Disclosure and police reporting of intimate partner violence postpartum: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
intimate partner violence is a significant health problem. Fear of retaliation and shame may prevent women from telling anyone about the violence. This study investigated the prevalence of disclosure and police reporting of intimate partner violence during the first year postpartum.


METHODS
a prospective longitudinal Swedish cohort study based on information from 2563 women who answered a postal questionnaire in early pregnancy and 12 months postpartum.


RESULTS
of 52 women who had been exposed to violence by their partner during the first year postpartum, four (8%) had filed a police report while 19 (37%) had not told anyone about the violence. All single women in the study had disclosed the violence to a friend, a relative or filed a police report.


CONCLUSIONS
few women file a police report when they are being hit by their partner during the year after childbirth. Many women do not tell anyone that they have been hit.


CONCLUSIONS
these data may encourage health professionals to undertake sensitive questioning about violence, giving an opening for support.
Rubertsson
Christine
C
Department of Caring and Public Sciences, Mälardalen University, Box 883, SE-721 23 Västerås, Sweden. Christine.Rubertsson@mdh.se
Hildingsson
Ingegerd
I
Rådestad
Ingela
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D030881:Disclosure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004243:Divorce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016495:Police; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult