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Articles/Adams et al, 2020 The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for IPV.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219841445

Violence Against Women 2020, Vol. 26(11) 1324 –1342

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Research Article

The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence

Adrienne E. Adams1, Angela K. Littwin2, and McKenzie Javorka1

Abstract This study examines the frequency, nature, and effects of coerced debt, defined as non-consensual, credit-related transactions that occur in intimate relationships where one partner uses coercive control to dominate the other. The sample includes 1,823 women who called the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Results suggest that coerced debt, from both coercive and fraudulent transactions, is a common problem and is significantly related to control over financial information, credit damage, and financial dependence on the abuser. This study supports the need for policy reform and victim services aimed at addressing coerced debt, thereby mitigating a potentially significant economic barrier to safety.

Keywords intimate partner violence, economic abuse, coerced debt, financial dependence

Introduction

Researchers estimate that between 94 and 99% of women1 seeking services for inti- mate partner violence (IPV) have experienced economic abuse (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2011).

1Michigan State University, Lansing, USA 2The University of Texas at Austin, USA

Corresponding Author:

Adrienne E. Adams, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Email: [email protected]

841445VAWXXX10.1177/1077801219841445Violence Against WomenAdams et al. research-article2019

Adams et al. 1325

Economic abuse involves behaviors that control a woman’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources, thus threatening her financial security (Adams et al., 2008). In an effort to exert control, batterers restrict access to economic resources by interfering with employment, dictating spending, and regulating access to financial information, among other tactics. Abusers also exert control by exploiting their part- ners’ resources. For instance, abusers steal their partners’ money or property, “free- load” by refusing to contribute income to expenses, and generate debt in their partners’ names through fraud or coercion (Adams et al., 2008). This last form of exploitation— generating debt through fraud or coercion—has been termed “coerced debt,” and research on this particular pernicious type of economic abuse is in its infancy. In the first study of coerced debt, Littwin (2012) interviewed lawyers and advocates, estab- lishing its existence and showing how it operates in a variety of circumstances. The current study built on Littwin’s original research by examining the frequency, nature, and consequences of coerced debt from the perspective of survivors, using a sample of callers to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH).

“Coerced debt” is defined as all non-consensual, credit-related transactions that occur in an intimate relationship where one partner uses coercive control to dominate the other partner (Littwin, 2012). Coercive control is the defining characteristic dif- ferentiating “situational violence,” in which a couple uses violence as a problem-solv- ing strategy, from IPV involving an underlying dynamic of dominance (M. P. Johnson, 2006; Pence & Dasgupta, 2006; Stark, 2007). In his pioneering book, Coercive Control, Evan Stark (2007) explains coercive control as the systematic, ongoing use of violence, intimidation, isolation, and control to restrict the victim’s autonomy. Dutton and Goodman (2005) explicate the mechanisms of coercive control by describing it as “a dynamic process linking a demand with a credible threatened negative consequence for noncompliance” (pp. 746-747). The theory posits that abusers make demands across diverse domains of their partners’ lives, including personal activities/appear- ance, social/family life, children, household management, intimate relationship, legal, immigration, and economic/resources. Consequences for noncompliance include tacit or explicit threats of physical, psychological, and/or economic harm (Dutton, Goodman, & Schmidt, 2006). Threats that are deemed credible based on past behavior compel victims to act in accordance with the demands, subordinating their own inter- ests, desires, and values. Coercive control is a liberty crime (Stark, 2007). By coer- cively controlling their partners’ actions, abusers restrict women’s autonomy, freedom, or space for action (Sharp-Jeffs, Kelly, & Klein, 2017).

According to Littwin (2012), this broader context of coercive control enables abus- ers to generate debt in their partners’ names through discrete transactions involving coercion or fraud. Using coercive control, an abuser creates an environment in which refusing a demand or questioning behavior is dangerous. If “asked” to assume sole responsibility for a lease or utility service, sign for a loan, take out a credit card, or buy an item on credit, the victim does so or risks harm (coercive transactions). If he uses her personal information to take out credit in her name without her knowledge (fraud- ulent transition) and she suspects or discovers the debt, confronting him or reporting the fraud—as one might do in a non-abusive relationship—means risking harm

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(Littwin, 2012). This dynamic was captured in a recent qualitative study of economic abuse in which women reported that they “felt powerless over an abuser’s financial behavior due to the fear and threat of reprisal” (Sanders, 2015, p. 19).

Evidence of the existence of coerced debt has emerged in several existing studies. In a qualitative study of 187 women stalked by former intimate partners, Brewster (2003) found that 22.5% had abusive partners who exerted financial control over them, and one of the ways they did that was by opening credit cards in their partners’ names. In their research to develop the Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA), Adams and colleagues (2008) included several items that although not explicitly intended to do so, captured elements of coerced debt. For example, of the 103 women seeking services for domestic violence who were interviewed, 39% reported that their partner had built up debt under their name by doing things like putting a car, apartment/house, or credit card in their name; 53% reported that their partner had used their checkbook, ATM card, or credit card without their permission and/or knowledge; and 68% reported that their partner had forced them to give him money or let him use their checkbook, ATM card, or credit card. Sanders (2015) reported a common theme among participants of accumulating debt and damaged credit because of abuse. The connection between abuse and debt is substantiated by findings from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project (CBP) showing that 17.8% of the 258 married and cohabitating female partici- pants experienced intimate partner abuse in the year they filed for bankruptcy, a rate much higher than the 1.5% to 9.8% annual rates of abuse reported in studies with samples of women most comparable with that of the CBP (Littwin, 2012; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Finally, in the only study to date explicitly focused on coerced debt, Littwin (2012) found that of the 55 domestic violence professionals interviewed, 51 (93%) had knowledge of coerced debt based on their work with survivors. For exam- ple, participants shared stories of women whose partners forged their names on credit card offers that had arrived in the mail, forced them to sign financial documents against their will, coerced them to purchase items on credit, and required that household debts be in their names.

Littwin’s original study also surfaced key correlates of coerced debt. Participants recounted how abusers concealed the existence and extent of coerced debt by engag- ing in controlling behaviors such as hiding mail and prohibiting access to financial accounts. Restricting access to financial information is a tactic of economic abuse that has been reported elsewhere (Adams et al., 2008; Brewster, 2003; Postmus et al., 2011; Sanders, 2015), and Littwin characterized it as foundational to the establishment of coerced debt (Littwin, 2012). Whether by hiding the existence of coerced debt or some other form of direct or indirect prohibition, abusers kept their partners from pay- ing on coerced debts in a timely manner or at all. When coerced debts went unpaid, damaged credit was the result. Littwin noted that a troubled credit history or score would not be as problematic if credit reports were used only by traditional lenders. However, the reality is that employers, landlords, and utility companies make exten- sive use of credit reports and scores in screening potential employees, tenants, and customers, which can prevent victims from obtaining jobs, housing, and basic utilities. If the victim is aware of the debt and is paying on it, this added financial obligation

Adams et al. 1327

restricts the resources available to meet other needs. With damaged credit and limited money, starting a new life away from an abuser becomes extremely difficult. Studies consistently show that lack of financial resources is a primary reason women remain in abusive relationships (Aguirre, 1985; Anderson & Saunders, 2003; I. M. Johnson, 1992; Kim & Gray, 2008; Matlow & DePrince, 2015).

Research conducted with human service and legal professionals provided initial evidence of the problem of coerced debt, how it happens, and the effects it has on victims’ lives (Littwin, 2012). Investigations of women’s direct experiences of coerced debt are now needed to advance our understanding of this dramatically underre- searched form of economic abuse. As an initial step toward filling this gap, the current study builds on Littwin’s study by using a sample of IPV survivors seeking help from the NDVH to investigate central research questions surfaced by Littwin. Specifically, the current study examines the following six foundational research questions: (1) How common is coerced debt generated via coercive and fraudulent transactions? (2) What types of consequences do survivors expect for failing to comply with abusers’ demands to take on debt? (3) How do women discover coerced debt generated via fraudulent transactions? (4) Are women with partners who control access to financial information more likely to have coerced debt? (5) Are women with coerced debt more likely than women without coerced debt to report credit damage due to an intimate relationship? and (6) Are women with coerced debt more likely to stay in an abusive relationship longer due to financial concerns than women without coerced debt? Answers to these questions will move the field forward toward understanding and addressing the extent and effects of coerced debt in women’s lives.

Method

Participants and Procedures

The study used a convenience sample of callers to the NDVH over an 8-week period in the summer of 2014. Callers were eligible to participate if they identified as female and an IPV survivor and were at least 18 years old. At the end of the call, if the caller was not in crisis and met the eligibility criteria, the trained advocate who took the call read a scripted statement explaining the survey and asking if the caller was willing to participate. The NDVH provided the researchers with a de-identified data set after data collection was complete.

Out of 10,232 calls received during the data collection period, 8,003 callers met the eligibility criteria, and 1,863 participated in the survey. Forty of these were excluded because they lived outside of the United States, and issues of debtor–creditor law are country-specific. Our final sample consisted of 1,823 women. As shown in Table 1, most participants were between the ages of 25 and 45 (66%), and reported their race/ ethnicity as non-Hispanic white (46%) or black (23%). Geographically, the majority of participants were from the South (38%) or West (29%) of the United States. The demographic characteristics of the callers who participated in the study were

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proportionally equivalent to those of all eligible callers during the data collection period, indicating that the sample was representative of hotline callers.

Measures

The instrument used in this study was developed specifically to assess coerced debt and its effects among hotline callers. Instrument length and ease of administration were prioritized to minimize the burden on the hotline advocates and callers. As such, measures were restricted to single “yes/no” items and limited open-ended questions. To maximize data quality, the advocates received training on how to administer the instrument prior to the start of the study.

Coerced debt. Coerced debt was measured with a series of three questions. Based on the conceptual work of Dutton and Goodman (2005), two questions were asked to assess for a coercive transaction. The occurrence of a demand was measured using a single, yes/no question asking, “Has an intimate partner ever convinced or pressured

Table 1. Sample Characteristics.

Characteristic Frequency % of sample (n = 1,823)

Age 18-24 212 12 25-35 688 38 36-45 510 28 46-54 278 15 55 and over 135 7

Race/ethnicity White 837 46 Black 411 23 Hispanic 327 18 Multiracial 83 5 Asian 69 4 Native American/Alaska 20 1 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

14 1

Arab/Middle Eastern 10 1 Other 20 1 Unknown 32 2

U.S. Region Northeast 300 17 South 689 38 Midwest 293 16 West 529 29 Unknown 12 1

Adams et al. 1329

you to borrow money or buy something on credit when you didn’t want to?” If the caller answered “yes” to the demand question, the occurrence of a perceived conse- quence for non-compliance with the demand was assessed with the following ques- tion: “What did you think would happen if you said ‘no?’” Qualitative responses were coded 0 = no consequence, 1 = consequence. The occurrence of a fraudulent transaction was measured with a single, yes/no question asking, “Have you ever found out about debt or bills that an intimate partner put in your name without you knowing?” Responses were coded 0 = no, 1 = yes. The coerced debt variable was operationalized as the occurrence of either a coercive or fraudulent transaction, with 0 = no and 1 = yes.

