Domestic abuse in Turkey

According to a 2009 Turkish government report, 42% of women surveyed said they had been the victims of either physical or sexual abuse by their husband or partner. The report concluded that one in four married Turkish women had been injured by partner violence. Meanwhile, one in ten Turkish women were injured by such violence while pregnant. Some Turkish activists fear the real statistics for violence against women may actually be much higher. Domestic violence against women is not confined to economically-depressed, rural regions of eastern Turkey. According to the Turkish government survey, the statistics for physical and sexual assault were roughly the same in the countryside as in the most developed, fast-growing cities in the western part of the country. Despite widespread violence against women, in 2009 the Turkish government reported there were only 52 state-run shelters for women in the entire country. Those shelters have the capacity to house less than 1,300 residents, in a country where the population exceeds 70 million.