Stiller Mariella, Wilson Michael Lowery, Bärnighausen Till, Adedimeji Adebola, Lewis Erin, Abio Anne
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Injury Epidemiology and Prevention Research Group, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 1;25(1):413. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21421-3.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a global issue of public health importance. Due to the low rates of help-seeking in response to IPV, research on survivors' help-seeking behaviors is scarce, particularly within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study provides a cross-national evidence of informal and formal help-seeking patterns among pregnant women experiencing IPV.
This study made use of population-based data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program from 54 LMICs, collected between 2005 and 2020 (N = 359,027). Applying bivariate and multivariable analyses, the present study examined IPV survivors' help-seeking distributions and associations with individual, partner, family, and community factors.
Only half of survivors sought help in response to IPV during pregnancy with wide regional and national variations, mainly from informal support networks (including family, neighbors, and friends), and rarely from formal institutions (including legal, socio-cultural, and medical services). Evidence shows that help-seeking behaviors were associated with IPV survivors' age and educational attainment, survivors' employment status and earnings compared to their partners, survivors' consumption of mass media, intimate partner's age and education, spouse's alcohol consumption and controlling behaviors, survivors' wealth index, place of residence, and health-seeking barriers, among others.
Practitioners are encouraged to consider the study's outcomes when designing interventions and support for survivors seeking help in response to IPV during pregnancy. Strong advocacy and action are needed, including fostering survivors' educational attainment, diminishing pregnant women's social and financial dependencies on their intimate partners, promoting pre- and peri-natal health care, informing survivors about help, and increasing gender equality by engaging women and men equally within the whole community.
孕期亲密伴侣暴力是一个具有全球公共卫生重要性的问题。由于针对亲密伴侣暴力寻求帮助的比例较低，关于幸存者寻求帮助行为的研究很少，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）。本研究提供了经历亲密伴侣暴力的孕妇在非正式和正式寻求帮助模式方面的跨国证据。
本研究利用了2005年至2020年期间从54个低收入和中等收入国家收集的基于人口的人口与健康调查（DHS）项目数据（N = 359,027）。通过双变量和多变量分析，本研究考察了亲密伴侣暴力幸存者寻求帮助的分布情况以及与个人、伴侣、家庭和社区因素的关联。
只有一半的幸存者在孕期因亲密伴侣暴力寻求帮助，存在广泛的地区和国家差异，主要来自非正式支持网络（包括家人、邻居和朋友），很少来自正式机构（包括法律、社会文化和医疗服务）。证据表明，寻求帮助的行为与亲密伴侣暴力幸存者的年龄和教育程度、幸存者与伴侣相比的就业状况和收入、幸存者对大众媒体的消费、亲密伴侣的年龄和教育程度、配偶的酒精消费和控制行为、幸存者的财富指数、居住地点以及寻求医疗保健的障碍等因素有关。
鼓励从业者在为孕期因亲密伴侣暴力寻求帮助的幸存者设计干预措施和支持时考虑本研究的结果。需要大力倡导和行动，包括提高幸存者的教育程度、减少孕妇在社会和经济上对亲密伴侣的依赖、促进产前和围产期保健、让幸存者了解可获得的帮助，以及通过在整个社区平等地让男性和女性参与来提高性别平等。
