The 'Careful Calculus' in its structural and policy context: what does it cost to leave an abusive relationship?

Domestic abuse is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences for the individuals who experience it, their families and society more widely. The dynamics of domestic abuse are complex, incorporating a range of personal and societal factors which present barriers to exiting an abusive relationship. Nevertheless, women experiencing domestic abuse are often advised to leave their abusers as a means to ending the abuse. This 'logic' is reflected in societal consciousness as can be observed in the commonly posed question, 'why doesn't she just leave?'As has been long recognised among practitioners and academics, leaving an abusive partner is a process rather than a singular event and there are considerable barriers such as emotional, physical, and financial which often render leaving impossible.

This research is concerned with the significant financial barriers women must negotiate when determining whether it is possible to leave their abuser and how this is achieved in circumstances where economic abuse is experienced as part of the domestic abuse. The decision-making process in which women must determine the costs ( financial and otherwise), advantages and disadvantages to leaving their abuser has been coined the 'careful calculus' (Hamby, 2013). Hamby's (2013) work is one in a paucity of literature investigating the cost of leaving for domestic abuse survivors. However, her work focuses solely on the US context and does not address the structural and political context within which leaving occurs. The impact policy decisions can have on survivor's abilities to leave abuse is well recognised (Burman and Chantler, 2005) however, an in-depth examination of women's personal 'calculations' rooted in a gendered and structural understanding of contemporary policy contexts is not available. This is the gap this research aims to address.