Intimate partner violence a dire threat to pregnant women in some SA communities
A great many South African women‚ already in difficult situations‚ are experiencing violence during pregnancy at the hands of their intimate partners‚ a new study has found.Of the 376 women who took part in the research‚ 15% had experienced intimate partner violence during pregnancy‚ with forms of abuse ranging from sexual and physical to emotional and verbal.This is against a backdrop of SA’s having an intimate partner violence level (among all women‚ not just those who are pregnant) "double that of the US" — as high as 71% in some communities.Just published in the international BMC Women’s Health journal‚ the study was carried out by a team from the University of Cape Town and the University of Waterloo‚ Canada.The sample was drawn from women attending antenatal services at a primary-level maternity facility in Cape Town.The researchers found that the high level of violence during pregnancy resulted from a combination of poverty-related factors including food insecurity‚ mental il...
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