Pomegranate Connection/Nar Bağı :
Confronting Sexual Abuse and Family Violence, Empowering Women and Girls to Build Healthy Families.
Pomegranate Connection partners with non-governmental and governmental organizations to provide training, consultation and research that confronts sexual and family violence and creates pathways to healthy lives for women, girls and families.
Organizations we have partnered with:
PeaceWorks International, The Individual and Societal Mental Health Research and Education Assn., Çankaya Municipality Shelter House, Turkish Women's Platform Against Sexual Violence, US Department of State, Bahçeşehir University Law School, Iştar Women's Counseling Center Mersin, Gaziantep Municipality, Fying Broom, Republic of Turkey Department of Justice, Sea Change UK, UN High Commission for Refugees.
Turkey
Turkey is a Middle Eastern country large in population and in land mass. The population is more than 78,000,000 people. The country literally bridges the continents of Europe and Asia.
There are significant cultural and social differences between the more urbanized, "westernized" central and western portion of the country and the more rural and less developed eastern portion.
For this population of at least 78,000,000 people, there were approx. 54 shelters in 2010 to help support women dealing with violence.
The Problem:
In 2007 two researchers from Bogazici University in Istanbul initiated an extensive research survey on violence against women. Face to face surveys were conducted with 1800 women, who had been or still were married, about experiences with violence in their marriages and their opinions about violence against women more generally. (See Altinay in references)
The results of the research included some of the following facts:
1 in 3 Turkish women have been beaten by their husbands
1 in 2 Turkish women had not talked with anyone about the violence they experienced before they were surveyed
16% of women in Western Turkey are illiterate
42% of women in Eastern Turkey are illiterate
More than half of married Turkish women must ask permission from their husbands to do daily routine activities like shopping, visiting friends or family.
A surprising result was that women’s greater income increases violence
34% of Turkish married women overall had been beaten by their husband
20% of women who earn income equal to their husband had been beaten
63% of women who earn more money than their husband had been beaten
These statistics underline the likelihood that power relations are a major factor in Turkish intimate partner violence.
Sexual abuse incidence:
Reliable statistics on sexual abuse are not available for Turkey (and it could be argued, sexual abuse statistics are not very reliable anywhere).
In the absence of reliable statistics, some peripheral and related information may be helpful to understand sexuality and sexual abuse in Turkey.
Vaginismus is a psychosomatic condition causing the muscles around the opening of the vagina to contract involuntarily, preventing intercourse or making it painful.
The condition is rare in the US, at a rate of less than 1%.
Incidence of vaginismus is 10% in Turkey
In the US: 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before 18 years of age.
Epidemiological data suggests that rates of sexual abuse are not widely different in different parts of the world.
14% of Turkish women report forced sex by their husbands
4% didn’t respond to this question.
When asked the question: What would you do if your spouse were to beat you today?
The answers: “I wouldn’t do anything” Or “I would just take it.” were given
23.6% Turkey overall
46.1% Eastern Turkey
These answers signal a sense of powerlessness on the part of many Turkish women in the face of intimate partner violence.
By contrast, 80 % of Turkish women do not believe that violence by husbands toward their wives is ever justified. (see Altinay in references for the source of these statistics)
Pomegranate Connection Projects and Programs
Handbook Guide
One of our most important projects is a handbook/guide we wrote and published in Turkish for women who have been sexually abused and those who want to support them. To date there is no other book appropriate for a general audience in Turkish on sexual abuse and recovery. Our guide uses clear, accessible language appropriate for suvivors and the people who want to support and serve them. The guide was published in December 2011. The first printing of 1000 copies were distributed free to public and non-profit organizations and professionals throughout Turkey who serve women and girls coping with the aftermath of sexual abuse. We are now raising funds for a second printing of this guide.
The following volunteers contributed time, energy and skills for the translation, cultural adaptation and distribution of our guide:
Merve Kan, Aylin Ülkümen, Melikenaz Yalçın, Seda Meseli, Büşra Zeynep Çoşar, Işıl Bilican, Fatma Akansel, Filiz Dalkılıç, Sevinç Unal, Piyale Cömert, Rauf Kenan Arun, and Kemal Arıkan
Trauma Treatment Group Research
Since March 2009 Pomegrante Connection has completed five trauma treatment research groups. Nearly 50 women with significant effects from past sexual abuse were referred from around Ankara by psychiatrists, agencies and word of mouth. Upon completion of our 12 week treatment program, and at the six month follow up meetings, participants express major satisfaction with the results of their treatment. Many women found the support so helpful they have continued to meet with one another for self help. A group of women who completed the group treatment are also developing community consciousness raising groups to offer in Ankara. The movement to develop services for violence against women is gathering momentum around Turkey.
