Ankara, 11 February 2009
For the first time Turkey has official statistics, which show that violence by husbands is the most common form of violence in the lives of married women, much more than assault by strangers and acquaintances.
"I have been married 23 years and throughout that time, I have suffered from physical and sexual violence. He would lose at gambling and frustrated, he would beat me up. He would then want to make love after the physical abuse and when I refused, more violence would follow." Those words belong to a woman of 44 years, a high-school graduate and mother of two who is now separated from her husband of 23 years.
The figures are the result of a yearlong National Research Project on Domestic Violence Against Women in Turkey, funded by the European Union with a budget of 2.5 million euros. The Directorate General of the Status of Women (KSGM) was the beneficiary of the study. According to its team leader, Henriette Jansen, the research, carried out by a consortium that includes the Icon Institute, Hacettepe University and BNP Consulting, is one of the most comprehensive in the world.
The study shows the grim reality of violence against women happening behind closed doors.
During the summer of 2008, 24048 households in 51 provinces in the whole country were visited by 150 trained interviewers who asked 12795 women aged 15-59 years, in a confidential and sensitive way, about their experiences of domestic violence and other types of violence. In the interview words like 'violence' or 'rape' were not used, but women were asked about a number of specific acts. For example, for physical violence women were asked whether her husband had ever beaten or kicked her, choked or burnt her, and so on. For sexual violence one of the questions was whether her husband had physically forced her to have sex while she did not want to.
Besides these interviews with women, also the opinions and experiences of many other people were documented, such as men, representatives of NGOs and professionals.
The study revealed that levels of violence varied between regions and that between 26% and 57% of ever-married women experienced physical or sexual violence by a husband at least once in her life. In regions where the level of violence was high the nature of the violence was also more serious.
Women who experienced violence by a husband are on average twice as likely to have poor health and mental problems, compared to women who have not. This includes suicidal thoughts and attempts. One out of 10 women reported being beaten during pregnancy.
The results also show that partner violence is very much a hidden problem. Women find it difficult to talk. For about half of the women the interviewer was the first person they had ever told what happened to them. Women very rarely seek help from health, police or other support services.
State Minister for Women’s Affair Nimet Çubukçu said at the official presentation of the results on 11 February 2009, that the research is expected to be a roadmap for policymakers, researchers, advocates and volunteers involved in violence prevention in the country. "We have to face the reality shown in this study," said Çubukçu. For the project’s team leader, Jansen, the research was a major step. "Silence is part of the problem. This research itself is an important social action," she said.
The report of this study contains the statistics as well as many stories as written up from the mouths of women.
For more information on the study: http://www.ksgm.gov.tr/tdvaw/default.htm
