Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this study different from other studies on domestic violence previously done in Turkey?

This is the first national study to provide official statistics on the prevalence and consequences of domestic violence in Turkey. During the household survey (quantitative research) more women were interviewed than in any other study ever done before on this subject and the whole of Turkey was covered. The survey has been conducted using robust methods that have been thoroughly tested to get comparable and high quality data. Interviewers were extensively trained and the study carefully addressed the confidentiality and safety of the women interviewed. Further, besides the structured interviews using questionnaires, also many in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were done with men, women, professionals and NGOs to get a deeper understanding of the issues (qualitative research).

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Why have only women been interviewed in the survey (household interviews)?

There are ethical and safety issues posed by interviewing women and men in the same household or settlement. Since women are overwhelmingly victims of domestic violence, it was considered a national priority to get national data on the magnitude of the problem for women. However to increase our understanding of the causes and consequences men were also extensively interviewed in the qualitative stage of the study.

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How were the women selected for the interviews?

They were completely randomly selected, to represent the general population of women in Turkey. They were thus not selected because of a history of violence. Settlements and households were selected from the National Address Database. Every woman between 15-59 year of age in a household had an equal chance of being selected for the interview, but only one woman was interviewed per household.

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Can I cite information that I found on this website?

Yes you can and we hope that you do! If you use any information from the study, please acknowledge the source as follows:

Suggested Citation: Turkish Republic Prime Ministry General Directorate on the Status of Women, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies, ICON-Institut Public Sector GmbH and BNB Consulting (2009) National Research on Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey 2008.

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