Intimate partner violence and repeat induced abortion in Italy: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the risk of repeat induced abortion (RIA), we compared IPV history among women with and without previous induced abortion (IA).

Methods: All consecutive women aged 18 years or more requiring IA in 12 Italian abortion clinics were eligible for inclusion in the study. They were asked to fill in an anonymous, self-developed questionnaire assessing sociodemographic data and their history of different types of violence and related risk factors.

Results: The analysis included 1030 women, 624 (60.6%) of whom reported a previous IA. Past or current IPV was reported by 19.3%: 7.0% reported sexual violence, 11.3% physical abuse and 12.1% psychological abuse. Past or current IPV was reported by 22.3% of women with RIA and 14.8% of those undergoing their first IA (adjusted odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.30; p = 0.02). When we considered sexual, psychological and physical abuse separately, we found that any kind of abuse was more frequent in women with RIA than in women with no previous IA.

Conclusion: This study underlines the impact of IPV on the risk of RIA and suggests the need for screening for IPV among women requiring abortion, in order to identify women at risk of RIA and to improve their general and reproductive health.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Induced abortion; Intimate partner violence; Risk factor; Sexual abuse.