The open-ended responses to the consequences for non-compliance question described above were thematically coded to indicate the nature of the consequence. An initial round of coding produced three broad, mutually exclusive thematic categories: physical, psychological, and economic. “Physical consequences” were defined as threats of bodily harm to the victim or the victim’s loved ones. “Psychological conse- quences” were defined as threats of emotionally distressing actions. “Economic con- sequences” were defined as threats of the loss of financial and material resources. A second round of coding was conducted to assign each response to the appropriate categories.

Discovery of a fraudulent transaction. Fraud discovery method was assessed by asking the following open-ended question to hotline callers who reported a fraudulent trans- action: “How did you find out about the debt or bills?” Two coders themed the responses, and disagreements were reconciled with input from a third coder. A cate- gorical “fraud discovery” variable was created based on the thematic analysis.

Control over financial information. Control over financial information was measured with a single, yes/no question asking, “Has an intimate partner ever kept financial information from you?” Responses were coded 0 = no, 1 = yes, indicating whether or not the hotline caller had a partner who kept financial information from her.

Credit damage. Credit damage was measured with one question: “Has your credit report or credit score been hurt by the actions of an intimate partner?” The response options included yes, no, and not sure. For the inferential analyses, “not sure” responses were coded as “no” resulting in a dichotomous variable, coded 0 = no, 1 = yes, indi- cating whether or not the hotline caller had her credit report or score hurt by the actions of an intimate partner.

Financial dependence. Financial dependence was measured using a single, yes/no ques- tion asking, “Have you ever stayed longer than you wanted in a relationship with someone who was controlling because of concerns about financially supporting your- self or your children?” Responses were coded 0 = no, 1 = yes, indicating whether or not the hotline caller ever stayed longer than desired in a relationship with someone who was controlling because of financial concerns.

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Control variables. Age and race/ethnicity were controlled for in this study, as both char- acteristics could affect women’s financial well-being. Age and race/ethnicity ques- tions did not appear on the survey; instead, the variables were generated for use in this study based on the demographic information routinely collected for all hotline callers. The age variable was ordinal, with the following categories: 18-24, 25-35, 36-45, 46-54, and 55 and over; “55 and over;” was used as the reference category. The nomi- nal race variable had the following categories: non-Hispanic White, Black, Arab/Mid- dle Eastern, Asian, Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, multiracial, and other. For the planned inferential analyses, the cate- gories with a low percentage were combined into the “other” category, resulting in a four-category variable: White, Black, Hispanic, and other; “White” was used as the reference category.

Data Analysis

Frequency analysis was performed to answer research questions 1-4 regarding the prevalence and nature of coerced debt. Logistic regression was conducted to answer research questions 4-6 regarding the likelihood of coerced debt for women with part- ners who control access to financial information; the likelihood of having damaged credit due to the actions of an intimate partner for women with coerced debt; and the likelihood of financial dependence for women with coerced debt.

In preparation for the logistic regression, missing values analysis was performed and the missing values were imputed using expectation maximization. Missing values analysis revealed 3.4% missing values on the variables of interest. Little’s Missing Completely at Random (MCAR) test was significant, indicating that the missing val- ues were not MCAR. Further bivariate analysis showed no significant relationship among the missing values, suggesting that the data were missing at random. Expectation maximization methods were used to estimate the missing values. All analyses were conducted with SPSS version 24.

Results

As shown in Table 2, 52% of callers to the NDVH who participated in this study reported coerced debt. In other words, half of participants had partners who generated debt in their name via a coercive and/or fraudulent transaction.

A coercive transaction was reported by 43% of the total sample and 87% of the callers who reported either type of coerced debt. When asked what they thought would happen if they did not comply with their partner’s request to take out a loan or buy something on credit, most of the respondents (66%) who disclosed a consequence described fearing psychological consequences, such as name calling, yelling and screaming, or threatening to end the relationship. Over a third (38%) of participants who disclosed a consequence cited fear of physical consequences for saying “no,” including being beaten or killed. Ten percent (10%) explained that they feared some

Adams et al. 1331

form of economic consequence, such as job, money, or property loss, if they did not do as their partner wished.

A fraudulent transaction was reported by 22% of all respondents and 46% of callers who experienced coerced debt. Of the callers who disclosed how they discovered the fraud, 62% said they learned of it through creditor- or bill collector-initiated contact. Of those, 69% reported receiving notice of the debt via mail and 24% reported receiv- ing a call from the creditor or bill collector. A quarter of the women who reported learning of the debt via mail described finding the mail, as opposed to directly receiv- ing it. For example, participants mentioned finding bills after a move or change of address, receiving bills sent to them by mistake, discovering bills when the abuser missed them or was away, obtaining the mail before the abuser, finding bills in the trash, and receiving bills after the relationship had ended. Other noteworthy ways call- ers learned of the debt were through reviewing their credit report (9%); applying for a new service or loan (8%); notification of the debt by a friend, family member, the police, bank, or credit union personnel (7%); seeing unauthorized activity on a bank or credit card statement (5%); abuser confession to the debt (3%); an economic loss such as property repossession or wage garnishment (3%); and through the divorce process (3%). The methods of fraud discovery are summarized in Table 3.

Control over financial information, financial dependence, and abuse-related credit damage were also commonly reported: 71% of callers said that their partner had kept financial information from them; 46% said their credit had been damaged by the actions of an abusive partner (another 14% said they were “not sure”); and 73% stayed longer in a relationship with someone who was controlling because of concerns about financially supporting themselves or their children.

Table 4 provides the results of the logistic regression model predicting the likeli- hood of coerced debt based on whether abusers exerted control over financial informa- tion, controlling for race/ethnicity and age. After accounting for race/ethnicity and age, control over financial information significantly predicted the likelihood of having coerced debt (odds ratio [OR] = 3.57, p < .001). In other words, women with partners who hid financial information from them were 3.6 times more likely to have debt in their name due to a coercive or fraudulent transaction perpetrated by an intimate part- ner. The model predicted 11% of the variance in coerced debt (Nagelkerke R2 = .11). The Hosmer and Lemeshow test was non-significant, indicating good model fit.

Table 2. Frequency of Coerced Debt and Related Constructs.

Variable Frequency % n

Coerced debt 858 52 1,661 Fraudulent transaction 386 22 1,776 Coercive transaction 707 43 1,636 Physical consequence 271 38 707 Psychological consequence 467 66 707 Economic consequence 73 10 707

Note. Variations in n for coerced debt variables are due to missing data.

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Table 3. Methods of Fraudulent Transaction Discovery.

Variable Frequency % (n = 325a)

Creditor- or bill collector-initiated contact 202 62 Mail contact 140 69b

Phone contact 48 24b

Credit report 29 9 Applying for new service or a loan 25 8 Notification by friend, family, police, or

bank/credit union staff 24 7

Saw unauthorized activity on bank or credit card statement

15 5

Abuser confessed to partner 11 3 Collection resulting in economic loss

(e.g., repossession, garnishment) 9 3

Divorce 9 3

aIn all, 61 participants who reported a fraudulent transaction did not disclose the discovery method. bPercent of n = 202 who discovered debt via creditor or bill collector; numbers contacted by mail or phone are not mutually exclusive as some participants were contacted by both mail and phone.

Table 4. Logistic Regression of Control Over Financial Information on Coerced Debt (n = 1,823).

Variables β SE Wald’s χ2 df p OR

95% CI for OR

LL UL

Race/ ethnicity

4.69 3 .20

African American

0.03 .13 0.07 1 .79 1.03 0.81 1.32

Hispanic −0.27 .14 3.69 1 .06 0.77 0.59 1.01 Other −0.09 .16 0.34 1 .56 0.91 0.66 1.25 Age 8.20 4 .08 18-24 −0.39 .24 2.68 1 .10 0.67 0.42 1.08 25-35 −0.50 .21 5.77 1 .02 0.61 0.41 0.91 36-45 −0.49 .21 5.43 1 .02 0.61 0.41 0.93 46-54 −0.24 .23 1.16 1 .28 0.78 0.50 1.22 Fin. Info.

Control 1.27 .11 130.60 1 p<.001 3.57 2.87 4.45

Constant −0.31 .21 2.18 1 .14 0.73

Note. Race reference category is Non-Hispanic White; Age reference category is 55 and over. Nagelkerke R2 = .11. Model χ2 = 158.94. Hosmer and Lemeshow = 7.35, p = .50. CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio.

Adams et al. 1333

Table 5 summarizes the results of the logistic regression model predicting the likeli- hood of credit damage based on coerced debt. After accounting for race/ethnicity and age, coerced debt significantly predicted the likelihood of credit damage (OR = 6.09 p < .001), indicating that women with coerced debt were 6 times more likely to have their credit report or credit score hurt by the actions of an intimate partner. The model predicted 25% of the variance in credit damage (Nagelkerke R2 =.25). The Hosmer and Lemeshow test was non-significant, indicating good model fit.

Table 6 shows the results of the logistic regression model predicting the likelihood of financial dependence based on coerced debt. After accounting for race/ethnicity and age, coerced debt significantly predicted the likelihood of financial dependence (OR = 2.50, p < .001). Women with coerced debt were 2.5 times more likely to have ever stayed longer than they wanted in a relationship with someone who was controlling because of concerns about financially supporting themselves or their children. The model predicted 7.7% of the variance in financial dependence (Nagelkerke R2 =.077). The Hosmer and Lemeshow test was non-significant, indicating good model fit.

Discussion

Evidence that IPV perpetrators generate debt in their partners’ names has been present in the research literature for some time (Adams et al., 2008; Brewster, 2003). Using qualitative methods, Littwin (2012) gave the phenomenon a name—coerced

Table 5. Logistic Regression of Coerced Debt on Credit Damage (n = 1,823).

