Intimate partner violence against women before, during, and after pregnancy: a meta-analysis

Chen, X.-Y., Lo, C. K. M., Chen, Q., Gao, S., Ho, F. K., Brownridge, D. A., Leung, W. C., Ip, P. and Ling Chan, K. (2024) Intimate partner violence against women before, during, and after pregnancy: a meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, (doi: 10.1177/15248380241226631) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant women negatively impacts women’s and infants’ health. Yet inconsistent results have been found regarding whether pregnancy increases or decreases the risk of IPV. To answer this question, we systematically searched for studies that provided data on IPV against women before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after childbirth. Nineteen studies met our selection criteria. We meta-analyzed the nineteen studies for the pooled prevalence of IPV across the three periods and examined study characteristics that moderate the prevalence. Results showed the pooled prevalence estimates of IPV were 21.2% before pregnancy, 12.8% during pregnancy and 14.7% after childbirth. Although these findings suggest a reduction in IPV during pregnancy, our closer evaluation of the prevalence of IPV after childbirth revealed that the reduction does not appear to persist. The prevalence of IPV increased from 12.8% within the first year after childbirth to 24.0% beyond the first year. Taken together, we should not assume pregnancy protects women from IPV, as IPV tends to persist across a longer-term period. Future studies are needed to investigate if IPV transits into other less obvious types of violence during pregnancy. Moderator analyses showed the prevalence estimates significantly varied across countries by income levels and regions.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The work described in this paper was supported by a fellowship award from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. PolyU/SRFS2223-5H01) and the funding for Projects of Strategic Importance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Project Code : 1-ZE1R).
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ho, Dr Frederick
• Authors: Chen, X.-Y., Lo, C. K. M., Chen, Q., Gao, S., Ho, F. K., Brownridge, D. A., Leung, W. C., Ip, P., and Ling Chan, K.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
• Journal Name: Trauma, Violence, and Abuse
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 1524-8380
• ISSN (Online): 1552-8324
• Published Online: 24 January 2024