Financial abuse is often left out of the conversation around domestic violence, yet it has a tremendous impact on survivors. Financial abuse is a leading reason why survivors stay with or go back to their abuser. Because financial abuse isn’t openly discussed, we created this blog to help domestic violence survivors know the signs of financial abuse and how they can get help.
What is Financial Abuse?
Financial abuse includes any action taken to control or restrict a survivor’s access to money or financial resources. In a financially abusive situation, the abuser often uses threats of violence, force, and manipulation to pressure a survivor into making financial decisions that harm them. Economic abuse may have lasting effects on one’s financial security, and the recovery takes time. In the short term, it may be hard to house, feed, or financially care for yourself and/or your children.
Signs of Financial Abuse
Financial Abuse Sign 1: Hiding, Withholding, Controlling Money and Assets
Does your partner hide or conceal money that you rely on for your basic needs such as food, medicine, transportation, or clothing? They may give you only a limited amount of money to survive so you can barely survive. It doesn’t matter if the money is yours or theirs – if they are withholding it for the sole purpose of controlling you, it is a sign of financial abuse. Other examples include hiding financial documents or personal documents like a green card or social security card.
Financial Abuse Sign 2: Interfering With Your Job or Sabotaging Ability to Work
Financial abuse doesn’t only have to do directly with money but can be related to how you make a living. It’s financially abusive for a partner to threaten or forbid you from working. They can also sabotage your current job by making it harder to get to or making threatening scenes at the job. If you want to work, anything a partner does to prevent you from working is done to control you and is considered financial abuse.
Financial Abuse Sign 3: Using Your Identity to Make Major Financial Decisions
If your partner opens credit cards or assigns utility bills in your name and/or your children’s name, they may be using your identity to financially abuse you. They may coerce you to lease or buy a car in your name, or any major financial asset that creates debt. They often have no intention of paying, which will create debt. Credit card debt can ruin your financial credit and prevent you from being financially independent and it will be more likely that you have to stay in the relationship to survive.
Help and Resources For survivors of Financial Abuse
- Call our Hotline at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673)
- From IRS.org
- Get a free credit report from Annual Credit Report
What Survivors Can Do: Learn Financial Safety Tips
Financial abuse is a tactic of control. Here are some financial safety tips to take back charge of your finances:
- Only share personal information with those who absolutely need it.
- Review your credit report every 3-6 months (regularly) for suspicious activity. Check out the link in our story to get your free annual credit report!
- Read your monthly bank statements to track your finances closely.
- Avoid joint accounts that could leave you vulnerable
- Secure your documents: Keep important documents safe and accessible only to you.
- After leaving, remove your name from shared utilities and accounts.