{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T14:38:56Z","timestamp":1792679936750,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,16]],"date-time":"2024-04-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713225600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100001275","name":"Oak Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100001275","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Reproductive coercion and abuse is a hidden and poorly recognised form of violence against women. It refers broadly to behaviours that interfere with or undermine a person\u2019s reproductive autonomy, specifically to promote or prevent pregnancy. Reproductive coercion and abuse can involve physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse in order to achieve these aims, and is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women. As an emerging field of scholarship, conceptual understanding of reproductive coercion and abuse is still in its infancy; however, it is often described as being linked to coercive control. In this article, we seek to highlight the complexity of this relationship through qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 victim\/survivors in Australia recruited from the community, focusing on their perceptions of the perpetrator\u2019s motivations. We developed four themes from our analysis: 1) His needs came first; 2) The illusion of a perfect father; 3) Creating a weapon of control; and 4) My body was his. Perceived perpetrator motivations ranged from entitlement and self-interest to a deep desire for domination and entrapment. Pregnancy preventing behaviour was more likely to be linked with entitlement and self-interest, whereas pregnancy promoting behaviour tended to be described by participants in relationships where there was a broader pattern of ongoing control and entrapment. Thus, we suggest that coercive control is a motivating factor for some, but not all men who perpetrate reproductive coercion and abuse. A greater understanding perpetrator motivations may be important for practitioners, particularly those working in sexual and reproductive health services, since it could be relevant to women\u2019s level of risk for coercive controlling behaviour or more extreme forms of physical or sexual violence.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0299069","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,16]],"date-time":"2024-04-16T17:55:32Z","timestamp":1713290132000},"page":"e0299069","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Reproductive coercion and abuse in intimate relationships: Women\u2019s perceptions of perpetrator motivations"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0220-4985","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Laura","family":"Tarzia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2506-8653","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mandy","family":"McKenzie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,16]]},"reference":[{"issue":"87","key":"pone.0299069.ref001","article-title":"A Conceptual Re-Evaluation of Reproductive Coercion: Centring Intent, Fear and Control.","volume":"18","author":"L Tarzia","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Reproductive Health."},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0299069.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2010.02.023","article-title":"Reproductive coercion: connecting the dots between partner violence and unintended pregnancy.","volume":"81","author":"E Miller","year":"2010","journal-title":"Contraception"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0299069.ref003","first-page":"371","article-title":"Reproductive Coercion: A Systematic Review.","volume":"19","author":"KT Grace","year":"2018","journal-title":"TVA"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0299069.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"466","DOI":"10.1080\/13691058.2020.1859617","article-title":"Reproductive coercion and abuse against women from minority ethnic backgrounds: views of service providers in Australia.","volume":"24","author":"L Tarzia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Culture, Health & Sexuality."},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0299069.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0261551","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0261551","article-title":"Women\u2019s perceptions and experiences of reproductive coercion and abuse: a qualitative evidence synthesis.","volume":"16","author":"J Moulton","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0299069.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0275809","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0275809","article-title":"Reproductive coercion as a form of family violence against immigrant and refugee women in Australia.","volume":"17","author":"M Suha","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2017.12.009","article-title":"An exploration of perceived contraceptive coercion at the time of abortion.","volume":"97","author":"K Brandi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Contraception"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0299069.ref008","first-page":"36","article-title":"State Reproductive Coercion As Structural Violence","volume":"17","author":"G. Dejoy","year":"2019","journal-title":"Columbia Social Work Review."},{"issue":"1371","key":"pone.0299069.ref009","article-title":"Re-defining reproductive coercion using a socio-ecological lens: a scoping review.","volume":"23","author":"M Graham","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Pub Health."},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjsrh-2018-200156","article-title":"Reproductive control by others: means, perpetrators and effects","volume":"45","author":"S Rowlands","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health"},{"issue":"22","key":"pone.0299069.ref011","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of reproductive coercion across ten sites: commonalities and divergence.","volume":"20","author":"S Wood","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Reproductive Health."},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0299069.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1490","DOI":"10.1007\/s10995-014-1653-2","article-title":"Use of Reproductive and Sexual Health Services Among Female Family Planning Clinic Clients Exposed to Partner Violence and Reproductive Coercion.","volume":"19","author":"T Kazmerski","year":"2015","journal-title":"Maternal & Child Health Journal."},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0299069.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1246","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1471-0528.2007.01481.x","article-title":"Intimate partner violence and unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, induced abortion, and stillbirth among a national sample of Bangladeshi women.","volume":"114","author":"J Silverman","year":"2007","journal-title":"BJOG"},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref014","article-title":"\"I just felt like I was running around in a circle\": Listening to the voices of victims and perpetrators to transform responses to intimate partner violence (Research report, 22\/2022).","author":"K Hegarty","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sydney NSW: ANROWS"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0299069.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijgo.2014.04.011","article-title":"Mental health impacts of reproductive coercion among women in Cote d\u2019Ivoire.","volume":"127","author":"H McCauley","year":"2014","journal-title":"International Journal of Gynaecology & Obstetrics."},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0299069.ref016","article-title":"Future directions for reproductive coercion and abuse research.","volume":"20","author":"KT Grace","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Reproductive Health."},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref017","article-title":"Reproductive coercion victimization and associated mental health outcomes among female-identifying young adults","author":"E Munoz","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Trauma & Dissociation"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0299069.ref018","first-page":"341","article-title":"Domestic and Family Violence, Reproductive Coercion and the Role for Law","volume":"26","author":"H Douglas","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Law and Medicine"},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref019","author":"E. 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Tarzia","year":"2021","journal-title":"Qual Health Res"},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref047","first-page":"1","article-title":"\"He\u2019d Tell Me I was Frigid and Ugly and Force me to Have Sex with Him Anyway\": Women\u2019s Experiences of Co-Occurring Sexual Violence and Psychological Abuse in Heterosexual Relationships.","author":"L Tarzia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Journal of Interpersonal Violence"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0299069.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1228","DOI":"10.1177\/1077801219856107","article-title":"Reproductive Coercion and Perceptions of Future Violence.","volume":"26","author":"R Fleury-Steiner","year":"2020","journal-title":"Violence Against Women."},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref049","article-title":"Coercive Control During Pregnancy, Birthing and Postpartum: Women\u2019s Experiences and Perspectives on Health Practitioners\u2019 Responses.","author":"F Buchanan","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Fam Violence"},{"key":"pone.0299069.ref050","volume-title":"A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situational Couple Violence","author":"M. 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