Variables β SE Wald’s χ2 df p OR

95% CI for OR

LL UL

Race/ ethnicity

16.41 3 .001

African American

−0.29 .13 4.82 1 .03 0.75 0.58 0.97

Hispanic −0.59 .15 15.38 1 p<.001 0.56 0.41 0.75 Other −0.23 .17 1.77 1 .18 0.80 0.57 1.11 Age 17.29 4 .002 18-24 −0.76 .25 9.04 1 .003 0.47 0.29 0.77 25-35 −0.39 .21 3.37 1 .07 0.68 0.44 1.03 36-45 −0.33 .22 2.32 1 .13 0.72 0.47 1.10 46-54 0.02 .24 0.01 1 .92 1.02 0.65 1.63 Coerced

Debt 1.81 .11 288.56 1 p<.001 6.09 4.94 7.50

Constant −0.60 .21 8.35 1 .004 0.55

Note. Race reference category is Non-Hispanic White; age reference category is 55 and over. Nagelkerke R2 = .25. Model χ2 = 376.87. Hosmer and Lemeshow = 3.06, p = .93. CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio.

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debt—and described its mechanisms and consequences as witnessed by professionals in the IPV field. The current study quantitatively examined research questions informed by Littwin (2012) from the perspective of IPV survivors themselves. Specifically, the current study examined the frequency, nature, and effects of coerced debt among women who sought help from the NDVH. The findings suggest that coerced debt is a common experience for women seeking help for intimate partner abuse, with about half (52%) of the sample reporting that their partner had put debt in their name either via a coercive and/or fraudulent transaction. A coercive transaction was reported by 43% of respondents, and about one in five women surveyed (22%) had discovered debt that a partner had generated in their name fraudulently. It is important to note that the fraud rate may be an undercount because women who had not yet discovered an abuser’s fraud would answer this question negatively.

Hotline callers whose partners fraudulently put debt in their names most commonly reported discovering that debt through billing or collections activity, with most of them discovering it by mail. This is interesting because the results also showed that 71% of women surveyed had partners who hid financial information from them. This potential contradiction can be partially explained by the finding that a quarter of women reported finding mail in a way that suggested that they found it despite their partners’ attempts to hide the financial information.

The results also showed that respondents with a partner who hid financial informa- tion were 3.6 times more likely to have coerced debt. Abusers might hide financial

Table 6. Logistic Regression of Coerced Debt on Financial Dependence (n = 1,823).

Variables β SE Wald’s χ2 df p OR

95% CI for OR

LL UL

Race/ ethnicity

12.71 3 .01

African American

−0.41 .14 8.86 1 .003 0.67 0.51 0.87

Hispanic −0.27 .15 3.02 1 .08 0.77 0.57 1.03 Other −0.48 .17 7.72 1 .01 0.62 0.44 0.87 Age 10.15 4 .04 18-24 −0.19 .25 0.57 1 .45 0.83 0.50 1.36 25-35 0.25 .22 1.26 1 .26 1.28 0.83 1.98 36-45 0.22 .23 0.93 1 .34 1.24 0.80 1.94 46-54 0.41 .25 2.67 1 .10 1.51 0.92 2.46 Coerced

Debt 0.92 .11 69.43 1 p<.001 2.50 2.02 3.11

Constant 0.58 .21 7.34 1 .01 1.78

Note. Race reference category is Non-Hispanic White; age reference category is 55 and over. Nagelkerke R2 = .077. Model χ2 = 98.76. Hosmer and Lemeshow = 3.04, p = .93. CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio.

Adams et al. 1335

information in a deliberate attempt to perpetrate, cover up, or keep their partners from paying on coerced debt (Littwin, 2012). Alternatively, they may hide financial infor- mation as part of their control tactics, for example, to create vulnerabilities in their partners, and only later realized that they had set the stage for coerced debt (Dutton & Goodman, 2005).

This study explored two possible consequences of coerced debt: credit damage and financial dependence. Credit damage due to the actions of an abusive partner was reported by 46% of the hotline callers surveyed; this figure is likely an underreporting given that another 14% were unsure if their credit had been damaged, and women who had not yet discovered fraudulent debt would not know of any damage to their credit reports. Respondents with coerced debt were 6 times more likely to have their credit damaged by the actions of an abusive partner. A relationship between coerced debt and credit damage was also found by Littwin (2012). Based on their experiences working with IPV survivors, the professionals interviewed for that study concluded that coerced debt negatively affects survivors’ credit. Coerced debt increases victims’ overall debt burden, and the extant economic abuse literature shows that abusers engage in an array of behaviors that would make it difficult for victims to pay their debts. For instance, abusers prevent their partners from earning money; they directly forbid debt payment; they steal or spend the money needed to pay bills; and they may hide the existence of the debt (Adams et al., 2008; Brewster, 2003; Littwin, 2012; Postmus et al., 2011; Sanders, 2015).

In addition to credit damage, this study showed that coerced debt is associated with financial dependence on the abuser. Nearly three quarters (73%) of women reported that they had stayed longer than they had wanted in a relationship with someone who was controlling because of concerns about financially supporting themselves or their children. Women with coerced debt were 2.5 times more likely to report financial dependence than women without coerced debt. In other words, the odds that financial dependence will occur is greater when coerced debt is present. An association between coerced debt and financial dependence was also reported by Littwin (2012). The find- ings from that study indicated that coerced debt can be a significant financial barrier to leaving an abusive relationship. It may be that one’s debt burden factors into the calculation of the relative advantages and disadvantages of remaining in versus leav- ing an abusive relationship.

The NDVH provided an opportunity to study coerced debt among a diverse, national sample of IPV survivors; however, there were limitations of the study design that warrant attention. Brevity and ease of administration were top considerations in designing the instrument. As such, strict limits were placed on the number and type of questions asked (i.e., quantitative measurement was restricted to dichotomous items). Survey length limits imposed a number of limitations on this study. First, the length limits necessitated restricting the operationalization of coercive transactions to those involving “borrowing money or buying something on credit.” We know from prior research that coerced debt can also result from the abuser demanding that household bills including utilities, rent, or phone service are in the survivor’s name (Littwin, 2012), but we were unable to ask explicitly about coerced debt generated by these

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means. Future studies should expand the operationalization of coerced debt to include this tactic as well. Second, the survey design parameters prevented a more nuanced investigation into the specific types of debt abusers generated, for example, credit cards, mortgage, auto loans, and payday loans. Future research should assess for fraud and coercion around specific types of transactions. One way to do this, which the authors are piloting in another study, is to review survivors’ credit reports with them, systematically assessing for coercion and fraud in the opening and use of each account. Third, limits on survey length hindered a more comprehensive assessment of conse- quences for non-compliance with a partner’s request to take out a loan or buy some- thing on credit. The consequences element of coercion was assessed with one open-ended question. Although useful for surfacing the most salient consequence or consequences and determining if coercion occurred, this approach limits the conclu- sions that can be drawn from the data. Future research should assess each type of threat—psychological, physical, and economic—individually to permit examination of the occurrence and co-occurrence of each type. Fourth, survey length restrictions prevented the inclusion of questions to measure potential confounding variables beyond the basic demographics collected for all hotline callers. It may be that the observed scores on coerced debt, credit damage, and financial dependence were affected by variables not controlled for in the study. Future research should control for variables, such as income or the number of dependents, which could affect these dependent variables.

It should also be noted that women were asked to report coerced debt, control over financial information, abuse-related credit damage, and financial dependence experi- enced in any intimate relationships. It may be that these phenomena occurred within separate intimate relationships. Although the findings show that these experiences are meaningfully related, future studies should examine these associations within and across intimate relationships.

A final limitation for consideration stems from the use of a cross-sectional design. This design prohibited conclusions regarding the directionality of the relationships among the constructs of interest. Although this study is a step forward in advancing our understanding of the nature and effects of coerced debt, longitudinal, mixed-meth- ods research is recommended to gain a fuller picture of the types and amounts of coerced debt incurred, the mechanisms by which the debt is generated, and the conse- quences of that debt for victims’ immediate and long-term financial security. For example, researchers could use a prospective or retrospective longitudinal design to collect interview data from IPV survivors with and without coerced debt to examine the effects of coerced debt on survivors’ economic well-being. To aid research in this area, a comprehensive screening tool is needed to obtain a systematic understanding of coerced debt. The screening tool should reference the survivor’s credit report to simultaneously enhance recall and provide documentation of important features of each coerced debt (i.e., payment history, borrowing history).

Limitations notwithstanding, this study has important practice and policy implica- tions. The study shows that coerced debt is a common experience among women seek- ing help for IPV and is associated with damaged credit and financial dependence on

Adams et al. 1337

the abuser. As such, agencies serving IPV survivors, including crisis hotlines, shelters, advocacy programs, and legal services, must be prepared to identify and address coerced debt. Crisis hotline advocates can be trained to listen for indicators of coerced debt and, when appropriate, refer the caller to IPV and legal services for assistance. Professionals who provide more intensive services can work with survivors to assess for coerced debt and devise strategies to address it and associated issues. Specifically, providers with economic advocacy training can help survivors gain access to personal financial information that might have been hidden from them and take stock of their assets and debts. They can assist by working with survivors to safely obtain their credit reports and review them for instances of coercion and fraud. Coercion can be identi- fied by discussing whether debts were incurred as a result of an abuser’s demands and tacit or explicit threats of consequences for noncompliance. This study suggests that consequences may include threats of physical, psychological, or economic harm. Fraud may appear on credit reports as unfamiliar accounts or transaction history, or debt that the survivor is currently aware of but that was originally incurred in her name without her knowledge.

If coerced debt is found, immediate steps that can be taken, including disputing the fraudulent charges with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax) and placing a fraud alert or credit freeze on the credit report, which makes it harder for the survivor’s partner to generate additional coerced debt and further dam- age her credit. Victims of coerced debt might also consider changing their financial security information including checking account numbers, savings account numbers, online bank passwords, credit card numbers, online shopping passwords, or informa- tion associated with any other account that their partner can access, to prevent further coerced debt. If a survivor is being turned down for jobs or housing because coerced debt has hurt her credit score, advocating directly with the potential employer or land- lord may be helpful. Also, advocates can contact attorneys with expertise in consumer and family law to discuss legal options for addressing the debt. It can be useful to discuss strategies to document the circumstances around coerced debt, including hid- ing financial information, in case legal action is possible. Of course, with all of these strategies, safety must be considered. It is important to discuss how a victim’s partner would respond to any of these actions.

The finding that bills and debt collector activity were the most common forms of discovering fraudulent transactions suggests that financial institutions play an impor- tant role in the discovery of coerced debt. The challenge is making contact with a bor- rower whose partner is potentially hiding financial information from them. Although the findings suggest that some women do eventually uncover hidden mail, advocates and attorneys could work with financial institutions to develop best practices for get- ting this information into borrowers’ hands.

In addition to engaging in individual and systems-level economic advocacy, attor- neys can help victims of coerced debt through litigation. Coerced debt implicates two areas of law: family law and consumer law. Family lawyers frequently lack training on how to use consumer law, and consumer lawyers are frequently not sensitized to IPV- specific issues. To address coerced debt effectively, cross-training and the sharing of

1338 Violence Against Women 26(11)

strategies are essential. The work of the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice provides a best-practices model for developing the necessary capacity. These two agencies coordinate trainings and develop resources that bridge the gap between consumer and family law. Given our finding that coerced debt appears to be common among IPV survivors, this type of coordination needs to be widespread.

