Forced Migration and Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence: Evidence from Turkey

Abstract

This chapter explores the long-term effects of internal displacement caused by the Kurdish-Turkish conflict on women’s attitudes towards domestic violence. Using the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey, we show that Kurdish women who migrated from their homes during the conflict are more likely to believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife; and the spouses of migrant women were more likely to have tried to control their wives by limiting their movements or social interactions. In a novel dataset of applicants to a women’s shelter, we find that forced migrant women have endured violence for longer and of greater intensity before deciding to seek assistance. We discuss possible mechanisms through which forced migration may affect migrants’ attitudes towards domestic violence.