Solution model for tackling economic abuse in Lithuania

Problem

A lot of progress has been made in Lithuania with regards to solving the problem of domestic abuse and recognizing various forms and manifestations of abuse. However, economic abuse remains an often overlooked, unrecognized and therefore unresolved phenomenon.

What is economic abuse?

Economic abuse is a form of abuse that often occurs in the context of an intimate partner abuse and involves the control of a current or former partner’s money, finances, and the things that money can buy. Most often it occurs:

• By refusing to provide the partner with information about the real financial situation of the family;
• By refusal to finance children both during marriage and in case of divorce;
• By preventing a partner from working or controlling the nature and workload of partner’s work;
• By forcing a partner to take a loan, giving up a marital property, etc.;
• By taking partner’s income, controlling the family budget, by making unilateral financial decisions.

Even though the problem of economic abuse is widespread in Lithuania, this form of abuse is recognized by less than 2% of the Lithuanian population. According to foreign studies, 95% of cases of domestic abuse contain features of economic abuse, and quantitative studies carried out in Lithuania reveal that every third woman in Lithuania has experienced this form of abuse. Despite the scale of this problem, currently in Lithuania we do not have a solution mechanism adapted to tackling economic abuse. Who commits economic abuse?

Financial abuse can happen in any relationship, including with:

• Current or ex boyfriends, girlfriends, partners, husbands or wives;
• Carers or paid support workers;
• Parents, guardians or other family members;
• Adult children;
• Other people you live with or see often, whether inside or outside the home.

Why is it important to tackle economic abuse?

Tackling economic abuse is important not only because it is one of the forms of domestic abuse, but also because financial dependence on the abuser blocks the way for a victim to escape a violent relationship. Thus, solving the problem of domestic abuse is impossible by ignoring the economic dimension of violent relationships. Also, economic abuse creates multiple and overlapping negative consequences for the victim:

• Economic difficulties, financial vulnerability;
• Lack of money for basic necessities;
• Economic and financial dependence on the partner;
• A barrier to leaving an abusive relationship;
• Difficulty obtaining housing, work and essential services;
• Impoverishment, risk of poverty, loss of housing;
• Debts, damaged credit rating, bankruptcy and insolvency.

Thus, the victim is exposed to secondary victimization, when they not only experience abuse, but also bear the financial and economic consequences caused by it.

Finally, it is important to look for a solution model for economic abuse, because abusers often use loopholes in private and public sector institutions in order to create the partner’s economic dependence or control their financial situation. This means that these institutions contribute to economic abuse in the country by creating conditions for financial exploitation and sometimes even facilitating it.

Goal

The goal of the project is to create a solution model to start solving the problem of economic abuse in Lithuania based on exemplary foreign practices, Lithuania’s situation analysis and involving stakeholders. It will allow for increasing the awareness of economic abuse and raising the public’s intolerance to all forms of abuse in Lithuania.

Participants

2022/23

Augustė Dudutytė

2022/23

Ramunė Vitartaitė