Intimate Partner Violence and Contraceptive Use in India: The Missing Discourse on Coercive Control and Personal Autonomy

Randi Saunders , The University of Texas at Austin

Studies of the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and fertility in the South Asian context have returned mixed results, leaving the link between violence and unwanted pregnancy, or unmet need for contraception, unclear. Using the 2015-16 India DHS, this study models the effects of intimate partner violence on unmet need for contraception by constructing variables to account for the effects of coercive control and limits to personal autonomy. Findings reveal that, when controlling for demographic variables, physical violence does not have a significant effect on a woman’s likelihood of experiencing unmet need for contraception. In contrast, net of other factors, coercive control and limits to personal autonomy significantly increase a woman’s likelihood of experiencing unmet need for contraception.

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 Presented in Session 226. Trends, Determinants, Consequences, and Measurement of Unmet Need