Browsing by Author "O'Neil, Mary Lou"

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Citation - WoS: 21
Citation - Scopus: 20
"it Was as If Society Didn't Want a Woman To Get an Abortion": a Qualitative Study in Istanbul Turkey
(Elsevier Science Inc, 2017) MacFarlane, Katrina A.; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Tekdemir, Deniz; Foster, Angel M.
Introduction: In 1983 abortion without restriction as to reason was legalized in Turkey. However at an international conference in 2012 the Prime Minister condemned abortion and announced his intent to draft restrictive abortion legislation. As a result of public outcry and protests the law was not enacted but media reports suggest that barriers to abortion access have since worsened. Objectives: We aimed to conduct a qualitative study exploring women's recent abortion experiences in Istanbul Turkey. Study design: In 2015 we conducted 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with women aged 18 or older who had obtained abortion care in Istanbul on/after January 1 2009. We employed a multimodal recruitment strategy and analyzed these interviews for content and themes using deductive and inductive techniques. Results: Women reported on a total of 19 abortions. Although abortion care is available in private facilities only one public hospital provides abortion services without restriction as to reason. Women who had multiple abortions in different facility types described quality of care more positively in the private sector. Unmarried women considered their marital status when making the decision to seek an abortion and reported challenges obtaining comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. All participants were familiar with the Turkish government's antiabortion discourse and believed that this was reflective of an overarching desire to restrict women's rights. Conclusion: Public abortion services in Istanbul are currently limited and private abortion services are accessible but relatively expensive to obtain. Recent antiabortion political rhetoric appears to have negatively impacted access and service quality. Implications: This is the first qualitative study exploring women's experiences obtaining abortion services in Turkey since the proposed abortion restriction in 2012. Further research exploring the experiences of unmarried women and abortion accessibility in other regions of the country is warranted. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Citation - WoS: 5
Citation - Scopus: 4
The Availability of Emergency Contraception From Family Health Centers in Turkey
(Elsevier Ireland Ltd, 2022) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Aldanmaz, Bahar; Altuntas, Deniz
Reproductive health care, including contraception, is a fundamental aspect of any public health care system and it is important to reduce barriers to access to all forms of contraception, including emergency contraception. In recent years, the rhetoric of pronatalism in Turkey has come to dominate and raises questions about the availability of reproductive health care services, in particular contraception, from state run facilities. This study aimed to determine the availability of dedicated emergency contraception (EC) from government run Family Health Centers (FHCs) in Turkey. In 2019, a team of trained researchers called a random sample of 583 FHCs located in the largest cities in twelve regions across Turkey asking for dedicated EC. Dedicated EC is largely unavailable from government supported FHCs. Only 6.1% stated that they provided EC while 53.8% stated that it was not available and that they could provide no alternative. A further 28.3% declared that they could provide an alternative to dedicated EC that almost always consisted of oral contraceptives. We found statistically significant variations in response rate and availability among cities as well as the rate of referral to pharmacies. There is little access to EC from government sponsored health clinics designated to provide family planning services, which hinders access to an essential reproductive health care service that should be available to women everywhere.
Citation - WoS: 1
Citation - Scopus: 1
Workplace Microaggressions Against LGBTI Plus Employees in Turkey: a Thematic Analysis of Environmental and Interpersonal Discrimination
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2025) Selen, Eser; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Ergun, Reyda
PurposeThe current study aimed to determine the extent and scope of microaggressions in the workplace directed towards LGBTI+ employees in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThe research used both quantitative and qualitative data based on 664 statements made by individuals in the "The Situation of LGBTI+ Employees in the Private and Public Sector in Turkey" survey conducted between 2015 and 2020 (n = 2,695). The quantitative data consist of frequencies and the qualitative data center on answers to nine open ended questions regarding LGBTI+ individuals' experiences of discrimination in the workplace. We employed the taxonomy proposed by Nadal et al. (2010) to determine which actions constituted microaggressions and the form they took. We also conducted a critical discourse analysis of the open-ended questions where individuals described their experiences of microaggressions.FindingsMicroaggressions directed at LGBTI+ employees are pervasive in Turkey. Microaggressions largely follow the taxonomy created by Nadal et al. (2010) although we did not find microaggressions in all of the taxonomy's categories. We found that microaggressions mostly take the form of phobic language and mockery followed by heteronormativity, exoticization and disapproval. Two further categories, othering and threatening behaviors, emerged from our data.Originality/valueThis study addresses a significant gap in the literature on workplace microaggressions against LGBTI+ individuals, particularly in non-Western contexts. To our knowledge, it is the first study of its kind conducted in a non-Western Muslim-majority country. The research uniquely captures and critically analyzes the lived experiences of LGBTI+ employees through their own narratives, examining how microaggressions manifest as discriminatory discourses in the workplace.
