Groundbreaking Study Finds that Many Victims Of Partner Violence Experience Reproductive Coercion
Under-Recognized Form of Domestic, Dating Abuse Puts Women at Risk for Unintended Pregnancies
SAN FRANCISCO - A new study sheds light on a little-recognized form of abuse in which men use coercion and birth control sabotage to cause their partners to become pregnant against their wills. The study, published in the January issue ofContraception, finds this kind of reproductive control to be especially common in relationships in which women experience physical or sexual partner violence.
"Pregnancy Coercion, Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy" is the first quantitative examination of the relationship between intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion and unintended pregnancy. It finds that young women and teenage girls often face efforts by male partners to sabotage their birth control or coerce or pressure them to become pregnant - including by damaging condoms and destroying contraceptives. These behaviors, defined as "reproductive coercion," are often associated with physical or sexual violence. Conducted by researchers at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and the Harvard School of Pubic Health, the study also finds that among women who experienced both reproductive coercion and partner violence, the risk of unintended pregnancy doubled.
From August 2008 to March 2009, researchers worked at five reproductive health clinics in Northern California, querying some 1,300 English- and Spanish-speaking 16- to 29-year-old women who agreed to respond to a survey about their experiences. They were asked about birth-control sabotage, pregnancy coercion and intimate partner violence. Approximately one in five young women said they experienced pregnancy coercion and 15 percent said they experienced birth control sabotage. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they had experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Thirty-five percent of the women who reported partner violence also reported either pregnancy coercion or birth control sabotage.
"Those of us who work to stop dating, domestic and sexual violence have long known that many victims face threats, verbal demands and physical violence designed to interfere with their efforts to use birth control," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "It is a big part of the reason that women in abusive relationships are at higher risk for unintended pregnancy. This very important study underscores the link between violence and abuse and unintended pregnancy - and the need for providers at reproductive clinics to screen female patients for violence, as well as for pregnancy coercion and birth control sabotage. If we are serious about reducing unintended pregnancy in this country, we have to do more to stop violence and abuse, and help victims."
"This study highlights an under-recognized phenomenon where male partners actively attempt to promote pregnancy against the will of their female partners," said lead study author Elizabeth Miller, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the UC Davis School of Medicine and a practitioner at UC Davis Children's Hospital. "Not only is reproductive coercion associated with violence from male partners, but when women report experiencing both reproductive coercion and partner violence, the risk for unintended pregnancy increases significantly."
"We have known about the association between partner violence and unintended pregnancy for many years," said Jay Silverman, the study's senior author and an associate professor of society, human development and health in the Harvard School of Public Health. "What this study shows is that reproductive coercion likely explains why unintended pregnancies are far more common among abused women and teens."
Rebecca Levenson, a Senior Policy Analyst in the FVPF's Health Unit, is a co-author of the new study. It was conducted in collaboration with the FVPF and the Planned Parenthood Shasta Diablo Affiliate.
The FVPF's KnowMoreSayMore initiative is creating a dialogue about birth control sabotage and reproductive coercion, which can result in unintended pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, miscarriage, infertility, coerced abortion, poor birth outcomes including preterm birth and low birth-weight babies, and other serious health problems. Its website, www.KnowMoreSayMore.org, features the stories of women who share their experiences with birth control sabotage and reproductive coercion.
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The Family Violence Prevention Fund works to end violence against women and children around the world, because every person has the right to live free of violence. More information is available at www.endabuse.org. The FVPF's ‘Know More, Say More' initiative, which examines the consequences of reproductive coercion and violence, is online atwww.KnowMoreSayMore.org.
Mi nombre es Ada M. Álvarez Conde, tengo 25 años y resido en San Juan, PR. A los 16 años comencé a interesarme por el tema de la violencia en el noviazgo y las maneras para combatirla. Trabajé de voluntaria en el periódico estudiantil TINELLER; e hize un reportaje sobre lo mismo. Ese mismo año, basándome en experiencias personales e investigaciones comenzé a desarrollar mi pasión, la escritura en este tema. Se creó la novela: Lo que no dije. Viajo cuando es necesario para dar charlas a países que me invitan. Luego de trabajar por dos años la publiqué a los 19 convirtiéndome en la novelista más joven de Puerto Rico. Por medio de la internet, de crear conciencia sobre este problema, especialmente en sus inicios para evitar los accidentes. Actualmente estudio mi doctorado y espero que este site sirva para ayudar a crear un mundo de paz.
Este libro es un sueño para mí. Como escritora desde joven he ganado varios premios, pero entiendo que ninguno me complementa más que este porque es una obra inspirada en un problema social y así puedo ayudar a mi país; con este site al mundo. Quiero ayudar a las mujeres que están en el problema y darles herramientas a los que están alrededor de ellas para que las ayuden. Este es mi granito de arena. Ayúdame a demostrar que una persona puede cambiar el mundo. Dicen que el que calla otorga y espero profundamente que apoye mi novela y este site, para que muchos lean LO QUE NO DIJE y salgan de la soledad, del maltrato y sobretodo del silencio. Visita la fundacion www.altoalsilencio.org para mas informacion
gracias!
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1 Febrero 2010 | 01:22 PM