Di what the relationships are made of in which the money is used as an assertion of one’s power and as control over the partner? Through which dynamics does one of the two manage to manipulate the economic resources of both to their advantage? And are there relationship red flags that signal possible future abuse? On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25Pomellato will present the results of the research The price of freedom. How economic violence against women manifests itself, created in collaboration with Sda Bocconiwhich focuses on the internal dynamics of economic abuse.
«It is the first time that research has been carried out – moreover, on a very large sample, 2500 people representative of the country, 53 percent women – which measures the phenomenon of economic violence in couples through three ways in which it is expressed, that is restriction, exploitation and sabotage» states Professor Paola Profeta, Vice-Rector for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability, full professor of finance science and Director of the Axa Research Lab on Gender Equality at Bocconi University.
«In its many manifestations, economic abuse is a very widespread phenomenon; seven out of ten women have experienced or witnessed episodes of discrimination or economic violencecompared to a third of men” says Profeta, who immediately highlights an aspect that is generally little considered.
Economic violence, collective damage
«For the woman who is the victim, economic violence entails a series of implications in terms of personal suffering, lack of self-realization and autonomybut it also has consequences that extend to the community: it generates a large-scale loss of female potential which also translates into economic damage for the entire system” explains Paola Profeta. As an economist, he reflects on the somewhat systemic nature of some of the risks of economic violence: the low female employment in our country – bottom of the list in the European Union – it impoverishes women and consequently heightens the risks of depending on abusive partners who instrumentally assert their economic power.
Economic violence is considered a form of gender violence, expressed through an extremely broad spectrum of abuse: there is violence, for example, if you expect your partner to account for every money spent, if you give her a financial contribution for personal purchases and expect to control this too. There is economic violence if one is induced to act as a front man or to go into debt for the purchase of an asset that is registered in one’s name. Still, it is violence when she is prevented from having a job and if, by involving it permanently in one’s own, it is considered that it does not deserve compensation.
Who checks the receipts
The method of economic restriction is the dynamic implemented by those who control and limit the use of the partner’s financial resources, who – according to the research – suffers from the limitation of access to accounts, assets and personal resources (48 percent) and suffers cases of direct control over economic decisions (39 percent). «We found that the restriction decreases as the level of study increases» comments Profeta «but however, it remains significant even among graduate women. As for income, it is in the segment between 28 thousand and 50 thousand euros – moreover the most representative of the sample – that cases of economic violence increase”.
Domestic economic violence affects seven out of ten women, according to research findings The price of freedom. (Getty Images)
Even “I’ll take care of you, stay at home” is economic violence
The mode of economic sabotage manifests itself when «the woman is put in the position of not being able to have a job, of not being able to achieve her professional goalsof not being able to access a training course” explains Paola Profeta. Very often these forms of domination can be masked by false and instrumental intentions of protection and care, as 53 percent of women indicate. It is not a question of the clear division of roles – he worked and financially supported the family, to whose care she dedicated herself entirely – which was the dominant model until a few decades ago: research indicates that in economic violence the partner’s freedom to be professionally fulfilled and economically autonomous is perceived by the saboteur as a threat. 32 percent of women suffer from open economic hostility, such as exclusion from decisions, blackmail or humiliation related to money.
«Sign here»
The mode of economic exploitation is specific to who uses the victim’s resources to his or her own advantage. «The different dynamics of economic violence rarely present themselves autonomously: much more frequently they intertwine and feed on each other» specifies Profeta. In any case, in the clear data that emerge from the research we can read the precision of the interviewees – perhaps against the backdrop of a new awareness – in recognizing and naming the forms of economic abuse, such as exploit one’s own economic success to legitimize the couple’s power asymmetry (“whoever earns the most decides”) or exploit the power of money to impose one’s masculinity, in what the study calls “virility as social currency”.