Quantitative and qualitative data have been gathered and analyzed toward designing a culturally appropriate model for these urban, Turkish sexual abuse survivors. (Articles about the model we use and our efficacy measurements are available on request and are in peer review for publication.)
Our groups have served women from a range of different class and educational backgrounds, homemakers, university students, sex workers, nurses, novelists, cleaning ladies and lawyers. The common denominator is that all have suffered traumatic affects from sexual and other forms of abuse.
Clinical Research Team, Ankara
Our clinical team includes:
Dr. Leyla Welkin an American clinical cross-cultural psychologist. She initiated and manages this project.
Dr. Selcuk Candansayar, a male Turkish psychiatrist who has practiced in many settings in Turkey, and founded a center for treatment of women affected by violence. He currently teaches in a university medical school psychiatric residency program and has published cross cultural research.
Dr. Aslihan Sayin, a female psychiatrist with significant experience as a psychotherapist and a group psychotherapist. She teaches in a university medical school psychiatric residency program and has published cross-cultural research.
Shelter House Worker's Training and Support
In October of 2009 Leyla Welkin began providing consultation and training support to the staff of the Çankaya Municipality shelter house for women and children. Women in this shelter house, supported by the municipal government of the central district in the nation's capital, come from all around Turkey. Ankara is a magnet for women fleeing abuse in other parts of Turkey. The anonymity of the big city, government social support agencies, and the idea that jobs may be found here draws women who feel they have nowhere to turn. The staff is generally young, idealistic, and not highly experienced. Our support and training continue to strengthen services in this shelter that was founded in 2008.
Training for Service Providers
Women who have experienced sexual or family violence receive services in a variety of organizations and settings. We provide training for service providers in how best to identify, assess, support and refer for appropriate treatment women who have encountered violence, or who have developed symptoms of trauma. Organizations where we have provided training include: Istar Women's Counseling Center, Mersin; Turkish Justice Ministry, Department of Probation, Victims Services, Ankara and Gaziantep; UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ankara; Greater Metropolitan Gaziantep Municipality; Bahçeşehir University Law School; The Bursa District Governor's office for Women's Status; Izmir Social Solidarity Association; Women's Platform Against Sexual Violence; Eskişehir Greater Municipality Women's Counseling Center.
Trauma Treatment Providers Training
A skilled cadre of therapists is needed to provide trauma therapy for women who have been abused. At this time there are only a handful of therapists in Turkey with up to date knowledge and skills to provide effective treatment for sexual trauma to women. Our team continues to provide training to psychologists, psychiatrists and others who may treat trauma survivors. We are especially focused on treatment for the effects of sexual trauma.
Positive Sexuality Workshops
In addition to working with women who have been abused, we have launched programs for women without a history of abuse. Any woman who wants to learn to enjoy and express herself more fully and comfortably as a physical, sexual, feminine being may benefit. The development of workshops is ongoing. Issues explored include body awareness, positive aspects of being a woman and, women's special assets. Each workshop is a six hour session offered to approximately eight women.
These programs provide our clinical team with valuable opportunities to examine the ways that a more general population of women are similar to and different from seriously traumatized women. This program also broadens the reach of the project to women from a variety of life circumstances who are interested in exploring and affirming the benefits of being a woman, positive body awareness, and female sexuality. Funding for these programs is sought from private sources and some individuals can pay a reasonable fee for this learning opportunity.
Funding
The Pomegranate Connection received its first small grant from the Finland Embassy in Ankara in February 2010. The Finland Embassy in Ankara has remained our most important financial supporter having renewed their grants to us three times. We have received travel grants from the US State Department twice to support presentations and consultation with colleagues in the United States, in August 2010, and March 2012 and in Western Turkey in May 2012.
We also provide training and consultation to public, private and non-profit agencies on a fee for service basis. If your agency would like to arrange for training or consultation to imporve your services to families, girls or women, please contact us by e-mail. Agencies we have served with this type of training and consultation include:
Çankaya Municipality Shelterhouse and Women's Counseling Center, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ankara, Bahçeşehir University's Confronting Family Violence Project, Turkish Women's Platform Against Sexual Violence, Iştar Women's Counseling Center Mersin, and Sea Change United Kingdom.
Donations are accepted from individuals. All funding is used to sustain our programming.
A strong foundation of funding and organizational support is key to following our organizational plan. Additional funds and sponsorship continue to make it possible for us to lead the effort in Turkey to develop a strong system of services and treatment for women who have experienced violence and sexual abuse.
Donations from individual donors are always welcome. A donation button labeled "support our work" is posted on the top of this page. We welcome support from individual donors! Our current goal is to raise $5000.00 to publish a second printing of our Turkish handbook and guide for survivors and the people who want to support their recovery.
