On World AIDS Day, Remember the Links Between Violence and HIV/AIDS

As people around the world commemorate World AIDS Day, it is an important time to remind ourselves of the links between violence, sexual coercion, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.

Here in the U.S., there are startling statistics about how violence can lead to STIs, including HIV/AIDS:

• Women disclosing physical violence are nearly three times more likely to experience a sexually transmitted infection than women who don’t disclose physical abuse.[1]
• One in three adolescents tested for sexually transmitted infections and HIV have experienced domestic violence.[2]
• Girls who have been abused by a boyfriend are five times as likely to be forced into not using a condom and eight times more likely to be pressured to become pregnant.[3]

The World Health Organization points out how violence against women interacts with the worldwide HIV epidemic in a range of ways, including:

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Does Your Health Care Provider Assess Patients for Violence and Sexual Coercion?

Health care providers routinely screen patients for high cholesterol and blood pressure – but many don’t assess them for domestic violence or sexual coercion.  According to the American Heart Association’s high cholesterol statistics, more women in their twenties experience intimate partner violence than high cholesterol.  Wouldn’t it make sense, then, for health care providers to look out for signs of domestic violence and sexual coercion?

Studies have shown that the long-term effects of coercion and violence go beyond bruises and broken bones; partner violence is linked to unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, eating disorders, substance abuse and diabetes – and identifying it is the first step to stopping it.  Although it’s becoming more routine, not all health care providers talk to patients about domestic violence and reproductive coercion, and provide help and referrals to those who need them.

Reproductive Coercion Facts

Domestic violence is characterized by physical, sexual or emotional abuse that is used to control another person.  But many people are unaware of reproductive coercion, which can include behavior that interferes with a person’s ability to control his/her reproductive life such as:

• intentionally exposing a partner to a sexually transmitted infections (STIs);
• attempting to impregnate a woman against her will;
• intentionally interfering with the couple’s birth control; or
• threatening or acting violent if a partner does not comply with the perpetrator’s wishes regarding contraception or the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy.

If you think you may be experiencing domestic violence or sexual or reproductive coercion, read the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s (FVPF) sexual coercion health cards.

Should You Tell Your Health Ccare Provider?

If you are experiencing sexual violence or coercion, your health care provider may be able to help.  He or she will be able to provide you with the medical attention you need and direct you toward the help you deserve.  Remember that your health and well-being are your health care provider’s main concern.

To learn more about domestic violence, sexual coercion and how to protect yourself (and your loved ones), visit EndAbuse.org.

If You Are a Health Care Provider

There are many ways health care providers can help patients who may be silently suffering from sexual violence or reproductive coercion.  The FVPF’s Prevention and Health Practice eJournal is dedicated to bringing the most current research, policies and assistance materials to  providers to improve the medical community’s responses to domestic violence and sexual coercion.

You may be the only person your patient can trust.  You can find more resources for your staff and patients here.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Nearly one of every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.  Despite this staggering number, it’s one of our country’s most unreported crimes – and that means many women are suffering alone.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and all around the country people just like you are working hard to educate others about the toll domestic violence takes.  Each time we educate someone new, we’re one step closer to stamping it out.

Three Ways to Get Involved During Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Whether you’re an online activist or want to get out in your community to participate, there are plenty of ways to get involved during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Here are three:

Share a Story About Reproductive Coercion

Reproductive coercion happens every day, and yet most people have never heard of it.  You can help others understand birth control sabotage and pregnancy coercion by sharing a story, reaching out to a friend who needs you or making sure all your friends understand this form of partner violence.

Macy’s Shop for a Cause

Macy’s and the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) have partnered in fundraising by creating Shop for a Cause savings passes.  Shoppers can buy a $5.00 savings pass from the FVPF and receive 20% (or 10%) savings* on almost all of their purchases, including regular, sale and clearance merchandise*, and 25%* off a single purchase on Saturday, October 16th.

When you purchase a ticket from the FVPF, 100% of the ticket price benefits the organization. And if you choose to purchase a ticket in store on October 16th, a portion of the proceeds will also benefit the FVPF.

Customers will also be eligible to win a $500 gift card, no purchase necessary.

Shop for a Cause is an easy way to support the Family Violence Prevention Fund while gaining access to great shopping benefits!  To purchase tickets, contact Sasanna Yee at 415-252-8900. Shop for a Cause passes are also available inside Macy’s stores and Macys.com.

For Health Care Providers

Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day takes place on the second Wednesday in October – this year it is October 13.  The day’s focus is to encourage health care providers to routinely assess patients for domestic violence.  Since the short- and long-term effects of domestic violence are so profound, it’s critical that health care providers know what to look for and how to reach patients who are affected.  Learn more about activities planned for October 13  and throughout the month here.

You Can Help Stop Coercion & Violence

If you’d like to do more, check out the Family Violence Prevention Fund website, where you’ll find a representative sample list of Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities.  No matter what you choose to do during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, every little bit helps.  Together, we can increase domestic violence awareness and encourage people affected by it to break the silence.

