Urgent Steps Needed to End Domestic Violence During Pregnancy

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Domestic Violence is one of the major concerns globally. In India, 29 percent of women in the age group of 15- 49 years face spousal violence and 3% of them experience physical abuse during pregnancy(NFHC-V). DV comprises physical, sexual, and emotional abuse along with controlling behavior. During pregnancy, it results in a detrimental impact on the health of both the maternal and the fetus, which leads to anxiety, depression, suicidal attempts, and miscarriage, and affects maternal well-being.

Identifying DV among women is a challenging task as in most cases, they don’t disclose their adverse experiences. However, pregnancy provides an opportunity to identify DV because, during routine checkups, healthcare providers can screen such violence and provide adequate support to empower them and improve their well-being with the help of trained mental health professionals. One of the interventions to identify and support such women is found by one study, conducted at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, where BIP (Behavioral Intervention Package) as an intervention, along with critical therapeutic interventions, including yoga-based methods, psychotherapy, counseling and awareness about wellbeing and the right of health rights women, was administered on the participants belonging from low socio-economic status with less education.

BIP(Behavioral Intervention Package)

It is a conscious effort to empower women suffering from DV during pregnancy by imparting them psychological support to obtain better mental and physical health.

The findings showed a positive impact of BIP on participants’ quality of life, reduced stress, and DV at personal and societal levels. A study of Southern Italy also represents pregnancy as a key moment to identify DV and provide support accordingly. Apart from this, numerous studies accord pregnancy as a crucial way to identify DV in women attending antenatal clinics.

Study Findings

• Women from Low socioeconomic status face comparatively more DV during pregnancy than others.
• The physical and mental health of pregnant women will be improved with the introduction of BIP in antenatal clinics along with critical therapeutic interventions, including yoga-based methods, counseling, psychotherapy, and awareness about the well-being and health rights of women. This intervention also empowers women with the awareness of her rights and freedom which will make them healthy and assertive.
• Creating awareness about DV at the school level and designing life skills for them will reduce the occurrence of such violence in the future.
• More screening methods and tools for DV need to be researched and developed to detect such violence during pregnancy.