Sexual violence during pregnancy: cross-sectional study with women in puerperium

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual violence during pregnancy is a serious violation of human rights and reproductive rights. Its prevalence is variable and multifactorial, depending on the analyzed territory and sociocultural and economic factors, requiring permanent monitoring. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at the Mandaqui Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil. The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) was applied to 350 puerperium women, with the outcome of suffering or not sexual violence during pregnancy, with data collected between September and December 2021. Sociodemographic and reproductive data were considered. We used an urn technique, with pre-coded data analyzed in EpiInfo® by Pearson's Chi-square and Mann Whitney test, adopting p<0.05 and 95% CI. Research approved by the Research Ethics Committee, CAAE No. 50580421.5.0000.5551. Results: We found eight cases of sexual violence (2.3%) and sample loss of 18.9%. Women who suffered sexual violence reported more physical violence in the last 12 months (25.0% x 6.1% - p=0.033, OR/CI 0.19: 0.03-1.03) and fear of the most frequent intimate partner (25.0% x 3.5% - p=0.002, OR/CI 0.10: 0.01-0.59), but we did not find a difference in the history of suffering violence before the age of 15 and by the partner throughout life. There was no difference in age, schooling, race/color, union, income and work. The same occurred for reproductive aspects, with no difference regarding the occurrence of prematurity, high-risk pregnancy, reproductive planning and tobacco/alcohol use during pregnancy. Conclusion: The prevalence of sexual violence during pregnancy was lower than in other Brazilian studies and populations from other countries. Women with sexual violence during pregnancy face a daily life of fear and more frequent physical violence. The high history of suffering violence before the age of 15 and experiencing physical or emotional violence by the intimate partner can aggravate the situation. The high history of violence and fear of the partner may have contributed to eventual understatement.