• Investigating the Impact of Violence Against Women and Its Consequences on Reproductive Health: A Systematic Review
  • Reyhaneh Norouzi Aval,1,* Khalil Kimiafar,2 Masoumeh Sarbaz,3
    1. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
    2. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
    3. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences


  • Introduction: Violence against women is common and leads to costly problems for both society and women's reproductive health. Worldwide, one in three women has experienced domestic violence, and very few studies speak of violence and its consequences for women's health. Gender-based violence against women and girls is pervasive and has negative consequences for sexual and reproductive health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of violence on women's health in terms of adverse outcomes of pregnancy and reproductive health.
  • Methods: To achieve this goal, a systematic review without time limit was searched by searching for keywords in the title and abstract of studies in the reputable scientific databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar on June 15, 2022. Titles and abstracts were screened independently based on eligibility criteria. Inclusion criteria included studies in English focusing on the two main terms violence against women, reproductive health, access to the full text of the article, and studies that provided possible answers to questions based on title and content. Exclusion criteria included a text without a full text, no keywords in the title or text of the article, and studies that did not provide any scientific, theoretical, laboratory, or statistical evidence. A total of 9 articles were included in the study.
  • Results: The results of studies show that violence is higher among a group of illiterate women who have had multiple marriages. There are many forms of violence against women, including partner violence, sexual coercion, exploitation and rape. Injuries that affect women's health from sexual violence include: pelvic pain (<80%), genital infections (<50%), irritable bowel syndrome (<50%), miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, irregularity Menstruation (53.5%). Unfavorable birth outcomes in sexual violence include: low birth weight, 10.5%; Preterm delivery 26.5%; And infant mortality is 2.9%.
  • Conclusion: The findings of this study may increase our understanding of the impact of violence against women and their reproductive health and thus highlight the importance of measures to prevent spousal violence.
  • Keywords: Violence against women, Reproductive health, Rape, Depression