Determination of the factors affecting sexual violence against women in Turkey: a population-based analysis

BACKGROUND: Sexual violence is one of the most investigated types of violence by national and international decision makers. The purpose of this study was to detect the factors that affect sexual violence against women in Turkey. METHODS: In this study, a cross-sectional data set was employed from the survey titled the National Research on Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey, which was conducted by the Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies. Binary logistic and probit regression analyses were used to determine the factors influential in women’s exposure to sexual violence. RESULTS: The findings obtained from the analyses indicated that women’s exposure to sexual violence was influenced by a variety of factors including region, age, level of education, employment status, health condition, marital status, number of children as well as exposure to physical, economic, and verbal abuse. In addition, it was determined that the level of education, employment status, drug use, infidelity and other variables related to the husband/partner of the women who participated in the survey affected the women’s exposure to sexual violence. CONCLUSION: There remains a higher probability of exposure to sexual violence among women residing in rural and less developed regions. A decrease in the women’s level of education increased their probability of exposure to sexual violence. An increase in the women's age and an increase in the level of education of the women’s husbands/partners lowered the probability of their exposure to sexual violence. There was a higher probability of exposure to sexual violence among women who had experienced physical, economic, and verbal abuse.