Yasemin Günay (1), Sinan Özalp (2), A.Gürhan Fisek (3).
1. Assoc.Prof., MD.PhD.
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Osmangazi and
FISEK INSTITUTE Science & Action Foundation for CHILD LABOUR
2. Prof.Dr., MD.PhD.
Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Osmangazi
3. Prof.Dr. MD. PhD.
Department of Labour Economics, Faculty of Political Science, University of Ankara and FISEK INSTITUTE Science & Action Foundation for CHILD LABOUR and
SUMMARY
In this study the inquiry results were evaluated applied through interviews face to face with 135 women who were sent to Forensic medicine institution and connected units for fixing the violence findings in their bodies applied to judicial places because of being beaten by their husbands at home. It has been observed that the women who were subjected to physical violence and spouses were concentrated around the 25-45 year age group, 64 % of women had no economic security, 75 % were subject to violence since the beginning of their marriage, 53 % were married for a period longer than 10 years.
It was seen that in-house violence was not only limited to the low socio-economical level but seen in all categories of families without a discrimination of age, settlement place, profession or income. The women continued their marriage in spite of battering, because of. firstly economic insufficiencies, and secondly because of various other factors.
Key words: Woman, battered women, domestic violence, Turkey.
1NTRODUCTION
In-house violence is on the agenda, as a wide-spread popular health problem in the family when the strong tries to establish pressure on the weak physically or psycho-socially. Women in majority of the suppressed side in family and social sovereignty relations. The researches show in big rate that in-house violence is directed to women by men (Dobaslı & Dobaslı 1978, Council on Ethical and judicial Affairs 1992, Yüksel & Kayır 1996, Ferris et al 1997). Violent acts towards women in many countries can occur without a discrimination of race, class, language, ethnicity and cultural group (Yüksel &Kayır 1996, De Lahunte & Tulsky 1996).
At the studies done in United States of America, it is reported that physical violence prevalence to women is between 28 % and 54.2 %. Each year 2-4 million women are subject to physical violence, one out of each 4 families lives in-house violence (Abbot et al 1995, Novello et al 1992).
The family individuals, not being well socially, are not related only with that person but violence has many estimable negative effects against the family and society. It is a known reality that the violence phenomenon between mother and father have negative effects, not only to elders, but also to the children’s psychological health (Doumas et al 1994). Children who witness violence today will he tomorrow’s mothers, fathers, polices, teachers, ministers (Günay & Ramadanoglu 1995). In the field of health in the 1980s, programs focused on in-house violence, came to the agenda and to determine risk groups and risk factors and to develop support programs accordingly has been adopted as a popular health approach. In 1992, the American Medical Union has published a guide to describe in-family violence and treatment, in 1995 American Medical Colleges Union arranged a meeting for taking the in-family violence and suppression into a medical education program (Dobaslı & Dobaslı 1978).
The women who go to courts, because of physical violence in the family, form a specific group between the women who are battered by their husbands. The ones who work in forensic medicine, that forms a bridge between medicine and law, have more chances to meet with persons who are subject to physical violence. This study was done with the women battered by their spouses, and aims to reach an understanding on characteristics and characters of the violations.
MATERIAL AND METHOD
In this study, an inquiry formed from 40 questions was applied face to face to 135 women through their permissions who were sent to Forensic Medicine institution and connected units for fixing the violence findings in their bodies because of being battered by their husbands in two provinces (Istanbul and Sivas) in Turkey. After inquiry the lesions in their bodies and normal days of treatment are recorded.
FINDINGS
The distribution of the marriage ages of women and spouses participated in inquiry is presented in Table I. It was found that 8 spouses (5.9 %) had same age, in 24 (17.8 %) women were elder than men, in 103 (76.3 %) the men were elder than women. In 83 of spouses (61.5 %) the age difference is 11 or more. The average of marriage age in women is 21.7± 6.0 (min: 13, max: 53), in men 25.0± 6.2 (min: 14, max: 64). 49.6 % of phenomena (67 persons) married in same age group.
There are given the distributions of men and women according to their birth settlement places in Table II, according to their mutual education levels in Table III, according to their professions in Table IV. 61.5 % of the phenomena had same educational levels, 14.8 % men had superior education than women and 23.7 % women had higher educational level than men. In 8.1 % of the families while both men and women were unemployed position, in 55.6 % men worked and women did not, in 9.6 % women worked and men did not. When evaluated as family income, in 85 families (63.0 %) more or less a regular income can be mentioned, in 50 (37.0 %) they lived in a house which they owned, of 101 (74.8 %) they lived in an apartment flat and 104 (77.0 %) they lived in a three or more roomed house included the hall, in more than 70 % they had the main commodities, in only 26 families (19.3 %) regular newspaper subscription were available.
