Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Report Details Sabotage of Birth Control

New reports suggests that 1 in 4 women in intimate relationships have admitted that their partner has forced them to have unprotected sex, told them to not use contraceptives or pressured them to become pregnant. This was based on a study of 3,000 women who agreed to answer questions after they had contacted the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Several studies show that this is most relevant to low-income teenagers and young adults that have history of domestic violence with their partners. This helps to explain why young victims of sexual violence are at a higher risk of becoming pregnant unwillingly and getting sexually transmitted diseases.

"It was very eye-opening," said Lisa James, director of health at the Family Violence Prevention Fund in San Francisco, which worked with the hot line on the report. "There were stories about men refusing to wear a condom, forcing sex without a condom, poking holes in condoms, flushing birth control pills down the toilet."

No other information was gathered from all of the women who participated in the questioning nor was any of the information published in a peer-reviewed journal.

This article that was published by The New York Times automatically had my concerns starting with the title. It is terrible to think that this is happening to teens and young adults all over. But even with all the research and studies, how can this be prevented from happening. Everyone knows that it happens to many people but if people were educated on how much this is actively happening I think there could be more emphasis on ways to prevent this from future happenings. However, non-profit groups like Saving Grace "Imagine Life Without Violence" have had a big impact in helping individuals who have been victims of sexual assault in Central Oregon. Supporting organizations like this is a great way to reach out.

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2 comments:

  1. jessicanFebruary 17, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    How does the non-profit organization Saving Grace work with these individuals and in which ways do they provide help? Do they hold programs to people subjected to violence or simply serve as a counseling place? What are some things they offer? I find this surprisingly shocking, but with proper education I believe there can be a decrease in forced pregnancies and diseases.

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  2. Nick CardozaFebruary 17, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    I think that it is a disgrace to hear that young men around the nation are forcing their female partner to have unprotected sex, or trying to get them pregnant against their will. It's good to know that there are organizations out there who are helping young adults who have been put in these types of situations. In a sense, it seems that when teens become intimately involved, attachment comes with it, which could lead to these kids doing things that they don't think is the necessarily right, but it will keep them from losing their significant other. I may be completely off on this subject, but I would think that if these young women felt like they were going to be violated, they would say something before they let it happen.

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