Factors affecting the views and experiences of women living in the city centre of Manisa, Turkey, regarding domestic violence

• Published in: Australian journal of primary health Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 466 - 471
• Main Authors: Özpinar, Saliha, Dinç Horasan, Gönül, Baydur, Hakan, Canbay, Tülin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia CSIRO 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent; Adult; Alcohol use; Attitudes; Child abuse; Childhood; Cities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic violence; Domestic Violence - psychology; Domestic Violence - statistics & numerical data; Emotional abuse; Female; Gender; Gender-based violence; Health problems; Humans; Husbands; Legal medicine; Low income groups; Mental health; Middle Aged; Parents & parenting; Population; Power; Power relationships; Prevention; Public health; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Sexual violence; Social status; Sociodemographics; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turkey - epidemiology; Unemployment; Urban Population; Women's issues; Womens health; Turkey
• ISSN: 1448-7527; 1836-7399
• DOI: 10.1071/PY15032

Domestic violence against women is an important social and public health problem worldwide resulting from unequal power relationships between men and women. The purpose of the present cross-sectional descriptive study was to determine the factors affecting the views and experiences of women living in the city centre of Manisa, Turkey, regarding domestic violence. The data were collected from a representative sample of women (n=873) in 2012. The socio-demographic questionnaire and the World Health Organization's Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women were used for data collection. The study results revealed that of the women, 14.8% were exposed to physical violence, 7.9% to sexual violence, 20.2% to emotional violence/abuse and 11.2% to economic violence/abuse within the last 12 months. Lower income level, lower social status, lower educational level, unemployment, being exposed to parental violence during childhood and being married to husbands exposed to parental violence during childhood were associated risk factors with domestic violence. The study results indicate that domestic violence against women is a common phenomenon in Manisa.