., Severson, M., Berry, M., & Yoo, J. A. (2009). Women’s experiences of violence
and seeking help. Violence Against Women, 15, 852-868.
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Family and Social Policies. (2012). Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.kadininstatusu.gov.tr/upload/kadininstatusu.gov.tr/mce/trde_kadin_2012_
ekim.pdf
Sahin, H. A., & Sahin, H. G. (2003). An unaddressed issue: Domestic violence and unplanned
pregnancies among pregnant women in Turkey. European Journal of Contraception &
Reproductive Health Care, 8, 93-98.
Tokuc, B., Ekuklu, G., & Avcioglu, S. (2010). Domestic violence against married women in
Edirne. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 832-847.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
1174 Violence Against Women 19(9)
United Nations Women. (2011). 2011-2012 progress of the world’s women in pursuit of justice.
Retrieved from http://progress.unwomen.org/pdfs/EN-Report-Progress.pdf
World Health Organization. (2001). Putting women first: Ethical and safety recommendations
for research on domestic violence against women. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
Author Biographies
Banu Akadlı Ergöçmen is an associate professor at the Hacettepe University Institute of
Population Studies (HUIPS). Her research areas include demographic issues—mainly reproduc-
tive health, fertility, abortion, and population policy.
İlknur Yüksel-Kaptanoğlu is an assistant professor at HUIPS. Her research interests include
demography, domestic violence, reproductive health, poverty, and qualitative research
techniques.
Henrica A. F. M. (Henriette) Jansen is a doctor, epidemiologist, and a renowned expert on
violence against women research. She worked for the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s
Health and Domestic Violence and was the team leader for domestic violence research in Turkey
in 2008.
at Hacettepe Univeristy on January 26, 2016vaw.sagepub.comDownloaded from
... Previous research has examined the type of IPV and its association with help-seeking and found that women who have experienced physical IPV were more likely to seek help (Dickson et al., 2023). Additionally, women who have experienced severe physical IPV victimization were more likely to seek help (Ergocmen et al., 2013). It has also been found that when the partner displayed controlling behaviors, victims were more likely to seek help (Muluneh et al., 2021). ...
... Experiencing physical injury or physical IPV in the past 12 months was significantly related to seeking both informal and formal help, compared to seeking no help. This is unsurprising, as previous research found that the severity of the violence made IPV victims more likely to seek help (Ergocmen et al., 2013). According to a Turkish study, women who experienced severe physical violence were 10.5 times more likely to seek help than women who experienced moderate violence (Ergocmen et al., 2013). ...
... This is unsurprising, as previous research found that the severity of the violence made IPV victims more likely to seek help (Ergocmen et al., 2013). According to a Turkish study, women who experienced severe physical violence were 10.5 times more likely to seek help than women who experienced moderate violence (Ergocmen et al., 2013). Seeking help has been linked to physical violence because women are more likely to sustain visible harm or injuries (Barrett & St. Pierre, 2011;Ergocmen et al., 2013). ...
Article
This study sought to examine help-seeking behaviors among Nigerian women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Out of 3,802 women who reported that they had experienced IPV in the past year, two-thirds (67%) of the women did not seek any help, 31% sought informal help, and only 1.9% sought formal help. A multinomial regression was run in order to examine factors associated with seeking formal help or informal help, with seeking no help used as the reference group. Higher education, witnessing their father hit their mother, husband’s controlling behaviors, experiencing physical IPV, and having a physical injury were all related to informal help-seeking compared to seeking no help. Witnessing their father hit their mother, experiencing physical IPV, and physical injury were associated with formal help-seeking. The results of this study can potentially be used to reduce barriers to help-seeking among women who have experienced IPV in Nigeria. Implications are discussed.
... it is evident from research that victims of sexual violence are less likely to seek help compared to victims of physical violence [14]. Victims of IPV may be reluctant to seek help because of the fear that they will not be believed for fear of perpetual violence, fear of stigmatization, and concern about children [13,15]. Furthermore, emotional, or psychological abuse of IPV can have longlasting effects on victims. ...
