THEORETICAL BASES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND SOLUTION PROPOSALS

Abstract

The concept of violence’s which is parallel with history of mankind causes and consequences continue to be one of the significant issues of sociological literature. The issue of violence is subject to experimental work, is continuing a dual focus, including the determination of emergence of causes and perpetrators. Although many of these studies performed with quantitative methods, the theory is not included in most of the studies and an interdisciplinary approach does not appear to apply. On the other hand, it is seen that most of the conducted studies on the subject are only made up of situational detection of the problem. Therefore, in this study as a broad social problem, violence against women is being addressed in the context of different sociological approaches and theories and individual and social factors that influence the emergence of violence are included. Located between socialization theories; psychoanalytic theory, social learning theory, cultural transmission theory and ecological theory and gender theories among; feminism, patriarchy, masculinity and motherhood theory is used to determine the micro and macro causes of violence. In this study it is aimed to contribute emerging discussions regarding violence against women, why violence against women is a universal problem and why it pursues for centuries and cannot be eliminated, and how it can be eliminated. Besides, it is observed that in the studies without theoretical approaches all the aspects of violence cannot be identified and satisfactory proposals have not been developed to solve the problem. In that context, it is thought that current study will contribute design of conducted studies in the future and interpretation of obtained data The sensitivity of the issue of violence against women and the efforts try to make the issue invisible in the society, especially in everyday discourse that legitimizes violence makes it difficult to determine the extent of violence against women. Despite these, in recent years the visibility of violence against women in the media increased and awareness against the problem has begun. In particular, fatal incidents of violence against women have been a major reason for the understanding of the seriousness of the problem. However, it is observed that with each passing day research about violence against women has increased and female-oriented non-governmental organizations start to inform the public and this organization initiative is supported by many sectors. In this study, the question of how violence against women is structurally built has been searched in the framework of cognitive and socio-cultural theories. In the study, it is tried to be presented that violence and abuse have biological, psychological, cognitive, and sociological theoretical bases, but in empirical studies carried out in Turkey these theories have not been provided adequately. This gap observed in empirical studies also is leading to methodological shortcomings and makes it difficult to see the reasons and consequences of the problem as a whole. With the study it also aimed to contribute researchers as well as organizations dealing with women's issues, the commission established to ensure gender equality, law makers, and social workers to solve the problem. In theory, focusing on structure, family structure, the interaction between family members, the functions of family, in family role sharing, description of cultural structures and institutions that legitimize violence are given. Functional perspective especially focuses on how role differentiation in the family set the relationship between sexes. According to structural theories for the remaining of domestic violence, reasons of the violence have to be identified; family’s access to the social services has to be provided, compatibilizer strategies have to be used to balance in family relations, problem solving skills are brought, and anger should be taught. Gender theories focusing on the cultural construction say that women encounter violence when they do not fulfill or neglect their responsibilities within the family and domestic workload. According to those theories, if female does not comply with the female identity and roles, it is inevitable to experience violence. According to feminist theory, violence against women takes place to preserve male’s power in the family. According to feminist theory, violence emerges as a result of the male dominated social structure and gender identities shape with the discourse of man can be violent. In particular, according to the radical feminists, media and the mass media justify violence against women. Cultural acceptance of violence in certain areas of life, such as movies and sporting activities can be moved to other areas of interpersonal interaction and can lead to the use of violence against women. Social learning theory, ecological theory, psychoanalytic theory, and cultural theory which are located between socialization theories present a viewpoint to identify the relationship between the individual and members of the communication for the emergence of violence. According to these theories, individuals learn how to behave through both experience and exposure to violence and violence is transferred between intergenerational. In particular, social learning theory also explains the relationship between the victim and the offender, and the situation of victim’s revenge by using violence. On the other hand, psychoanalytic perspective indicates that individuals who use violence against women may have some personal problems and psychological disorders. For example, according to psychoanalytic theory, individuals who use violence are widely accepted as the patient and different from other people in the community. It carries the trend to understate and to reduce criminal responsibility of those who use violence. According to biological approach which is situated on the basis of psychoanalytic theory, violence agains

Özet

İnsanlık tarihi ile paralellik arz ettiği gözlemlenen şiddetin nedenleri ve sonuçları günümüzde sosyolojik yazının önemli konularından biri olmaya devam etmektedir. Çoğunlukla ampirik çalışmalara konu olan şiddet konusu, ortaya çıkış nedenlerinin ve faillerinin tespitini içeren ikili bir odaktan sürdürülmektedir. Söz konusu çalışmaların birçoğu nicel yöntemlerle gerçekleştirilmesine rağmen, çalışmaların çoğunda kurama yer verilmediği ve disiplinler arası yaklaşımlara başvurulmadığı görülmektedir. Diğer taraftan, konuya ilişkin yapılan çalışmaların çoğunun sorunun durumsal tespitine yönelik olarak gerçekleştirildiği görülmektedir. Bu nedenle bu çalışmada yaygın bir toplumsal sorun olan kadına yönelik şiddet farklı sosyolojik yaklaşımlar ve kuramlar bağlamında ele alınmakta ve şiddetin ortaya çıkışında etkili olan bireysel ve toplumsal faktörlere yer verilmektedir. Sosyalleştirme teorileri arasında yer alan; psikanalitik kuram, sosyal öğrenme kuramı, kültürel aktarım kuramı ve ekolojik kuram ve toplumsal cinsiyet kuramları arasında yer alan; feminizm, ataerkillik, erkeklik ve annelik kuramları şiddetin mikro ve makro nedenlerinin tespit edilmesinde kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın kadına yönelik şiddet başta olmak üzere şiddetin neden evrensel bir sorun olduğu, yüz yıllardır devam ettiği ve ortadan kaldırılamadığı sorularına ve nasıl ortadan kaldırılabileceğine ilişkin ortaya çıkan tartışmalara katkı sağlaması hedeflenmektedir. Bununla birlikte, kuramsal yaklaşımlardan yoksun olan çalışmalarda şiddetin tüm boyutlarının tespit edilemediği ve sorunun çözümü için yeterince öneri geliştirilemediği gözlemlenmektedir. Bu çalışmanın bu bağlamada ileride yapılacak çalışmaların tasarlanmasına ve elde edilen verilerin yorumlanmasına katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir