Violence Exposure of Infertile Couples: A Systematic Review

Year 2023, , 41 - 47, 20.07.2023

Esra Çalışkan , Elif Balkan , Meltem Mecdi Kaydırak

https://doi.org/10.26650/CURARE.2023.1270076

Abstract

Objective: This study systematically evaluated the current literature on the types of violence perpetrated against infertile couples. Violence against infertile couples is quite common in societies. Literature on the types and levels of violence faced by couples is limited.

Materials and Methods: In this study, databases were scanned using ‘infertilite ve şiddet’,‘infertility and violence’ keywords. Open access clinical trials that met the inclusion criteria and conducted between January 2015/March 2020 were reviewed. The databases included Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane, the Wiley Online Library, the National Academic Network Information Center National Medical Database, Google Scholar, and Web of Science were looked at. In this systematic review, seventeen studies were chosen based on inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Results: Many of these studies (94.11%) were conducted with women. Thirteen studies examining types of violence toward infertile women found such women suffered from emotional (96.3%), verbal (84.9%), physical (68%), sexual (60%) and economic violence (77.4%). Marriage age, length of marriage, family structure, confirmation of infertility, length of infertility, number of infertility therapies received, alcohol/smoking use, education level, and employment status were described as factors influencing the incidence of violence in infertility.

Conclusion: The results of these studies indicated that infertile couples had higher rates of social pressure and domestic abuse. However, this study revealed that there is a lack of research on violence towards men in cases of infertile couples.

Keywords

Infertility violence, i̇nfertilite ve şiddet, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, nursing

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