When home is not safe: Intimate partner violence help-seeking behaviours of Turkish women

This thesis aims to critically examine Turkish women's intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences and how and when women seek help when they experience IPV. It focuses on the type of help-seeking measures women take, including formal assistance (e.g., police) and informal assistance (e.g., family). This study will contextualize Turkish women's IPV help-seeking behaviours within Turkey's cultural and political environment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon critical sociocultural life course theory (LCT), I consider how family life is embedded in historical, cultural, and geographical time and place that shape individuals' 'linked lives.' In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 women aged 21-38 living in Ankara, Turkey, to understand their experiences. The findings show that Turkish women seek help from their families to protect the privacy of family life and seek formal help as a "last resort." Moreover, the social isolation restrictions and policy changes during the pandemic did not impact IPV help-seeking behaviours.