**3. Sources of data**

The main sources of data for sexual abuse are police records, medical records, nongovernmental organization activities and survey research. The relationship between these sources and the global magnitude of the problem of sexual violence may be compared to an iceberg floating in water (11). The small visible tip represents cases reported to the police. A large part may be elucidated through survey research and the work of nongovernmental organizations. But beneath the surface remains a substantial although unquantified component of the problem.

Generally, sexual abuse has been a neglected area of research. The available data are scanty and fragmented. For example, police data are often incomplate and limited. Many women do not report sexual violence to the police because of shame, or from a fear of being blamed, not believed or otherwise mistreated. Data from medicolegal clinics may be biased towards the more violent incidents of sexual abuse. The proportion of women who seek medical services for immediate problems associated with sexual violence is also relatively small (1).

In addition to research aimed at determining the scale of the phenomenon in different societies, studies by nongovernmental organizations represent a further source of information. There is no screening program for abuse or violence towards women in Turkey. All that exists are the refuges or shelters known as "Purple Roofs," intended for women, or men, who seek their help and which provide judicial, social and psychological support for women exposed to violence.
