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Reproductive coercion (RC) is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that continues to lack adequate attention by both researchers and practitioners. RC is defined as "male partners' attempts to promote pregnancy in their female partners through verbal pressure and threats to become pregnant (pregnancy coercion), direct interference with contraception (birth control sabotage), and threats and coercion related to pregnancy continuation or termination (control of pregnancy outcomes)." This type of partner violence can have serious consequences on a survivor's health and well-being. Despite the fact that RC has been reported by many women experiencing IPV, and that this type of abuse appears to be disproportionately targeted against marginalized women, little is known about the extent to which advocates either proactively or reactively address it. To redress this, the current study involved a brief online survey sent to domestic violence victim service advocates across the United States and its territories. More than 700 advocates responded about their comfort, practices, and perceived barriers related to RC and survivors' sexual health. Despite identifying (a) low levels of discomfort when discussing most topics relating to RC and (b) few barriers to discussing RC, few advocates reported regularly engaging in RC-related practices. Both greater levels of discomfort and identification of more barriers were associated with less frequent coercion-related practice. Study implications highlight the need for more specialized advocate training, and organizational support for advocates to comfortably and safely provide information and support about RC to survivors.

Introduction Research shows that mainstream parenting and repeat pregnancy prevention programs generally do not effectively engage with fathers and that young men’s levels of participation in such services are low. To support practitioners in overcoming the barriers to recruiting and retaining young fathers, the current study aimed to gather lessons learned from one program’s state administrators, case managers, and young fathers about the most effective strategies for engaging this population in intensive case management. Methods Three focus groups were conducted. One focus group was held with the creators and managers of the Michigan Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program MI-APPP at the state Department of Health and Human Services (n = 3). The other two groups were designed to jointly engage young fathers currently involved in intensive case management (n = 11) and their case managers (n = 5). A qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts was conducted using a coding scheme developed from emerging themes in the transcripts and related literature. Results The findings highlight a selection of those strategies that focus group participants perceived to be most successful in improving male recruitment and retention in intensive ongoing case management. Among these strategies were centralizing feedback from young fathers in program decision making, offering opportunities for young fathers to connect, and challenging staff’s negative stereotypes about young fathers. Discussion Despite the small sample size, the results of this study nevertheless contribute to debates in the field regarding appropriate strategies for engaging young fathers by informing professional practice.

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