Socio-Economic Factors of Intimate Partner Violence against Women in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis

Abstract

In this study, intimate partner violence against women is analyzed from a socio-economic perspective for Turkey. We use Turkish National Research on Domestic Violence Against Women data sets for 2008 and 2014. We use binary outcome models to estimate the effect of socio-economic determinants on intimate partner violence. The education level of a woman reduces the probability of intimate partner violence, which is consistent with the predictions of household bargaining models. The physical, sexual, and psychological violence increases when a woman exceeds or even gets closer to the education level of a man. Male backlash mechanisms explain the violence stemming from the education gap between a male and a female partner. Although employment of women does not affect physical violence, it seems to trigger an increase in sexual and psychological violence. Male Backlash and the theories that define violence as an instrument, and financial extraction theories can explain this result.