Women's shelters: Violence against women and perception of spirituality

Violence against women is one of the most importent social problems frequently encountered in our country and in the world. Whether young or old, women are exposed to violence due to the structure of society, the inadequacy of legal sanctions, and wrong religious and moral understanding. When we look at the traditional structure of all societies, it is based on a male-dominated structure and women's rights and fundamental freedoms are violated due to this discrimination based on gender. Within the scope of this research, it is predicted that religion-spiritualism can be evaluated as a preventive factor in the prevention of violence by examining the basis of violence, the factors that cause violence against women, the participants who have been subjected to violence in the women's guest house and those who perpetrate violence against the participants. This research was carried out with 35 female participants who were victims of violence in women's guest houses in Alanya, Kepez, Konyaaltı districts of Antalya Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services. Qualitative research method was used in the research and the data were obtained by interview method over open-ended interview form. In this sense, questions were asked within the scope of addiction, the type of violence experienced to the participants, the degree of closeness of the perpetrator, subjective religious-spiritual perceptions, spiritual education status, and suggestions for preventing violence. As a result of the research, it was determined that the education levels of the participants who were exposed to violence and those who showed violence to the participants were low in general. It was determined that the majority of those who showed violence to the participants used alcohol and drugs, and a significant part of them had a criminal history. It was determined that the people who were subjected to violence by the participants were generally their spouses and family relatives. It was determined that the participants were exposed to physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence. In addition, the reasons for violence against the participants were discussed, the religious-spiritual perceptions of the participants and those who perpetrated violence were examined, the preventive factors of religion-spiritualism in the prevention of violence against women were investigated and revealed, discussed on the basis of the literature, and suggestions were made in this context. Keywords: Women's Shelters,Psychology of Religion, Violence Against Women, Spirituality, Perception of Spirituality.