The money taboo
That’s how he defines it, taboo, the economist Azzurra Rinaldidirector of the School of Gender Economics Unitelma Sapienza. «In the current economic system, money represents a fundamental tool of choice and independence. I am, among other things, a consultant for Femicide Commission and we are working precisely on the topic of economic violencebecause we have understood how the fact of not working, not earning, not personally managing money – even when working and earning – represents a fundamental element of fragility for women, which it even slows down access to anti-violence centres” tells.
Author of the essay Ladies don’t talk about money Rinaldi explains that «Women are expected not to talk about money, in fact, not even in the places they consider safest, for example between close friends. This enormous confusion around the topic of money means, first of all, that if you want to adhere to the canon of femininity as the imagination still defines it – don’t talk about money. Women don’t talk about investments, accumulation plans, supplementary pensions… The moment they do it, that’s the moment in which they begin to become protagonists of their lives.”
Talk about it at school, immediately
For Claudia Segre, who for years through the organization she leads – Global Thinking Foundation – mobilizes against economic violence, it is urgent to promote awareness of the phenomenon among boys and girls in schools: the impact of the documentaries through which it trains is significant. «Before the screenings, only 12 percent of students showed any real understanding of the concept of economic violence; afterwards, over 50 percent declared a level of awareness between seven and eight out of ten, a sign of a concrete educational impact. Young people increasingly recognize the link between economic freedom and personal freedombut a superficial perception remains widespread, a sign that we need to talk about these issues in a continuous and not episodic way.”
He concludes: «Speaking to boys and girls about economic violence and autonomy means providing protection tools for their adult lives. Promoting the culture of financial health in schools is not just economic education, but prevention of violence and investment in the future well-being of the new generations, capable of building relationships and choices based on freedom, awareness, mutual respect”.
Sabina Belli: «Freedom today is first and foremost economic»
Not being able to manage one’s money slows down any reporting of violence. Why investigate the topic of economic violence and do so by focusing on the couple’s relational dynamics that underlie it? The reflections of Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato.
«Since 2017, through the Pomellato for Women platform, we have been directly alongside women» explains Sabina Belli. «Pomellato was born in 1967, in a historical era of militant feminism and, sixty years later, discrimination, gender inequalities and abuse are still completely open issues: in Europe, one in three women has suffered gender violence. We thought it was right to use the communicative power and visibility of the brand to reach millions of women and highlight a form of violence, economic violence, which is little perceived and little talked about. For many women, economic abuse remains a subjective experience that is neither processed on a personal level nor recognized socially, and therefore not even traced back to the broader structural phenomenon of gender violence. Many economic abuses go unnoticed, as they are perceived as somewhat “normal” relationship dynamics. Here, the research has, among others, the merit of making these forms of violence factual and, by making them factual, measuring their pervasiveness.”
What is the most relevant aspect that you noticed in the results?
«The fact that economic violence crosses the whole country, affects every social class, affects regardless of educational qualification. The phenomenon is systemic, structural, a consequence of centuries of subordination, through which women have never had access to the great issue of money. Economic violence is therefore, first and foremost, a great cultural issue, which will find a solution over the long term of generations. Secondly, it is a question of pedagogy, of economic education, and it is urgent to develop this immediately: in banks, a woman with a high education, excellent career and excellent salary is still the recipient of investment proposals that are decidedly less sophisticated than those reserved for a man. Finally, it is a topic that concerns the world of work, where women must recognize themselves and have their full economic value recognized.”
If you could summarize one message, what would it be?
«Today a woman’s freedom is first and foremost economic freedom, the pinnacle is money. It will be considered a harsh statement, but we must have the courage to say strong things that go against the grain of a culture that continues to generate disparity, discrimination and violence. Another message to girls and women is: let’s get busy, it is not a destiny to be victims of a man’s financial decisions.”
What developments will the research have?
«After publishing it, we aim to replicate it outside the country, in a European and international dimension. What we observed in Italy is part of a global phenomenon.”