Domestic violence: a tragedy behind the doors

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence, type, frequency and causes of domestic marital violence among Turkish women in a socio-economically developed metropolitan setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in 2003. All married women, aged 18 years and over, who were visiting any of the 50 primary health care units for different purposes were asked to participate in the study. Of 1427 asked, 1010 gave consent and completed face-to-face interviews. Multiple correspondence analysis, and logistic regression were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Domestic violence was statistically significantly associated with educational level. Illiterate women reported marital abuse 2.6 times more than university or more educated women. No statistically significant relationship was observed between domestic marital violence and women's age or occupation, marital duration or family income. The most frequently reported type of violence was physical, followed by psychological. Among women reporting domestic violence, those with the lowest educational level and income were experiencing all types of domestic violence frequently. CONCLUSION: Placing more importance on educating girls could be a key component of preventing domestic violence.