Introduction to Economic Violence

What does economic violence mean? Where can we notice it occuring? This section explains how economic violence may take place in individual and institutional settings. The section also gives an introduction to the relation of gender as a prime factor in economic violence.

This section begins with understanding what gender-based violence is. We will recognise economic violence as a part of gender-based violence. It also explores the five different kinds of financial abuse.

In this section, we navigate how lack of economic power can manifest into economic abuse. We discuss studies by UN, IMAGE Project and NCDAV Financial Education Program on economic agency/ empowerment can lead to upliftment, independence and more.

We shall explore what 'intersectionality' means, and how the interlinked nature of social identifiers lead to advantages and privileges or discrimination and oppression. Along with gender, other social identities like caste, race come into play as we reimagine economic violence with an intersectional lens.We discuss examples of these social groups with respect to Indian contexts. What does economic agency look like then? What about legal aid and support? Let's explore these together.

This section looks into the multiple causes of economic violence, through an intersectional lens including reports on caste and gender identities.

After looking into the different causes of economic violence, we now delve into understanding how we can take steps that cater to the needs of the survivor of economic abuse. We shall understand how to do this through institutional and individual levels.

We have mainly talked about work that offers financial compensation, usually in a formal setting. We move on to recognising and acknowledging what in gendered and unpaid carework. Traditionally unpaid carework has been gendered wherein women are expected to carry out all work that is carework including cleaning, cooking, take care of children and caregiving responsibilities for the elderly at home as well. This work is non-remunerated in nature and emphasis on gender roles for women adhering to unpaid carework leads to decrease of opportunities for them to attain finanical independence. We unpack more about economic abuse and unpaid care work in this section.

We'll dive into the history of domestic work, how women came to be oppressed in terms of financial independence, gender norms through intersectional examples.

Acknowledging the lived realities and a practical approach, we shall also look at how the COVID19 pandemic impacted gendered carework.

We have built knowledge on the interconnectedness of unpaid care work, its gendered aspect and the gender pay gap. Now we shall answer these questions: what does this mean for a country's GDP? What does the socio- economic impact look like?

We shall discuss the "Triple R" framework by Prof. Diane Elson as well.

We shall look into short-term and long-term effects of economic violence where we also acknowledge the impact it has on one's mental health.

Now that you have an understanding of economic violence, how do we take the conversation ahead? Here are some tips for sparking a dialogue on safe and productive conversations about money with others. We shall also navigate what a healthy finanical relationship looks like between partners.