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What is Financial Abuse and How Can We Help Victims?

November 11, 2015

This post also appears on CFED.

“Why don’t they just leave?”

This question is frequently asked of victims of domestic violence. One of the primary reasons victims remain trapped with an abusive partner is because they don’t have the financial resources to break free and stay free.

It’s estimated that financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases. In surveys, survivors often share that concerns over their ability to provide financially for themselves and their children were some of the top reasons for staying with, or returning to, abusive partners. As with all forms of abuse, financial abuse occurs across all socioeconomic, educational, and racial and ethnic groups.

Infographic_EJ_FES15-Red-Flags-Financial-Abuse

Financial abuse is a common tactic used by abusers to gain power and control in a relationship. Whether subtle or overt, there are common methods that abusers use to gain and maintain financial control over their partners. These can include:

  • Forbidding the victim to work.
  • Sabotaging work or employment opportunities by stalking or harassing the victim at their workplace.
  • Causing the victim to lose their job by physically battering them prior to important meetings or interviews.
  • Forbidding the victim from attending job training or advancement opportunities.
  • Controlling how all of the money is spent.
  • Not including the victim in investment or banking decisions.
  • Not allowing the victim access to bank accounts.
  • Withholding money or giving an “allowance.”
  • Forcing the victim to write bad checks or file fraudulent tax returns.
  • Running up large amounts of debt on joint accounts.
  • Refusing to work or contribute to the family income.
  • Withholding funds for the victim or children to obtain basic needs, like food and medicine.
  • Hiding assets.
  • Stealing the victim’s identity, property, or inheritance.
  • Forcing the victim to work in a family business without pay.
  • Refusing to pay bills and ruining the victim’s credit score.
  • Forcing the victim to turn over public benefits or threatening to turn the victim in for “cheating or misusing benefits.”
  • Filing false insurance claims.
  • Refusing to pay or evading child support.
  • Manipulating the divorce process by drawing it out by hiding or not disclosing assets.

The short- and long-term effects of financial abuse can be devastating. In the short term, access to assets is imperative to staying safe. Without assets, survivors are often unable to obtain safe and affordable housing or the funds to provide for themselves or their children. With realistic fears of homelessness, it is little wonder that survivors sometimes return to abusive partners.

Infographic-Financial-Abuse-Occurs-99-percent-EJ

Those who manage to overcome initial hurdles to escape the abusive person often face overwhelming odds in obtaining long-term security and safety. Ruined credit scores, sporadic employment histories, and legal issues caused by the abuser make it extremely difficult to gain financial independence.

It can be difficult for couples to navigate the complexities of family finances, and almost all couples have arguments about money. In financially healthy relationships, however, partners talk about their wants and needs and make choices about finances together. When one person strategically uses finances as a way to control their partner, that is abusive. Financial empowerment is imperative to survivors’ independence, well-being, and success.

The Economic Justice project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) works to strengthen victim advocates’ financial capabilities to better assist survivors of domestic violence and help them move from short-term safety to long-term security and an economically sustainable, independent life. We employ a signature “train-the-trainer” approach to deliver financial literacy lessons to victim advocates across the United States.

The road to economic empowerment for survivors is not easy or quick, but with the help of advocates and allies, we can ensure that survivors have the support and resources they need to be financially independent.

Learn more at NNEDV.org/EJ.

Written by Kim Pentico, NNEDV Economic Justice Director