Financial abuse which is sometimes called economic abuse, is a pattern of controlling, threatening and degrading a woman and it is a kind of coercive control that restricts a woman from the freedom to make money. This is simply a situation where a perpetrator (male or female) uses abusive behaviours to threaten and enforce economic abuse and it happens in diverse ways.
Commonly, economic abuse, according to Wikipedia, is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner’s access to economic resources which diminishes the victim’s capacity to support themselves and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially.
Financial abuse can be in different forms; forced financial dependence, denial of inheritance or succession rights and unreasonable deprivation of economic or financial resources to which any woman is entitled or required out of necessity like household necessities, mortgage or bond repayment or payment of rent in terms of shared residence as well as unreasonable disposal or destruction of household effect or property in which a woman has interest.
It does not often occur in isolation as the perpetrator devises means of limiting their partner’s current and future actions and their freedom of choice economically in a controlling manner like using their debit cards without permission or consideration, selling joint properties without consent or gambling with family assets among many other vices.
However, economic abuse is wider than financial abuse because it covers a wider range of acts; restricting access to essential resources such as food, clothing or transport, and denying the means to improve a person’s economic status in a bid to ensure economic instability and limit women’s choices and ability to access safety or be independent.
Effect of financial abuse is physical, emotional and psychological and causes trauma for the victims as they can be forced to lack basic needs to ensure they depend solely on the perpetrator and remain in abusive relationships. It also limits their chances of aspiring for better choices in life.
The act of manipulating a woman’s access to money, basic needs and other economic resources is one of the most prominent forms of coercive control that deprives them of independence, self worth and freedom of choice.
A woman going through economic abuse is forced to become financially dependent on another person, by obstructing her or his access to resources and independent economic activity.
And because it is damaging to the victims, economic and financial abuse has been classified as an offence under the gender- based violence act which if found culpable attracts punishment.
In Oyo state, under the act, anyone found guilty of forced financial dependence is liable to two years imprisonment or a fine of N100, 000 and in some cases, both while attempted forced financial dependence attracts a year jail term or N50, 000 fine or both just as aiding forced financial dependence also attracts a year jail term or N50, 000 fine or both and being an accessory after the fact of forced financial dependence attracts six months jail term, N30, 000 fine or both.
For deprivation of entitlement on account of sexuality, anyone found culpable gets a seven-year jail term, N200, 000 fine or both.
Economic and financial abuse should be stopped because it has destroyed and continues to destroy many women who live wretched lives based on the whims and caprices of their abusers.
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