Young Women’s Acknowledgment of Reproductive Coercion: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Reproductive coercion (RC) is a form of violence perpetuated against women. It occurs when male partners adopt behaviors meant to control a woman's birth control or pregnancy despite her wishes. This amounts to interference with a woman's autonomy in reproductive decisions. The three main forms of RC are birth control sabotage (including nonconsensual condom removal), pregnancy coercion, and controlling the outcome of a pregnancy. This qualitative exploratory study examines issues in the acknowledgment of RC. Participants were 21 young women in Québec (Canada), who had experienced this form of violence. Results of individual semi-directed interviews reveal that RC can be difficult to acknowledge. A thematic analysis demonstrates that awareness is modulated by the manifestations of RC and by the emotional bond with the perpetrator. Acknowledgment of RC behavior varies according to the form that is experienced: Nonconsensual condom removal is the most readily identified, whereas acknowledgment of pregnancy pressure and pregnancy coercion takes longer, requiring repeated incidents before it is identified as a form of violence. In addition, acknowledgment is facilitated when relationships are casual and uncommitted compared with romantic and committed. Moreover, reading about the issue, confiding in a friend or acquaintance,

Young Women Subjected to Nonconsensual Condom Removal: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Sexual Self-Perceptions

“…This is further supported by the finding that relationship status was associated with NCCR, where more women in dating or nonexclusive relationships had been subjected to NCCR than what would be expected statistically, whereas those in exclusive relationships were less likely to report NCCR. While together these results suggest that having one annual sexual partner or being in a committed relationship may be protective, previous research has found some women who report NCCR were in a relationship with the perpetrator at the time (Latimer et al, 2018; Lévesque & Rousseau, 2019). Therefore, the extent that these relational factors are protective remains somewhat uncertain and further research is required to elucidate the relationship.…”

“…Two subsequent studies examined the emotional toll of NCCR and found 67 and 56% of women who had experienced NCCR reported the incident caused them emotional distress (Czechowski et al, 2019; Latimer et al, 2018). While a sizable proportion of respondents denied experiencing psychological distress following NCCR, this may reflect difficulty recognizing themselves as being a victim in the encounter (Lévesque & Rousseau, 2019), given NCCR’s status as a crime is not well established (Ebrahim, 2019). Downplaying the severity or emotional impact of a nonconsensual sexual event (e.g., experiential avoidance, denial, escapism) is also a common coping technique observed among sexual assault survivors (Boeschen et al, 2001), which may have contributed in part to these findings.…”

Women’s perceptions and experiences of reproductive coercion and abuse: a qualitative evidence synthesis

“…All studies included the perspectives of women, four studies were mixed methods and 29 were qualitative studies. Of the 33 studies, 16 were from USA [ 3 , 29 – 43 ], four from Kenya [ 44 – 47 ], three from Australia [ 48 – 50 ], two from India [ 51 , 52 ], and one each from Brazil [ 53 ], Fiji [ 54 ], Iran [ 55 ], England [ 56 ], Sweden [ 57 ], Mexico [ 58 ], Ecuador [ 59 ] and Canada [ 5 ]. Nine studies specifically explored experiences of low-income women [ 30 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 51 , 52 ].…”

“…Reproductive coercion and abuse is often a manifestation of a partner’s demand to enforce their own reproductive intentions [ 3 ], using physical, psychological, sexual, financial and other strategies with the purpose of maintaining power and control within the relationship [ 4 ]. These threats and acts of violence often overrule a woman’s ability to exercise their reproductive rights and autonomy [ 5 ].…”

Influence of the Relational Context on Reproductive Coercion and the Associated Consequences

“…These stories illustrate the difficulty the participants had acknowledging the fact that they had been victims of an aggression, which sometimes led to denial. As described elsewhere (Lévesque & Rousseau, 2019), acknowledgment of RC varies according to the emotional bond with the perpetrator and the behaviors that were experienced. For example, nonconsensual condom removal was the most readily identified form of RC, whereas it could take longer to acknowledge pregnancy pressure and pregnancy coercion.…”