WUNRN
Direct Link to Study Report:
Apr 7, 2010
Reproductive
control – when a partner imposes his reproductive intentions through
intimidation, threats or actual violence – is a common problem for women
who experience intimate partner violence, according to a new study
released by the Guttmacher Institute on April 6.
Three
in four respondents (74 percent) in the new study – of 71 domestic violence
victims seeking services at a family planning clinic, an abortion clinic and a
domestic violence shelter – reported that their partners had threatened to get them
pregnant, forced them to have unprotected sex, sabotaged or interfered with
their contraception, threatened them with sexual intercourse, tried to control
the outcome of their pregnancies if they became pregnant, or in other ways
tried to coerce their reproductive outcomes. These abusive behaviors can
lead to unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and a host of
other problems.
“This
study adds to the growing body of evidence that partner
violence often includes reproductive coercion and control,
which can lead to unplanned pregnancy,” said Family Violence Prevention
Fund President Esta Soler. “We make a mistake by putting these
issues in silos and promoting solutions that ignore the connection. If we
are serious about stopping unplanned pregnancy in this country, we simply must
address the sexual violence and reproductive control that often cause it.
If we are serious about stopping dating and domestic violence, we must
recognize that many victims grapple daily with sexual violence and reproductive
coercion. And if we are serious about improving women’s health, we must
address the violence that too many young women experience.”
The
authors of “Male Reproductive Control of Women Who Have Experienced Intimate
Partner Violence in the United States,” conducted in-depth interviews with 71
women aged 18–49 who had a history of intimate partner violence; they were
recruited in 2007 from a domestic violence shelter, a freestanding abortion
clinic and a family planning clinic providing a full range of reproductive
health services.
“We
believe that reproductive control is, itself, a form of intimate partner
violence, and one worthy of public health attention,” said Ann Moore, senior research associate at the
Guttmacher Institute and one of the study’s authors. The study recommends
that providers assess their patients in order to identify women who may need to
hide their contraceptives from their partner, conduct prenatal care and
abortion counseling in private, and ask questions designed to ascertain if
anyone is pressuring the woman either to terminate or continue the pregnancy.
The
FVPF’s ‘Know More, Say More’ initiative, which examines the
consequences of reproductive coercion and violence, is online. For tools on
how to assess and respond to violence and coercion, click here.
“Male
Reproductive Control of Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence in
the United States” is available online. It will be
published in a forthcoming issue of Social Science & Medicine.
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