Women’s self-help group participation and discussion of reproductive coercion: Associations with past experiences of violence among family planning clients in Kenya

Reproductive coercion (RC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are prevalent in Kenya and undermine women’s reproductive agency; community-based women’s groups may offer an opportunity to address these issues. We quantitatively examined women’s participation in women-only self-help groups, described discussions of RC within these groups, and assessed differences based on prior experiences of RC and IPV among a clinic-based sample of Kenyan women seeking family planning services to inform future programming. Data were collected from 659 women of reproductive age seeking family planning services at six private clinics in Nairobi as part of the baseline for an intervention to address RC and IPV within family planning counseling. We used descriptive statistics, bivariate hypothesis testing, and adjusted mixed-effect logistic regression models to examine the relationship between self-help group participation and lifetime experience of RC and IPV. Using the same methods, we analyzed group discussions about RC in relation to lifetime experiences of abuse among women who had recently participated in groups. Additionally, we explored associations between RC discussions and the type of self-help group (e.g., economic, charitable) using bivariate tests. Over half of women reported prior participation in women-only self-help groups, with most participating in economic groups (63%). More than one in two women reported prior IPV and one in three reported prior RC. Self-help group participation was not significantly associated with prior experiences of RC or IPV. However, women who had ever experienced RC were more likely to report discussions about RC within groups (AOR 1.82 95% CI 1.06-3.14). Discussions of RC were less common in economic groups. Women-only self-help group participation is common and acceptable among Kenyan women, including those experiencing violence. However, economic groups—though widespread—discuss RC less often, indicating a key opportunity to integrate RC/IPV programming into these settings to strengthen community-based support.