Dilara KAZANCI

The early 2000s marked a period in which women in Turkey were granted new legal rights, while issues such as violence against women and women's participation in the labor force became more prominent. Focusing on the years 2000 to 2016, which encompass both positive and negative social changes for women, this study aims to analyze how violence against women is portrayed in popular Turkish films that reached millions of viewers. For this purpose, the 100 highest-grossing films were examined using content (document) analysis. Types of violence experienced by female characters—including physical, emotional, sexual, and economic violence—were coded and analyzed based on behavioral indicators. The locations where violence was experienced or perpetrated were categorized into ‘public’ and ‘private’ spaces.
The results of the study show that in 83 out of 100 films, female characters were subjected to one or more types of violence. Emotional violence was found to be the most commonly represented form of violence. Emotional violence, at 80%, surpassed the total of physical (38%), sexual (14%), and economic violence (7%), which together accounted for 59%. The perpetrators of violence against female characters were most often their partners (25%) or ex-partners (13%). Notably, male colleagues (13%) ranked second among the perpetrators. It was observed that women were more frequently subjected to violence in public spaces (41%) compared to private ones (21%). When comparing the violence women were subjected to and the violence they perpetrated, the differences were greater in the rates of sexual and economic violence than in emotional and physical violence.

Keywords: Media, Turkish Cinema, Gender Studies, Violence Against Women, Emotional Violence