NCJ Number
225097
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 631-638
Date Published
October 2008
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study explored Turkish men’s attitudes toward wife beating and examined its predictors.
Abstract
There are many control mechanisms on women in Turkey which are supported by custom and religious practices and lead to serious violations of women’s human rights, despite reforms over the last 80 years. Results of this study show that of the 1,150 study participants, 333 (29 percent) reported that they had beaten their wives at least once during their marriage. Verbal abuse of wives was more frequent, with 58.5 percent of respondents reporting that they had yelled, shouted, or used abusive language to their wives at least once during their marriages. Of the men studied, 43.7 percent were themselves victims of physical violence during childhood. About 17.9 percent of the participants thought that they had the right to beat their wives. Significant predictors in logistic regression analysis included educational level, employment status, marriage duration, economic status, number of children, alcohol intake, and parental beatings. Other regional studies have shown that the incidence of domestic violence is widespread in Turkey; about 58 percent of women accept physical partner violence. This study’s lower findings may represent regional differences or under-reporting by husbands. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study in Turkey’s fourth largest city, Bursa; 1,150 married men, 18 years of age and older who visited one of the 50 health centers within the city limits were interviewed by a team of 1 medical doctor, 1 nurse, and 4 senior nursing students. Tables, references