Women experiencing abuse in the year prior to and/or during a recent pregnancy are 40 to 60 percent more likely than non-abused women to report high-blood pressure, vaginal bleeding, severe nausea, kidney or urinary tract infections and hospitalization during pregnancy and are 37 percent more likely to deliver preterm.

Groundbreaking Study Finds that Many Victims of Partner Violence Experience Reproductive Coercion

“Those of us who work to stop dating, domestic and sexual violence have long known that many victims face threats, verbal demands and physical violence designed to interfere with their efforts to use birth control,” said Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) President Esta Soler. “It is a big part of the reason that women in abusive relationships are at higher risk for unintended pregnancy. Read More

Violence Prevention Leader Lauds Secretary Clinton’s Speech Linking Reproductive Health Care to Women’s Health, Progress & Equality

Secretary Clinton is right that violence against women is a gross human rights violation, a public health epidemic and a barrier to solving global challenges such as extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS and conflict. And she is right that we cannot solve it unless we ensure women’s access to reproductive health care, family planning and maternal care. Read More

…if she doesn’t want to [have sex], then she’ll leave if you’re trying to put a condom on and, you know, she doesn’t want to do it, so you don’t want her to get away."