Ninety-nine percent of victims of domestic violence experience financial abuse, but it’s not always recognized or understood. Whether an abuser controls the family finances, or interferes with a partner’s ability to get or keep a job, or sabotages a partner’s credit history—these are all examples of financial (or economic) abuse, and they can have devastating impacts on a survivor’s long-term safety.
For survivors who choose to leave a financially-abusive partner, the journey toward economic stability can be difficult if not impossible. Ruined credit scores, sporadic employment histories, and legal issues caused by the abuse can prevent survivors from safely leaving and establishing safe, healthy lives for themselves and their children. For survivors already facing discrimination based on race, immigration status, disability, and other factors, the harm of financial abuse is infinitely greater. With such high stakes, it’s no wonder that many survivors often face an impossible choice between homelessness and returning to an abuser.
That’s where our Economic Justice team comes in, working tirelessly to:
- Employ our signature Train-the-Trainer approach to deliver financial literacy lessons to victim advocates across the country, using The Moving Ahead Curriculum.
- Support survivors as they rebuild their credit scores, through the Independence Project’s unique micro-lending model.
- Inform advocates about the latest and greatest personal finance tools, resources, and research, empowering them to best support the survivors they serve.