This study’s finding that a coercive transaction was reported by the overwhelming majority (87%) of the women who experienced coerced debt may present problems for legal strategies to limit the impact of coerced debt on its victims because the legal remedies to address coercive transactions are limited. Although fraudulent transac- tions are a form of identity theft, for which federal law provides remedies (15 U.S.C. § 1643 [1980]; 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2 [2010]), debt generated by coercion is more dif- ficult to address because federal law provides no relief for debt generated by coercion. Attorneys are developing creative legal strategies to work within current law but the options are limited. For example, one promising approach is the argument that the Truth in Lending Act’s (TILA’s) remedies for “unauthorized use” apply to coerced transactions, but the provisions were designed for fraud, so coercion cases can be chal- lenging to win. In addition, the TILA remedies cover only the unauthorized use of credit cards, which leaves much coerced debt ineligible for this relief [15 U.S.C. § 1643 (1980)].

State law also generally fails to address debt generated by coercive transactions. The doctrine of duress is the primary tool under contract law for voiding contracts obtained by coercion, but it currently does not apply to coerced debt. Duress law pre- vents victims of coercion from invaliding contracts with innocent third parties who provided value [Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 175 (1981)]. For example, if an abuser coerced a survivor into signing a contract that stated that she owed a debt to the abuser, duress law would invalidate the contract. But coerced debt involves third-party creditors such as lenders who extended credit without knowledge of the coercion and so are legally entitled to be repaid, unless one of the federal laws discussed above applies.

The 46% of callers with coerced debt who reported a fraudulent transaction have access to federal identity-theft remedies that enable victims to avoid liability and repair their credit [15 U.S.C. § 1643 (1980); U.S.C. § 1681c-2 (2010)]. These reme- dies also provide a process for reporting the fraud to credit reporting agencies, which in turn, must inform victims’ financial institutions [U.S.C. § 1681c-2 (2010); 12 C.F.R. 1022.3(i)]. Nevertheless, fraudulent claims can still face barriers to success. The inti- mate relationship between the survivor and abuser can create skepticism among deci- sion makers about whether the fraud is legitimate and the survivor is entitled to relief (Littwin, 2013). In addition, accessing these remedies can require a police report, which can present problems because many IPV victims want to avoid police involve- ment (Littwin, 2013). State contract law does not fill the gaps left by the federal stat- utes. The doctrine of misrepresentation covers contracts induced by fraud. But like the law of duress, the law of misrepresentation generally does not allow fraud victims to avoid their contracts with innocent third parties who provide value, such as a creditor

Adams et al. 1339

that lent money to an abuser without knowledge that the abuser fraudulently incurred the debt in the victim’s name [Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 164 (1981)].

In addition, family courts are usually unable to provide relief for victims of coerced debt (Littwin, 2012). The overwhelming majority of U.S. states have clear authority providing that family courts may not alter the divorcing parties’ contracts with credi- tors.2 Thus, even if a family court in one of these states assigns a given coerced debt to the abuser, the creditor still has the right to collect the debt from the survivor and report any non-payment to the credit reporting agencies. A family court can adjust the debts between the divorcing spouses, but that is helpful only if the abuser has assets with which to compensate the victim. A small minority of states do not appear to have law addressing the rights of creditors in divorces, but do have law that permits family courts to join third parties to a divorce. These states appear to have applied this law only to third parties with property rights, not to creditors.3 It is thus unclear whether a family court could modify a victim of coerced debt’s contract with her creditor in one of these states.

This study also has important policy implications. Our findings that coerced debt appears to be common and is associated with credit damage and financial dependence suggest a need for laws that would release victims from liability or otherwise provide them with damages as compensation for these liabilities. Federal law is the most prom- ising place for policy reform because a state-by-state approach would likely result in a wide variety of laws that could be confusing for survivors as well as inefficient for creditors and credit reporting agencies, which operate on a national scale. The finding that coercive transactions may be quite common points to the law of duress as an area for reform, although this presents the challenge that duress doctrine is state law. Given the benefits of national uniformity, the best approach may be to encourage law-reform organizations to draft a uniform law of coerced debt for adoption by the states, a com- mon solution in debtor–creditor law (see, for example, the Uniform Commercial Code and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act).

In addition, the association found between coerced debt and abuse-related credit damage suggests that remedies to rehabilitate victims’ credit reports may be important. This finding provides support for Littwin’s proposal to expand laws that help victims of identity theft (Littwin, 2013). As mentioned above, federal law already has provi- sions that address identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission already has expertise in applying them (see, for example, https://www.identitytheft.gov/). Law reform at the federal level would need only to clarify that the existing identity-theft laws applied to coerced debt generated by fraud and to expand them to cover debt generated by coer- cion (Littwin, 2013). Due to concerns about the secondary nature of her data, Littwin limited the application of her proposals to married victims of coerced debt who had divorced their abusive partners (Littwin, 2013). The support for Littwin’s proposal that this study provides suggests that it may be appropriate to expand Littwin’s proposal to cover unmarried victims of coerced debt as well.

Finally, the study’s finding that participants who reported coerced debt were more likely than other participants to have stayed longer than they wanted in a relationship with a controlling partner due to financial concerns underscores the importance of the

1340 Violence Against Women 26(11)

policy reforms just discussed. This finding suggests that coerced debt may be an eco- nomic barrier to leaving an abusive intimate partner. Thus, these types of policy reforms, in conjunction with efforts to enable service providers and attorneys to iden- tify and address coerced debt, could aid in the mitigation of a potentially significant economic barrier to safety from IPV.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Notes

1. The phenomenon of interest in this study, coerced debt, is rooted in coercive control. Power and control dynamics appear to be a gendered phenomenon. The available data suggest that, although IPV may have some gender-neutral aspects, dimensions associated with power and control implicate gender (M. P. Johnson, 2006; Stark, 2007). Research suggests that the gender skew of IPV increases as more elements of power and control are involved. The more severe the violence and the more control-oriented it is, the more likely it is to be perpetuated by men against women (Black et al., 2010). It is for this reason that the current study focuses on IPV committed by men against their female partners.

2. Forty-four states have clear law on this point. Please see Supplemental Appendix A. 3. Five states take this position, and Virginia’s law is unclear on this point. Please see

Supplemental Appendix B. Secured creditors can be considered to have property rights. See, for example, 11 U.S.C. 362(d)(1). But none of the cases in Supplemental Appendix B addressed secured creditors, only parties with potential ownership rights.

References

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Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., et al. (2010). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 Summary report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_ Report2010-a.pdf

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Brewster, M. P. (2003). Power and control dynamics in prestalking and stalking situations. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 207-217. doi:10.1023/a:1024064214054

Dutton, M. A., & Goodman, L. A. (2005). Coercion in intimate partner violence: Toward a new conceptualization. Sex Roles, 52, 743-756. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-4196-6

Dutton, M. A., Goodman, L. A., & Schmidt, R. J. (2006). Development and validation of a coercive control measure for intimate partner violence: Final technical report. National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/214438.pdf

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Littwin, A. (2013). Escaping battered credit: A proposal for repairing credit reports damaged by domestic violence. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 161, 363. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=penn_law_ review

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Author Biographies

Adrienne E. Adams, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the economic effects of intimate partner abuse. She also has expertise in evaluating domestic violence victim service programs.

1342 Violence Against Women 26(11)

Angela K. Littwin is the Ronald D. Krist Professor of Law at the University of Texas, Austin. She studies bankruptcy, consumer, and commercial law. Her current research includes studying the attitudes toward bankruptcy among consumers being sued by debt collectors as well as racial disparities in the consumer bankruptcy system. She has recently published articles about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how consumer bankruptcy attorneys adapted to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.

McKenzie Javorka is a doctoral student in Ecological-Community Psychology at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on institutional responses to sexual violence, with a par- ticular interest in policy and services for college survivors of sexual assault. She has also worked on research related to intimate partner violence and economic abuse.

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Original Research

“It’s Not All About Money”: Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding of Financial Abuse in the Context of VAW

Marie Eriksson1 and Rickard Ulmestig1

Abstract Men’s violence against women (VAW) is multifaceted and complex. Besides physical, psychological, and sexual violence, women subjected to VAW often suffer from economic hardship and financial abuse. Financial abuse involves different tactics used to exercise power and gain control over partners. Experiences of financial abuse make it difficult for women to leave an abusive partner and become self-sufficient. From an intersectional perspective, applying the concept of the continuum of violence, the aim of this article is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how women subjected to men’s violence in intimate relationships experience the complexity of financial abuse in their lives, in the context of VAW. Based on 19 in-depth interviews with women surviving domestic violence, the study describes how intertwined women’s experiences of financial abuse are with other forms of abuse, influencing each other, simultaneously experienced as a distinct form of abuse with severe and longstanding consequences. Women in the study describe how men’s abuse affects them financially, causing poverty and affecting their ability to have a reasonable economic standard. Financial abuse also causes women ill health, and damages their self-esteem and ability to work, associate, and engage in social life. The interviewed women describe

1Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

Corresponding Author: Marie Eriksson, Department of Social Work, Linnaeus University, Växjö 341 95, Sweden. Email: [email protected]

743547 JIVXXXXXX10.1177/088626051774354710.1177/0886260517743547Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceEriksson and Ulmestig research-article20172017

NP1626 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(3-4)

how experiences of financial abuse continue across time, from their past into their present situation and molding beliefs about the future. According to the interviews, financial abuse in private life sometimes continues into the public sphere, reproduced by social workers mimicking patterns of ex- partners’ abuse. Bringing out a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic continuum of financial abuse, our results deepen knowledge about the complexity of VAW in women’s lives, and thereby are important in processes of making victims of violence survivors of violence.

