SUMMARY
This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic characteristics and the problems of irregular migrant women in Istanbul.The sample of this cross-sectional and descriptive study consisted of 138 participants who were contacted using snowball sampling. The data were collected using a questionnaire that included 50 items. This questionnaire was copied in five languages: Turkish, Arabic, Persian, English and French. The average age and education of the participants were 29.5±6.7 and 6.61±5.0 (min: 1-max: 18) years, respectively. Of the women, 79.7% were married, 74.3% had children, and 15.9% were working in an income-generating job in Turkey. Of them, 63% had come from Middle East countries, 51.8% did not know Turkish at all, and 73.2% had left their country due to unsafe life conditions. Of them, 78.3% had migrated with their families, and 51.1% wanted to live in a European country. Of the women, 34.1% were exposed to violence, and 23.2% were exposed to discrimination during their stay in Turkey. The women’s most common problems were: poverty (42.8%), unemployment (29%), not knowing Turkish (26.1%), homesickness (19.6%), and loneliness and sorrow (17.4%).Most of the participants were married women in the reproductive period who had children and a low socio-economic level. Therefore, their needs concerning their reproductive health should be taken into consideration. In addition, the women were found to have social and psychological problems such as poverty, unemployment, language problems, violence against women and discrimination. ÖzetBu çalismada Istanbul’da düzensiz göçmen olarak yasayan kadinlarin sosyo-demografik özellikleri ve yasadiklari sorunlarin belirlenmesi amaçlanmistir. Kesitsel, tanimlayici olarak planlanan ve uygulanan çalismanin örneklemini kartopu yöntemiyle ulasabilen 138 katilimci olusturmustur. Verilerin toplanmasinda 50 sorudan olusan bir soru formu kullanilmistir. Soru formlari; Türkçe, Arapça, Farsça, Ingilizce ve Fransizca olmak üzere 5 dilde hazirlanmistir.Katilimcilarin yas ortalamasi 29.5±6.7 yil, egitim ortalamasi 6.61±5.0 (min:1 - max:18) yildir. Kadinlarin %79.7’si evli ve %74.3’ü çocuk sahibidir.Türkiye’de gelir getirici bir iste çalisma orani %15.9’dur. %63’ü Ortadogu ülkelerinden gelmis olup %51.8’i hiç Türkçe bilmemektedir. %73.2’si can güvenligi olmadigi için ülkesini terk etmis, %78.3’ü ailesiyle beraber göç etmis, %51.1’i Avrupa ülkelerinde yasamak istemektedir. Kadinlarin %34.1’i Türkiye’de bulundugu süre içerisinde siddete, %23.2 si ise ayrimciliga maruz kaldigini belirtmistir. Yoksulluk %42.8, issizlik % 29, Türkçe bilmeme %26.1, vatan özlemi %19.6, yalnizlik/hüzün %17.4 kadinlarin en sik yasadigi sorunlar arasinda yer almaktadir. Sonuçta katilimcilarin çogunlugu üreme çaginda evli ve çocuklu ayrica düsük sosyo-ekonomik düzeye sahip kadinlardan olusmaktadir. Bu nedenle üreme sagligi ihtiyaçlarinin dikkate alinmasi gerekmektedir. Ayrica kadinlarin yoksulluk, issizlik, dil sorunu, yalnizlik vb. sosyal ve psikolojik sorunlar yasadiklari, kadina yönelik siddet ve ayirimciliga maruz kaldiklari belirlenmistir.