... Despite the avalanches of empirical evidence on IPV, the scope of most studies examining the link between IPV and help-seeking behaviour is limited to country-specifics, thereby limiting our understanding of how the phenomenon varies across countries in SSA [13]. Also, extant literature on IPV and help-seeking behaviour is partly limited to one or two forms of IPV [15,18]. Hence this study attempts to fill these gaps in knowledge by using nationally representative cross-sectional data of ten SSA countries with the most current (2018-2021) Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data to explore holistically how the various types of IPV (physical, sexual, and emotional) including women's experience of childhood violence influence their help-seeking behaviour. ...
... The Cronbach's alpha was 0.72. Also, sociodemographic variables such as women's age (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), occupation (working, not working), level of education (no education, primary, secondary, higher) wealth status (poorest, poorer, middle, richer, richest), residence (rural, urban), and country of residence (Benin, Cameroon, Gambia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia) were included as confounding variables for the study (see Table 1). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern that mostly impacts women’s health and social well-being. This study explored how the various types of IPV (physical, sexual, and emotional) including women’s experience of childhood violence influence their help-seeking behavior in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods We analyzed data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), carried out between 2018 and 2021. The outcome variable was help-seeking behavior. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out. The descriptive analysis looked at the bivariate analysis between the country and outcome variables. Using a binary logistic regression model, a multivariate analysis was utilized to determine the association between the outcome variable and the explanatory variables. Binary logistic regression modelling was used based on the dichotomous nature of the outcome variable. The results were sample-weighted to account for any under- or over-sampling in the sample. Results The proportion of women who sought help for intimate partner violence was 36.1 percent. This ranged from 19.2 percent in Mali to 49.6 percent in Rwanda. Women who experienced violence in childhood (OR = 0.75, CI = 0.69, 0.82) have a lower likelihood of seeking help compared to those who did not experience violence in their childhood. Women who had experienced emotional violence (OR = 1.94, CI = 1.80, 2.08), and physical violence (OR = 1.37, CI = 1.26, 1.48) have a higher likelihood of seeking help compared to those who have not. Women with secondary educational levels (aOR = 1.13, CI = = 1.02, 1.24) have a higher likelihood of seeking help compared to those with no education. Cohabiting women have a higher likelihood (aOR = 1.22, CI = 1.10, 1.35) of seeking help compared to married women. Conclusion The study highlights the importance of early identification of IPV and fit-for-purpose interventions to demystify IPV normalization to enhance women’s willingness to seek help. The study’s findings suggest that education is crucial for increasing women’s awareness of the legalities surrounding IPV and available structures and institutions for seeking help.
... Based on their importance in the literature on postpartum help-seeking behavior [34,[57][58][59], the following variables were included as potential covariates: duration of residence in Germany, categorized as "born in Germany" and number of years since migration to Germany (< 5 years, 5-10 years, and > 10 years), net monthly household income (< 1,250 €, 1,250 €-2,249 €, 2,250 €-2,999 €, 3,000 €-3,999 €, 4,000 €-4,999 € and > 5,000 €), and number of children in total. Additionally, time of occurrence of IPV (experiences in lifetime versus within the last 12 months) was included as a potential covariate. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Women in the postpartum period are at greater risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), which may cause physical, sexual, or psychological harm and have a long-lasting negative impact on mother and child. Seeking help in case of IPV in the postpartum period can be difficult. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine service preferences among postpartum women in Germany (non-)affected by IPV. Methods In the cross-sectional study INVITE, postpartum mothers (n = 3,509) were interviewed via telephone. Using the WHO-Violence Against Women Instrument (WHO-VAWI), women were divided into groups: non-affected women and women affected by psychological, physical, and/or sexual IPV. Using analyses of variance, group differences regarding preferred services and modes of service provision were assessed. Examined service domains were psychosocial services (e.g., women´s shelter or self-help groups), medical services (e.g., gynecologist or emergency room), and midwives. Modes of service provision included direct communication (e.g., in person or video conference) and indirect communication (e.g., chat or e-mail). Results People from the women's social environment (e.g., family, friends) and specialized IPV services, such as women's shelters, were the most preferred support. Regarding service categories, women who experienced any type of IPV rated all three service domains less likely to be used than non-affected women. Most preferred provision mode was “in person”. Women affected by physical and/or sexual IPV rated direct modes more negatively than non-affected women. However, there were no differences between (non-)affected women regarding indirect modes, such as e-mails or apps. Discussion The present results indicate that services were rated less likely to be used by postpartum women affected by IPV. Potential barriers which lead to these ratings need to be investigated. Efforts should be made to increase awareness of IPV and the beneficial effects of support.
