July 26, 2024 • 9 mins
In this episode, Heena introduces listeners to the topic of reproductive coercion, offering insights drawn from her extensive work with trauma survivors. She explains the concept of coercive control and how it manifests in intimate partner violence, particularly in relation to reproductive choices.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
You're listening to the Therapist Treating Trauma podcast, and I'm your host,
Hena Khan, Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist
Supervisor based out of Allen, Texas.
I'm a Specialty Trauma and Grief Therapist for children and adults.
On this podcast, you will get a masterclass in trauma, grief,
and loss from a person-centered therapy framework on neuroscience lens and culturally
(00:34):
competent approach to support your your work as therapists in this field.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode. So glad you're here.
I'm actually publishing this episode a little bit earlier because I am going
to be at a conference next week and on Monday and Tuesday.
So I figured I could post my episode a little bit earlier, but I'm going to
(00:57):
be at the Female Survivors of Trauma Conference in Plano, Texas.
I'm one of the speakers and I'm actually going to be speaking on reproductive coercion.
So if that interests you or if you are
registered to attend this conference give
me a shout out let me know i'd love to meet you there so and
and if you're going to be able if you are attending i'd love to see
(01:18):
you at the presentation if that's part of your agenda that day so i will be
presenting both on both days monday and tuesday and so this particular topic
of reproductive coercion is fresh on my mind and i thought i'd give you a little
bit of insight or information about this topic And if it continues to interest
you, and even if you're aren't able to make the conference,
I'm going to be offering this as a live CEU very soon.
(01:43):
So if that's interest is of interest to you, definitely let me know.
And or I'll definitely send email if you're part of our group and you get notifications
and emails, you'll you'll hear about it as soon as I schedule it.
So let's talk about the topic of reproductive coercion.
So this topic came to me, so I've worked a lot with trauma survivors at a local nonprofit.
(02:08):
And that was a common theme that I experienced throughout my time there.
And so I did some research on that. I've seen a lot of clients who've experienced this. And so,
And just to give you some context, a local nonprofit was for survivors of domestic violence.
So we would serve women, mostly women, who experienced intimate partner violence and domestic violence.
(02:33):
So let's dive right into, and this particular episode is going to kind of scratch
the surface on what exactly is reproductive coercion and kind of what we see
in it and kind of who perpetrates it, right? Right.
So let's first understand what is coercion. So coercion essentially is power and abuse.
(02:55):
OK, so and in the context of intimate partner violence, the definition of coercion includes this.
There's this threat of consequences for noncompliance with a demand.
Right. And then control is the influence that person has over the other person.
So coercion becomes possible with control.
Right. So coercive control essentially is any pattern of behavior that an abuser
(03:21):
uses to dominate this person or limit their freedom. Right. And it can be very subtle.
You know, sometimes you'll see it like through gaslighting. Sometimes you'll see it in clear threat.
Sometimes you'll see it through other nuanced behaviors that people who like,
you know, abusers or perpetrators, you know, utilize these tactics or strategies to be able to vary.
(03:45):
Some are more sophisticated than others, but coercive control is a very common
experience of survivors of intimate partner violence or domestic violence.
It's estimated that about 60 to 80% of female domestic abuse survivors experience
coercive control beyond the physical and emotional abuse, right?
So when we understand, like, what is this beyond the physical and emotional abuse? use.
(04:06):
So remember, we talked about how coercive control is essentially a pattern of
behavior where the abuser will use to dominate the person and limit their freedom.
And the freedom, right, could be, right, one of the aspects of freedom is how
someone chooses to practice birth control, right?
(04:28):
So what is reproductive coercion? So what falls under reproductive coercion? So here are some things.
Acts of violence or threats against a person's reproductive health or decision-making.
Interfering with birth control methods, okay?
Coercing a partner to have unprotected sex, or controlling pregnancy outcomes, right?
(04:51):
Where you're either forcing an abortion or you're preventing one.
Threatening to report to law enforcement or family about abortion.
Controlling the type of delivery, whether it's a VBAC, C-section, or vaginal.
Now, granted, in a general healthy relationship, these decisions are made together, right?
Like, so for those of you who practice or offer couples counseling, right?
(05:14):
Like this is a huge, this discussion around childbirth or fertility or reproductive
choices is a conversation decision that both people in the relationship are
making together, right?
And both people need to be on board. If one isn't on board, there's conflict, right?
So naturally, we know that there needs to be some consensus,
(05:37):
right, in both people on what they choose to do in a healthy relationship.