Keywords men’s violence against women in intimate relationships, VAW, domestic violence, financial abuse, continuum of violence, intersectional perspectives

Introduction

In the context of men’s violence against women in intimate relationships (VAW), financial abuse occurs when men “control and limit women’s access to, and use of, money” (Branigan, 2004, p. 11). Financial abuse is one impor- tant tool in exercising power and gaining control over a partner, depriving her of financial resources to fulfill her basic needs, diminish her ability to live independently and deter her from leaving or ending the relationship (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barnett, 2000; Branigan, 2004; Chronister, 2007; Green, 2014; Hughes, Bolis, Fries, & Finigan, 2015; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Sung, 2012; Purvin, 2007). Financial abuse and the economic hardship that follows can also force women who are its victims to return, sometimes risking their lives (Haeseler, 2013a; Purvin, 2007; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). According to Stylianou, Mathisen, Postmus, and McMahon (2013), many studies of VAW neglect financial abuse or make it invisible when describing it as a form of psychological abuse. One explanation for this negligence could be that early radical feminist researchers on VAW focused on sexuality and the body, with little interest in financial exploitation as a dimension of women’s subordina- tion—in contrast to their Marxist and socialist sisters (Gemzöe, 2002). Branigan (2004) puts forward another interpretation, arguing that economic abuse can remain unseen because of an ideology of marriage and money that presumes that partners—men and women—have the same interests and share financial resources for the common good. Näsman and Fernqvist (2015) argue that scholars’ unwillingness to connect financial vulnerability and gen- der-based violence can be understood in the light of a feminist critique of socioeconomic explanations that dominate the research on financial

Eriksson and Ulmestig NP1627

vulnerability and to some degree disregard gender. Consequently research on financial abuse in the context of VAW is still limited. Most studies on the subject are from the United States and Australia, based on a quantitative approach. Hence, to deepen our knowledge, we argue it is relevant to explore the relationship between financial abuse, its different forms, and other forms of abuse by using qualitative methods and by focusing on other welfare contexts.

Sweden, one of the Nordic welfare states and the context of this study, is often perceived as a haven of gender equality, with small socioeconomic dif- ferences and an inclusive and strong welfare state (see Borchorst, 2012; Hakovirta, Kuivalainen, & Rantalaiho, 2013). Sweden has also adopted strong legislative intent to prevent VAW and to support victims of crime (Ljungwald, 2011; Peters, 2006). For example, the Social Service Act includes a particular section on municipalities’ responsibility to support vic- tims of crime, especially women and children who are victims of men’s vio- lence in intimate relationships (Social Service Act, 2000, 5§ 11 cap). Yet some critics argue the legislation is mainly symbolic (Elman, 2001; Ljungwald, 2011). However, Sweden ranks high in international compari- sons on many aspects of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Report, 2015) and the level of women’s participation in paid work is among the highest in the world (Harsløf & Ulmestig, 2013). The socioeconomic differences among the population used to be low, but are now getting closer to an average European level (see Fritzell, Bäckman, & Rotakallio, 2012).

Like other forms of VAW, financial abuse is characterized by a repeated pattern of abuse, embedded in “a continuum of control and coercion,” some- times as extreme as the term “surveillance” implies (Branigan, 2004, pp. 23-24). Liz Kelly developed the concept continuum of violence to understand the complexity in abused women’s experiences of violence, which did not neatly fit into the ordinary categories used by researchers or the judicial sys- tem (Kelly, 1988, 2012). Using the concept of continuum of violence, the aim of this article is to understand financial abuse, by analyzing women’s experi- ences of financial abuse in relation to other forms of VAW. Are financial abuse and other forms of VAW related, and how? Is financial vulnerability among survivors of VAW linked to other forms of vulnerability? If so, can their situation be understood as a continuum? If so, then how?

Literature Review

As research on VAW has shown, women’s experiences of violence in intimate relationships are complex, involving physical, psychological, sexual, emo- tional, and financial abuse—often related, co-occurring in their lives,

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reinforcing each other (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Kelly, 1988, 2012; Lundgren, Heimer, Westerstrand, & Kalliokoski, 2001; Postmus et al., 2012; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). Nevertheless, scholars argue that financial abuse is also a specific form of abuse, which comprises characteristics distinct from other forms of VAW (Adams et al., 2008; Branigan, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012).

In a pioneering study, Adams et al. (2008) concluded that financial abuse is when the offender in different ways interferes with the victim’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources. Related to how financial abuse interferes with abused women’s ability to acquire financial resources, schol- ars have, for example, explored how men’s violence affects their partners’ employment and capacity to work or study, and thus their ability to earn an income and be self-sufficient (Moe & Bell, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012; Riger, Ahrens, & Blickenstaff, 2000; Riger & Staggs, 2005; Swanberg, Macke, & Logan, 2006; Tolman & Raphael, 2000). Tactics or strategies of financial abuse can, for example, include withholding of earnings or information about finances, constraining involvement in paid work, and limiting the control of money or financial decisions, creating debt or ruining credit, stealing, and destroying property (Branigan, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012; Sanders, 2015; Stylianou et al., 2013; Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005).

Exploring the correlation between different forms of VAW, Stylianou et al. (2013) found that 75% of women in their study who suffered from physical and/or psychological abuse from a male partner also experienced financial abuse. This supports the results of Postmus et al. (2012), who also found a strong correlation between financial abuse and other forms of abuse in analy- ses of VAW. Branigan’s (2004) study shows that women’s experiences of financial abuse are similar to other forms of abuse by being both “a contin- uum of control and coercion,” and “a repeated pattern of abuse, rather than isolated incidents.” Furthermore, studies have shown that financial abuse also can work as a risk factor in women’s lives, increasing their vulnerability to other forms of violence or having consequences such as physical violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, HIV, drug usage, and other criminal activities (Fawole, 2008; Haeseler, 2013b). As Sanders’s (2015) results demonstrate, financial issues are frequently “an impetus” to other forms of abuse in the context of VAW, including physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.

According to Kelly (2012), the meaning of her concept continuum of vio- lence most commonly referred to derives from the original definition of the term, emphasizing that it is “‘a basic common character that underlies many different events’—that the many forms of intimate intrusion, coercion, abuse and assault [are] connected” (preface, p. xviii). Less used is another definition of the concept pointing out that “the categories used to name and distinguish

Eriksson and Ulmestig NP1629

forms of violence . . . in research, law or policy, shade into and out of one another” (Kelly, 2012, preface, p. xviii). In line with Kelly, then, one argument for applying the concept of continuum in analyses of women’s experiences of financial abuse is that it is still a challenge to explore the meaning of the con- tinuum and how women’s—and men’s—lived experiences of violence are intertwined—when constructed as distinct categories in law and policy (Kelly, 2012).

Building on Kelly’s continuum of violence, other feminist scholars have pointed out the importance of what they call a “comprehensive” interpreta- tion of violence, in avoiding a fragmented view that tends to trivialize or ignore some forms of violence, making them invisible as actions of vio- lence (Lundgren et al., 2001; Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005). From this feminist position, we want to argue that financial abuse is a distinct form of VAW, yet sometimes entwined with its other forms. In a study on financial abuse, Sanders shows how women’s experiences of VAW are related—for example, by describing how conflicts over financial issues often escalate into other abusive acts. Yet, without applying the concept continuum of violence, it appears implicit when Sanders concludes that “women’s access to financial resources is often restricted, monitored or completely con- trolled by an abusive partner” (Sanders, 2015, p. 23). Sanders’s results strengthen our argument that the concept of continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012) can be fruitful to apply also in analyses of financial abuse, to achieve a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of VAW (Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005).

The opportunities women have to leave abusive men, be self-sufficient, and live a life free from violence are not only related to their individual resources but also depend on society’s welfare system (e.g., Gordon, 2002). Today’s Sweden is a mature welfare state with welfare systems that are well developed by international standards (Harsløf & Ulmestig, 2013; Kvist, Fritzell, Hvinden, & Kangas, 2012). A general conclusion has been that the Nordic institutional welfare model has enabled women to strengthen their social and economic position in society. Still, feminist researchers have been more critical and pessimistic about its potential to form a “women-friendly state,” arguing that it reproduces a new form of patriarchy with changed structures of inequality rather than bringing real gender equality (e.g., Hirdman, 2003; Siim, 1990).

Concerning VAW, Swedish legal reform has gradually been improved to protect women from men’s violence, but the process has also been character- ized by a continuous questioning of gender-specific legislation, worries about rule of law, and a conservative defense of (men’s right to) privacy in family life (Wendt Höjer, 2002). In Sweden today, men’s VAW is officially recognized as

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a political problem, a prioritized subject in policies on gender equality, and considered as one consequence of unequal gender-based power. Still, in prac- tice, many politicians and officials look upon the problem as social, not politi- cal, thus abdicating from their legal responsibility for all inhabitants in the municipality (Holmberg & Bender, 2001, 2003). Consequently, women suffer from men’s violence and its long-term negative financial consequences also in a Swedish context (Lövgren, 2014; Näsman & Fernqvist, 2015; Trygged, Hedlund, & Kåreholt, 2013).

Method

This study is based on 19 interviews conducted with women in three Swedish municipalities of different size and character. These in-depth interviews (see Irvine, 2011; Lucas, 2014) were semistructured, and lasted about 1 hr and sometimes a bit longer. Two of the interviewed women were recruited through ads in local newspapers and 17 of them via contact with women’s shelters. Most of the interviews were conducted at a women’s shelter, but in a separate and private space. In three of the interviews, women were accompanied by their small babies. One of the interviews was performed via telephone and another one where an interpreter translated via telephone.

Notable is that all the interviews were conducted in Swedish—including the one that involved an interpreter—but are presented here in English. Such processes of translation inevitably involve the risk distorting meanings and nuances in language. To reduce such risks, we have continuously reflected upon nuances and meanings in translating the interviews, including the engagement of a professional translator, native English, who has lived in Sweden for a long time.

All the interviewed women had left a relationship with a violent male partner between 1 month and 7 years before. In most cases, the breakup was less than 18 months ago. The women were aged 25 to 55, and 18 of them had children, most of whom lived together with their mothers at the time of the interviews. A majority of the women had a small, fragile personal network, for example, with friends and family. With a few exceptions, the women interviewed were working-class according to their education, socioeconomic background, and position on the labor market. Eight were born abroad, three were born in Sweden with parents born abroad, and eight were born in Sweden with Swedish-born parents.

When the women were interviewed about the financial consequences of breaking up from a violent male partner, they also described experiences of financial abuse, its different aspects, consequences, and associations with other forms of abuse. Loaded with feelings such as anger, sadness, anxiety,

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and relief, the interviews often became emotional, and affected both the inter- viewer and the woman interviewed. When the participants were informed about the study, all of them said they had someone to turn to after the inter- view if in need of support. Nevertheless, written information handed over to the participants included information on how to contact local women shelters.

