Expense management, bank card retention, confiscation of resources… Financial abuse, sneaky domestic violence from which 41% of women have already suffered, is often overlooked.
“ I found myself going a week without a credit card at least once a month. » Perrine, forty years old, endured the influence of a violent spouse for fifteen years. Like others, she has borne the brunt of this violence which leaves no bruises and often goes under the radar. Unknown or underestimated, economic violence nevertheless affects 41% of women according to an Ifop survey published this Tuesday, October 31produced for the feminist newsletter Les Glorieuses.
Seizure of income, ban on having a personal bank account, inability to work… There are multiple forms of domestic economic violence, but they all stem from a common goal: to strip the woman of her financial autonomy in order to better control her. “ It’s making the woman live in a real prison », summarizes Élise Sélimovic-Lartillier, member of the national coordination of the feminist collective #NousToutes.
“ I have internet cuts when he decides I don’t deserve it »
Now separated from her ex-husband, Perrine says she suffered years of physical and psychological violence against the backdrop of constant economic influence. “ He isolated me so much that he took care of everything financially: he paid the rent, the bills, my health insurance… He offered to be the savior and sort everything out, then reproached me regularly, sometimes in exchange for sexual favors. “, she confides, her voice trembling. “ I didn’t feel empowered and I was at his mercy. » For several months, the forty-year-old has regained control of her invoices and contracts, although with difficulty. “ He still pays for internet even though he no longer lives here and I can’t get our contract back because he has to request it. From time to time I have internet cuts when it decides I don’t deserve it. »
At the heart of this violence is the question of economic dependence, which keeps the victim subjugated to their attacker. Ghada Hatem, founder of the Maison des Femmes in Saint-Denis (93), speaks of a “ impoverishment of the person, who will constantly have to beg “. The doctor regularly sees patients who are victims of domestic violence, for whom economic abuse is an almost systematic occurrence. According to figures published by Ifop, it almost always accompanies that which is physical, sexual or psychological: 99% of women who have been victims have also suffered other forms of domestic violence. “ Economic violence is never isolated “, says Ghada Hatem, who still remembers a patient who discovered by chance that her husband had arranged for the notary to indicate that she had participated in a quarter of the financing of their accommodation, even though she was repaying it half. “ It comes above all other forms of violence which challenge us and make this picture unbearable. »
This ” unbearable painting » which the head doctor of the Maison des Femmes speaks about is that of coercive control. This term, born from the pen of Evan Stark, describes a relationship of control and domination over another. “ Economic violence results from this, since the objective is to control the actions of the victim within the couple. It is for this reason that it is often the first acts of violence, which then open the door to other », explains Élise Sélimovic-Lartillier. According to the Solidarités Femmes Federation, which manages the national helpline 3919, in 2021, a quarter of women victims of domestic violence are victims of economic violence. This type of violence increased by 6 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Violence difficult to witness
The influence is so powerful that many victims take time to put the word “economic violence” to what they have suffered. Perrine never mentioned it in her complaints or to her psychologist. “ I never addressed our economic situation », admits the victim. “ He constantly manipulated me and convinced me that we had no money, even though we had never been in need. »
According to Élise Sélimovic-Lartillier, this is a common reaction among victims of economic violence, who struggle to realize it before leaving the path of violence. “ The victims will leave because there have been beatings, but rarely because of economic violence. It’s not something that will make people react right away. », Details the activist. “ There is often a lot of work to be done to explain things to the victims, because they think that everything is decided by the husband and that that is a woman’s life. », continues Ghada Hatem.
According to the doctor, the most difficult thing is still to prove that the victims suffered financial abuse. “ We cannot go to a medical-judicial unit and have a report of economic violence established. Evidence is required, for example showing that the salary was redirected », underlines Ghada Hatem. “ It’s much easier to have bruises noticed. »
Breaking free, an obstacle course
Economic violence is often a barrier to the departure of women, who fear losing their social status or do not have enough resources to escape the relationship. “ It’s already complicated to leave when you have the resources, then when you don’t, it’s even harder », agrees Élise Sélimovic-Lartillier. As the Ifop study points out, a woman is twice as likely to be a victim of domestic economic violence if she earns much less than her partner: 27% of women in a relationship with a partner who earns much more than They have already been victims, compared to 14% of women with equivalent income.
“ It is a very insidious form of violence which places women in a system where they cannot leave the home and where they are very precarious. This is what prevents them from projecting themselves onto other perspectives such as employment or their freedom to act. », analyzes Françoise Brié, general director of the Solidarités Femmes federation, who welcomes the adoption in February 2023 of a law creating emergency financial assistance for victims of domestic violence.
To restore their autonomy, the 81 associations of the Solidarité Femmes network strive to provide administrative and legal support to victims. Recovery of the rights of social assistance providers, contact with landlords to prevent victims from leaving home, opening of bank accounts, etc. Procedures are multiplying to help victims re-form their papers or make them aware of their rights. “ It is both work to rebuild the finances of these women, but also exchanges with institutions so that they take into account the situation of domestic violence. », comments Françoise Brié.
Forgotten by French law
This violence, which is now the target of dedicated awareness platform launched at the end of the Ifop study, are still not recognized in French law. “ In 2014, France ratified the Istanbul Convention which recognizes the existence of this violence », recalls Élise Sélimovic-Lartillier. “ However, criminally, they are not recognized, that is to say they are not punishable. »
An oversight which contributes, according to the associations, to their invisibility. “ A definition of economic violence in the law would improve better consideration in legislation, but also more generally in society. », wants to believe Françoise Brié, who also campaigns for the tax exemption of alimony and the deconjugalization of all social assistance, which makes women even more precarious.