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Economic Abuse Economic Security for Survivors Project Fact Sheet: Economic Abuse Economic Security for Survivors Project 2013 What is Economic Abuse? Abusers often use economic tactics to Definition of gain power and control over a survivor. Economic Abuse This abuse most commonly occurs within Making or attempting to domestic or dating violence, but can also make an individual be present in sexual assault or stalking. financially dependent by maintaining total control Economic abuse may include: over financial resources, Appropriation and conversion: withholding one's access Personal possessions may be stolen, to money, or forbidding kept or misused by the abuser. one's attendance at school or employment. Coercion into crime: Abuser may force a survivor to shoplift; lie on tax Economic Abuse and Safety returns, credit applications or to law Prevalence and enforcement; or commit fraud. Economic abuse can have severe and Impact Destruction of property: Abuser may lasting consequences on survivors’ destroy or cause damage to clothes, economic security and undermines their DV programs in 10 furniture, cars or household items. ability to recover from trauma or be states reported that independent of an abuser. For example, 88% of abusers Interruption of work and/or school: abuser can seize or damage possessions controlled all finances Survivor may miss work or school due that can be essential to a survivor finding and 73% stole money to an assault, time needed to recover a job or remaining employed, like cars, or because they were prohibited by an On average, a survivor work uniforms and identification. loses 8 days of paid abuser. If the abuser is a coworker or Similarly, ruined credit can be a barrier to work a year due to supervisor, they may directly influence renting a home, applying for college, abuse a survivor’s employment situation. receiving loans for a car or business, and 24% of survivors Misrepresentation: Abuser claims even securing a job. report being asked to stolen goods were given as gifts or lies resign or fired due to to the survivor about their finances. Economic abuse may leave survivors stalking at work homeless, unemployed or unable to Non-payment of debt: Abuser fails to access supports or resources that can Shelters reported that pay bills that are in the survivor’s help them rebuild their lives. This can 74% of survivors name or hides billing statements. stayed with an abuser result in greater dependency on their Undisclosed bankruptcy: Abuser longer due to finances abuser to provide for basic needs or an forces survivor to file bankruptcy or inability to recover from an act of files without notifying the survivor. violence. In addition, coerced economic Some economic abuses are even crimes crimes can lead to the arrest of the themselves. For example, some abusers survivors, which creates additional Wider Opportunities for Women commit fraud or identity theft by barriers to their economic security while 1001 Connecticut Ave NW charging unauthorized expenses to a failing to hold the true offenders Suite 930 survivor’s credit card or bank account. accountable for their actions. Washington, DC 20036 Tel (202) 464-1596 This project was supported by Grant No. 2012-TA-AX-K031 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Fax (202) 464-1660 Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do www.wowonline.org not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women WOW’s Resources Recovering from Economic Abuse Consumer Rights Remedies To help survivors of Advocates and attorneys can screen economic abuse achieve Service providers and the justice system survivors to identify any financial issues, safety and economic can take steps and employ a number of such as debt or damaged credit. Helping security, see the following tools to help survivors address the survivors manage these economic resources available immediate and long-term consequences consequences can reduce obstacles they online at of economic abuse. face in achieving economic security. www.wowonline.org/resour ces/economic-security-for- Education and Assessment Record Expungement/Sealing survivors-project-ess/ As 75% of Americans fail to see the If survivors are arrested for coerced connection between domestic violence crimes, it may remain on their criminal Economic Security and economic abuse, basic education and record regardless of whether there was a and Safety Guide for awareness is the first step for advocates. conviction. Expunging or sealing a the STOP Grant No tool existed to measure economic criminal record can remove barriers to Program abuse until researchers created the Scale finding safe housing or job a criminal The Law Enforcement of Economic Abuse (SEA) in 2008. The record creates. Guide to Safety and SEA assesses 28 abusive actions. Economic Security for Alternatively, the Domestic Violence— Helping Survivors Achieve Victims Related Financial Issues Scale (DV-FI) Economic Security Getting Started: A contains a subscale of five questions WOW defines economic security as Handbook to Address measuring the impact of economic abuse. having the income necessary to cover Economic Security for Survivors Crime Victim Compensation basic expenses (housing, childcare, food, Crime Victim Compensation is a state run transportation, healthcare, household Justice System Policy supplies and taxes) and building savings Brief Series program that covers expenses incurred by survivors of crimes that involve over one’s lifespan. An adequate income Population Policy personal injury. not only allows survivors to meet basic Brief Series needs and rebuild their lives, but also Green Pathways to Restitution opens the door to real and lasting Economic Security Restitution is a court-ordered payment financial independence. However, the Course from the offender to the victim for the cost of violence in addition to economic harm caused by the offender. Restitution abuse puts survivors at a disadvantage by can compensate survivors for out-of- making self-sufficiency and acquiring pocket expenses they incur. assets even more challenging. Protection Orders WOW’s Economic Security for Survivors Protection orders are issued by courts (ESS) Project works with the criminal and aim to keep a survivor safe from justice system, transitional housing his/her abuser. In some jurisdictions, programs and policy makers to inform these orders include economic provisions and offer strategies that respond to the that help a survivor remain safe and unique obstacle that survivors face. independent, such as possession of a Recommendations range from law Contact Us: vehicle or ordering the abuser to continue to pay the rent/mortgage. enforcement identifying economic abuse and prosecutors charging economic Sarah Gonzalez Bocinski, Replevin ESS Project Manager crimes, to transitional housing staff and Civil courts can order offenders to return [email protected] case managers providing employment property stolen or taken by (202)464-1596 x.134 and career counseling to survivors whose appropriation, conversion or abuser interrupted their work or school. Malore Dusenbery, misrepresentation. Survivors may also be See the sidebar for ESS Project tools for ESS Project Associate entitled to recover costs incurred both direst service providers and the [email protected] because they did not have access to criminal justice system to support and (202)464-1596 x.109 these items. rebuild the survivors’ economic security. .
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