In an unhealthy relationship, what we'll see is there is it's very skewed,
where one person just has no control, not even control.
It's like no agency to even want something different, right?
(05:59):
Like there's just no consideration for what they would want or what would be
important to them, right?
There's just no consideration and that's essentially what.
You'll see in these controlling relationships, right, whether it's to do with
reproductive choices or it has to do with other choices or other aspects of
(06:21):
freedom, there isn't a consideration of what this person wants.
And it's more about what the abuser or the perpetrator is choosing to,
you know, or choosing or wanting for themselves or in this relationship.
Okay, so there's, so it's very different for them versus for the person who's experiencing it.
So with that said, these are the different ones that I just listed are what we tend to see.
(06:47):
Now, the one that I think, I'm trying to see which one I could specifically go into,
but I'll tell you the one that I see, well,
I see a lot of these or all of these, but the one that we often don't think
about when we think about reproductive coercion is the piece of who perpetrates this, right?
(07:09):
There's an assumption, right? Or there is, you know, yeah, the assumption is
that it's the partner, right?
The intimate partner or, you know, the person he or she is in a relationship with.
But we know, and especially through when we understand domestic violence in
terms of domestic, like anybody in the household,
we understand that reproductive coercion, especially, this is something I talk
(07:34):
a lot about in the cultural competency trainings that I do, is how does family
and extended family impact or play a role in this?
And we know that reproductive coercion can be extended, not just the partner,
but the family members, the in-laws, the mother-in-law, the father-in-law,
the uncles, the aunts, right?
And then it also extends to societal and cultural pressures.
(07:57):
So there's, gosh, I do a whole training on this, right?
So there's a lot there, but I just want to pick your interest about like,
and help you kind of see this a little bit differently where it's not just the partner, right?
There's other people who could be involved in reproductive coercion and the
choices that a couple chooses or wants to make in terms of their reproductive choices.
(08:22):
So I hope I've kind of picked your brains. I'm just going to pause here because
there's so much to go into.
But again, if this interests you, let me know and And I'll be sure to post our
course or our live CEU when that's scheduled.
But it's just a really intriguing topic. And there's a lot to unpack here.
But I hope that helps you get a sense of what reproductive coercion is,
(08:43):
who we tend to see perpetrate this kind of coercion, and what it could look like.
All right, well, that is all I have for now. I'm going to be out next week for our conference.
And then I will see you guys in my next episode. Thanks for being here. Bye.
Music.
(00:10):
You're listening to the Therapist Treating Trauma podcast, and I'm your host,
Hena Khan, Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist
Supervisor based out of Allen, Texas.
I'm a Specialty Trauma and Grief Therapist for children and adults.
On this podcast, you will get a masterclass in trauma, grief,
and loss from a person-centered therapy framework on neuroscience lens and culturally
(00:34):
competent approach to support your your work as therapists in this field.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode. So glad you're here.
I'm actually publishing this episode a little bit earlier because I am going
to be at a conference next week and on Monday and Tuesday.
So I figured I could post my episode a little bit earlier, but I'm going to
(00:57):
be at the Female Survivors of Trauma Conference in Plano, Texas.
I'm one of the speakers and I'm actually going to be speaking on reproductive coercion.
So if that interests you or if you are
registered to attend this conference give
me a shout out let me know i'd love to meet you there so and
and if you're going to be able if you are attending i'd love to see
(01:18):
you at the presentation if that's part of your agenda that day so i will be
presenting both on both days monday and tuesday and so this particular topic
of reproductive coercion is fresh on my mind and i thought i'd give you a little
bit of insight or information about this topic And if it continues to interest
you, and even if you're aren't able to make the conference,
I'm going to be offering this as a live CEU very soon.
(01:43):
So if that's interest is of interest to you, definitely let me know.
And or I'll definitely send email if you're part of our group and you get notifications
and emails, you'll you'll hear about it as soon as I schedule it.
So let's talk about the topic of reproductive coercion.
So this topic came to me, so I've worked a lot with trauma survivors at a local nonprofit.
(02:08):
And that was a common theme that I experienced throughout my time there.
And so I did some research on that. I've seen a lot of clients who've experienced this. And so,
And just to give you some context, a local nonprofit was for survivors of domestic violence.
So we would serve women, mostly women, who experienced intimate partner violence and domestic violence.
(02:33):
So let's dive right into, and this particular episode is going to kind of scratch
the surface on what exactly is reproductive coercion and kind of what we see
in it and kind of who perpetrates it, right? Right.
So let's first understand what is coercion. So coercion essentially is power and abuse.
