Anne Leonard’s scientific contributions

The control of financial resources is an important indicator of the distribution of power within families. This may be particularly significant when economic power is accompanied by physical violence. This paper considers economic dependency among a group of women using a refuge. It examines family income levels, the control and distribution of this money and of responsibility for paying bills, together with evidence on living standards. Using 140 per cent of the supplementary benefit standard as a poverty line, it was found that 63 per cent of the families lived in poverty. Much more significant, however, were the patterns of control of resources. Five allocation systems were identified, but the overall picture which emerged was that overwhelmingly it was men who controlled family finances. Women were kept chronically short of money, and some even had to hand over their child benefits. The women therefore suffered severe deprivation and had to go without basic household items and sometimes food. Control of the purse was even more complete when husbands were unemployed. The long-term solution requires a change in public and personal attitudes which must include giving women more equal access to economic and social resources in their own right.

This paper shows the extent to which the lives of battered women are controlled by their violent partners. Women are prevented by physical means or threats from seeking help from, or even having any contact with, family, friends and neighbours. Isolation is a prominent feature of their lives. Many men fail to recognize that there is a problem and they behave aggressively towards health visitors, social workers or anyone else who comes round to the home. Nevertheless, there is evidence to suggest that when battered women begin to seek help they turn first to family, friends and neighbours, and the main purpose of this paper is to examine these informal sources of assistance. An important consideration was that 25 per cent of the women had no accessible parents, but there were other constraints which reduced the degree to which women turned to relatives and friends for help. These included feelings of shame, ideas about privacy and the need for independence, the need to protect family members, friends and neighbours from the man's violent behaviour and the unwillingness of some of those approached to become involved. Women who overcame these constraints spoke warmly of the support they received.