The Impact Of Economic Empowerment On Women's Risk Of Intimate Partner Violence In Turkey

Violence against women; a major violation of women’s human rights; is defined as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” by the United Nations. Sadly, women are at great risk of facing violence where they should actually be the safest: their homes. Violence against women is a major issue in Turkey. The National Research on Domestic Violence against Women (NRDVAW) carried out in 2008 in Turkey showed an increase in the most extreme form of violence against women in Turkey in the last decade: femicides where women are killed by partners or close male members of their families. The NRDVAW also shed insights into the other types of domestic violence women experience. According to this nationwide survey, 39% of women aged 15-59 experienced physical violence at least once in their lifetimes. Moreover, 15% of women reported experiencing sexual violence; 44% reported emotional violence; and 27% reported economic violence. This study aims to focus specifically on the linkage between economic empowerment of women and domestic violence. Although there is vast literature on the issue; the conclusions reached are far from being parallel. While some findings suggest a preventive effect of economic empowerment on domestic violence, some suggest otherwise. We further aim to see whether economic empowerment, specifically house or land ownership act as a deterrent for men about perpetuating violence; through the “tangible exit option” it provides for women. We will also attempt to see the effect of economic empowerment on physical and economic violence in a multivariable setting. Further analysis will provide information on how exit seeking behaviors differ by economic empowerment.