Nearly 40 percent of Turkish women abused: poll

The poll, conducted among 12,795 women in summer of 2008, found that 39 percent of those were "slapped, pushed, punched, choked, burnt or threatened or attacked with a weapon such as a knife or gun".Â

 

Fifteen percent said they were victims of sexual abuse, described by the survey as being physically forced to have sex, having sex out of fear or being forced to engage in degrading or humiliating sexual acts.

 

One in four women was injured as a result of physical or sexual violence.

 

The poll, released by the governments office on the status of women, said that 48.5 percent of the victims did not tell anyone about the abuse while only four percent sought help from police and a mere one percent sought refuge in state-run shelters.