... On the other hand, it has been observed that abused women most often seek help from their birth families, friends, and neighbors (Coker et al. 2000) before approaching organizations. Ergöçmen et al. (2013) report that while 35% of the battered women shared the violence inflicted on them with birth families and 23% of them shared it with friends or neighbors, a mere 8.4% sought help from institutions. Restriction on the spouses is thus a risk factor directly associated with domestic violence. ...
Article
Full-text available
The rising divorce rate in developing nations is a cause of concern among social scientists. Though women’s ability to dissolve marriages in response to domestic violence can be observed as an agency, it has long been perceived as undesirable for society. The paper examines the complex association between domestic risk factors, violence, and the likelihood of marital dissolution. Using the fourth round of Demographic and Health Survey data, we unravel these relations in India, where domestic violence is extremely high compared to the divorce rate. We find that divorce incidences are rising among Indian women as a protest against domestic violence towards them. Marital dissolution is more common among the victims of severe physical violence and sexual violence than those of emotional violence or less severe violence. Economic empowerment in terms of land ownership and employment has helped the process of dissolving abusive marriages.
Article
Full-text available
Aile, bireylerin kendilerini güvende hissettikleri ve temel sosyal becerilerini kazandıkları en önemli kurumdur. Bireylerin yaşamlarının ilk ve en önemli bölümünü geçirdikleri bu kurum, bireyler ve toplum üzerinde derin etkiler yaratmaktadır. Bu sebeple sağlıklı ailelerde yetişen bireyler, sağlıklı bir toplumun temelini oluşturmaktadır. Ancak, birey için güvenli bir ortam olarak görülen ailede, zaman zaman istenmeyen durumlar ortaya çıkabilmektedir. Aile içi şiddet, bu istenmeyen durumlardan biri olup toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizlikleri ve patriyarkal normlarla ilişkilidir. Bu çalışmada, aile içi fiziksel şiddetin erkekler tarafından nasıl algılandığı ve bu şiddetin arkasındaki sosyal ve kültürel faktörler ele alınmıştır. Araştırma, Ankara ilinde 25 Ağustos - 12 Ekim 2024 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiş olup, en az beş yıllık evliliği ve çocuk sahibi olan erkeklerle yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerden elde edilen bulgulara dayanmaktadır. Erkeklerin aile içi şiddeti algılama biçimleri ve bu şiddeti meşrulaştırma süreçleri, toplumsal cinsiyet normları, patriyarkal yapı ve hegemonik erkeklik gibi sosyolojik kavramlar doğrultusunda değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma bulguları, erkeklerin aile içi şiddeti çoğunlukla meşru görme veya disiplin aracı olarak kabul etme eğiliminde olduklarını göstermektedir. Bu durum, toplumsal cinsiyet rollerinin ve patriyarkal değerlerin erkeklerin zihninde nasıl kök saldığını ortaya koymaktadır. Elde edilen bulgular, aile içi şiddetin toplumsal kaynaklarını anlamaya ve bu kaynaklar üzerinden yapılacak müdahalelerin etkisini artırmaya yönelik önemli ipuçları sunmaktadır.
Article
This paper examines the impact of the 2014 Italian divorce law on help-seeking behavior of domestic violence victims and femicides. The paper finds that contrary to expectations, the reform, which aimed to reduce the cost of divorce while requiring mutual consent, led to a decrease in help-seeking behavior among intimate partner violence survivors and an increase in femicides perpetrated by husbands. These findings suggest that while reducing the cost of divorce may empower individuals to leave abusive relationships, the requirement for mutual consent may inadvertently escalate violence as husbands seek to assert control and prevent separation. The study underscores the importance of considering the unintended consequences of divorce legislation and prioritizing the safety of intimate partner violence survivors in family policy interventions.
