Objective To document the lifetime prevalence of abuse from in-laws (both nonphysical maltreatment and physical violence), the forms of in-law abuse and reproductive control, and the relationship between experiences of in-law abuse and reproductive control among partnered women in rural Côte d'Ivoire.

Design Cross-sectional study using baseline data (October 2010) from a randomised controlled trial examining socio-economic interventions on reduction of violence against Ivorian women.

Setting Rural Côte d'Ivoire.

Population A total of 981 Ivorian women aged 18 years and older who reported having a male partner and a current source of stable income.

Methods Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression.

Main outcome measures Lifetime, in-law-perpetrated reproductive control.

Results More than one in four (27.0%) women reported experiencing lifetime in-law abuse. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, in-law abuse was significantly associated with in-law-perpetrated reproductive control (adjusted odds ratio 6.9; 95% confidence interval 3.9–12.2; P < 0.0001). Religion and having fewer pregnancies were also associated with reporting in-law-perpetrated reproductive control.

Conclusions Increased efforts are needed to involve in-laws in programmes that seek to reduce gender-based violence against women and improve women’s reproductive health.