Violence in the Family

The term “violence in the family” refers to male violence against females. It means that men are generally rude to women both physically and psychologically. Concerning this issue, a study has been conducted by Family Research Institute in five different geographic regions of Turkey on married women about husband violence against wives. The results of this survey indicate that two independent variables seem to be related to approval of violence. One of the variables is the number of children, which affects the women’s approval of male violence in the family. Data on this relationship show a complex link between the two: the number of children influences the intensity with which a woman approves male violence. They increase parallel to each other: while the number of children rises from 1 to 6, the approval percentage rises from 10 to more than 40. The second variable shows the linkage between the age of women and their approval of male violence. As age rises, the degree of approval rises too. However, there is a sharp increase between the ages 35-40 and from 40 onward it continues to rise. The women’s approval of male violence stems from different factors such as education level of both genders. If men had enough awareness to respect women, violence would be decreased. In the same way, if women were educated, they would have financial independence or at least they would know their rights and would act accordingly. Financial independence gives women the right to divorce. Therefore, a woman who has enough money to support herself and her children does not have to tolerate an unhappy life with her husband who resorts to violence. Another factor that determines the degree of violence approval is modernization. In other words, traditional values that are observed among women and certain segments of the society are the cause of approval. For example, years ago women could not do anything without asking their husbands first. Although such conservative beliefs