Article
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive in Iran, with limited research exploring help-seeking. Using path analysis we investigated the extent of IPV, help-seeking, and distress along with compassion for oneself and one’s spouse. Direct effects revealed: (1) IPV was positively associated with help-seeking, distress, and compassion for one’s partner, and negatively related to self-compassion, (2) Help-seeking was positively related to distress and compassion for one’s partner, (3) Self-compassion was negatively related to distress, whereas compassion for one’s partner was positively related. Indirect effects were found between (1) IPV and help-seeking through compassion for one’s partner, (2) IPV and distress through help-seeking, self-compassion, and compassion for one’s partner, and (3) each form of compassion and distress through help-seeking.
Article
Full-text available
Bangladesh is a South Asian country speaking of which this country is not also free from such inhuman events named sexual harassment. Research on sexual harassment is still now very limited. This paper includes the number of 300 female students of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science & Technology University, Gopalganj. The primary data for this study were collected with a predetermined questionnaire from February to April 2023. In this study, we find that about 74% of the respondents had experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime. Most of the harasser about 34.8% were belonged to the age group (21-30) years and unknown to the victims. Road and public transport is the most likely place for being harassed. About 41% of the respondents changed their lifestyle after experiencing sexual harassment such as not walking from a particular place, changing clothes, institutes, sim cards, etc. From this study, we find an association between some factors such as family status, residence area, age of victim, dress or appearance of victim, public transport, education level of the harasser and experience of being sexually harassed. By fitting the binary logistic regression model, we find that residence area, dress or appearance of the victim and public transport are significant influential factors for experiencing sexual harassment.
Article
High-conflict divorce proceedings in Turkey typically span 2 years but can extend to 6, reinforcing the perception that institutional violence against women has been widespread under the conservative Justice and Development Party’s 20-year rule. This study poses two primary research questions: (1) What are the legal, sociocultural, financial, and psychological experiences of high-conflict divorced women? (2) Which statutory social services could women access during and after the high-conflict divorce process? Employing a feminist qualitative research approach, this study draws on 20 semi-structured interviews with women in Istanbul who have undergone high-conflict divorces. The goal is to understand these women’s experiences and pinpoint the disparities between their needs and the support available from statutory social services. The findings illuminate the challenges women face while dealing with patriarchal norms within societal, cultural, and financial realms amid the divorce process. Additionally, the study reveals the inadequacies of current family-oriented services and emphasizes the urgent need for women’s rights-based support, including psychosocial, legal, and financial assistance.
Article
Full-text available
The importance of a sound research strategy for measuring and understanding violence against women cross-culturally is well recognized. However, the value of specialized interviewer training to attain these data is not always fully appreciated. This article describes interviewer selection and training in the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence and highlights their importance. Such training ensures high-quality data and cross-country comparability, protects the safety of respondents and interviewers, and increases the impact of the study. Moreover, women are not only willing to share experiences with trained and empathetic interviewers but also find the interview a positive experience.
Article
Full-text available
This study examined the self-reported health status of Bedouin Arab women in relation to two salient features of current Bedouin Arab social mores: the emphasis on maintaining a high rate of fertility and the social acceptance of domestic violence. A quota sample of 202 Bedouin Arab women ranging in age from 22 to 75 were personally interviewed. Fortyeight percent of the women reported a lifetime exposure to physical violence, and 30% reported domestic violence that was associated with symptoms of poor mental health status and gynecological problems. Domestic violence was associated with a large number of children, and there is some indication that the level of domestic violence decreases during pregnancy.
Book
Full-text available
The WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women is a landmark research project, both in its scope and in how it was carried out. For the results presented in this report, specially trained teams collected data from over 24 000 women from 15 sites in 10 countries representing diverse cultural settings: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Article
Full-text available
Factors affecting domestic violence against women in four Turkish cities (Adıyaman, Sivas, Denizli and Kırklareli) having different socioeconomic structures, are analyzed in this study. These factors consist of social, cultural, economic and psychological factors. In contrast to what we expected based on earlier literature, family income level has a positive relationship with violence. Logistic regression analysis also revealed that being a university graduate and having a personal income decreases the prevalence of violence as expected. However, working women and women with children are more prone to domestic violence. Again, there is a strong association between the neighborhood where the family lives and the incidence of violence. The extent of male dominance, as measured by the question “How are decisions taken in the family” is also associated with domestic violence: woman is less likely to be abused in households where decisions are taken collectively. Likewise, families where women have to get permission from the husband to carry out certain activities, have an increased incidence of suffering from husband's violence. Psychological factors, like being abused or having witnessed violence as a child, are also significantly correlated with domestic violence.