Applying the concepts of the continuum of violence and intersectional- ity to our interviews on financial abuse, we have worked out an analysis based on a reflective approach (see Alvesson, 2003; Alvesson, Hardy, & Harley, 2008). This analytical approach can be described as a process where the researchers alternate between the empirical data, earlier research, and theory. More precisely, the analytical process already began with the transcription of each interview, followed by close readings of the material where the researchers also alternated between analytical proximity and distance. Then empirical themes were identified and analyzed in a reflec- tive dialogue involving the researcher, existing research, and the empirical evidence—a method inspired by Alvesson and Kärreman (2007). In the readings, certain themes were immediately evident, while others appeared after a more in-depth analysis. Overall, this approach helps to meet the complexities of the interview material, by allowing different understand- ings, meanings, and categories to emerge (Alvesson, 2003; Alvesson et al., 2008). It also encourages researchers to distance themselves from earlier research and biases. By using this structured data analysis strategy, we aim to reflect on our own understandings, and problematize our positions, min- imizing the negative effects on the analysis. This mode of analysis attaches great importance to earlier research and the extensive literature review motivated by a need to put our results in a context of what we already know about financial abuse. However, presenting our material with refer- ence to long summaries from the interviews instead of more but shorter quotations is due to our theoretical position and the importance we attri- bute to giving voice to survivors’ experiences in our study.

Based on the ethical principles of the humanities and social sciences (Swedish Research Council, 2005), the study was granted permission by the Regional Board of Ethics of research involving humans in Linköping (No. 2012/396/31). When trying to get access to the field, we brought written information about the research project, including ethical reflections on risks involved for participating informants, for example, the risk of bringing repressed memories and experiences of abuse to the surface. To resolve this, we stated that a female researcher with theoretical and practical knowledge of domestic violence conducted the interviews with the survivors, well prepared to give them further support if needed.

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Theoretical Frame: Continuum of Violence and Intersectionality

From an integrated and comprehensive feminist interpretation of violence, violence as a continuum means that there are no sharp boundaries between different forms of abuse. Controlling acts, insults, threats, and verbal, psy- chological, physical, and sexual abuse are not understood as distinctly separated categories, but as interconnected acts and manifestations with blurred boundaries, reinforcing each other—influencing the abused woman in negative ways (Kelly, 2012; Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005). The con- cept also brings a perspective where violence can be analyzed as a process, and in a wider context, emphasizing the intersections between different violent acts and behaviors—and their consequences—placing serious criminalized physical acts of violence on the same sliding scale as legiti- mate and accepted forms of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012). A continuum perspective on VAW also influences our ethical position as researchers, understanding that “all forms of gender-based violence are serious, but all forms of violence are not ‘the same’” (Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005, p. 493, our translation).

Lynn Segal (1990) has argued that the concept of continuum blurs bound- aries too much, without a differentiation between men and violence—making all men guilty and making violence an inherent essence of masculinity. In a comment on Segal’s critique, Kelly contends that it is clichéd, and involves a misconception that a radical feminist like her cannot share a social construc- tivist epistemology (Kelly, 2012). Another criticism of Kelly’s concept has questioned why certain forms of violence, such as honor-based violence and female genital mutilation/cutting, are excluded. According to Kelly, this lack of intersectional aspects of women’s experiences of violence in her develop- ment of the concept does not prevent such practices from being included (Kelly, 2012).

With the aim of underscoring the “multidimensionality” of abused wom- en’s lived experiences, Kimberlé Crenshaw (1993) coined the concept inter- sectionality. Focusing on domestic violence and rape, she showed that systems of race, gender, and class converged in the experiences of battered women of color. From an intersectional perspective (see Bograd, 2010; Crenshaw, 1993; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010), we want to acknowledge that though men’s VAW is a universal problem, neither gender nor violence are universal categories. Women—and men—have specific experiences, inter- ests, and needs depending on how they are situated and positioned in relation to categories and power asymmetries such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, civil status, and so on.

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Thus, women subjected to financial abuse experience the abuse and its consequences in different ways, not only because of their gender but also because of their class position, ethnicity, age, and so on. Worth noting here is that the welfare state has mainly developed to financially equalize power relations based on class, not gender (see Fraser, 1998).

Result and Discussion

This section starts with an analysis of how financial abuse relates to other forms of abuse in the context of VAW, and how the interviewed survivors experience this. Following on from that is a section on how financial abuse, as described by the survivors, also can be understood as a distinct form of abuse. Finally, there is an analysis of how women’s experiences of financial abuse relates to financial vulnerability.

Financial Abuse From a Continuum Perspective

From our interviews, it is evident that financial abuse is connected to and intertwined with other forms of abuse in women’s lives. Analyzing wom- en’s experiences of financial abuse from a continuum perspective and with a comprehensive understanding of violence makes visible how, for exam- ple, the physical violence the women have been subjected to is intertwined with financial abuse, or the ways in which men’s violence has affected their financial situation. The financial consequences of having a relation- ship with an abusive man vary but can be far-reaching and continue across time, into the future, thus reducing women’s financial ability and their possibility to empower themselves. Margaret is one example. She is a 57-year-old, well-educated and “settled” woman with three children. Margaret has also experienced psychological, physical, and sexual abuse from their father, her ex-husband. When describing him, she says he is well established in the local community, and has a good economy, which he uses to fight her in court.

As with several women in our study, Margaret has become poor within the relationship. Now she has to pay lawyers to get custody of her children and thereby be free from the ties to her violent ex-husband. Asked about the con- sequences of her new financial situation, she says,

My financial situation also means that I will never get into a new relationship, I can’t imagine myself, I don’t initiate contacts, I reject invitations, it prevents me from having a relation to anyone whatsoever, I can’t afford it, to go out, to go anywhere, I can’t afford to have a coffee, I have nothing to offer.

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Illustrating how financial abuse can be exercised through social institu- tions with endless custody cases as an example, Margaret’s story fits well with research that shows how abusive men use courts to harass their victims, and how having an economic advantage makes their strategy even more effective (Morrow, Hankivsky, & Varcoe, 2004). Margaret’s experiences also reveal that financial abuse in the context of VAW can continue long after the relationship has ended; how the consequences of financial abuse still confine and circumscribe her possibilities to engage in social relations, prevent her from taking new contacts and dash her hope for a future relationship. Many of men’s various tactics of financial abuse not only undermine women’s financial independence, but also their freedom of mobility and association. Thus, it is also an abuse causing isolation, that sometimes ends up in a depres- sion that decreases the abused woman’s self-esteem, and further adds to her isolation, victimization, and difficulties in leaving the perpetrator (Green, 2014).

Another example of how financial abuse circumscribes social life we get from Annie, who describes how becoming poor has disqualified her from both arranging and being invited to dinners and birthday parties, because her middle-class neighborhood requires a standard she “no longer can match.” Financial ability is important and a prerequisite for full participation in soci- ety (Cheng, 2012; Chronister, 2007), just as women’s freedom from violence and fear of violence is essential for democracy and citizenship (Wendt Höjer, 2002). Some women interviewed tell of how experiences of shame can com- plicate social relations and participation in society—both the shame of being subjected to violence, and the shame of being poor or unable to afford things. According to Denise, shame of being poor arises not only in contact with welfare authorities, when asking for financial support, but also when she is out and her friends pay for her, well aware she cannot pay back: “You’re ashamed, avoiding [social situations] . . . you always take, without giving back, it’s not good.” Mira’s story of being subjected to a husband’s violence, and to poverty—as a consequence of his financial abuse—exposes how dif- ferent forms of abuse intersect, sometimes with long-lasting and considerable effects on the self: “I don’t forget this shame, how awful . . . each time you get smaller and smaller and lose your self-esteem and self-confidence.” Shame can also be a consequence of men’s conscious humiliation related to financial abuse. Lea, another woman interviewed, tells of her husband: “[he] often bought clothes for himself, sometimes quite expensive.” But to “humil- iate her,” he did not allow her to buy anything for herself, but forced her to wear worn and damaged clothes. Experiences of shame also appear in other abused women’s stories, sometimes conveying a double shame that is a two- fold effect of financial abuse, originating from experiences of being a victim

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of abuse and from being poor. Feelings of shame can be long-lasting, just as the precarious financial situation that many survivors of VAW suffer from often continues long after the breakup—due to the high costs of divorce, large debts, health problems, difficulties in housing, keeping a job, and so on (Branigan, 2004; Green, 2014; Haeseler, 2013b; Lindhorst, Oxford, & Gillmore, 2007).

Lisa is an example of how emotional fragility as an effect of VAW can have an impact on victims’ possibilities to get employed, and how their unemployment can be intertwined with partners’ desire for power and con- trol. A woman in her twenties with a 6-month-old baby, staying at a women’s shelter, Lisa describes how multifaceted her former boyfriend’s financial abuse was. Among other tactics he used was employment sabotage, including harassing her at work by endless calls and a constant nagging demanding her to be at home, serving him, instead of working. As an effect of her partner’s abuse, Lisa is still unemployed, more than a year after breaking up from him. At the time of the interview, she was on parental leave, taking care of her baby. When thinking of going back to work, Lisa says, “I am afraid it will be difficult.” She questions how to be able to handle smells and sounds that remind her of her abusive partner. She also explains how experiences of her boyfriend’s abuse and threats from his family make it difficult for her to be in public places at all, especially if there are many men, and if they look at her. An incident like that recently happened, that made her panic and rush away. Asked about her present financial situation, she concludes, “Now I am more dependent on social benefits than ever before, because I have become very much damaged.” Discussing her experiences of abuse, and how they have affected her, Lisa says,

The physical violence is not that hard, actually. The wounds disappear, the psychological lasts for years, many, many years . . . and every time you see a bill . . . it will immediately remind you of your past life, what you want to put behind you.

Lisa’s story reveals how experiences of men’s physical VAW in intimate relationships can be intertwined with psychological and financial abuse, and mutually affect women’s mental health for a long time. Hence, cumulative vulnerability and victimization as a consequence of VAW hinder women from managing a job and becoming self-sufficient (Cocker et al., 2002; Lindhorst et al., 2007).

For related reasons, Ellen (008), who has a protected identity because of death threats from her ex-husband, explains that her situation makes it diffi- cult to find a suitable job that does not reveal her identity. Diagnosed with

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posttraumatic stress disorder as a consequence of being abused further com- plicates her chances of getting a job, together with ignorance among welfare officers not taking her position as a victim of crime seriously. Women sub- jected to VAW often have higher absence from work because of men’s vio- lence (see Adams, Tolman, Bybee, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2012; Brandwein & Filiano, 2000). Accordingly, the difficulties in finding and keeping a job make abused women dependent on welfare (Adams et al., 2008; Roschelle, 2008). In a Swedish study, Trygged et al. (2013) conclude that the abused women in their sample had a lower education and a weaker financial position, even before they were assaulted, compared with the women in the sample who had not been assaulted. Yet, the results also show that all the abused women in the sample (no matter what their education level) who received hospital treatment for injuries caused by a male partner’s assault also were at greatly increased risk of having low incomes and of being in need of welfare support.

