What Is Financial Abuse?

What is Financial Abuse?

Long after the bruises and broken bones have healed .... the flashbacks and hypervigilance have dissipated .... and a victim’s self-esteem and self-confidence are restored .... the effects of an abuser’s financial stranglehold will remain. Nearly 100% of victims of intimate partner violence suffer financial abuse (Christophers AE. Measuring the Effects of Domestic Violence on Women’s Financial Well- Being. Center for Financial Security. the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2011).

Financial abuse is one of the most powerful methods of keeping a victim trapped in an abusive relationship. It involves controlling a victim's ability to acquire, use and maintain financial resources. Those who are victimized financially are often prevented from working, thus becoming financially independent from the person who has shackled them. The forms of financial abuse vary; an abuser may use subtle tactics like manipulation while other abusers may be more overt, threatening, and intimidating. Research shows that victims often are too concerned about their ability to provide financially for themselves and their children to break the silence. Plus, financial insecurity is one of the top reasons women return to an abusive partner.

Victims of intimate partner violence are often prevented from continuing with their post-secondary or graduate studies .... or from working in their chosen profession, thus being financially independent of the person who seeks to shackle them. Victims often have to account for every penny they spend, assuming they have access to joint bank accounts or credit cards, or they are put on an “allowance”.

Financial abuse is magnified post-separation if the victim was a stay-at-home mother during the marriage but who is forced, out of necessity, to take out lines of credit and/ or deplete an equalization settlement to pay exorbitant legal fees. The effects can also be experienced by the victim’s parents who may have taken out a second mortgage on their home, at a time in their life when they would otherwise be thinking of retiring. The result of financial abuse is incredibly isolating because victims remain dependent on their abusers. It is this financial dependence that traps them in the relationship.