This study describes the reproductive health status and needs of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors receiving housing support and explores factors influencing their experience of reproductive coercion (RC).
This study describes the reproductive health status and needs of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors receiving housing support and explores factors influencing their experience of reproductive coercion (RC), specifically. The study also highlights reproductive health risks in an important and under-studied population of women seeking housing due to IPV. Significant results highlight vulnerability to and consequences of RC in this population. This study has implications for IPV support programs and housing programs that serve women. Cross-sectional baseline data from a quasi-experimental study of 70 IPV survivors enrolled in housing programs in the Baltimore, MD, metropolitan area from June 2019 through December 2020 were analyzed. Of the 70 women enrolled in the study, 70.3 percent (n = 45) desired to avoid pregnancy, but 57.4 percent were either using no contraceptive method (31.2%) or methods with low effectiveness (26.2%). Approximately, 1 in 6 women (16.4%, n = 11) experienced RC in the past 3 months, which was associated with frequency and severity of IPV (p = 0.001 to 0.005) and PTSD (p = 0.001), as well as not sharing children with the abusive partner (p = 0.002). (Published Abstract Provided)