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More than 40 per cent of pregnant people seeking help from a counselling service had been exposed to violence, and barriers to abortion have led women to self-harm, a new study has found.
- The University of Queensland study has found there are still many barriers to terminating a pregnancy
- Researchers analysed almost 2,000 de-identified client records collected by Children by Choice
- Of those, 859 had been exposed to partner or family violence, including reproductive coercion and abuse
The study, from the University of Queensland, has found there are still barriers to terminating a pregnancy even where abortion has been decriminalised for more than three years.
Researchers analysed almost 2,000 de-identified client records collected by pregnancy counselling service Children by Choice between December 2018 and June 2020.
Of those, 859 had been exposed to partner or family violence including reproductive coercion and abuse.
Study co-author Judith Dean from UQ's School of Public Health told the ABC that they found decriminalisation to have some impact on accessibility but there were still a lot of other barriers that needed addressing.
"It's been one piece of a complex system that influences access," Dr Dean said.
"Anybody would be concerned that women still don't have equity and access and I think the findings from our studies certainly support that.
"This continues, despite decriminalisation, and we really need to put some structures in place that will address these barriers."
Fellow researcher Maryanne Cleetus said violence was one of those barriers impeding access to safe and timely abortions, alongside affordability, stigma and lack of knowledge.
She said in some cases, they were exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions.
"The effect of these barriers was extremely concerning — some clients said they had considered using unsafe termination methods or had undertaken self-harm," Ms Cleetus said.
Almost a third of people who contacted the counselling service were concession or healthcare card holders and the top reason given for reaching out was financial assistance in accessing an abortion.
Dr Dean said the clients spoke of isolation and a lack of personal and healthcare support.
They commonly reported having seen unsupportive healthcare practitioners who gave incorrect or misleading advice about abortions or refused to refer them.
One client reported seeing a GP and was advised that an abortion could not be performed after 10 weeks, that she might die and that the major tertiary hospital "doesn't do it anyway".
The hospital later advised her that they did actually provide abortions.
Children by Choice CEO Daile Kelleher said other barriers included confusing publicly funded pathways to abortion, which could result in distress and poor health outcomes.
The study is published in CSIRO Sexual Health.