Citation - WoS: 7
Citation - Scopus: 11
Selfish Vengeful and Full of Spite: the Representations of Women Who Have Abortions on Turkish Television
(2013) O'Neil, Mary Lou
This article analyses the portrayal of women who have abortions in four recent Turkish television series Gümü? A?k-i Memnu Hanimin Ç iftlig. i andÖyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki all of which appeared between 2005 and 2011. It is clear from the varying storylines of these melodramas that the depiction of women who have abortions on Turkish television is decidedly negative. The women who have abortions are seen as defying cultural expectations to place motherhood before all else. They are portrayed as cheating on their husbands having sex outside of marriage and prioritizing career over marriage and family. The negative portrayal of women who have abortions in Turkish soap operas perpetuates the discourse on Republican womanhood which prescribes motherhood as women's national duty and as being at the core of their identity. © 2013 Taylor and Francis.
Citation - Scopus: 10
Religion as a factor influencing turkish women's decisions to work
(2013) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Bilgin, Mehmet Hüseyin
This article uses survey data collected from more than 500 women in Istanbul to examine whether or not religion exerts an influence on women's decisions to work or not. Our work revealed that religion does not appear to have a direct impact on whether or not Turkish women choose to work. Rather the expectation that women fulfill their traditional roles as caregivers proves a greater obstacle for women who wish to enter the labor market. Religion, in the case of Turkey, Islam, can only be seen asan influence on Turkish women's work decisions to the extent that it supports "patriarchal mentalities" which define women first and foremost as mothers and caregivers
Citation - WoS: 7
Citation - Scopus: 12
Women's Property Rights in Turkey
(Routledge Journals Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2014) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Toktaş, Şule
Abstract This article takes Turkey as a case study exploring marital and inheritance regimes with regard to their impact on women and their ability to protect women's property rights. The aim of the study is to bring to light the workings of the legal system that regulate the acquisition of property and to scrutinize the gap between the law and its practice in Turkish society. By taking this approach the article does not only focus on laws but also on how these laws are adopted by society. Thus two levels of analysis-de jure and de facto-are utilized for an investigation of women's property rights and hence their social and economic status.
Citation - WoS: 1
Effects of Gender on Credit Card Usage Among University Students in Turkey
(Academic Journals, 2011) Ucal, Meltem Şengün; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Cankaya, Serkan
In recent years much has been written about credit card usage among university students. Despite a vast number of studies little has been written about credit card usage among university students in developing countries. This research surveyed university students in Turkey in an attempt to understand their uses of credit cards. In particular we examined the impact of gender on credit card use. The literature on the impact of gender on credit card usage is a bit unsettled and this study seeks to add another dimension to the research in this area. Using both parametric and nonparametric measures we sought to isolate gender and tested whether or not it affects the ways that young people in Turkey use credit cards. The importance of this research centers on the portrait it provides of credit card usage among young people in a developing country as well as to pointing the factors that may influence future credit card use.
Citation - WoS: 12
Citation - Scopus: 12
You Are What You Wear: Clothing/Appearance Laws and the Construction of the Public Citizen in Turkey
(Berg Publ, 2010) O'Neil, Mary Lou
As Turkey set its sights on modernization and Westernization in the early decades of the twentieth century, clothing reform took center stage. The state used clothing as a constitutive element in its establishment and continues to legislate appearance as a means to maintain its power and create a model public citizen that will support it. Today there exists an extensive regulatory regime on clothing and appearance in the public sphere, which induces those governed by it to dress in a "modern" fashion. An examination of these regulations reveals the deeply politicized nature of clothing in Turkey which is guided by the assumption that you are what you wear. While choice of clothing and appearance is neither entirely free nor fully prescribed, dress codes do further restrict already limited choices. Dress codes undermine the relationship thought to exist between individual belief and appearance. Dress codes, in the case of Turkey, are dictated by the state; therefore, the appearance of students and state employees does not necessarily represent their belief but that of the state. The Turkish state, through the use of dress codes, continues to try and produce "modern" citizens, meaning Western and secular.
