[COLUMNIST] Economic violence: A barrier to women empowerment

ECONOMIC violence, a form of non-physical gender-based violence (GBV), remains a significant obstacle to women's empowerment worldwide, including in Malaysia. It often goes under-reported, creating a silent crisis that erodes society’s fabric.

In worst cases, the persistent cycle of economic deprivation inflicted on women can escalate into more extreme forms of violence such as physical, psychological, sexual, and social isolation.

According to Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), over 70% of people living in WAO's facility in 2020 experienced financial violence.

While economic freedom enables women to control their financial resources and make decisions that shape their economic future, economic violence systematically undermines these freedoms, trapping women in cycles of poverty, dependency, and disempowerment.

Economic violence manifests in various forms, such as:

I. Financial Control in Personal Relationships

II. Workplace Discrimination and Wage Disparities

III. Property and Inheritance Rights

IV. Debt and Financial Exploitation

In Malaysia, economic violence takes on unique cultural, legal, and social dimensions, inhibiting women's capacity to participate fully in the economy, achieve financial autonomy, and contribute to societal progress.

Prevalence and impact of economic deprivation on girls and women

One of the most overlooked aspects of economic deprivation is the amount of unpaid labor women perform within families. Women in Malaysia often bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities, including taking care of children, elderly parents, and household chores.

This unpaid labor is not only unrecognised but also limits women’s success in paid employment, deepening their economic deprivation.

According to the ASEAN Gender Outlook 2024, women dedicate over double the time men do to unpaid care and domestic work. Specifically, Malaysian women spend an average of 4 hours and 36 minutes completing such tasks daily, while men devote only 1 hour and 24 minutes.

Based on Q4 2023 Labour Force Survey Report (LFPR), which references data from the Department of Statistics (DOSM), a significant percentage of women (70.6%, totalling 5.08 million individuals) constitute Malaysia’s out-of-workforce population. Conversely, men made up 2.12 million, or 29.4% of the population in this category. Those surveyed listed housework and family duties as the leading cause of unemployment (42.6%), followed by a need for education and training (41.2%).

Besides, poverty is both a cause and consequence of economic abuse, especially among women in rural areas and lower-income families. According to Olufunmilayo (2008), economic violence results in deepening poverty due to women’s diminished access to independent means of livelihood by denying or having lack of access to education, food, health, housing, participation in political and public life, and freedom from violence.

Women who hail from such deprived communities, where limited employment opportunities and scarce financial independence pose significant challenges, tend to rely heavily on their male family members.

Although economic violence is more prevalent among poorer families, it can happen regardless of social standing, afflicting both wealthy and low-income families.

Consider last year a reported case of a Malaysian woman who had to endure financial control from her husband, who forbade her from working, denied her an allowance, and imposed strict financial conditions despite earning RM8,000 monthly.

Denial of control over the family’s finances, lack of independent access to money, exclusion from financial decision-making, and the damage to their source of income all lead women to experience a considerable loss of personal autonomy and empowerment.

In general, younger girls and women face higher risk of sexual violence and abuse, including from family members or intimate partners.

Economic violence perpetuates social inequality and exacerbates the sexual exploitation of girls and young women by older men. The resulting high demand for commercial sex among relatively affluent men and the drive of young women to escape poverty by any means may encourage them to commercialise their bodies as a means of rapid enrichment.

As reported, a 29-year-old Malaysian woman faced coercion from her best friend to repay an RM8,000 debt by sleeping with the friend’s father. The woman had borrowed the money after facing financial struggles in her business, only to be met with this disturbing ultimatum.

Given women's longer life expectancy and the instances where they are deprived of economic freedom, it is crucial to continue encouraging husbands to contribute to their wives' Employees Provident Fund (EPF). This support helps ensure financial security for women in the long term.

Besides, stakeholders should continue to empower and engage housewives, especially in rural and lower-income families, by supporting their small entrepreneurial ventures to bolster their savings for the future.

In a separate case, a 17-year-old girl from Johor reported her mother for attempting to sell her to pay off debts and encouraging relationships with older men. Similarly, in another case, a 35-year-old former bank officer in Malaysia drove his wife into prostitution to pay off his debts.

This wave of disclosures highlights the pressing need to address the pervasive issue of economic violence in our society. This prompts the question: what are the fundamental causes contribute to its widespread occurrence in contemporary society?

Firstly, economic insecurity creates a powerful bond between women and their abusers, ranging from subtle forms of control to open domestic violence prompted by financial problems. This exacerbates tensions that may lead to physical violence and has a detrimental effect on women's and their children's mental health. Common form of abuse includes financial control, gaslighting and manipulation, which may continue even if the woman leaves the relationship.

As noted by Siti Kamsiah Hassan, the principal assistant director of Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women, and Child Investigations Division, many domestic violence cases involve women who are financially dependent on their partners, often because they are not employed and primarily take on the role of housewives. This lack of economic independence creates a power imbalance that allows their partners to exert dominance over them.

Similarly, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), YB Nancy Shukri has stated that economic hardship is a significant factor driving many women to tolerate domestic violence.

Besides poverty, entrenched social and cultural norms play a significant role in perpetuating economic violence against women in Malaysia. The social pressure to conform to traditional gender roles, coupled with the persistence of a patriarchal society, has left many women uneducated and unemployed, forcing them to rely on their spouses or family heads.

While countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam, are advancing by increasing women’s labor participation, gender roles in Malaysian families remain predominantly traditional. This is particularly evident in the Bumiputera and Indian communities, where men are typically seen as breadwinners and women as caregivers.

These social norms start at home, where daughters and sons are treated differently, reinforcing patriarchal values. This disparity extends into family law, where women's status is often marginalised.

Social norms also play a significant role, as women are expected to stay at home or, if they do work, to take on full responsibility for household chores. This expectation perpetuates societal stigma makes it difficult for many women to balance work and domestic responsibilities. As a result, some women choose to leave the workforce altogether.

Economic violence against women in the job market remains a pressing issue.

As revealed by Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), while 52% of women have tertiary education, they only represented 37.7% of the paid labor force.

The rising cost of living, compounded by the lack of affordable, convenient, and quality childcare facilities in Malaysia, has compelled many women to leave their jobs, relying instead on their husbands or engaging in informal businesses, such as home baking, etc.

Additionally, an article by The Star revealed that, as Malaysia's population ages, more seniors, particularly women, are working beyond retirement age due to insufficient savings. In 2023, 20.9% of women aged 60-64 were employed, an increase from 2022, with many opting for self-employed, especially Malaysian-Chinese women operating small businesses.

To address these issues, more assistance should be offered to women in the informal labor sector, particularly small business owners, to help them formalise their operations and subsequently increase the labor force participation rate (LFPR) of women.

As some women opt out of the job market, others endure economic violence in the workplace, facing undervaluation and inadequate compensation compared to their male counterparts in industries such as electronics and oil and gas.

This persistent gender pay disparity represents a form of indirect abuse against women, highlighting the urgent need for policies that mandate equal pay for equal work. This is especially important, given the severe negative societal impact of economic violence, as discussed above.

While the LFPR of women has steadily improvement over the past decade, significant challenges remain. Current policies do not adequately address the needs of this vulnerable group, underscoring the necessity for more comprehensive and supportive measures to ensure their economic empowerment.

---

Jachintha Joyce is a Research Assistant at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.

Read the latest news here