Abstract
BackgroundSexual violence in marital relationship is higher among women married at young age. Although sexual violence has been found to increase risk for unintended pregnancy, there is a limited published data from Nepal linking sexual violence with unintended pregnancy. The current study aimed to investigate association of partner sexual violence with unintended pregnancy among young married women who experienced child birth in last 5 years.MethodsUsing data from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, we studied the prevalence of sexual violence and unintended pregnancy, and their association among 560 married women (weighted sample) of 15–24 years who gave childbirth in last 5 years of the survey. We used multivariate logistic regression to analyse the association of sexual violence and other factors with unintended pregnancy. Analysis was conducted considering inverse probability weighting, clustering, and stratification to provide unbiased estimates of the population parameters.ResultsNearly a quarter of women (22.7%) reported to have experienced unintended pregnancy in the last 5 years of the survey and almost one in 10 women (9%) reported to have ever experienced sexual violence from their husbands. Women who ever experienced sexual violence from their husbands were at 2.3 times higher odds to report an unintended pregnancy (aOR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.1–4.8) compared to women who did not experience sexual violence from their husbands independent of important socio-demographic variables and ever use of contraception.ConclusionThe strong association of sexual violence within marital relationship with unintended pregnancy among young women in Nepal necessitates the provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. Women need routine assessment, and referral to appropriate services for sexual violence to reduce unintended pregnancy and its consequences.
Highlights
Sexual violence in marital relationship is higher among women married at young age
A further analysis of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data found that women who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) were more than twice the risk to abort their fetus in Azerbaijan and Moldova, whereas such women in Ukraine were nearly 5 times more likely to continue to unwanted live birth than women who did not ever experience physical and sexual violence from their husbands [5]
In this article we report on the prevalence of sexual violence from husbands in Nepal, and its association with unintended childbirth among currently married young women of 15–24 years who experienced child birth in last 5 years of the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) survey
Summary
Sexual violence in marital relationship is higher among women married at young age. sexual violence has been found to increase risk for unintended pregnancy, there is a limited published data from Nepal linking sexual violence with unintended pregnancy. The current study aimed to investigate association of partner sexual violence with unintended pregnancy among young married women who experienced child birth in last 5 years. A further analysis of DHS data found that women who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) were more than twice the risk to abort their fetus in Azerbaijan and Moldova, whereas such women in Ukraine were nearly 5 times more likely to continue to unwanted live birth than women who did not ever experience physical and sexual violence from their husbands [5]. Secondary analysis of DHS data from Pakistan found a higher likelihood of pregnancy loss(still birth, abortion) and unwanted pregnancy among women who experienced either emotional violence or physical violence or both [4]. Forced her with threats or in any other 27 way to perform sexual acts she did not want to 4.9 (3.0–7.8)
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