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Original poster

We need to talk about reproductive coercion.

32 replies

HelenaDove · 27/03/2016 20:04

This thread has been prompted by a poster who has mentioned that she has sadly experienced this on another board.

I googled "reproductive coercion" and one of the top searches that came up was "how to tamper with birth control pills" That means it must be being searched for on a very regular basis.

I find this very very alarming.

Ive also seen a childfree by choice journalist being trolled on twitter on a regular basis.

Are men like this really so threatened by the fact that women may like to have more freedom and not choose to be a parent until they are ready or choose not to be a parent at all.

I have no doubt in my mind that the kind of man who would troll someone for making this choice is either at best someone who would be dismissive of and/or minimize reproductive coercion and/or at worst someone who may even consider doing it themselves.

Im horrified that the phrase i mentioned above is being Googled so often.

OP posts:
LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 31/03/2016 00:00

When you look at the amount of domestic abuse that is triggered by pregnancy/child birth (it's around a third of all DA, iirc) then you have to assume that a significant amount of pregnancies are a 'cover' for starting DA. Pregnancy makes women vulnerable: men who want vulnerable women will cause pregnancies to happen.

WomanWithAltitude · 30/03/2016 23:54

I think it's an aspect of domestic abuse that doesn't get much coverage at all.

If you were to ask the average person, they would probably think that reproductive coercion was when a man's partner chooses not to have an abortion so he has no choice in becoming a dad. That's an issue that gets mentioned often, and tends to spark off lots of misogynists claiming that men should be able to force an abortion or disclaim responsibility. (Completely ignoring the autonomy of the woman of course)

Real reproductive coercion is far more serious.

lorelei9here · 30/03/2016 16:08

ugh. Palmer, what you're describing is clearly covered under criminal law but I think tampering with pills and condoms should be covered too.

Sadly I don't know it's a taboo subject - I think people excuse it under cover of "desperate for a child".

Keepithidden · 30/03/2016 14:25

Yet another taboo subject that needs to be brought out into the public realm. There are few depths that some men will not stoop to.

PalmerViolet · 30/03/2016 00:09

I have come across a case before now where a woman was confined to a bedroom until her 'partner' impregnated her and then chained to the wall until she had passed the time at which she would have easily been able to access abortion.

This was part of an incredibly abusive relationship.

It happens. More than people would like to think.

WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid · 27/03/2016 20:52

I was on the other thread.

That poor poster, horrible history. I'm a bit embarrassed to say I've never really given reproductive coercion much thought previously.

Original poster
HelenaDove · 27/03/2016 20:06

I googled "reproductive coercion" to see if i could find a helpful article for the poster on the thread.

OP posts: