School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt Campus, 176 Messines ridge road, Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, Australia.
Children by Choice, Brisbane, Australia.
Reprod Health. 2022 Jul 30;19(1):170. doi: 10.1186/s12978-022-01479-7.
Reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) interferes with a person's reproductive autonomy and can be classified into behaviours that are pregnancy promoting or pregnancy preventing (including coerced abortion). However, prevalence data are lacking, and little is known about whether particular forms of RCA are more or less common. The aims of our study were to explore how frequently people seeking pregnancy counselling reported RCA, the proportions reporting the different forms of RCA, and whether there were different trends based on a range of demographic factors.
Data were collected from 5107 clients seeking counselling support for their pregnancy between January 2018 and December 2020 from two leading providers of pregnancy counselling and sexual and reproductive health services in Australia, Marie Stopes Australia and Children by Choice. Counsellors identified and recorded the presence of RCA and whether the behaviour was pregnancy promoting and/or pregnancy preventing. Demographic factors included age, and whether the person identified as being from a migrant or refugee community or as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.
RCA was identified in 15.4% of clients, with similar proportions disclosing RCA towards pregnancy (6%) and towards pregnancy prevention or abortion (7.5%), and 1.9% experiencing RCA towards pregnancy and abortion concurrently. There were no differences based on age or whether the person identified as being from a migrant or refugee background, though people who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander experienced RCA that was significantly more likely to be pregnancy promoting.
RCA is commonly disclosed by people seeking support in a pregnancy counselling context, and coercion and abuse is equally likely to be towards pregnancy promotion or pregnancy prevention/abortion. Given the prevalence and negative impacts of RCA, regardless of age and background, we recommend sensitive and culturally respectful enquiry around experiences of RCA be embedded in healthcare, health education, and health research.
生殖胁迫和虐待（RCA）会干扰个人的生殖自主权，可分为促进或阻止妊娠的行为（包括强制堕胎）。然而，目前缺乏流行数据，并且对于特定形式的 RCA 是否更常见或更不常见知之甚少。我们的研究旨在探讨寻求妊娠咨询的人报告 RCA 的频率，报告不同形式 RCA 的比例，以及是否存在基于一系列人口统计学因素的不同趋势。
数据来自于 2018 年 1 月至 2020 年 12 月期间，来自澳大利亚两家领先的妊娠咨询和性与生殖健康服务提供商——Marie Stopes Australia 和 Children by Choice 的 5107 名寻求妊娠咨询支持的客户。咨询师确定并记录了 RCA 的存在情况以及行为是否促进或阻止妊娠。人口统计学因素包括年龄，以及个人是否被认为是移民或难民社区成员，或是否是原住民和/或托雷斯海峡岛民。
15.4%的客户报告存在 RCA，其中类似比例的客户披露了针对妊娠的 RCA（6%）和针对妊娠预防或堕胎的 RCA（7.5%），1.9%的客户同时经历了针对妊娠和堕胎的 RCA。年龄或个人是否被认为是移民或难民背景没有差异，尽管被认定为原住民和/或托雷斯海峡岛民的人经历的 RCA 更有可能是促进妊娠的。
在妊娠咨询背景下，寻求支持的人经常报告 RCA，并且胁迫和虐待同样可能是针对妊娠促进或妊娠预防/堕胎。鉴于 RCA 的普遍性和负面影响，无论年龄和背景如何，我们建议在医疗保健、健康教育和健康研究中嵌入对 RCA 经历的敏感和文化上尊重的调查。
