Written by Victoria Barics, Advocacy Center Community Engagement Specialist
Content note: The information discussed in this blog mentions sexual assault, domestic violence, and methods of coercion used by perpetrators.
Last month, members of our staff joined Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) for their annual Day of Action. To those of you reading who may be wondering why, the linkage between access to reproductive healthcare and supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence overlaps more than you may realize.
This year’s Day of Action, titled “No Freedom without Access”, was centered around three asks that PPGNY staff and advocates brought forth to New York State Legislatures:
- “Ensure the budget includes important new funding that invests in access to medication abortion and care later in pregnancy and providers’ ability to make health care improvements and modernize their security.”
- “Pass a state budget that eliminates the requirement to report patient identifying abortion data to the state and local governments.”
- “Increase the funding for Reproductive Freedom and Equity to $35M.”
In short, members of the Advocacy Center team joined over 600 other individuals to advocate for more funding to protect reproductive healthcare services in New York State and the privacy of recipients of reproductive healthcare services.
Access to reproductive healthcare is a key component in providing survivors of domestic and sexual violence with the resources and tools they need to heal. The overlap in these issues areas appears in a handful of ways.
Autonomy
A person who has experienced sexual violence and/or domestic violence has had their autonomy taken away by their perpetrator(s). Advocates for domestic and sexual violence survivors are trained to focus on restoring this autonomy throughout the healing process – this ideology exists by letting the survivor lead the way in their journey at the pace that is right for them. Our team at the Advocacy Center works hard to ensure survivors are the decision-makers when exploring options. This logic is extended to all forms of resources offered to survivors and thus, reproductive healthcare should not be excluded from this list. Survivors deserve the right to autonomy in determining how to navigate their reproductive healthcare and should not be limited in what options are available to them.
Control
When a survivor’s autonomy is not respected by a perpetrator it is driven by the perpetrator’s need for control. Someone who is committing an act of domestic and sexual violence seeks to overpower another individual by taking away their ability to take agency in their own life. This desire to be in control can take many forms: financial, physical, and emotional to name a few, but it can also take place in the form of reproductive coercion. Reproductive coercion is defined as “behavior that interferes with contraception use and pregnancy” (Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women). These acts can range from sabotaging one’s ability to use various birth control methods, “stealthing” or non-consensual condom removal, pressuring a partner to become or stay pregnant, amongst other things. Excluding survivors of domestic and sexual violence from the conversation of reproductive healthcare discounts their experiences of violence. Reproductive coercion is a tool that perpetrators can utilize to expand their control – these tactics go further than an individual act of sexual violence and can continue to force a person to stay in a harmful relationship out of fear of themselves or others being hurt.
Reproductive Healthcare Services Are More Extensive Than You May Think
The list of services and materials that fall under the category of reproductive healthcare may be broader than you think. The need for reproductive healthcare impacts survivors long-term and the people around them. Some services and items that survivors need access to include:
- Timely testing, treatment, and counseling for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV after sexual assaults
- Regular screening for domestic violence and sexual assault by healthcare providers
- Contraception and birth control choices, including emergency contraception
- Safe abortion access if they choose to terminate a pregnancy
- Prenatal and postpartum healthcare
- Counseling and support services to address the psychological impacts of abuse on reproductive health decisions.
- Trauma-informed care from providers with domestic and sexual violence training
This list is not an exhaustive one but demonstrates the many needs survivors may have and how important it is to not only provide access to resources but ensure it is long-term access. The impact of abuse, sexual assault, and reproductive health decisions can be long-lasting on one’s physical and mental health.
The Advocacy Center’s participation in PPGNY’s 2025 Day of Action was essential to making sure survivor perspectives are included in the conversation about reproductive healthcare. The linkage between these issue areas is large; the resources that survivors need and their ability to choose these resources are dependent on the protection of reproductive healthcare. By joining PPGNY for their Day of Action we represented survivors across the state, and everywhere, to ensure their needs are heard and that their ability to choose their healing process remains protected.
If you are struggling with any of the issues mentioned in this article, know that you have support. The Advocacy Center’s 24/7 Hotline can be reached at (607)277-5000. If you are in need of local access to reproductive healthcare services, Ithaca’s Planned Parenthood office can be reached at (607)273-1513 or through online appointments on their website: Ithaca Planned Parenthood
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