Identifying Economic Abuse

Survivors of intimate partner violence may experience many forms of abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual violence. At ROW we address another form of domestic violence that doesn’t get as much attention: economic abuse. Economic abuse may play out in a number of ways, and it often overlaps with other forms of abuse. For many women, finances can impact their decisions about staying, leaving, or returning to a partner, because they may experience multiple economic losses as a result of leaving a relationship. They may lose any of the following: their job, housing, transportation, or their main source of income, and they may experience the loss or damage of important possessions. For domestic violence advocates, being aware of the many forms that economic abuse can take is critical to supporting and standing with survivors.

Some forms of economic abuse include:

Controlling the financial resources (checkbook, income, gas money, etc.)

Destroying credit (Taking out lines of credit in her name, letting her car become repossessed, paying bills late to destroy her credit score)

Taking her money (stealing cash, checks, or money from the ATM)

Making her ask for money or giving her an allowance

Controlling access to financial information (not telling her about life insurance policies, not allowing her to have access to the checkbook or account information)

Gambling or spending away life savings

Demanding details of how money was pent

Not allowing her name to be on accounts

Not letting her talk to others about money

Devaluing her financial contribution

Expecting her to “behave” a certain way because he makes more money than her

Preventing her from having or keeping a job; or destroying homework for school

Women, Credit & Empowerment

For survivors of domestic violence, the impact of an abusive ex-partner may be seen in many aspects of their life. The physical, emotional, and economic scars of a previous relationship may create barriers to achieving new goals and making desired changes. One economic impact of domestic violence may be a negative or non-existent credit history. Credit can be used as a tool of power and control in relationships in several ways. An abusive partner may access multiple lines of credit in their partner’s name without her knowledge or consent, or may prevent her from having her name on accounts and bills, limiting her credit history even as she is actively contributing to the payment of joint obligations. Women may not be aware of the extent of this relationship dynamic until they begin attempting to get utilities or credit in their own name, only to discover that they have many outstanding debts of which they were previously unaware, or that the payments that they have been making were not for an account in their name. When women make these discoveries, having knowledgeable advocates who can work with them to address credit concerns can open doors that may otherwise remain firmly shut. For advocates, it is important not only to know how to read, explain, and address issues presented by a credit report, but also to know how to work supportively with women around these issues, instilling a sense of hope and possibility in the face of this new negative information.

Engaging in this work with women is important because a credit history can be a powerful tool in our society. A good credit history can lead to better financial terms on things like credit cards, car loans, and cell phones. More importantly for many of the women we work with at ROW, good credit can impact job searching and house hunting. Many employers ask to look at a potential employee’s credit history in the job search process, and here in St. Louis, we are finding that most landlords use the credit report of potential tenants as a screening mechanism.

If you want to enhance your skills at working with women around credit issues, consider attending ROW’s Economic Training Institute, a three day workshop for advocates addressing economic empowerment for survivors of domestic violence. Check back to our website front page soon for dates for our upcoming conference in St. Louis!