A basic income helps protect women from domestic violence by giving women the resources to leave.

Gender Inequality One way in which UBI can serve as a potential tool to correct gender inequalities is through its individual feature: It provides dependent spouses with exit options. In most systems of assistance, eligibility for welfare support is calculated per household. This makes it particularly difficult for those abused by spouses they economically depend on to free themselves. Conner (2014, p. 340) sums it up this way: “While a batterer is empowered by his partner's financial dependence, the autonomy of a woman who is victimized is diminished by her abuser's ability to control her through financial means. Moreover, financial instability is one of the greatest reasons why, after gaining freedom, a woman who experiences battering has limited choices and may ultimately acquiesce to her partner's attempts to reconcile.” This line of support for UBI is fairly uncontroversial and accepted by most in the literature. Note, however, that it does not necessarily constitute an argument for UBI as such; an individually means-tested and lightly conditional benefit would suffice to undermine the financial dependence of spouses. What makes a truly universal and unconditional basic income proposal more centrally connected to the goals of gender justice, I will now propose, is its capacity to contribute to the proper remuneration of care work.