Women's Socioeconomic Status and Violence Against Women: The Case of Turkey

This study analyses the relationship between women’s socio-economic status and intimate partner violence in Turkey using data from the Turkish National Research on Domestic Violence on 6,488 women. It explores if and how women’s educational level and employment status influence the risk of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence, testing both the amelioration, which argues that women’s empowerment reduces violence, and the backlash hypothesis, which suggests that men may respond to women’s rising status with violence. Findings indicate that education is protective against intimate partner violence, supporting the amelioration hypothesis, while employed women and those more educated than their partners face higher risks, consistent with the backlash hypothesis. The study highlights the importance of adopting a multifaceted approach to women’s empowerment.