Attitudes toward Honor and Violence against Women for Honor in the Context of the Concept of Privacy: A Study of Students in the Faculty of Health Sciences
The study was conducted to examine the attitudes of students of health sciences towards violence against women for honor within the context of the concept of privacy and to determine how the attitudes of midwifery students towards honor differ from those of other students. The research design chosen for this study is that of a survey. The subjects of the research consisted of students of health sciences (N=952), and the sample amounted to 473 students who were selected from this population by stratified random sampling method (departments and classes were taken as stratum criterion). A Student Information Form, the Attitudes towards Honor Scale (AHS), and the Attitudes towards Violence against Women for Protecting Honor Scale (AVWPHS) were used in the data collection. By considering that gender is an important confounding factor in attitudes towards honor, data were presented by dividing subjects into three groups: an all-female group from the midwifery department (MS, n=97), female students in other departments (FSOD, n=227), and male students in other departments (MSOD, n=148). It was observed that there was no difference between MS and FSOD scores for both AHS and AVWPHS. However, MSOD scores were statistically significantly higher than MS and FSOD scores. Although the attitudes of midwifery students in this respect are similar to those of female students in other departments of the faculty, they are different from the attitudes of male students.
Privacy is an important concept playing a major role in healthcare practices, policies, and law. It has become increasingly common for patients, families, health professionals and institutions to be made aware of health-related privacy policies. In the light of recent studies, it seems that university students studying in the area of health have not studied honesty within the concept of privacy. In this study, one step further, the perspective of the concept of honor between students of health sciences and midwifery students, who are all female, was evaluated.
The study was carried out using a survey in order to determine the attitudes of students of health sciences towards honor and violence against women for honor within the context of the concept of privacy, and to examine whether the attitudes of the Department of Midwifery students were different from those of the students in other departments. The population of the research consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students studying in a faculty of Health Sciences (N=962). 472 students from this population were included in the study by stratified random sampling method (departments and classes were taken as stratum criteria). The faculty was established in 2010 and began to admit students in 2011; therefore, there were no 4th grade students in the faculty in 2014 when the data of the study were collected. Sampling calculations showed that if the study were conducted with 422 respondents, the error rate would be 0.07, and the real rate could be reflected by a confidence level of 0.98. It was predicted that there would be data loss, and 50 students were added to a sample account as a substitution. Thus, it was decided to have a study population of 472 and to use stratified random sampling method. All students in the Department of Midwifery were female. A Student Information Form, the AHS and AVWPHS were used as data collection tools. Before starting the research, informed consent both from the institution and the students was received, in written form from the former and in both verbal and written form from the latter.
The average age for each category of interviewees was 19.92 for midwifery students (SD=2.37), 20.18 for female students in other departments (SD=1.68) and 20.84 for male students (SD=1.55), and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.05). 54.6% of midwifery students, 57.7% of female students in other departments and 75% of male students in other departments said that their families did not interfere in the time they spent outside the home, and there was a statistical difference between the groups. This difference was thought to have arisen from the ratio of male students whose time spent outside the home was not interfered with (p≤0.001). The ratio of students’ extramarital sexual experience was 3.1% in the Department of Midwifery, 1.3% in females in other departments and 18.2% in males in other departments and there was statistical difference between the groups. This difference was thought to have arisen from the fact that the ratio of male students with extramarital sexual experience was much higher than the other groups (p<0.001). 15.5% of midwifery department students, 15.9% of female students in other departments and 29.1% of male students in other departments stated they found extramarital sexual experience acceptable, and there was statistical difference between the groups. This difference was thought to have arisen from the fact that the ratio of male students who found extramarital sexual experience appropriate was much higher than the same ratio in other groups (p<0.01). The students’ average scores were obtained from AHS representing their attitudes towards honor and there was statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.05). As a result of further analysis carried out to determine where the difference between the groups was derived from, it was observed that AHS scores of male students were higher than the scores of the other two groups of female students and that the midwifery department students’ scores were similar to the scores of female students in other departments. The students’ average scores they obtained from AVWPHS representing their attitudes towards violence against women for honor and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.05). As a result of further analysis carried out to determine whence the difference between groups was derived, it was observed that AVWPHS scores of male students were higher than the scores of the other two groups of female students and that the midwifery department students’ scores were similar to the scores of female students in other departments.
In conclusion, age, marital status, educational level, the place where a considerable part of life is spent (villages, towns, cities, etc.), family types, and income level, all of which are important elements of cultural and socio-economic status, affect attitudes of and perceptions towards honor. Moreover, gender is the most significant factor in these attitudes and perceptions.