73 of women (54.1 %) married their spouse by dating, 54 of them through a mediator, 8 of them through escaping. While 74 of women (54.8 %) had family permission during marriage, 61 of them married without the permission of family, 70.8 % had a period of engagement before marriage.
There are given the distributions of battered women according to marriage periods in Table V, according to the beginning of the violence and continuation in Table VI, according to the frequency of battering in Table VII. Of the phenomena in 73.2 % the women were beaten between the hours of 18.01-06.00. 68 of the women (50.4 %) said that their spouses had beaten them by using foots, hands or body, 12 said they had used instruments for beating, 55 said they had used both hands and foods and instruments, 56.3 % said that the behaviors of their spouses had resembled a torturer’s. 57 of the women (42.2 %) said that they had been treated because of their injury, 38 of them (26.1 %) said they had broken organs or had organ lesions.
The reason of battering according to women is given in Table VIII. 22 families had no children and of the remaining 113 families (83.7 %) at least one and at most seven children were present. 65 of the women (48.1 %) said that their spouses sometimes or generally had also beaten the children, 69 (51.1 %) said that there had existed battering at the family of her spouse, that her husband’s father had been beating her husband’s mother.
Only 28 of the women said that their husbands had had no bad habits, the remaining (79.3 %) said that their husbands had had bad habits such as alcohol using, gambling, dependency to various drugs or going to bars at night. Only six women evaluated the way of speech of their spouses reasonable, 80 (59.3 %) evaluated the way of speech very ugly, 49 (36.3 %) evaluated sometimes polite and sometimes ugly. When asked at which occasions their spouses behaved well, 25.0 % said they behaved well when they wanted something like food or money, 20.8 % said when the wanted sexual relation, the remaining mentioned some special conditions for example when drunk or not drunk by others or when alone for behaving good.
57 of the women (42.2 %) said sometimes, 29 (21.5 %) said generally their spouses forced them to sexual relation, 79.0 % said in marriage generally their spouses proposed sexual relation, 72.9 % said their spouses had no problem sexually, 20.8 % mentioned early satisfaction, erection difficulties or lack of erection. 50.0 % said they applied no birth control measures at all.
When asked whether they reacted or not at the time they had first been beaten 82 of the women (60.7 %) said they did not react to first battering, 53 (39.3 %) said they reacted. Of 53 women indicating that they reacted 17.6 % they shouted, were angry, spoke back, 17.6% cried, did not talk a while, 11,8% defend themselves and tried to fight back, 17.6 % applied to police station, 23.5 % told their own families and went to them, 5.9 % told spouse’s family, 5.9 % tried to commit suicide.
48 of the 82 women who did not react in the first battering (58.5 %) said they behaved because they were being afraid and alone, 15 (18.3 %) because of the value-understanding of society they were scared that they would be blamed, nine of them because of different reasons in order to continue marriage, nine of them with the hope of developing better relations again, one said because her spouse did not let her complain. 110 of the women (81.5 %) said that they talked to their families and environmental contacts about battering, shared their problems with them. 37 of these said the people they shared the problem, helped and supported them. 73 (66.4 %) said they proposed to wait and be patient.
124 of the women (91.9 %) said that their marriage had not been in harmony with the marriage model they dreamt. 39.6 % said they have applied to official places because of battering before. 35.4 % said they applied for divorce, 78 of the women (57.8 %) what they waited from their complaint was to get divorced. 49 (36.3 %) said their spouse must get punished, eight women said they had no hopes from complaint and their resisting. Forces were exhausted. 52.1 % said at the institutions they applied people did not want to interfere because of family matters and want her to be in peace with her husband.
In the physical examinations at the Forensic Medicine units in 124 (91.9 %) soft tissue lesions in various dimensions and varieties were found,. Five persons had broken teeth, noses, fingers. One had cutting instrument lesion, one had gun-shout lesion causing pneumothorax. One woman applied because of committing suicide. Three women had no lesions. They had decided not to get a health report and treatment. Of the remaining 132 women, 124 were given one to seven days of health reports. Tto five of them 10 days and two of them were given 15 days of health reports and one of the woman’s had life danger.
