Poverty as a Tool of Abuse: How Power Dynamics and Poverty Perpetuate Oppression

Poverty as a Tool of Abuse: How Power Dynamics and Poverty Perpetuate Oppression, Affliction and Hardship

“Anybody who wants to keep you powerless will keep you poor and impoverished” – Pastor Philip Olubakin

This quote among others was a finger that strikes a familiar chord down my mind. It was a quote that resonates with my childhood and some of the biggest struggles I have had to confront in life. The limitations impounded by lack and the uncertainty that comes with the baggage of being in perpetual disadvantage.

This statement captures a harsh reality that has echoed through generations and across societies. Poverty, far from being merely a socioeconomic condition, is often wielded as a deliberate tool to control, manipulate, and oppress vulnerable populations. By keeping individuals in financial hardship, systems of power can limit access to resources, education, and opportunities — perpetuating cycles of dependency and disempowerment. This post explores the intentional use of poverty as a mechanism of abuse, with real-life examples and practical insights on how to break free from its grip.

The Systemic Nature of Poverty as Control

Poverty can be maintained through systemic barriers that prevent social mobility. When access to education, healthcare, and fair wages is restricted, individuals remain trapped in survival mode, unable to challenge the status quo. This dynamic can be observed at both the macro level, within societal structures, and the micro level, within personal relationships.

Martha Nussbaum once said, “Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a human being.”

It is a limitation that prevents individuals from realising their full potential. It handicaps individuals, families, groups, and a society at large.

1. Historical Context: Sharecropping and Economic Dependence

Following the abolition of slavery in the United States, many formerly enslaved individuals were forced into sharecropping arrangements - a system that kept them in perpetual debt to landowners. Despite being legally free, economic structures in the west were designed to keep people financially enslaved, stripping them of the ability to accumulate wealth or leave exploitative conditions. Some call it restrictions.

“Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.” — Nelson Mandela

2. Workplace Exploitation: Modern-Day Corporate Abuse

In contemporary settings, corporations sometimes suppress wages while discouraging unionization or collective bargaining. For example, garment workers in low-income countries often work in unsafe conditions for meager pay, unable to demand better rights for fear of losing the only source of income available. This keeps workers dependent and voiceless, perpetuating cycles of exploitation.

3. Intimate Partner Abuse: Financial Control as Coercion

On a personal level, abusive partners often use financial manipulation to control victims. By restricting access to money, sabotaging job opportunities, or accumulating debt in the victim’s name, abusers can make it nearly impossible for victims to leave. Research shows that 99% of domestic abuse cases involve financial abuse, highlighting how poverty can be weaponized within relationships.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Breaking Free: Empowerment Through Education and Advocacy

Understanding that poverty can be a tool of abuse is the first step in dismantling its power. Individuals and communities can take steps to reclaim agency:

• Financial Literacy and Community Support: Access to financial education and peer support networks can help individuals navigate economic hardship and build independence. A problem you don’t know about and how to solve it will remain forever. Many individuals do not understand the importance of being part of a supportive/progressive group. There is a saying that you are an average of five people in you relate with. Get yourself into the company of those who have proven results and have practical knowledge of how to break loose from poverty.
• Policy Advocacy and Legal Protections: Advocating for living wages, accessible education, and stronger protections against workplace exploitation can help shift systemic imbalances. Individuals and groups need to take it upon themselves to watchout for others, advocate for better renumeration and fight for life-changing policies.
• Grassroots Empowerment Programs: Local initiatives that provide skills training, small business funding, or cooperative development can help communities create sustainable pathways out of poverty. In many developing countries, national dividends hardly get to the populace, in most cases, these handouts are sabotaged by middle authorities. Many students do not get entitled bursaries even when there are provisions for it.

On a personal quest, real change occurs when individuals recognize their inherent worth and power, even in the face of systemic adversity.  Be ready to get your hands soiled with hard work, sell yourself out to purposeful living, networking, and most importantly ask for help. I have countless people on my journey who were part of my growth – from the woman who sells raw food stuffs to me on credit, to those who loaned me money at critical stages of my life, and those who paid my school fees countless times.

This is definitely not an autobiographical piece, but I have made some examples out of personal experience as I feel this will resonate with many people around the world.

 By amplifying voices and fostering collective action, it is possible to disrupt cycles of poverty and dismantle the structures that use it as a tool of control.

Conclusion: Reclaiming Power, Building an ideal life, and a just Society

Poverty as a tool of abuse is not an inevitable reality — it is a manufactured condition that can be challenged and transformed. Whether at the societal or personal level, breaking free from economic oppression requires persistence, being strategic, solidarity, and an unwavering belief in justice. By empowering individuals with knowledge, resources, and community, we can collectively build a future where poverty is no longer a barrier to freedom but a relic of an unjust past. Finally, Aristotle said, “Poverty is no disgrace, but it is certainly not an honour either.”

Endeavour to break loose!

Sources

• DuBois, W. E. B. (1935). Black Reconstruction in America. Harcourt, Brace & Co.
• Kabeer, N. (2004). The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labour Market Decisions in London and Dhaka. Verso Books.
• Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S. B., & Stylianou, A. M. (2012). "Measuring Economic Abuse in the Lives of Survivors: Revising the Scale of Economic Abuse." Violence Against Women, 18(5), 572–586.