Citation - WoS: 21
Citation - Scopus: 25
Politics Policies Pronatalism and Practice: Availability and Accessibility of Abortion and Reproductive Health Services in Turkey
(Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2016) MacFarlane, Katrina A.; O'Neil, Mary Lou; Tekdemir, Deniz; Cetin, Elvin; Bilgen, Baris; Foster, Angel M.
Turkey has maintained liberal contraception and abortion policies since the 1980s. In 2012 the government proposed to restrict abortion
Citation - WoS: 25
Citation - Scopus: 24
The Availability of Abortion at State Hospitals in Turkey: a National Study
(Elsevier, 2017) O'Neil, Mary Lou
Introduction: Abortion in Turkey has been legal since 1983 and remains so today. Despite this in 2012 the Prime Minister declared that in his opinion abortion was murder. Since then there has been growing evidence that abortion access particularly in state hospitals is being restricted although no new legislation has been offered. Objectives: The study aimed to determine the number of state hospitals in Turkey that provide abortions. Study design: The study employed a telephone survey in 2015-2016 where 431 state hospitals were contacted and asked a set of questions by a mystery patient. If possible information was obtained directly from the obstetrics/gynecology department. I removed specialist hospitals from the data set and the remaining data were analyzed for frequency and cross-tabulations were performed. Results: Only 7.8% of state hospitals provide abortion services without regard to reason which is provided for by the current law while 78% provide abortions when there is a medical necessity. Of the 58 teaching and research hospitals in Turkey 9 (15.5%) provide abortion care without restriction to reason 38 (65.5%) will do the procedure if there is a medical necessity and 11 (11.4%) of these hospitals refuse to provide abortion services under any circumstances. There are two regions encompassing 1.5 million women of childbearing age where no state hospital provides for abortion without restriction as to reason. Conclusion: The vast majority of state hospitals only provide abortions in the narrow context of a medical necessity and thus are not implementing the law to its full extent. It is clear that although no new legislation restricting abortion has been enacted state hospitals are reducing the provision of abortion services without restriction as to reason. Implications: This is the only nationwide study to focus on abortion provision at state hospitals. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Citation - WoS: 1
Citation - Scopus: 3
Strangers To and Producers of Their Own Culture: American Popular Culture and Turkish Young People
(2010) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Güler, Fazil
American popular culture is virtually everywhere including Turkey. Turkey is a close ally of the United States and American cultural products have long been present in Turkey. How does the presence of American popular culture in Turkey affect young people? Employing a series of focus groups comprised of Turkish university students we explored the meanings they attach to American popular culture and the place it has in their lives. What emerged was a portrait of Turkish young people constructing themselves and their imaginations from a multiplicity of traditions including American into an ever changing shifting whole. The Turkish young people in this study seem to exemplify this as they blend their lives not always easily or smoothly around Turkish American European and numerous other cultures. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2010.
Citation - Scopus: 3
The Not So New Turkish Woman: a Statistical Look at Women in Two Istanbul Neighborhoods
(2009) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Güler, Fazil
Using survey data gathered from nearly 400 women living in two Istanbul neighborhoods this article explores issues of work education family and feminism. In addition to presenting the findings we argue that there is a continued gap between the ideal of the Republican woman and the actual practices of this group of Turkish women. The picture of these Turkish women that emerged from this survey is that of women still largely in the grips of an ideal born in the early days of the Turkish Republic. However it also became clear that there also exist rifts between belief and practice in the lives of these women: they seem to believe in many facets of the Republican woman while at the same time the practices they engage in belie some aspects of this belief. Ultimately it seems that in some respects they are in the process of constructing their own idea of a Turkish woman while at the same time some aspects of these women's lives remain deeply bound by traditional notions of gender.
Racism Against Gypsies in Turkish and American Films
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2006) Köşetaş, Tijen; O'Neil, Mary Lou
Keywords : Amerika ve Turk Filmlerinde irkcilik -- cingeneler.