DISCUSSION
In the study covering interviews face to face with 135 women applying for battering charges by their spouses, in accordance with age groups battered women and their spouse concentrated in the 26-45 age group. 25 years and lower-aged women were under battering more by their spouses who were 26-age-and-above (p < 0.05). Men’s marriage ages were 3.3 years more then women and the younger marriage aged women have more battering risk (p < 0.001). The age difference between the 61.5 % of the pairs being 5 year and less than, indicates that the bigger age differences are not important at in-house violence happenings.
In families where physical violence occurred, 19.3 % of the women, 16.5 % of the men have high school or faculty graduations, and that shows in-family violence can occur at highly educated levels too. In relation with education among the spouses an important difference was not seen. But in 52 families (36.5 %) the educational levels of spouses are different. In 32 (61.5 %) women’s level is higher. Related with the subject at the studies done in Turkey and Canada similar results have been given (Yüksel & Kayır 1986, O’Keefe 1994). At the study of De Lahunta and Tulsky (1996) depending on inquiry 4% of the men working in medical faculty or medical student and 13% of the women said that their partners harmed them physically.
When compared with marriage statistics in Turkey, average marriage-ages and marriage percentage in accordance with age groups and the distribution of married persons according to settlement places of the battered women in the coverage of research and spouses are in harmony with Turkey’s general and the high school and faculty educated women rate battered is less than the high school and faculty graduate in Turkey’s general (p < 0.05). At men battering their spouses the primary school or below educational level rate is more than primary and below educational leveled married man rate (p < 0.05). Besides, unemployed men rate in families having violence and employed women rate too is more than married men and women in Turkey’s general (p < 0.01) (State Institute of Statistics 1997). The difference in educational level indicates that either more educated women are less under pressure, or apply to the judiciary less.
The facts that two-thirds of the families approximately had no economic securities, half of the men were free working tradesmen. Two thirds of the families had regular incomes. More than one-third lived in their own houses, three fourth lived at three or more roomed apartment flats, again approximately three-fourths had house maintenances, goods, and these findings let us consider that, women, having no economic security, are a more important risk factor than our consideration that women have less income. However, this study’s important finding is that, approximately 10% of women meet the burden of the house alone. Therefore or in spite of this they are under violence too. This shows us that the economic level of women is not the only factor determining in-family violence. Another study done at the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicinein Istanbul University by Yuksel (1978) indicates that in-house violence is not limited to a lower socio-economic level.
It has been established that, more than half of the women subject to in’home violence, were married, either by dating, or wedded by their family permissions. More than two thirds had an engagement period before marriage, four out of five of the families were nucleus-type families. Nucleus-type family in accordance with in-house violence is not a protective factor. Big family structures may be considered to prevent the complainer to complain, and apply,
In-house violence generally begins in the first years of the marriage and repeats. The mostly apply rate to judicial places because of physical violence is in the first ten year of the marriage, the apply rate is lower in marriages above 20 years of duration. More than half of the women who applied because of husband battering have the duration of marriage more than on years (Table VI, VII, VIII).
Three fourth of the women were beaten in the evening and in the night that is because the men are not in house in the daytime. At the families under violence all the hours passing together carry the risk of violence. In 92 % of the women in our study soft tissue lesions in various dimensions and characters were fixed, half said they were treated previously because of battering, more than one fourth said they had been broken some bones or had organ lesions. Inner house physical violence caused women to have physical harms, scratches, small lesions, eardrum perforations, breaks, inner bleeding and even death (Wilcoxen 1981).
41.5 % of women in big majority qualified their husbands of not knowing the reason of they battering. With 37.7 % alcohol-gambling-jealousy followed this rate. More than three fourth of the women expressed that their husbands had bad habits such as alcohol, gambling, drug dependency, bar life. In the studies made in relation with the subject it has been emphasized that alcohol and drug usage caused violence and increased violence (Le Jeune & Folette 1994, Downs et al 1993, Senchak & Kenneth 1994).
A big majority of women said the marriage they lived was not like the marriage model they dreamt, that their spouse’s way of speech was ugly and when it is time for sexuality one-fifth of their spouses behaved good, two thirds forced them for sexual relations, more than three fourth said their spouses proposed sexual relations generally, one fifth mentioned early satisfaction, erection difficulty or lack. All these data indicate that in families under violence frequently, sexual violence is present too. It has been declared that when man thinks he is unsuccessful in sexuality try to cover this reality by applying violence (Prince & Ieana 1994).