Relationships and Services
Pomegranate Connection is most successful when it provides a way for women and families from Turkey to share their knowledge and experiences with women from the United States, Europe or any other part of the world. Cross cultural research provides opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds to learn more, not only about others, but also to learn more about themselves. When we learn about the lives and values of people from other societies, we are able to reflect more fully upon our own lives, and values.
Cross cultural research and training give us an opportunity to exchange view points and learn from the lives of people quite different from ourselves. The cultural cross fertilization made possible by collaborating and learning with people from other cultures is an asset that enriches us all. Cross cultural programs can help us learn about the empowerment of women. Pomegranate Connection supports the development of new models for the full and creative participation of women and girls in healthy families and public life. We conduct programs to date in Turkey, the United Kingdom and The United States. We continue to seek opportunities to broaden our network of support and partnerships for training and consultation. If you are interested in our training services or want to support our work, please feel free to contact us!
(Artemis of Ephesus, a Roman era sculpture. Efes is on the Aegean coast of Turkey near Izmir)
Cross Cultural Research and Collaboration Brings Reciprocal Benefits
The cross cultural aspect of our research is it's most innovative part. We have identified specific areas of focus for understanding cultural differences. We work with six dimensions of culture when modifying therapeutic methods for different cultural groups. Analysis of cultural meanings relevant to therapeutic methods include continuums of:
A Relational sense of Self, or an Individual sense of Self
Universalism and Rules or Situationalism and Relationships
High or Low Power Differentials between people
High and Low Gender Role Differential
Internal or External Locus of Control
High or Low levels of Emotional Expressivity
High and Low levels of Tolerance for Emotional Experiences in self and others
Short Term or Long Term Time Focus
(See Kagitcibasi, Tompenaars and Hofstede in references)
As we explore these dimensions of cultural meaning we hope to find more systematic answers to some of the following questions:
Are there findings we can begin to generalize from this research to populations in other parts of the Middle East? Among other Muslim women? In other parts of the world? Why and why not?
What does it mean to define oneself in terms of relatedness?
How does a relational identity shape treatment for relational trauma?
Are there special skills that are a part of a relational culture?
How does a high or low level of power distance between people in a society affect the likelihood of traumatic abuse and treatment?
How does a high or a low level of gender role differentiation affect the likelihood of abuse and the most common types of victims?
Does a high tolerance for emotional expressivity have implications for trauma treatment methods?
What cultural changes relevant to this study appear to be associated with urbanization in Turkey?
What are the power and gender issues involved in intimate partner violence in Turkish society? What implications does that have for our understanding of intimate partner violence in other societies?
How does the concept of namus or "honor" affect the experience of Turkish sexual abuse survivors?
How can understanding the psychology of namus or "honor" crimes help communities in the US, Europe and elsewhere to prevent and provide more effective treatment for all families that struggle with violence?
Wholeness
Ultimately cross-cultural research and collaboration helps us to gain a larger sense of human wholeness. We may never eliminate sexual and physical abuse. But we can learn to treat abuse more effectively and we can learn to reduce its incidence through prevention. The widely held belief that sexual abuse is inevitable or that abusive behaviors are natural or necessary outcomes of social life perpetuates the problem. Treatment gives survivors of abuse hope and a sense that there are alternatives to living with abuse. When abuse is widely viewed as unnecessary and a problem that can be addressed effectively and prevented, everyone in society benefits. Gains made in one society offer guidelines, methods and hope for other societies. Collaborating, sharing knowledge and preventing sexual violence benefits all people, including men and boys!
We appreciate your support for our efforts!
(Pattern from the dome above the tomb of the Mevlana Jellaludin Rumi, Konya Turkey)
References:
Altinay, A.G. and Arat, Y. (2009). Violence against women in Turkey: A nationwide survey. Amy Spangler (trans.) Istanbul: Punto Publishing Solutions.
Hofstede, G.H. (2003). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. (2nd Ed.) Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Kağitcıbaşı, Ç. (1994). A critical appraisal of individualism and collectivism: Toward a new formulation. In U. Kim, H.C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S. Choi and G. Yoon (Eds.) Individualism and collectivism: Theory, methods, and applications. Vol. 18 Cross- cultural research and methodology series (pp. 52-66). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Tompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. London: The Economist Books.
![THE POMEGRANATE CONNECTION IS](<a href="http://culture.blogs.com/programs_in_turkey" target="_new"><img src="http://culture.blogs.com/images/welkin.pomegranate.logo.jpg" alt="The Pomegranate Connection" title="The Pomegranate Connection" width="150" ){kind=link}