Abuse within a relationship is not limited to physical harm; financial abuse is a pervasive and harmful form of domestic violence that often precedes more overt forms of abuse. Understanding the signs of financial abuse and knowing how to escape such a situation is crucial for those affected. Financial abuse can have severe consequences, and it disproportionately affects women.
What Is Financial Abuse?
Financial or economic abuse is a lesser-known but highly prevalent type of domestic violence, impacting millions of women daily. It revolves around an abuser’s manipulation of money and economic resources to control, manipulate, and dominate their victim.
Financial abuse generally takes two primary forms:
- Limiting Access to Money: Abusers often restrict their victim’s access to funds, determining when they can access money or forcing them to hand over their earnings. This control can extend to basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.
- Sabotaging Financial Stability: Beyond restricting access to funds, abusers may sabotage their victim’s overall financial well-being. This can include damaging their credit, interfering with their job or career, or even stealing or destroying their assets.
Recognizing Signs of Financial Abuse
Identifying the signs of financial abuse is crucial. Some common indicators include:
- Controlling Access to Funds: Abusers dictate when and how their victim can access money, even for basic needs.
- Forcing Joint Assets: Abusers may demand that all assets and accounts be solely in their name, leaving their partner financially vulnerable.
- Identity Theft: In some cases, abusers commit identity theft by opening credit accounts in the victim’s name to damage their credit score.
Impact of Financial Abuse
Financial abuse takes a toll on victims’ health and safety. It leaves victims feeling insecure, powerless, and hopeless, granting their abuser even more control. Victims often become financially dependent on their abuser for basic necessities, making it extremely challenging to leave such relationships.
Financial abuse can lead to long-term consequences, including:
- Lack of Confidence: Victims may doubt their ability to care for themselves or their children independently.
- Poor Credit and Employment History: Abusers can ruin credit and employment opportunities, making financial independence harder to achieve.
- Unmanageable Debt: Victims coerced into loans or credit may accumulate unsustainable debt.
- Legal Battles: Victims might face legal battles initiated by their abuser, further complicating their financial situation.
Five Key Steps to Escape a Financially Abusive Relationship
For those trapped in a financially abusive relationship, there are essential steps to regain control and ensure safety:
- Prepare a Safety Plan: Safety should be the utmost concern. Create a personalized safety plan, considering your partner’s tendencies and potential for violence. Seek guidance from local domestic violence hotlines and resources.
- Secure Important Documents: Attempt to gather crucial documents such as identification, birth certificates, social security cards, and financial records before leaving. If keeping physical copies is unsafe, photograph them and store the images securely online.
- Find Safe Accommodation: Identify a secure place to stay before leaving. Staying with trusted friends or family members, particularly those unknown to your abuser, is advisable. Local women’s shelters often offer free or low-cost temporary housing.
- Assess Your Financial Situation: Despite your partner’s efforts to control your finances, strive to understand your current financial status. Request account information directly from financial institutions and obtain your free annual credit report. Consider credit monitoring to protect your credit score.
- Save Cash: In anticipation of your departure, save cash in a secure location inaccessible to your abuser. You can obtain cash back during everyday transactions, earn money through discreet odd jobs, or sell belongings quietly.
Leaving an abusive relationship is challenging, but remember that you are not alone. Utilize available resources to increase your financial literacy, connect with other survivors, and regain control of your life after leaving the abusive relationship.