Space, Agency, and Withdrawal: Birth Control Choices of Women in Turkey

Abstract

Withdrawal (WD) is not a reliable method for preventing unwanted pregnancies, yet it is still a very popular form of birth control in many societies, including Turkey. We look at the relationship between women's agency and physical space in relation to birth control choices of women in Turkey. Agency in our context refers to a woman's ability to resist domination and subordination to the patriarchal beliefs valuing her reproductivity over her pleasure. Our analysis of the Turkish Demographic Health Survey (TDHS) suggests that (a) the available space in the household for possible private encounters between husband and wife, and (b) the women's capacity to insert her agency into her life choices are closely correlated with WD choices. Women with better social and physical resources prefer WD less.

Acknowledgments

The data set is used here with the permission of Measure DHS +, Macrointernational Inc., Calverton, Maryland, USA.

Notes

1. One may criticize that the data set we used is dated; however, we have compared it with the latest available data set at the time of analysis and there were no major differences in birth control patterns. More importantly for us, the date of the data was not central to our research question, which revolves around the role of empowerment and space in withdrawal choice. Nevertheless, we admit that longitudinal studies may focus on different data sets and generate interesting results.