In result, in-house violence is not limited to low socio-economic levels. Without discrimination of age, profession, settlement place, education and income level, in-family battering is seen in all categories of families, women suffer the conditions of marriage, despite of battering, because of economical reasons, loneliness sense, responsibility of continuing the marriage, children. When they want to end the marriage against battering which begin in the first years and continue, they meet with the pressure of close-environment, official and legal obstacles.
135 women interviewed in the coverage of our study, is only a little section of the women battered by their spouses. Very little of the women battered by their spouses apply to judicial places, it is thought that the cover of inner house violence is much more. There are big duties waiting persons and institutions working in all fields of the society in accordance with inner house women violence which effect individual and social health so much negatively.
Against violence towards women noticed as a criminal phenomena and as a human rights problem by United Nations European Economic Community January 2000 the member countries, reviewed the regional and international organizations, research institutions, establishments related with health and education, security organization, judicial organs, civil social establishments and strategies for media and new strategies were determined (United Nations 2000).
In this direction, on the subject of violence towards women the duties of developing large covered approaches, taking the problem as a basic freedom and human right and developing such policies, making arrangements in laws and penalty system describing all kinds of violence and dimension, studying the different kinds and making researches in comparing with each other, fighting violence in all forms and developing ways of fighting against it, supporting services should be given to protect the victims and spreading the available researches are the duties of all public and civil establishments. But, we want to emphasize that the moving force in putting the problem forward and struggling with it will be non-governmental organizations where the women themselves will actively participate.
REFERENCES
- Abbot, J., Johnson, R., Koziol- McLain, J., Lowenstein, S.R. (1995). Domestic violence against women. Incidence and prevalence in an emergency department population. JAMA 273: 1763-7.
- Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, American Medical Association, Chicago III.(1992). Physicians and Domestic Violence: Ethical Considerations. JAMA 267: 3190-3.
- De lahunte, E.A., Tulsky, A.A. (1996). Personal exposure of faculty and students to family violence. JAMA 275: 1903-6.
- Dobaslı, R.E., Dobaslı, R.P. (1978). Wives: The appropriate victims of marital violence.
Victimology 2: 426-42.
- Doumas, D., Gayla, M., Richard, S.J. (1994). The intergenerational transmission of aggression across three generations. Journal of Family Violence 9 (2): 157-75.
- Downs, W.R., Brendo, A.M., Denis, D.P. (1993). Differential patterns of partner to women violence: a comparison of samples of community, alcohol abusing, and battered women. Journal of Family Violence 8 (2): 113-35.
- Ferris, L.E., Norton, P.G., Dunn, E.V., Gort, E.H., Degani, N. (1997). Guidelines for managing domestic abuse when male and female partners are patients of the same physician. JAMA 278: 851.
- Günay, Y., Ramadanoğlu, E. (1995). Aile kavramı içinde kadına yönelik fiziksel şiddet olayının Adli Tıp Kurumu’na yansıması. Çalışma Ortamı Dergisi
19: 40-8.
- Le Jeune, C., Folette, V. (1994). Taking responsibility: Sex differences in reporting dating violence. Journal of Interpersonel Violence 9 (1): 133-40.
- Novello, A.C., Rosenberg, M., Saltzman, L., Shosky, J. (1992) A medical response to domestic violence. JAMA 267: 3132.
- O’Keefe, M. (1994). Racial/ethnic differences among battered women and their children. Journal of Child and Family Studies 3 (3): 283-305.
- Prince, J.E., Ieana, A. (1994). The role of perceived control and the desirability of control among abusive and non-abusive husband. American Journal of Family Therapy 22 (2): 126-34.
- Senchak. M., Kenneth, E.L. (1994). Attributions for episodes of marital aggressions: the effects of aggression severity and alcohol use. Journal of Family Violence 9 (4): 371-81.
- State Institute of Statistics Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey (1999). Marriage Statistics 1997. State Institute of Statistics, Printing Division, August 1999, Ankara.
- Wilcoxen, M. (1981). Assaulted women: A handbook for health professionals, Support services for Assaulted Women, Toronto, Ontario.
- Yüksel,
Ş., Kayır, A. (1986). Psikiyatriye başvuran ‘Örselenen Kadın’ın tanınması. Düţünen Adam 1: 8.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council, Economic Commission for Europe. (2000). Agreed Conclusions on Violence Against Women and Girls. Regional Predatory Meeting on the 2000 Review of Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action 19-21 January 2000.
