Season 3 Episode 8: Understanding Reproductive Coercion: An Interview with Dr. Heather McCauley

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About this episode 

In this episode, David & Ruth continue their series on reproductive coercion as part of the cycle of intimate partner violence with an interview with Dr. Heather McCauley from the Michigan Consortium on Gender-Based Violence MSU. 

Dr. McCauley discusses the newest research on reproductive coercion, the correlations to intimate partner violence, unwanted pregnancy, STI & health issues.   

• Reproductive coercion is a common part of perpetrators' patterns of coercive control, violence & abuse.  

• Condom manipulation & pregnancy coercion are two common ways perpetrators entrap victims in relationships. 

• Survivors who share children with a perpetrator are often unable to extricate themselves because of societal support, religious beliefs,  gender biases & institutional support for the 'authority' of the perpetrator over their victims. 

• Family court, criminal courts & our systems of care often blame women for having children with perpetrators. 

• Pregnancy is assumed to be in the control of the survivor, even when domestic violence is a known issue. 

• Women in this situation can face tremendous judgment including being thought of as stupid, promiscuous, failing to understand the impact of domestic violence, or choosing to continue a relationship with a perpetrator. 

• These attitudes further entrap survivors,  victimizing them & placing them as child survivors in danger.   

In this interview, David, Ruth & Dr. McCauley talk about topics like:

• How important it is to identify common acts of resistance to reproductive coercion so we accurately assess survivors' protective and safety strategies. 

• How resistance to reproductive coercion often elicits violence - as does any form of resistance to a perpetrator of intimate partner violence. 

• How a lack of professional awareness of the patterns & strategies of reproductive coercion is a danger to survivors & their safety & wellbeing.  

• How reproductive coercion is much like the wartime strategy of rape to enforce compliance, to frighten & to control. 

• The need for men to be part of the discussion around consent, family planning & reproductive health & the need for further engagement & accountability for perpetrators. 

With some governments moving to remove reproductive rights, bodily self-determination, access to abortion & birth control, it is vital to have a discussion of what reproductive coercion is, how it most often manifests as behaviors & what the impact is for survivors. Diving down into how reproductive coercion is supported by our societal attitudes, laws & institutional practices is key to addressing the systemic nature of reproductive coercion. 

The podcast also includes positive statements on the dignity & autonomy of women &  speaks about the prevalence of attitudes that support & normalize reproductive coercion.

For more information on Dr. McCauley
https://vaw.msu.edu/people/mccauley-heather-sc-d/

Further listening on this topic
Season 3 Episode 7: Understanding and Validating Survivors’ Acts of Resistance

More About The Podcast

You asked, we answered. Amidst our current, global political and social upheavals, during movements, activism and testimonies, legal cases, fear and victim-blaming - we’ve heard your voice asking for clarity, insight and thoughts about how all of this is reflected in the Safe & Together Model. Many of the stories and news pieces we hear about from our partners all over the world involve complex questions, yet the beginnings of change and hope are based on the sound, simple principles of the Model.

To that end, in our new podcast, “Partnered with a Survivor,” S&T’s Executive Director and Founder, David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel offer a raw and intimate glimpse into their personal and professional partnership and what it means to truly partner with a survivor, raise a family based on S&T principles and engage in social change at every level. This is a podcast for practitioners and parents, partners and employers, coworkers and friends - and anyone else who may want clarity, understanding, hope and healing.

What does it mean to give consistent consent? What is coercive control? How do you probably see it or feel it every day? This is a podcast you’ll wish you had heard when you were a teenager. In unsure, confusing times, it’s our goal to widen the audience for the Safe & Together Model-associated material to survivors, their family members, and even perpetrators. For professionals familiar with the Model, it will offer another angle on the issues addressed by the Model. For those who don't know Safe & Together, it offers a connection to the themes and ideas behind the work.

These podcasts are a reflection of Ruth & David’s ongoing conversations which are both intimate and professional and touch on complex topics like how systems fail victims and children, how victims experience those systems, and how children are impacted by those failures. Their discussions delve into how society views masculinity and violence, and how intersectionalities such as cultural beliefs, religious beliefs and unique vulnerabilities impact how we respond to abuse and violence. These far-ranging discussions offer an insider look into how we navigate the world as professionals, as parents and as partners. During these podcasts, David & Ruth challenge the notions which keep all us from moving forward collectively as systems, as cultures and as families into safety, nurturance and healing.

Note: Some of the topics discussed in the podcast are deeply personal and sensitive, which may be difficult for some people. We also use mature language to describe some feelings. Finally, we use gender pronouns like “he” when discussing perpetrators and “she” for victims for two reasons: 1.) statistically, more men are perpetrators than are women when it comes to domestic violence, abuse and coercive control; and 2. For clarity's sake, sticking with one pronoun causes less confusion for the listener. We know there are many men who are in abusive relationships and we are not invalidating their situations.

About the podcasters: David and Ruth are committed to creating systems and cultures of nurturance and safety. David Mandel founded the Safe & Together Institute which trains systems in domestic violence aware practices from a child safety lens. Ruth Reymundo Mandel is a survivor of complex abuse, child abuse and domestic abuse growing up in a cult. She is a former teacher and trainer using her experience to clarify messages and complexities around abuse and survivors.]