Women encouraged to report financial abuse
dubai — Women in the UAE who are going through financial abuse at the hands of their husbands, families or employers are being encouraged to reach out to and report their cases to the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWC).
Maids experiencing financial abuse are also encouraged to reach out to them. The foundation provides therapy, counselling and a psychological plan to women and children who are victims of different kinds of abuse. Ghaya Sultan Al Habtour, marketing executive at the Foundation, told Khaleej Times that women don’t realise that financial abuse does exist or is happening to them.
When the foundation carries out their annual campaigns, they noticed an increasing number of calls made to them by people enquiring about their services.
She said: “What are the different types of abuse a woman can go through? Economical or financial abuse, if the husband does not pay for his wife, does not spend a certain amount of his salary on their living standards. A lot of women don’t acknowledge that this is abuse. That what we raise awareness about; knowing that you’ve been abused, you need to take a step.
“For example, if he’s forcing her to pay for his expenses with 100 per
What we raise awareness about is; knowing that you’ve been abused, you need to take a step.” Ghaya Sultan Al Habtour, marketing executive at DFWC
cent of her salary or not giving her or her children their finances. Among employees, a lot of maids go through this, where the employer does not pay them their salaries for two or three months when they heavily depend on it. While we don’t pay financial support for the clients, we provide counselling, therapy and a psychological plan.”
Al Habtour added that women often hesitate to speak out because they presume that they might lose their family or damage their reputation. “There are so many different assumptions a woman has — she doesn’t want to be embarrassed in front of her family, doesn’t want to lose her husband, she doesn’t want to lose her husband because of her children, she thinks him hitting her is because he cares for her…,” she said.
The foundation is also encouraging people who witness abuse to report it, especially in the case of children, who are unaware that they are being abused. The foundation helpline is 800111. Services are free of cost and all nationalities are welcome to seek help.