(02:55):
OK, so and in the context of intimate partner violence, the definition of coercion includes this.
There's this threat of consequences for noncompliance with a demand.
Right. And then control is the influence that person has over the other person.
So coercion becomes possible with control.
Right. So coercive control essentially is any pattern of behavior that an abuser
(03:21):
uses to dominate this person or limit their freedom. Right. And it can be very subtle.
You know, sometimes you'll see it like through gaslighting. Sometimes you'll see it in clear threat.
Sometimes you'll see it through other nuanced behaviors that people who like,
you know, abusers or perpetrators, you know, utilize these tactics or strategies to be able to vary.
(03:45):
Some are more sophisticated than others, but coercive control is a very common
experience of survivors of intimate partner violence or domestic violence.
It's estimated that about 60 to 80% of female domestic abuse survivors experience
coercive control beyond the physical and emotional abuse, right?
So when we understand, like, what is this beyond the physical and emotional abuse? use.
(04:06):
So remember, we talked about how coercive control is essentially a pattern of
behavior where the abuser will use to dominate the person and limit their freedom.
And the freedom, right, could be, right, one of the aspects of freedom is how
someone chooses to practice birth control, right?
(04:28):
So what is reproductive coercion? So what falls under reproductive coercion? So here are some things.
Acts of violence or threats against a person's reproductive health or decision-making.
Interfering with birth control methods, okay?
Coercing a partner to have unprotected sex, or controlling pregnancy outcomes, right?
(04:51):
Where you're either forcing an abortion or you're preventing one.
Threatening to report to law enforcement or family about abortion.
Controlling the type of delivery, whether it's a VBAC, C-section, or vaginal.
Now, granted, in a general healthy relationship, these decisions are made together, right?
Like, so for those of you who practice or offer couples counseling, right?
(05:14):
Like this is a huge, this discussion around childbirth or fertility or reproductive
choices is a conversation decision that both people in the relationship are
making together, right?
And both people need to be on board. If one isn't on board, there's conflict, right?
So naturally, we know that there needs to be some consensus,
(05:37):
right, in both people on what they choose to do in a healthy relationship.
In an unhealthy relationship, what we'll see is there is it's very skewed,
where one person just has no control, not even control.
It's like no agency to even want something different, right?
(05:59):
Like there's just no consideration for what they would want or what would be
important to them, right?
There's just no consideration and that's essentially what.
You'll see in these controlling relationships, right, whether it's to do with
reproductive choices or it has to do with other choices or other aspects of
(06:21):
freedom, there isn't a consideration of what this person wants.
And it's more about what the abuser or the perpetrator is choosing to,
you know, or choosing or wanting for themselves or in this relationship.
Okay, so there's, so it's very different for them versus for the person who's experiencing it.
So with that said, these are the different ones that I just listed are what we tend to see.
(06:47):
Now, the one that I think, I'm trying to see which one I could specifically go into,
but I'll tell you the one that I see, well,
I see a lot of these or all of these, but the one that we often don't think
about when we think about reproductive coercion is the piece of who perpetrates this, right?
(07:09):
There's an assumption, right? Or there is, you know, yeah, the assumption is
that it's the partner, right?
The intimate partner or, you know, the person he or she is in a relationship with.
But we know, and especially through when we understand domestic violence in
terms of domestic, like anybody in the household,
we understand that reproductive coercion, especially, this is something I talk
(07:34):
a lot about in the cultural competency trainings that I do, is how does family
and extended family impact or play a role in this?
And we know that reproductive coercion can be extended, not just the partner,
but the family members, the in-laws, the mother-in-law, the father-in-law,
the uncles, the aunts, right?
And then it also extends to societal and cultural pressures.
(07:57):
So there's, gosh, I do a whole training on this, right?
So there's a lot there, but I just want to pick your interest about like,
and help you kind of see this a little bit differently where it's not just the partner, right?
There's other people who could be involved in reproductive coercion and the
choices that a couple chooses or wants to make in terms of their reproductive choices.
(08:22):
So I hope I've kind of picked your brains. I'm just going to pause here because
there's so much to go into.
But again, if this interests you, let me know and And I'll be sure to post our
course or our live CEU when that's scheduled.
But it's just a really intriguing topic. And there's a lot to unpack here.
But I hope that helps you get a sense of what reproductive coercion is,
(08:43):
who we tend to see perpetrate this kind of coercion, and what it could look like.
All right, well, that is all I have for now. I'm going to be out next week for our conference.
And then I will see you guys in my next episode. Thanks for being here. Bye.
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