Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Economic AbuseDr. Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW

Goal of Workshop

• This workshop will provide concrete suggestions on how to understand and assess economic abuse with survivors of violence

Center on Violence Against women & Children2

Objectives • Participants will…

– Acquire a basic knowledge of economic abuse

– Learn how to assess economic abuse when working with survivors of domestic violence.

– Learn how to increase their clients’ awareness of the impact of economic abuse

Center on Violence Against women & Children3

What is Economic Abuse?

• What are financially healthy relationships?

• Economic abuse - A tactic used to control relationships by preventing access to money or other financial resources

• Has always been one of many tactics abusers use to control their partners

• Key to determining centers on the lack of cooperation and discussion around financial decisions in a relationship

4Center on Violence Against women & Children

Effects of Economic Abuse• Poverty• Stressful home environment• Greater economic dependence on abuser• Greater uncertain economic future• Greater risk for depression, anxiety, or physical

health problems• Vulnerable to poor educational & employment

success• Damaged self-esteem and self-efficacy• Forces women to choose between staying in abusive

relationship or face poverty and/or homelessness

5Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Rationale for Identifying Economic Abuse

• Economic models predict that domestic violence will decline as remedies outside of the immediate relationship improve

• By addressing economic abuse & strengthening economic status, more women will:– Reach economic self-sufficiency and

economic self-efficacy– More likely to leave– If stay, have more power in relationship

Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Types of Economic Abuse

• Employment sabotage strategies

• Economic exploitation strategies

• Economic controlling strategies

Rutgers - School of Social Work

Employment Sabotage Strategies – What are some employment sabotage

strategies you have learned from working with survivors?

– Do things to keep you from going to your job– Beat you up if you said you needed to go to

work– Threaten to make you leave work– Demand that you quit your job

8Center on Violence Against women & Children

Economic Exploitation Strategies– What are some exploitation strategies you

have seen?– How do abusers financially exploit their

partners?

– Pay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or in both of your names

– Spend the money you needed for rent or other bills

– Build up debt under your name by doing things like use your credit card or run up the phone bill

Rutgers - School of Social Work

Economic Control Strategies– How do abusers economically control their

partners?

– Demand to know how money was spent– Make important financial decisions without

talking with you about it first– Keep financial information from you– Make you ask him for money– Demand that you give him receipts and/or

change when you spent money

Rutgers - School of Social Work

Prevalence of Economic Abuse

• Employment sabotage strategies:– 68% had partners do things to keep them from going to work– 59% had partners demanding that they quit their job

• Exploitation strategies:– 71% had partner pay bills late or not at all– 69% had partner spend money needed for rent or other

bills • Controlling strategies:

– 88% had partners who demanded to know how the money was spent

– 83% had partners making important financial decisions without talking to tem first

Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Why use with battered women?

• Financial insecurity and economic abuse puts women in a position of choosing to stay in an abusive relationship or face poverty and homelessness

• Once they do leave they face economic barriers • Many women do not recognize they are being

financially abused • Service providers have only recently begun to

focus on economic abuse and have just begun to make economic concerns central to a victims well being, self sufficiency and empowerment

12Center on Violence Against women & Children

How to assess?

• Can use the modified Scale of Economic Abuse– Has 12 questions

covering the 3 types of economic abuse

– Answers based on scale of 1-5

• Let’s practice!

Rutgers - School of Social Work

Application • How do you plan on

including content on economic abuse into your work with survivors?– Use the Revised Scale of

Economic Abuse?– Change your policies at

your agency to use this tool?

– Make it part of your routine assessment?

Center on Violence Against women & Children14

Summary• Review Objectives…

– Acquire a basic knowledge of economic abuse

– Learn how to assess economic abuse when working with survivors of domestic violence.

– Learn how to increase their clients’ awareness of the impact of economic abuse

• Questions? Comments?

Center on Violence Against women & Children15

Websites

• NNEDV:• Financial Tips for Survivors -

http://www.nnedv.org/projects/allstatefoundtion/financialtips.html

• The Allstate Foundation – http://www.allstate.com/foundation/main.aspx

• o   Financial Literacy Information – http://www.clicktoempower.org  

16Center on Violence Against women & Children

Websites • Financial Empowerment Curriculum -

http://www.clicktoempower.org/resources/financial-empowerment-curriculum.aspx

• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) – http://www.ncadv.org

• Financial Education Project - http://www.ncadv.org/programs/FinancialEducation.php

17Center on Violence Against women & Children

Selected Bibliography• Adams, A. E., Sullivan, C. M., Bybee, D., & Greeson, M. R. (2008).

Development of the Scale of Economic Abuse. Violence Against Women, 14(5), 563-588.

• Anthes, W. L., & Most, B.W. (2000). Frozen in the headlights: The dynamics of women and money. Journal of Financial Planning, 13(9), 10.

• Farmer, A., & Tiefenthaler, J. (2003). Explaining the recent decline in domestic violence. Contemporary Economic Policy, 21(2), 158.

• Fawole, O. I. (2008). Economic Violence To Women and Girls: Is It Receiving the Necessary Attention? Trauma Violence Abuse, 9(3), 167-177.

• Gowdy, E. A., & Pearlmutter, S. (1993). Economic self-sufficiency: It's not just money. Affilia, 8(4), 368-387.

• Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S., McMahon, S., Murshid, N. & Kim, M. (in press). Understanding economic abuse in the lives of survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

• Postmus, J. L. (2010, October). Economic Empowerment of Domestic Violence Survivors. Harrisburg, PA: VAWnet, a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence/Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (www.vawnet.org).

Center on Violence Against Women and Children

• Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S. B., & Mathisen-Stylianou, A. (under review). An exploratory factor analysis of the Scale of Economic Abuse. Violence Against Women.

• Sanders, C. K., Weaver, T. L., & Schnabel, M. (2007). Economic education for battered women: An evaluation of outcomes. Affilia, 22(3), 240-254.

• VonDeLinde, K. C., & Correia, Amy. (2005). Economic education programs for battered women: Lessons learned from two settings. Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence retrieved from www.vawnet.org, 18, 1-25.

• Vyas, S. W., C. (2008). How does economic empowerment affect women's risk of intimate partner violence in low and middle income countries? A systematic review of published evidence. Journal of International Development, 21(5), 25.

• Weaver, T. L., Sanders, C. K., Campbell, C. L., & Schnabel, C. (2009). Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of the Domestic Violence--Related Financial Issues Scale (DV-FI). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(4).

Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Contact Information

Center on Violence Against Women & ChildrenRutgers, School of Social Work

536 George Street * New Brunswick, NJ 08901732-932-7520 x163 * http://vawc.rutgers.edu

Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW postmus@ssw.rutgers.edu

Center on Violence Against Women and Children20