Table I: Distribution of battered women and spouses according to their marriage ages
|
MEN |
|||||
|
WOMEN |
20 and under |
21-30 |
31 and above |
Total |
|
|
N |
% |
||||
|
20 and under |
22 |
47 |
3 |
72 |
53.3 |
|
21-30 |
6 |
37 |
10 |
53 |
39.3 |
|
31 and above |
– |
2 |
8 |
10 |
7.7 |
|
Total n |
28 |
86 |
21 |
135 |
100.0 |
|
% |
20.7 |
63.7 |
15.6 |
100.0 |
|
א²: 31.09; p
TABLE II: Distribution of men and women according to their birth settlement places
|
WOMEN |
MEN |
|||
|
N |
% |
N |
% |
|
|
Rural |
99 |
66.0 |
96 |
75.0 |
|
Urban |
46 |
34.0 |
39 |
25.0 |
|
Total |
135 |
100.0 |
135 |
100.0 |
TABLE III: Distribution of men and women according to their mutual education levels
|
MEN |
||||||
|
WOMEN |
Primary and below |
Middle |
High school |
Faculty |
Total |
|
|
N |
% |
|||||
|
Primary and below |
74 |
4 |
9 |
– |
87 |
64.4 |
|
Middle |
17 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
22 |
16.3 |
|
High school |
6 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
21 |
15.6 |
|
Faculty |
– |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3,7 |
|
Total n |
97 |
13 |
18 |
7 |
135 |
100.0 |
|
% |
71.9 |
9.6 |
13.3 |
5.2 |
100.0 |
|
TABLE IV: Distribution professions of men and women according to their professions
|
MEN |
||||||
|
WOMEN |
Unemployed |
Irregular limited Income works |
Regular limited Income works |
Changing income Small working places |
Total |
|
|
N |
% |
|||||
|
Unemployed |
11 |
4 |
32 |
39 |
86 |
63.7 |
|
Irregular limited Income works |
7 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
15 |
11.1 |
|
Regular limited Income works |
5 |
2 |
7 |
8 |
22 |
16.3 |
|
Changing income Small working places |
1 |
– |
3 |
8 |
12 |
8.9 |
|
Total n |
24 |
9 |
45 |
57 |
135 |
100.0 |
|
% |
17.8 |
6.7 |
33.3 |
42.2 |
100.0 |
|
TABLE V: Distribution of marriage periods of battered women
|
N |
% |
|
|
Less than 1 year |
12 |
8.9 |
|
1-4 years |
28 |
20.7 |
|
5-9 years |
23 |
17.0 |
|
10-14 years |
25 |
18.5 |
|
15-19 years |
26 |
19.3 |
|
20-24 years |
13 |
9.6 |
|
25 years and above |
8 |
6.0 |
|
Total |
135 |
100.0 |
TABLE VI: Beginning and continuation period of physical violence
|
N |
% |
|
|
Since the first day\since after a year |
92 |
74.8 |
|
Since after 1-3 years of marriage |
18 |
14.6 |
|
Since after 3-S years of marriage |
5 |
4.2 |
|
Since after 6-10 years of marriage |
4 |
3.2 |
|
Since after 11 year and more years of marriage |
4 |
3.2 |
|
Total |
123 |
100.0 |
*12 women applied at the first battering
TABLE VII: The violence frequency of women repeatedly battered
|
N |
% |
|
|
Everyday \ once in 2-3 days |
54 |
43.9 |
|
Weekly\15 days\monthly |
36 |
29.3 |
|
Once in a while, irregularly |
33 |
26.8 |
|
Total |
123 |
100.0 |
TABLE VIII: The reason of battering according to women.
|
N |
% |
|
|
Without reason / I cannot understand |
56 |
41.5 |
|
A1cohol-gambling-jealousy |
50 |
37.0 |
|
Economical reasons |
19 |
14.1 |
|
Other woman’s presence |
17 |
12.6 |
|
He is being effected from others |
15 |
11.1 |
|
Thinks she is intervening with his business |
10 |
7.4 |
|
Because of children or other family members |
7 |
5.2 |
|
Untrusting one’s self |
7 |
5.2 |
|
Lack of love and respect |
6 |
4.4 |
|
Education and culture differences |
f |
5
3.7
Sexual reasons
3
2.2
*70 women indicated more than one reason.