Center on Violence Against Women and Children

Financial Empowerment

Introductions

• Introductions

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Goal of Workshop

• This workshop will explore the use of financial abuse by batterers to control and isolate their partners, and focus on short and long term strategies to assist survivors to become financially independent.

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Objectives

– Identify forms of financial abuse – Learn how to create a financial safety

plan– Learn how to help survivors set short

term financial goals – How to assist survivors to identify their

financial fears and emotions attached to money

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Objectives

• Learn how to identify community resources available to assist survivors to become economically independent

• Learn how to assist survivors to understand credit, get a credit report/score, and improve their credit rating

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The Problem

• 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 many economic barriers

• Many women do not recognize they are being financially abused

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Question

• Why is financial empowerment work important for battered women?

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Power and Control Wheel

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What is financial abuse?

• Financially healthy relationships • Definition of economic abuse • Forms of economic abuse

– Prevent her from acquiring employment and resources– Prevent her from using resources – Prevent her from maintaining resources

• Effects of economic abuse – Creates economic dependence on the abuser – A lack of resources will hinder her ability to leave– Will significantly lower her standard of living

Adams, Sullivan, Bybee & Greeson (2008)

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Helping clients identify economic abuse

• Does your partner:– Steal money from you or your family– Makes financial decisions without talking to

you – Forbids you from working or going to school– Overuses credit cards in your name or both of

your names– Prevents you from obtaining or using credit, or

debit cards – Demands receipts and change when you spend

money – Withhold physical necessities such as food and

clothes

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Financial safety planning

• Getting your paperwork in order• Protect your credit and assets • Save money • Identify individual, joint and hidden

assets– Assist the individual with creating a list – When possible ask her to identify the

approximate value of each asset

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Identifying Assets

• Questions to ask:• Are your property and financial assets

held in both of your names?• Is your apartment or home in both of

your names?• Do you have your own bank account or

joint account?• Does your partner own antiques, tools,

artwork or other collections? • Does your partner receive income not

being reported to the government?

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Lauren’s story

Lauren a successful executive has hidden the pain of her abusive marriage to James for many years. For a long time she hoped the violence would stop but it did not.

On paper Lauren and James appear to have built a very lucrative and successful marriage. This is untrue. Despite her success Lauren must ask permission to buy anything and does not know what they own. She is unclear about the amount of assets they have and number of liabilities.

She has decided to leave but does not know where to begin separating the financial responsibilities they have shared and created on their own.

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Exercise

• Participants – begin a list of steps Lauren would need to take to prepare to leave the relationship focusing on the financial aspects.

• Help her create a financial safety plan and identify her assets

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Financial Fundamentals

• How to set short and long term goals

• Management of finances

• How to create a budget– 3 simple steps

• Strategies for saving

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Managing debt

Creditor Balance due Interest rate Current monthly payment

1.

2.

3.

4.

Total debt and monthly payment

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Elena’s story

• Elena recently left an abusive relationship, she has two children 6 and 7 years old. She works full time at the local retail store and earns 25,000 a year. She receives no spousal support, no child support and no public assistance. Elena is living with her mother in order to save money for her own apartment. In order to save the deposit, and first month’s rent she must make changes in her spending habits. The apartment is $700 a month. She has also started to rack up credit card debt. She has reviewed with you her current spending habits and wants your help. She just doesn’t see where she could possibly cut back.

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Elena’s list

• Makes breakfast for her children but has no time to make it for herself so she buys something on the way for $4

• For lunch she buys a sandwich and a drink at a local place for $7• The children’s lunch is supplied at the school for $2 each• She buys frozen dinners for herself and kids $10 a night• They go out for pizza and ice cream every Friday night $25• She isn’t sure how much she spends on groceries each week • She buys clothes often because the children grow so fast – she wants them

to be fashionable when they go to school so she shops at higher end stores • She buys clothes for herself at the retail store she works at and other

places at the mall – she uses store credit cards to pay for all of the clothes and pay the minimum on the credit cards each month – cost $55 a month

• She stores furniture from her marriage in a facility because it does not fit in her parents’ home at $25 a month

• Her car is paid for – gas is $200 a month • She takes her children to a family fun center each Sat - $35 • She gets her nails done each week - $25

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Financial Fears

• Discuss the financial challenges to leaving • How to address emotions attached to

money • Spending money to feed an emotional

need• Spending money once out of an abusive

relationship• Spending money out of guilt or to show

love • Find new ways to treat themselves• Financial fear checklist

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Community resources

• Access to benefits assist in becoming economically empowered

• Become educated • Build collaborations

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Deanna’s story

Deanna’s partner did not allow her to work and restricted her access to all resources such as money and bank accounts. He also blocked her from keeping a job for any extended period of time. She left him once before, living in her car and obtaining food from a local pantry. She returned back to him - but has just decided to leave again. She has no children, and limited work experience at a local fast food place as a teen. She has no medical insurance, and about $100 she saved secretly over the last few months.

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Exercise

• Choose 3 short term goals • Identify the appropriate community

resources that will assist her with these goals

Rutgers - School of Social Work

Understanding Credit

• Why is good credit important? • Obtain and review credit report– Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion– Annual credit report request service 1 877 322

8228– http://www.annualcreditreport.com

• What is in a credit report? • Understanding a credit score• Improving a credit score • Go to www.myfico.com

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Long term Planning

–Planning a will or a trust fund, –Designate powers of attorney • Power of attorney handout

–Purchase life insurance

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Last exercise

• You have your own agency • Name it • Create 2 policies that would

incorporate changes to include economic empowerment

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Questions