Gender and violence in the Middle East

This article examines the attitudes of Turkish women toward justification of intimate partner violence. The data were gathered from the 2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. A random sample of 8,075, aged 15–49, participated in the survey. The findings underline the importance of patriarchal beliefs and the associated practice of brides-money in addition to rural residence, large household, illiteracy, lack of wealth, and younger age at marriage as the sources of acceptance of violence among women. The study provides a theoretical explanation for how patriarchal ideology is translated into an accepting attitude toward violence and also discusses the factors that serve as mechanisms that help women resist patriarchal hegemony and not justify domestic violence against women. The final section of the article addresses policy implications.