Introduction
Financial Abuse is an Abuse.
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We have often heard of the different forms of abuse: emotional, physical, and sexual, but financial abuse tends to be neglected. So, what is financial abuse?
Financial Abuse is defined as the act of making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by withholding access to their money (WomensLaw.org, 2017).
"Nearly 50% of elder abuse involved financial exploitation" -2016 NUS Study (aware, 2018)
"Nearly 70% of millennial women have experienced financial abuse by their romantic partner" - (Sheehy, 2019)
The alarming statistics indicates an increasing trend of financial abuse occurring in domestic setting, highlighting the importance of addressing this issue in Singapore. In this blog, we will be going in-depth to explore about two vulnerable populations that are of higher risk of financial abuse in Singapore: Women and Elderly. Through reviewing two case-studies, we will be addressing on the impact of such abuse and how the current Singapore Law serves to protect individuals from financial abuse. Legal and structural recommendations would be provided to direct the gap in the law.
Problem-Statement
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The increasing trend of financial abuse in domestic setting associated with negative impact on emotional well-being calls for more inclusion of laws and services for financial abuse to address the gap in the Women’s Charter to protect the vulnerable groups of individuals.
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Women
Elderly
They are often silent sufferers of financial abuse. As mentioned above, there is a rather high prevalence of financial abuse, but it is under-recognized as an issue in Singapore. This might be a cause of under-reported cases due to the various reasons which we will be exploring.
Gender-Stereotypes
Traditional stereotypes of gender roles on money contributes to controlling, exploitive and abusive behaviours by men. These behaviours are intended to control their partners and get their needs met in the relationship. The structural disadvantages for women in the workplace also gave rise to the inferior financial position of woman at home. Lower pay and inconsistent employment patterns work against women's long-term financial security. These disadvantages are found to be magnified among women who experience financial abuse (Cameron, 2014).
Research found that among women aged 40-49, only 52% of them are in paid employment (Aware, 2015).
This meant that the remaining are at high risk of financial abuse since most of them tend to drop out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth The impact of dropping out of the labour force includes lack of income and savings resulting in the need to rely on employed family members, being potential victims of financial abuse.
Pre-Grave Robbing
Elderly is another group who is extremely vulnerable to financial abuse.
In a study conducted by Trans Safe Centre in 2014 involving 93 cases of elder abuse, one in every three of the cases involved a senior who had been financially abused (Tan, 2016b).
Financial abuse can range from the amount and frequency of extortion involved. It can be a jobless son asking for $10 to $50 every few days or even being tricked to selling their flats, with the proceedings being taken away. Financial abuse is often found to be related to other forms of abuse which includes abandonment. Abusive children who resort in financial abuse tend to use violence, harassment, or intimidation to get their way through, where in such circumstances it is closely linked with emotional and physical abuse.
“Low reported cases do not mean low prevalence.”
In Singapore, social workers say the reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg. Few elderly people seek help for the fear of getting their children into trouble with the law and they are afraid that their children will cut off ties with them if they report such abuse. Being in the winter of their lives, they also feel a lot more vulnerable. This includes deteriorating of physical and mental health and increasing reliance on family members. However, their reluctance to speak out and seek help will aggravate the problem of abuse as abusers will think that they can easily get away with it.