Building Intentional Support for Survivors of Violence who are Pregnant 

Natasha Larson

Director of Training and Member Engagement

Pregnancy can be a life changing experience. Not only are there physical changes to the body, but it also requires a change in many other aspects of a person’s life: the home you live in, the relationships you have with people (in and out of your home), finding balance between work and personal life – the list is LONG! 

Dealing with these changes can be difficult, and ALL families benefit from additional help during that transitional period. But what if the help being provided isn’t…helpful? I came across a study recently that focused on family functioning and pregnancy outcomes. Family functioning is defined as a family’s efforts to maintain a level of balance, harmony, and coherence when facing family stress. We see families exist on a continuum of low to high functioning, which can look like:

Low family functioning:

  • Poor communication
  • Rigidity
  • High levels of conflict

Low family functioning:

  • Flexibility
  • Adaptability
  • Mutual support

Low family functioning also includes more extreme things, like when people witness or experience violence. If pregnant people cannot get flexible, adaptable support from their families regarding interpersonal violence, they are going to turn to anti-violence organizations for that support.

So, what are some of the ways that anti-violence organizations can build intentional support for people who are pregnant and experiencing/witnessing violence? Some considerations include: 

1. Trainings for Staff 

    • Make sure that staff that work directly with pregnant people are trained not only in the intersections of sexual and domestic violence but also have dedicated in-services or trainings that cover reproductive and sexual coercion. This can be especially valuable as not everyone on staff has the same education on comprehensive sexuality education. 

2. Safety Planning & Lethality Assessments 

    • If a survivor is calling in acute crisis, ensure that whatever screening tools or lethality assessments you use have proactive questions around pregnancy and violence. Research has found that reproductive coercion poses as a lethality risk factor for intimate partner homicide. Some sample questions include: 
      1. Does your partner support your decision about becoming pregnant? 
      2. Has your partner ever tried to get you pregnant when you did not want to be pregnant?
      3. Are you worried your partner will hurt you if you do not do what they want with the pregnancy? 

3. Case Management and/or Aftercare Advocacy Services 

    • Once a survivor is past the acute crisis and looking to engage in after-care advocacy or case management, ensure that your intake process includes goal setting that includes: building diverse support systems, immediate and ongoing medical needs, and physical/emotional preparation postpartum. 

4. Be ready (not reactionary!) to pregnant survivor needs 

    • People who are pregnant have many unique needs. It’s important to prepare for those needs to ensure survivors see themselves reflected in your agency. To move from reacting to pregnant people to being ready for pregnant people, here are a few questions to ask yourself to start: 
      1. Does my community resources list include local parenting support groups? 
      2. Does my wish-list to volunteers and donors include items for pregnant people? 
      3. Does my website/brochures/social media reflect that pregnant people are welcome at my organization? 

These are just a few considerations to start this journey. I HOPE that with some of these implementations, we can BUILD more thoughtful responses to survivors of violence who can then THRIVE not only in their journey as a survivor – but their journey as a parent.

This publication was supported by Rape Crisis Funding awarded by the Ohio Governor’s office, administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The opinions, findings, conclusion, and recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Governor or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Source: Family Functioning Study https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11002326/  

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