‘Why didn’t she leave sooner?’ is a question that many people ask when someone is in an abusive relationship. The question reveals an overwhelming misunderstanding when it comes to domestic abuse and intimate partner violence, both of which affect women disproportionately. While there are many complex reasons why it takes women attempting to leave up to seven times before they leave for good, one massive reason is money and other resources.
IndiaLends, an online personal loan platform, revealed in their 2019 #WorkingStree survey that while over 76% women made their own investment decisions, 59% of self-employed women relied more often on their spouses for financial guidance compared to 48% of salaried women. Over a third of women also say that they would not cope well financially if they were to split. While this can be the case even in relationships that are not abusive, for those under the hold of
