Domestic violence takes many forms. The control of a woman's reproductive choices by her partner is one of them. A major study published in PLOS One, led by McGill PhD student Lauren Maxwell, showed that women who are abused by their partner or ex-partner are much less likely to use contraception; this exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and leads to more frequent unintended pregnancies and abortions. These findings could influence how physicians provide contraceptive counselling.
Negotiating for contraception
A striking result was that when they do use contraception, women who experience intimate partner violence - physical or sexual - are less likely to use condoms. Instead, they often resort to contraceptive methods that they don't need to negotiate with their partners: for example, contraceptive injections or sterilisation in developing countries, or intrauterine devices in Western countries.
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