The stories of survivors that appear in our material offer support for a feminist understanding of violence, suggesting that abusive men exercise power and control over women also by means of financial exploitation and control (Adams et al., 2008; Branigan, 2004; Sanders, 2015). Karin, a woman in her fifties, who had suffered from psychological and financial abuse, but now is divorced from the perpetrator, gives her picture saying, “For him I don’t think it was so much about the money, but more about breaking me down.” Applying the concept of continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012) to the survivors’ experiences helps us understand how different forms of vio- lence coexist and reinforce each other—“shade into and out of one another in complex ways” (Kelly, 2012, p. xviii)—turning physical and psychological violence into financial abuse with far-reaching consequences. The women interviewed give several examples of how violence works as a continuum in their lives, across time and place, and how these intertwined experiences of abuse mold a cumulative vulnerability (Scott-Storey, 2011). In a longer per- spective, disrupted employment records can result in abused women’s diffi- culties in getting work, earning a living, and establishing financial independence (Lambert & Firestone, 2000; Roschelle, 2008; Tolman & Raphael, 2000).

Financial Abuse as a Distinct Form of Abuse

In the United States, the pioneering research of Adams et al. (2008) and Stylianou et al. (2013) has yielded interesting results, making important con- tributions to the conceptualization of financial abuse by showing that it is a specific form of abuse, moderately correlated to the other forms, and

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therefore should be treated as a distinct construct. Some research in the field of VAW considers financial abuse as a distinct form of abuse, at the same time trying to conceptualize financial abuse vis-à-vis other forms of abuse women suffer from in relationships with men (Kim, 2015; Sanders, 2015). Parallel to this emerging field of research, the United Nations has conceptual- ized financial abuse as a distinct form of abuse when discussing indicators of VAW (UNSTATS, 2010). Yet, when concluding that the low social and finan- cial status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of financial abuse, they do not discuss it as a distinct theme in their report (UNSTATS, 2010).

As mentioned, financial abuse can affect women’s chances of finding work. In the following, Anna’s story brings evidence of how this form of abuse can be understood as a distinct form of VAW. Anna, who is a well- educated middle-class woman in her fifties, describes the complexity of financial abuse and how it has affected her. Asked about how her financial situation was at the time of her relationship, Anna says it was very good. She had just sold an apartment and was financially independent. However, as she had her own company where she received most of her orders through her ex- partners’ contacts, she was still dependent on him for her income.

Anna’s business was successful for many years. Asked about how the rela- tion to her partner developed, Anna describes how his violent behavior started with him “pushing her down,” complaining she did not do her job, and claim- ing she was not capable of running a business. The ex-partner’s harassment continued and ended up in two incidents when he assaulted her. Then he and Anna separated, and she moved from the house they owned together. After the separation, they no longer worked together. The number of assignments declined, and when Anna did not manage to run her business anymore, her savings soon ended. She says, “He was kicking at my skills and that was what provided my living.”

When her partner refused to pay the mortgage on the house, Anna thought she had no other option but to move back and stay with him until they man- aged to sell the house—which turned out to be difficult. After another inci- dent when he pressed a glass in her face, Anna moved again. During a period, she had to pay for the house, for long journeys to work and her rent. Anna’s savings then declined further. Now she says that her savings are gone, and she supports herself on a temporary employment.

Anna’s experiences are an example of how VAW and financial abuse can result in loss of professional self-confidence, work opportunities, income, and material belongings. Her story supports previous research findings and fits well into the concept of “employment sabotage,” a form of financial abuse defined by Stylianou et al. (2013). Women frequently speak of being

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subjected to different forms of employment sabotage in our material. Roschelle (2008) has found that a common tactic among abusive men is to harass their victims and their colleagues at work, putting victims’ jobs at risk. That is how Ellen lost her job. Repeatedly harassed at work by her ex-partner, her boss finally told her she had to quit. Maria, employed in home-care ser- vice, also had to resign from her job because of fear of her violent ex-partner who lived in the same area where she worked. Men’s employment sabotage can be long term, determining a woman’s entire professional life. In Mira’s case, it was a constant feature in her marriage to a violent husband, lasting more than 20 years:

When we moved to [a city] I immediately got a job, worked there a couple of years . . . it was jealousy, everyday life was very difficult, it was hard all the time, he prevented me from working and studying . . . he became worse and worse, he wanted me at home, I was expected to take care of him.

Women subjected to violence report difficulties in concentrating at work and having poor attendance at the workplace as an effect of being abused— which puts their jobs at risk (Adams et al., 2012). Conversely, Chronister (2007) argues that women with social and psychiatric problems seem to be more vulnerable to domestic violence because of their problems getting access to the labor market. As we have seen, Anna’s partner used the house mortgage as a tool to threaten her financial independence, and a device to make her more dependent on him, forcing her to move back to him. However, shortly afterward, he was beating her and she moved out again. Physically abused, Anna was forced into a situation that increased her expenses—and her vulnerability—when having to pay double rents, buy new furniture, increased expenses for travels, and so on. Altogether, Anna is an example of how financial abuse has its own character and consequences, sometimes independently of other forms of abuse, sometimes intertwined.

Intersections of Financial Vulnerability

In our analysis, we link the concept of continuum of violence to an intersec- tional perspective, recognizing that structural forms of oppression—such as men’s VAW—intersect not only with gender but also with structures such as class, race, ethnicity, functioning, sexuality, age, and civil status (e.g., Hetling, 2011; Hughes et al., 2015; Keskinen, 2011; Lindhorst et al., 2007; Mays, 2006; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). In recent years, researchers have criticized simplistic analyses of domestic violence, challenging stereotyped notions of battered women tainted by sexism, racism, and classism (Bograd,

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2010; Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Mays, 2006; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). For example, Donna Cocker shows how an unstated norm for battered women as White and nonpoor is constructed when policy or law neglects the relation between poverty and violence, and ignores racialized differences in battered women’s experiences. Consequently, abused women’s needs are constructed as primarily psychological rather than material (Cocker, 2010). Toni tells another story.

Toni is a 24-year-old woman born in an African country who has lived in Sweden for 3 years. After fleeing an abusive husband, she is now isolated from friends and family. When asked whether there is anyone who can help her to get financial support, she says, “There is no one. My mother got no money; they are really poor in [an African country].” Toni has two children. One of them is newborn and the child of her abusive ex-husband. From our interviews, we conclude that lack of family support and other social networks makes women even more dependent on welfare and sometimes women’s shelters become their only support system—that lend them money, offer clothes and food, give advocacy support, and so forth.

Toni was forced into a marriage with a man known to her family. He turned out to be an alcoholic and subjected her to different forms of violence, for example, physical and financial abuse. During their marriage, her hus- band was unemployed; they lived on social assistance and were in constant need of money. Toni’s husband borrowed money from friends, and he owed them money for buying him alcohol. Toni was trying to manage on the small income she received from state parental benefits. She also tried to save small amounts without affording anything for herself and hardly anything for her children. About her husband’s financial abuse, she says,

He borrowed money all the time. When we had a little money he took everything and paid back to the people he owed money. I . . . we did not have so much money. I had a little account for savings in the bank. All the time he said to me: “Go fetch the money!” “Go fetch the money!” . . . But there was only a little money. I have brought some money to the bank. I go and I leave some money there. All the time [her husband says]: “Go fetch the money!” I mean there is only a little money in the bank. You know it is from the parental benefit and my child benefit. I only had one child before. I just use the money to buy food and go shopping to eat, nothing else.

Toni says she is stressed because her family of origin now is in conflict with her ex-husband’s family. Her ex-husband also stresses her by being drunk when he spends time with the children, using his visitation rights. Toni feels that she does not get any support from the social services when com- plaining about her situation, and she does not understand the rules.

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Nevertheless, the problem is not about Toni’s ability to understand. Rather, as Purvin (2007) argues, it is a policy failure when women “are not being informed of potential policy options that might have protected them or helped them leave an abusive situation” (p. 202). As with other women in our study, Toni’s story gives evidence of how men’s financial abuse deprives women of essential resources and housing (Branigan, 2004; Sanders, 2015). Toni has hardly any furniture in her apartment because she had to move hurriedly, and only managed to bring the TV and some basic clothes for her and the chil- dren. Nevertheless, Toni says she is better off financially after the separation than before. Similar paradoxical experiences are expressed by other women in our study, describing both experiences of the exploiting and damaging effects of financial abuse—making them poor, vulnerable, and dependent— and simultaneously feelings of relief, control, and self-esteem, being rehabili- tated as capable economic subjects in charge of their own (yet poor) finances.

Tina, for example, who has to live on social assistance after escaping a violent partner, explains that she is better off now—despite being poor—than before, when her partner was stealing her money: “[I]f I had lived with him, and had a full-time-job, he would have been taking all my money.” Similar experiences are expressed by Fia, a 26-year-old woman with three small chil- dren, recently separated from their violent father who is addicted to gam- bling. She describes a financial situation filled with stress, where she has to pay a large amount of her monthly income for many years to come, because of the debt her husband has left her with. Nevertheless, Fia also expresses feelings of relief and of getting control:

I know what I get every month . . . it’s my money . . . I make a budget for every month so I know I can save money if I don’t get anything from the unemployment insurance.

Yet the situation for financially abused women can be complex and ambiv- alent. Sanders concludes that abusive men may continue to interfere even when their partners are gaining more financial resources and financial inde- pendence. Consequently, women are vulnerable to abuse “not only when their resources are low and their dependence high” (Sanders, 2015, p. 23). Studying a family context, Näsman et al. (2015) found that women experi- enced men’s ongoing financial abuse also after separation. For example, fathers refused to pay for their children, sabotaged women’s possibilities to receive welfare support, and delayed maintenance payments (Branigan, 2004; Bruno, 2016; Näsman et al., 2015). Taken together, problems in earn- ing money and a lack of financial resources—as consequences of VAW— make it difficult for women to start over and establish a household and an

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economy of their own (Branigan, 2004; Strand Hutchinson & Weeks, 2004; Sanders, 2015). As in Sanders’s (2015) research, our material gives many examples of women who do not lack subjective agency when being subjected to financial abuse, but rather resist and respond to it in different ways. Toni, who both openly refused to obey her husband’s demands to make withdraw- als from her bank account, and secretly continued to save money even when the amounts were negligible and put under constant pressure from him, is just one example.

The continuum of violence does not mean that financial abuse continues across time forever, without ending, but rather emphasizes that it seldom ceases to exist when the abusive relationship ends. Then financial abuse in the context of VAW can lead to a feminization of poverty within relationships that continues into abused women’s future, with material as well as social and psychological consequences.

Whether the women in our study who are looking for work will find employment or not depends very much on their educational background. The Swedish labor market is characterized by high unemployment among unskilled workers, immigrants, and young people (SCB, 2014). Women earn- ing high wages also have greater significance for a family’s overall financial situation and are therefore “allowed” by husbands/partners to be financially active and gain experience in the labor market (Anderberg & Rainer, 2012). Class position also plays a role in how education can lead to a higher-paid job, greater life opportunities, and the ability to take charge of one’s financial situation (Postmus et al., 2012). This makes class a further issue, both during the relationship with an abusive partner and after leaving him.

