NCJ Number
214361
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 12 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 588-604
Date Published
June 2006
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study explored the views of domestic abuse survivors regarding the association between domestic violence and pregnancy.
Abstract
Results indicated that all 16 pregnant women in the study had been physically assaulted within the past 12 months and 4 had experienced sexual violence. All violence had been perpetrated by a current or former male partner, except in one case in which male family members perpetrated the violence. The nature of the violence was similar to that experienced by nonpregnant women and included being kicked, punched, choked, thrown down stairs, scalded with an iron, pushed out of moving cars, and being forced to have sex. The discussion about violence during pregnancy is divided into the main types of violence experienced during pregnancy: physical violence, sexual violence, violence related to drug and alcohol abuse, and psychological abuse. Violence was described as primarily stemming from the abuser’s emotional insecurity and his need to have control and be in power. The pregnancy increased the women’s vulnerability to violence and several women reported having miscarriages as a result of the violence. The research was 1 of 20 studies funded by the United Kingdom’s Economic and Social Research Council’s Violence Research Program (VRP). Participants were 16 women who were recruited from the maternity care department of a teaching hospital in London and who participated in open-ended interviews regarding their experiences of domestic violence. Future research should focus on the abusers interpretations of the abuse. Researchers should also continue to use qualitative research methodologies to further explore women’s perceptions and experiences of violence during pregnancy in order to facilitate the development of interventions targeting abused, pregnant women. References