A Comperative Look at Media Literacy Education in Turkey Focusing on the Shift To a More Critical Approach and New Media Updates in the Curriculum
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2016) Goysari, Merve; O'Neil, Mary Lou
This thesis aims to examine the changing approach towards media literacy education in Turkey. This change will be shown through an in depth comparison of the two course books of this lesson from years 2006 and 2015. The comparison shows a change towards a more critical approach. The newer version of the book blends new media elements throughout the book as a whole not just in one unit. The new book also aims to make the students more aware of the messages that are geared towards them from various media outlets on a daily basis. The newer version of the course is designed to encourage students to think more independently ask themselves the right questions and through tasks have a hands-on experience in creating media products. The comparison primarily aims to show the digital media the computer age and internet’s influence on the adapted curriculum also how this change affects the students and encourages them to think more independently.
Citation - WoS: 4
Citation - Scopus: 15
Competing Frameworks of Islamic Law and Secular Civil Law in Turkey: a Case Study on Women's Property and Inheritance Practices
(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2015) Toktaş, Şule; O'Neil, Mary Lou
The article stems from empirical research conducted with a group of women living in Istanbul who have conservative life styles bounded by an Islamic worldview. It attempts to illuminate the negotiation and contestation between the official civil law and Islamic law. The findings demonstrate that women inherit and bequeath property in a social setting where their gender roles are defined by their adherence to Islam. We argue that in Turkey women's inheritance practices are not determined solely in accordance with the secular civil law but rather are the result of a complex and intertwined combination of legal sources where an Islamic worldview often leads to the adoption of Islamic law. In other words the application of the secular civil law in Turkey is limited by the common practice of Islamic law. Rather than follow the gender equality mandated by the civil law the inheritance practices of many Islamic women are constituted with a deference to some aspects of Islamic law creating a situation of legal pluralism in Turkey. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Citation - WoS: 11
Linguistic Human Rights and the Rights of Kurds
(Univ Pennsylvania Press, 2007) O'Neil, Mary Lou
[Abstract Not Available]
Rape Comparative Study on Feminist Perspectives Privileged Feminists Black Feminists and Turkish Feminists
(Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2006) Emanet, Zühre; O'Neil, Mary Lou
Is it possible to assume that “rape” has one specific determination? Is it possible to find different definitions of rape around the world? If women are most frequently victims of rape, is it about being women? Is there a relationship between gender asymmetry and rape in society? Can culture, ethnicity, race, class or gender make a difference while determining the crime? Is it only a crime? Can the perception of such a crime make difference depending on where you stand? How do women perceive this violence? Rape is a fact of everyday life. It is not an isolated phenomenon. This paper examines three different feminist perspectives. Black feminism and privileged feminists in the U.S, and Turkish feminism are studied in order to find out if the perception of rape can differ. This paper reveals the fact that determination of rape changes depending on where the determiner stands, how the determiner perceives society, how the determiner defines woman. The social explanation of rape can be different depending on the woman’s experience. In the determination of the rape, feminists’ class, race, ethnicity, nationality are factors while in explaining the issue
Citation - WoS: 7
Citation - Scopus: 10
Being Seen - Headscarves and the Contestation of Public Space in Turkey
(Sage Publications Ltd, 2008) O'Neil, Mary Lou
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation - Scopus: 1
Motherhood Citizenship and Rights: Illegal Abortions in Turkey
(Routledge Journals Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Komut, Sultan
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation - WoS: 6
Citation - Scopus: 5
Population Politics, Reproductive Governance and Access To Abortion in Turkey
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2024) O'Neil, Mary Lou; Ramaswamy, Amrutha; Altuntas, Deniz
Turkey currently pursues an aggressive pronatalist population politics which has created wide-reaching reproductive governance regulating reproductive health care and family planning choices. One aspect of this orientation centres on restricting access to abortion services despite the fact that abortion is legal through ten weeks of pregnancy. This article uses nationwide data collected from mystery patient surveys administered to all public (in 2016 and 2020), and all private (2021) hospitals in the country to determine the availability of abortion services in Turkey. Less than half of all hospitals responding provided abortions to the full extent provided by law. Abortion without restriction as to reason was largely unavailable at public hospitals and the cost of care at private hospitals remained prohibitive for many. Among those hospitals we reached, in four provinces, there was no public or private hospital providing any type of abortion care. The most frequent explanation for the lack of abortion services was that abortion is illegal. This was particularly the case for public hospitals. Despite a 10-week cutoff for abortions, 39% of private hospitals responding to the survey invoked even earlier time limits creating further restrictions. The extreme pronatal orientation of the reproductive governance currently in place has created a state of reproductive injustice that makes enhanced access to abortion of vital importance.