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Violence against Women in Modern Turkey: Beliefs, Thoughts and Traditions
Abstract by Dr. Ilhan Yildiz On Session 179  (Women’s Agency)

On Tuesday, November 20 at 11:00 am

2012 Annual Meeting

Abstract
Violence against women is a serious problem in Turkey. According to the results of the research conducted by the Prime Ministry Family Research Institute, there was evidence of physical violence in 34% of Turkish families and there were cases of verbal violence of a severe intensity in 53% of Turkish families. The results of the research conducted among Turkish women indicate that almost half of these women are exposed to economic, psychological, financial or sexual violence. Thus, almost one in every two Turkish women living in Turkey is exposed to violence. These forms of violence occur in various groups of society and cannot be ascribed to just one specific culture or religion. Often based on certain values and notions, perpetrated by people invoking tradition, they constitute serious violations of human rights. Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that can trigger violence such as sociocultural, economic, and psychological factors in the environment where people grow up. This paper proposes to clarify three issues. First, it aims to find out how individuals of a Muslim background perceive and define violence against women in Turkey. Secondly, it will reveal whether there has been a marked improvement or a regression in women’s rights after the recent changes in Turkey related to these issues. Finally, from an interdisciplinary and comparative approach it will shed light on how the people’s conceptions of women’s rights violations and violence against women are shaped, from which sources these conceptions are reinforced and whether Islam is among these sources or not.
Discipline
Sociology
Geographic Area
Turkey
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries