Majority of educated women victim of violence in Turkey, survey reveals

ISTANBUL

A large majority of Turkish women who work in white-collar jobs and have a university degrees say they have been exposed to some kind of violence at least once in their life, according to a recent survey conducted by the Business Against Domestic Violence-BADV project.

A total of 75 percent of female respondents who work in white-collar jobs and are university graduates said they were exposed to violence at least once in their lives, according to the survey, which was conducted by the Sabancı Univeristy’s Corporate Governance of Turkey with the support of the Dutch government’s Matra fund and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The survey revealed that 8 percent of women were exposed to "physical violence," while 17 percent said they were exposed to "economic violence." Forty percent of respondents said they were exposed to "psychological or emotional violence" while 35 percent said they were exposed to "violence in society" at least once.

Male employers also participated in the survey, responding to questions about their relations with their partners. Among male university graduates, 37.5 percent said they committed at least one type of violence against their female partners. This rate dropped to 24.5 percent among male respondents who are only high school graduates.

Some 16 percent of female respondents said they did not break up with their partner after the violence because of possible financial problems. In addition, 35 percent of women who work in white-collar jobs said their salary does not allow them to meet ends for themselves and their children.

At a Dec. 9 panel held in Istanbul on the project and survey results, Dutch Consul General Robert Schuddeboom said violence against women was a serious problem across the world.

“We cannot accept a world in which victims of violence cannot complain with fear of being humiliated and the perpetrators will remain unpunished,” said Schuddeboom.

Sabancı Univeristy’s Corporate Governance of Turkey Director Melsa Ararat said the survey was conducted at 19 firms that volunteered for the survey.

She said 30 percent of women who were exposed to violence did not share it with anyone, although a majority of the victims share it with their friends or neighbors. A total of 30 percent of women said they temporarily left their homes after being exposed to domestic violence.