The influence of family violence and child marriage on unmet need for family planning may be influenced by violence perpetrated by other family members. Women who are married as minors may be most vulnerable to IPV and FV’s IPV and FV’sIPV and FV’s potential compounding effect on unmet needs.
Using nationally representative data from Jordan Population and Family Health Survey, we examined unmet needs by exposure to IPV and FV by women’s age at marriage.
Researchers used logistic regression to test whether IPV and FV were independently associated with unmet need by age at marriage. They also tested Interaction terms in both models. Stratification by FV was employed to clarify the interpretation of significant interactions.
Women married as minors who experienced IPV and FV had a four-fold higher libeforeod of having an unmet need than those experiencing only IPV. Analysis results detected no interaction between IPV and FV for women married at or above the majority.
The study concluded that laws that prohibit child marriage should be strengthened, and health sector screening for violence experience could help identify women at risk of unmet need and improve women’s reproductive agency.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/43/2/105
