Women are suffering from reproductive coercion in Ireland, including being forced to have abortions, staff at the Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATU) have said.

In one case, a girl, aged under 18, was locked in a room and given abortion tablets to force an end to her pregnancy.

SATU national director Dr Maeve Eogan said patients such as these can be found not just in SATUs, but across the health service including by GPs, emergency departments, and maternity units.

“Now, very clearly, there are lots of discussions about the crime of coercive control, but in addition, there is this concept of sexual coercion.

She said this can be linked to sex trafficking, but added: “There is a concern that it’s there as a form of domestic violence as well, and we need to raise awareness about it and raise awareness among health practitioners.”