Investigate maternal and paternal risk factors for violence during pregnancy: lasting impact for everyone

Introduction

Globally, one in three women are estimated to experience physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence during their lifetime. Pregnancy is a life-changing time, when violence might subside, occur for the first time, or intensify. Abuse and its consequences can be severe for both mother and children, and cascade into the next generation.

Project Aim

IMPROVE_LIFE's aim is to understand the risk and protective factors for violence during pregnancy, its short and long-term effects, and intergenerational impact.

Project Overview

This project proposes the first theorization and empirical assessment of violence during pregnancy, its intergenerational transmission, and health and social effects using clinically tested biomarkers. It will synthesize new and existing intergenerational cohort data from diverse settings: Bangladesh and the UK, use pooled multi-country survey datasets, and qualitative evidence.

Objectives

IMPROVE_LIFE will address five objectives:

1. Investigate the short- and long-term social and health effects of violence during pregnancy on women and their children.
2. Explore if violence during pregnancy is a marker for severe violence.
3. Study maternal and paternal risk factors for the transmission of violence to their children.
4. Elicit male and female experiences and views of the causes of violence during pregnancy.
5. Provide evidence on the global applicability of established pathways explaining violence during pregnancy.

Expected Outcomes

The fundamental gains for the protection of women and prevention of violence emerging from this ambitious research programme are immense. The high risks arising from following a cohort after two decades, integrating clinically collected biomarkers, and including male voices are addressed by a dedicated and experienced Principal Investigator (PI) and team, along with robust research approaches.

Conclusion

The new empirically tested, ecological theoretical framework will be vital to inform policy, prevention, and response programmes addressing violence during pregnancy, thereby improving lives.