Article
Full-text available
Despite increasing public, professional, and scientific interest in the problem of wife abuse and battering, little has been written about the importance of sociocultural sensitivity in intervention with abused and battered women in Arab society. In this article, I describe central family values in that society and discuss their relevance to wife abuse and battering. Specifically, the discussion focuses on values such as mutual family support and interdependence, family reputation, women's inferiority and male supremacy, and family cohesion and the relevance of those values to wife abuse and battering. In addition, I present Arab women's perspectives on this problem, as revealed in their responses to open-ended questions that were part of larger studies conducted by me. In this regard, five dimensions of their perspectives are considered: (1) Women's definitions of violence against women; (2) their awareness of the problem; (3) their justification or condemnation of violence against women; (4) their awareness of the risk encountered by battered women; and (5) their approach toward coping with the problem. The results are discussed from the perspective of the sociocultural context of Arab society. The article concludes with recommendations for socioculturally sensitive intervention with battered women in this society.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of domestic violence against women in León, Nicaragua. A survey was carried out among a representative sample of 488 women between the ages of 15-49. The physical aggression sub-scale of the Conflict Tactics Scale was used to identify women suffering abuse. In-depth interviews with formerly battered women were performed and narratives from these interviews were analysed and compared with the survey data. Among ever-married women 52% reported having experienced physical partner abuse at some point in their lives. Median duration of abuse was 5 years. A considerable overlap was found between physical, emotional and sexual violence, with 21% of ever-married women reporting all three kinds of abuse. Thirty-one percent of abused women suffered physical violence during pregnancy. The latency period between the initiation of marriage or cohabitation and violence was short, with over 50% of the battered women reporting that the first act of violence act took place within the first 2 years of marriage. Significant, positive associations were found between partner abuse and problems among children, including physical abuse. Both the survey data and the narrative analysis pointed to extreme jealousy and control as constant features of the abusive relationship. Further, the data indicate that battered women frequently experience feelings of shame, isolation and entrapment which, together with a lack of family and community support, often contribute to women's difficulty in recognizing and disengaging from a violent relationship. These findings are consistent with theoretical conceptualisations of domestic violence developed in other countries, suggesting that, to a large degree, women's experiences of violence transcend specific cultural contexts.
Article
We use Canadian data to examine the help-seeking strategies of women dealing with the consequences of violent victimization. Consideration of the help-seeking strategies of victimsmay provide insight into other decision-making processes. The analytic framework integrates research on police reporting and intimate partner violence with the wider help-seeking literature. This integration allows for an examination of the effect of the victim’s relationship to her offender on decisions to seek help from family, friends, doctors, social service agencies and the police. The research has two objectives. First, we aim to determine whether help-seeking exists as isolated choices or whether there is a discernable set of help-seeking strategies used by crime victims. Although many victims do not call the police, they often rely on family, friends, social service and mental health interventions.We find that those victims who report their victimizations to the police also seek support from family and friends. Second, we examine the correlates of these help-seeking decisions. In doing so, we explore the effects of the offender relationship on decisions to seek help. We explore differences in help-seeking across attacks by strangers, spousal offenders, dating offenders, and other known offenders. Our findings suggest that women victimized by a spousal offender are more likely than others to use a substantial help-seeking strategy that includes disclosure to the police, doctors and social service agencies.
Article
Attempted to determine why a woman who had been physically abused by her husband would remain with him. Interviews were conducted with members of 41 families in which women had been beaten by their husbands. Nine of these women had been divorced or separated from their husbands; 13 had called the police; 8 had sought counseling from a private social service agency; and 11 had sought no outside intervention. Three major factors influence the actions of the abused wives: The less severe and less frequent the violence, the more a wife remained with her husband. Secondly, the more a wife was struck as a child by her parents, the more likely she was to remain with her abusive husband. Finally, the fewer resources a wife had and the less power she had the more likely she was to stay with her violent husband. In addition, external constraint influenced the actions of abused wives. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)