*Some exclusions apply. Please see shopping pass for details.

We All Have A Role To Play: Dating Violence Amongst College Students

Generally, I try at all costs to avoid reading news coverage of kidnappings and murders. Whether waiting in line by the magazines at the grocery store or reading news online, I sidestep these stories, perhaps selfishly, to protect my psyche. But my time working here at the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s kNOwMore campaign has opened my eyes to a particular case that demands universal awareness on behalf of the fight against violence against women.

In early May, 22-year old Yeardley Love, a student and lacrosse player at the University of Virginia was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, George Huguely. While this story may have seemed like an anomaly, the devastating truth is that various forms of dating or intimate partner violence (IPV) are actually quite common amongst college students. According to an anonymous survey of 910 undergrads, aged 17 to 22, by Christine M. Forke, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 44.7 percent of participants experienced relationship violence either before or during college, and more than half of the violence (whether physical, sexual, or psychological) that is experienced during college is related to an intimate partner rather than a friend or acquaintance. I was shocked to learn that IPV is central to the dynamic of many couples in colleges all over the country, just like mine.

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Video Interview: Reproductive Coercion

GRITtv interviews reporter Lynn Harris and Dr. Elizabeth Miller, the author of prominent studies about reproductive coercion.

New Study: Many Iowa Women Seeking Abortions Have Experienced Violence

Nearly one in seven women who sought abortions at a large family planning clinic in Iowa (13.8 percent) reported at least one incident of physical or sexual abuse in the past year, usually by an intimate partner.  The prevalence of physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner was 9.9 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, according to the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health.  It was conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa, College of Public Health and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

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New Study Documents Sexual Coercion Among Young People

Among the many challenges of being a teenager, one stands out: understanding your own sexuality and desire for intimate connection. With the onslaught of romantic and sexual imagery in virtually every part of popular culture, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to sort out what you think and believe from what society tells you to think and do.

With this in mind, a recent CDC study of teenage sexuality comes as little surprise, with some good news about contraceptive use and some other results that perhaps should generate a good deal of concern. Among the study’s results:

· approximately 40% of teenagers have had sexual intercourse;

· 95% of those have used a condom;

· 14% of females and 18% of males would be pleased if a pregnancy resulted from sex.

There are many topics in this study to be explored, and a variety of blog posts and mainstream media articles have been written on it. The blog Feministing notes some overlooked but troubling statistics concerning consent.

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What’s Missing: Media Images of Teen Pregnancy

Note from the editor: Gavin Odabashian is the newest (and youngest) member of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, serving as an intern working with the kNOwMORE initiatve. Just finishing her freshman year at Scripps College in Southern California, Gavin is considering a major in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies. Watch for her posts throughout the summer.  Welcome, Gavin!   –Margaret and the kNOwMORE team

Reproductive Coercion: Connecting The Dots Between Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy

The following editorial originally appeared in the June edition of Contraception.

By: Elizabeth Miller, Beth Jordan, Rebecca Levenson, Jay G. Silverman

Reproductive health professionals are in a critical position to reach women victimized by abusive relationships. In the general population, physical and sexual violence victimization by an intimate partner affects an estimated one in four women across the life span, with one in five adolescent girls reporting such abuse.^{1, 2, 3} The prevalence of intimate partner violence reported among women utilizing sexual health services and seeking care in gynecologic and adolescent clinics is generally double these population-based estimates.^{4, 5, 6, 7} This is not surprising, as such victimization is consistently associated with increased pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI), with abused women demonstrating disproportionately higher rates of seeking care at family planning and other health services related to sexual health, such as HIV and STI testing.^{8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16}

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New Study: Further Evidence of Link Between Domestic Violence & Reproductive Coercion

The study released yesterday by the Guttmacher Institute provides even more evidence that victims of domestic and dating violence often suffer reproductive control from their dating partners. Three in four respondents (74 percent) in this new study – of 71 domestic violence victims seeking services at a family planning clinic, an abortion clinic and a domestic violence shelter – reported that their partners had threatened to get them pregnant, forced them to have unprotected sex, sabotaged or interfered with their contraception, threatened them with sexual intercourse, tried to control the outcome of their pregnancies if they became pregnant, or in other ways tried to coerce their reproductive outcomes. These abusive behaviors can lead to unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and a host of other problems.

This study adds to the growing and irrefutable body of evidence that partner violence too often leads to unplanned pregnancy. We make a mistake by putting these issues in silos and promoting solutions that ignore the connection. If we are serious about stopping unplanned pregnancy in this country, we simply must address the sexual violence and reproductive control that often cause it. If we are serious about stopping dating and domestic violence, we must recognize that many victims grapple daily with sexual violence and reproductive coercion. And if we are serious about improving women’s health, we must address the violence that too many young women experience.