Economic Abuse

1. Economic Abuse Dr. Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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 Center on Violence Against women & Children

5. 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 Center on Violence Against Women and Children

6. 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

7. Types of Economic Abuse • Employment sabotage strategies • Economic exploitation strategies • Economic controlling strategies Rutgers - School of Social Work

8. 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 Center on Violence Against women & Children

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 Center on Violence Against women & Children

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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 Center on Violence Against women & Children

17. 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 Center on Violence Against women & Children

18. 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

19. 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

20. Contact Information Center on Violence Against Women & Children Rutgers, School of Social Work 536 George Street * New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7520 x163 * http://vawc.rutgers.edu Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., ACSW postmus@ssw.rutgers.edu Center on Violence Against Women and Children 20