According to a recent survey performed for BBC News, 50% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 experience reproductive coercion, a type of abuse in which someone manipulates a person’s reproductive decisions. Savanta ComRes acquired the information with the help of 1,000 women. These were the most prevalent kind of reproductive coercion, according to this poll, with a third of those responding that they had been pressured to have sex without using contraception and a fifth reporting that it was a case of intimate partner violence for them.
What Does the New Poll Result on Reproductive Coercion Indicates?
In this survey, 15% of women admitted to feeling pressured into ending a pregnancy they did not want to. They had to choose early medical abortion pills for termination. Numerous data sets show that this kind of misuse is shockingly widespread. Even though this phenomenon was initially identified in 2010, there does not seem to be much interest in this subject. In circumstances of forced pregnancy, an abuser tries to limit a person’s reproductive autonomy and choices.
In essence, decisions related to reproduction, such as those on birth control and access to abortion, are utilized as a form of control. Professor Sam Rowlands, an expert in sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Dr. Susan Walker, a sociology and health researcher, explained this could happen as a result of pressure from a romantic partner as well as pressure from a larger family in a narrative review that was published in the BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health in 2019. This is a simple and unfortunate play of power and control dynamics over women.
Context of Denying Reproductive Rights and Force on Women
Here are details on consent issues that females encounter for their health in terms of contraception, pregnancy, and more:
· The absence of healthy relationships often leads to clashes between couples. This has a significant impact on female health and is a cause of reproductive health dangers.
· Some of examples of reproductive coercion are putting pressure on someone to not use birth control. This is birth control sabotage and unsafe for females.
· This form of domestic abuse often extends to destroying or concealing women’s birth control. More than physical force, it is more about disturbing a person psychologically.
· Refusing to use a condom despite the request of the female companion is an instance of contraception coercion by avoiding the need of the hour.
· Feigning having undergone a vasectomy can result in an unwilling pregnancy, and is a sign of relationship red flags for the woman.
· A condom being removed during intercourse without consent is known as "stealing" and is considered a form of gender-based violence in the
The UK.
· Lack of interest in family planning as an outcome of forced pregnancy continuation or forceful pregnancy termination.
The Incidents of Pressures on Women’s Health and Choices
One in four women of reproductive age who visit sexual health clinics reported some form of reproductive coercion, with younger women more likely to experience this abuse, according to Prof. Rowland and Dr. Walker’s review. They pointed out that some people might not be aware that they are experiencing this kind of abuse, particularly if there is no physical or sexual assault present. Naturally, there is a range of control that abusers exert over their victims. Several women tend to buy abortion pills online UK not because they want to but due to pressure from their partner.
And then some men disallow women to access medicines and force them to continue an unintended pregnancy. Both these incidents are wrong on the part of men and are examples of violence against females. A male partner’s level of control might range from minimal to total. It can hurt the conscience of women more than just physical harm. And this is detrimental to society and the healthcare system simultaneously.
Smaller quantities of control might not be viewed as unhealthy or abusive by the victim. They wrote in the review that women in long-term relationships might develop accustomed to high levels of reproductive control. To address this problem, they propose that healthcare professionals have a part in identifying and stopping this abuse. They demand greater global research to direct this process. The non-physical aspects of abusive relationships and how coercive control might be resisted ought to be the subjects of greater research, in particular.
In Conclusion
Forcing a woman to go against her reproductive health is an emerging issue. Some of the risks that females run into are related to birth control, pregnancy, sexual freedom, and more. We must keep these problems in check and strive to achieve practical solutions.
A new poll has tracked data on reproductive coercion and its impact on women aged 18-44. However, in healthy relationships, compulsion never exists. The poll is a review of the use of early medical abortion pills and as a result the reproductive health scenario. Many women buy abortion pills online UK to deal with their unplanned pregnancies. Read more about it.
Article by: Alyssa Paula August 9, 2023