Community Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy—A Qualitative Study from Ethiopia

Intimate partner violence (IPV) in pregnancy adversely affects the health of women and unborn children. To prevent this, the community responses, societal systems, and structures to support victims of IPV in pregnancy are vital. Objectives: to explore community stakeholders’ perspectives related to IPV in pregnancy in Jimma, Ethiopia, and if needed, create the knowledge base for interventions. Methods: using an exploratory design, this qualitative study had a maximum-variation (multiple spectrum sources) sampling strategy with 16 semi-structured interviews of purposively selected key informants representing different community institutions. Guided by Connell’s theory of gender and power, a content analysis of the translated interviews was conducted using Atlas.ti 7 software. Results: reconciliation between IPV victims and their abusers was the solution promoted by almost all the respondents. There was limited awareness of the adverse impacts IPV in pregnancy has on the health of the woman and the foetus. Despite regular encounters with victims, there is no organized or structured operational response to support IPV victims between the participating institutions. Conclusion: the potential danger of IPV for the mother or the unborn child was not well understood by the members of the studied Ethiopian community. Neither coordinated efforts to support IPV victims nor links among relevant agencies existed. The study demonstrated the dire need of coordinated practical action, changes in current socio-cultural norms, formal training and capacity building, awareness creation, clear intervention guidelines, and facilitation of support networks among relevant institutions in Ethiopian communities.