Center on Violence Against Women and Children Economic Abuse Dr. 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 & Children 2

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 & Children 3

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 4 Center 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 5 Center 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 8 Center 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 12 Center 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 & Children 14

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 & Children 15

Websites NNEDV: Financial Tips for Survivors - undtion/financialtips.html undtion/financialtips.html The Allstate Foundation – n.aspx n.aspx o Financial Literacy Information – Center on Violence Against women & Children

Websites Financial Empowerment Curriculum - cial-empowerment-curriculum.aspx cial-empowerment-curriculum.aspx National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) – Financial Education Project - tion.php tion.php 17 Center 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), 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), Gowdy, E. A., & Pearlmutter, S. (1993). Economic self-sufficiency: It's not just money. Affilia, 8(4), 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. ( 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), 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 18, 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 & Children Rutgers, School of Social Work 536 George Street * New Brunswick, NJ x163 * Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW Center on Violence Against Women and Children 20