Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on women’s experiences of economic abuse during pregnancy, childbirth and the first few months. It argues that becoming a mother is a particularly vulnerable period in a woman’s life where intensification of abuse and shrinking of financial options may happen simultaneously.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores women’s experiences of economic abuse, in Bihar India. Economic abuse is a form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) which involves controlling a person’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic and financial resources to create dependency (Adams et al. 2008). The current conceptualisation of economic abuse has been largely informed by research in the US, Australia and Europe and do not adequately reflect South Asian women’s experiences of economic abuse. This paper uses a social justice and intersectional approach and draws on 50 interviews (21 video and 29 audio) and focus group discussions with further 25 mothers of dependent children recruited through community networks representing a variety of class, caste, occupational and religious backgrounds. The paper focuses on women’s experiences of economic abuse during pregnancy and early years of motherhood specifically focusing on economic abuse during pregnancy, childbirth and the first few months. The paper argues that becoming a mother is a particularly vulnerable period in a woman’s life where intensification of abuse and shrinking of financial options may happen simultaneously. The paper also argues the need for a better conceptualisation of economic abuse that reflects the cultural, structural, and socioeconomic experiences of women in diverse contexts. This has urgent implications for policy and practice as new forms of economic abuse tactics have surfaced following the pandemic partly due to enhanced digitalisation of finances and remote working practices.