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Video length: 3 min
Domestic violence: when money becomes a weapon of domination
Domestic violence: when money becomes a weapon of domination – (France 2)
49,616 convictions for domestic violence were recorded in 2022, an increase of 123% in five years. The fight has focused on physical violence, but within a couple, abuse can also be economic.
Throughout the interview, Jessica Stephan will not once say the name of his former companion. During fifteen years of toxic relationship, money gradually became a weapon. “I’m 13, 14 years old, I do the markets and I give him the benefit. Initially, I do it entirely consciously, and even with a desire feminist”, she says. At 25, while she was pregnant, Jessica Stephan realized that 90,000 euros of credit had been taken out without her knowledge. The young banker must urgently file an over-indebtedness file. She does not get an explanation from her companion: “I know he’s violent, so I’m scared.” She ended up finding the strength to file a complaint around thirty times. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, before dying a few years later.
Control expenses to better dominate
To raise awareness of economic violence, a feminist association created an advertising spot for a fictitious application that would allow one to control one’s partner’s expenses. The association receives victims of domestic violence every day. A woman, who came to testify, remembers the day her companion “tied to the bed and turned off her phone” so she doesn’t go to work. According to a recent survey, 41% of women have already been victims of economic violence.
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