Despite the fact that VAW exists in all socioeconomic classes, and women share experiences of financial hardship in relations with abusive men, studies have shown that poverty is a high predictive risk factor, making poor women especially vulnerable to men’s violence in intimate relationships (Bassuk, Dawson, & Huntington, 2006; Tolman & Raphael, 2000). For example, women in low-paid jobs are less prone to break up from relationships to abu- sive men (Gelles, 1976), and when abused women do not have their own income or access to financial resources, their dependency increases and it becomes more difficult to leave (Sullivan, 1991; Weis et al., 2005). Being on welfare can be an additional risk factor. Research by Kurz (1998) shows that divorced women on welfare experience higher rates of male partner violence than any other group, and the poorer the woman is, the more serious is the violence she is subjected to. Many abused women feel they have no other choice than to return to abusive men, so as to make financial ends meet, while other women cannot even afford to leave (Weis et al., 2005). Nevertheless, our empirical findings support earlier research showing that irrespective of

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socioeconomic background, financial hardship and financial dependency are major motivations for women enduring in relationships with violent men (Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barnett, 2000; Purvin, 2007). How a financial situation—caused by an abusive man—can hinder women from leaving in other ways, is evident in Lea’s story. She says she was never afraid of leaving her husband because of fear of not managing financially on her own. Still, their financial situation and ideas about the importance of a stable economy for a happy marriage gave her “false hopes” of a better relationship to her husband and kept her from breaking up, thinking,

If we only get a little better finances, we can do things together, and then he may feel a bit better too, and become who he was in the beginning of our relationship . . . our first year . . . he was a very nice person . . . you always had a hope it would be better if only the economic situation improved.

Conclusion

The theoretical framework in this study builds upon feminist theories of vio- lence and gender. Therefore, we use the concept “men’s violence against women” (VAW) and regard the gender relation as a relation of power where women structurally are socially and culturally subordinate to men. Consequently, gender inequality is considered a primary reason for the exis- tence of VAW, and VAW to be one way (of many others) to maintain, repro- duce, and restore the societal gender order (Hearn, 1998; Walby, 2002). Our results support feminist theory, suggesting that financial abuse in its different forms involves tactics and strategies for men to control women, curtailing their freedom and subjectivity. Financial abuse involves a repeated pattern of men controlling and limiting women’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources (Adams et al., 2008) with long-term effects such as pov- erty, ill health, and dependence for them and their children (Branigan, 2004).

Financial abuse occurs and is experienced along a continuumof different types of financial abuse, categorized as economic control, employement sab- otage and economic exploitation (Postmus et al., 2012, p. 418). Often it is intertwined with other forms of violence such as sexual, physical, and psy- chological, and continuing over time. However, the continuum of violence does not mean that the financial abuse lasts forever, but reveals that it seldom ceases to exist when the relationship ends. Financial abuse and its effects can continue for a long time, into women’s future, and shape it with material as well as social, psychological, and medical consequences.

The focus in the article has been on financial abuse. Nevertheless, despite the fact that financial abuse appears as a distinct category of violence in

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women’s narratives of men’s violence, all the women in our study, besides being subjected to financial abuse, have also been exposed to other forms of men’s abuse and control. From the interviews, it is also evident how financial abuse and other forms of violence are intrinsically interdependent and mutu- ally reinforcing in women’s lives. Hence, our results support feminist theory showing that financial abuse in its different forms and interactions involves tactics and strategies for men to control women, curtailing their freedom and subjectivity (Branigan, 2004). Nevertheless, and in accordance with Sanders (2015), our results also demonstrate that women, despite their experiences of financial abuse, did not lack subjective agency, but also responded to and resisted financial abuse in different ways. We argue that financial abuse is connected to other forms of abuse and that this understanding gives the pos- sibility for a comprehensive understanding of VAW and different strategies used by abusive men. However, financial abuse is also a distinct form of abuse with its own characteristics, affecting women and children. Still, finan- cial abuse is widely underrecognized both in research and in society, making further research and policy necessary.

The survivors in our study described how the financial exploitation and control they have been subjected to affect their ability to achieve a reasonable standard of living both during the relationship and long after the relationship had ended. Furthermore, their narratives are intertwined with other power relations than gender, showing that structures such as class and ethnicity also influence the effects and women’s experiences of financial abuse. In the interviews, women expressed experiences of being denied agency and sub- jectivity by men controlling and limiting their access to and use of financial resources in intimate relationships. Ending the relationship seldom stopped the financial abuse or its consequences, making it a form of abuse “to be continued.” This finding is supported by earlier research (see Branigan, 2004; Green, 2014; Postmus et al., 2012; Stylianou et al., 2013).

Men’s VAW is a universal problem, existing in all levels, arenas, and social classes in society. Nevertheless, as critics of a universalistic approach have argued, women are differently positioned or situated, in relation to structures such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, and so on and therefore have both varied experiences of abuse and diverse needs of help and support (Crenshaw, 1993; Kandaswamy, 2010; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010; Weis et al, 2005). Applying intersectionality as a theoretical perspective means that we have analyzed financial abuse and financial dimensions of VAW as a com- plex social and political problem, not only based on gender inequality but also linked to other forms of oppression and vulnerabilities that intersect with gender and sexism (Chronister, 2007; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). Theoretically, this brings to the fore a need to reflect on universality in

NP1644 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(3-4)

relation to intersectionality and to move toward a “multiple gender” theory that recognizes differences both between genders and within genders (Connell, 1987; Crenshaw, 1993; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010).

As earlier research has shown, our results suggests that financial abuse con- tinues not only across time but also across space—from the private sphere into the public. For example there is research showing how state bureaucracies and their institutional practices and procedures mimic and support the perpetuation of men’s financial abuse—although often unconsciously (Branigan, 2004; Ulmestig & Eriksson, 2016). Survivors of VAW are also confronted with a lack of respect from social services, including “mind games,” extreme rudeness, and caseworkers “talking down” to them (Laakso & Drevdahl, 2006). We argue that the concept of continuum of violence can also be applied to these findings to highlight how women’s experiences of financial abuse in intimate relation- ships, in the private sphere, are inextricably intertwined with aspects of finan- cial abuse they experience in the public sphere, when confronting state bureaucracies. Analyses of financial abuse showing that the dichotomy between the public and private spheres is false (Branigan, 2004) further strengthen our suggestion to apply the concept of continuum of violence. As our model dem- onstrates (Figure 1), a continuum perspective on financial abuse can help us understand how different forms of financial abuse and different types of vio- lence intersect and are intertwined in women’s experiences of VAW, how finan- cial abuse has a continuum across time—and does not end with separation. Finally, we show how women’s experiences of financial abuse also are charac- terized by continuity across space, and work as a continuum between private and public spheres, different arenas and practices.

The study has its limitations, especially due to its limited numbers of inter- views. However, the quality or impact of qualitative research should not be judged by its numbers but on the quality of the data and the analysis. Generalizing results, building on 19 interviews and from a specific context, is of course difficult but the study still adds cumulatively and theoretically to our understanding of women’s experiences on financial abuse and VAW. To deepen that knowledge, and to enable comparative analyses, there is a need for more research, for example qualitative analyses of financial abuse, how social welfare institutions handle it, and how women survivors of VAW in different welfare contexts experience it.

The women in our study live in a country with, by international standards, a generous welfare state, a high level of formal gender equality, and relatively strong legal protection for victims of VAW. Regardless of whether the women interviewed have separated from their abusive partner or not, the financial abuse they have experienced most likely continues. To stop financial abuse—and other forms of VAW—and find sustainable solutions to the problem we argue that a

Eriksson and Ulmestig NP1645

more comprehensive understanding of VAW and financial abuse is necessary. Our results make financial abuse visible also in generous welfare states and help researchers as well as social workers to see and act on the abuse. By unveiling the complexity in women’s experiences of financial abuse, we think that the distinction between financial abuse and nonabuse can be questioned and policy makers can be offered a tool to understand that financial abuse is a distinct form of abuse, but not separated from women’s experiences of other forms of abuse.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figure 1. A model for a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of how different forms of financial abuse are intertwined in women’s lives, together with other forms of VAW, and how it continues across time and across different spheres/institutions. Note. VAW = violence against women.

NP1646 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(3-4)

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research project has been funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority [Brottsoffermyndigheten] (Grant number 47210012).

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Author Biographies

Marie Eriksson is a senior lecturer in social work at Linnaeus University, Sweden. She has a PhD in history, and her thesis is about marital discord and men’s violence against women in 19th-century Sweden. Her main research interest revolves around gender and violence—both in present and past times. At present, she is involved in a research project on financial abuse in the context of men’s violence against women. Together with Richard Ulmestig, she has recently published an article “Financial Consequences of Leaving Violent Men: Women Survivors of Domestic Violence and the Social Assistance System in Sweden” in European Journal of Social Work. In another research project, she is studying different forms of women’s violence in the 19th- and 20th-century Sweden.

Rickard Ulmestig is a senior lecturer in social work at Linnaeus University, Sweden. His main research interest is in policy change and organizational change within the welfare state. He has published several studies within labor market policy, social assistance, and the specific welfare policy in the Nordic countries. He has, together with Ivan Harslöf, edited Changing Social Risks and Social Policy Responses in the Nordic Welfare States (Palgrave). He has lately started to study financial aspects on domestic violence and how these are handled by survivors of domestic violence and by the welfare state.

Articles/Busch & Valentine, 2000 empowerment practice - a focus on battered women.pdf

Affilia Spring 2000Busch and Valentine

Empowerment Practice: A Focus on Battered Women

Noël Bridget Busch and Deborah Valentine

During the past two decades, empowerment theory has gained popu- larity as a way to develop social policy reforms, programs, and prac- tices related to oppressed and disenfranchised populations. This arti- cle applies the principles of empowerment practice to address the needs of battered women, and it discusses the implications for social work practice.

Social work pioneers embodied empowerment practice as early as the 1890s (Ortiz, 1994; Parsons, Gutierrez, & Cox, 1998; Simon, 1994). During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “the development of social work methods . . . reflected differences in perspective, from a focus on social control of the poor to an emphasis on self-determination and empowerment” (Parsons, Gutierrez, & Cox, p. 3). The most notable historical writing about empowerment practice in social work is Solomon’s (1976) Black Empowerment, which acknowledges the powerless- ness of African Americans and focuses on increasing their intrapersonal, interpersonal, economic, and political power as a means of increasing their capacity to influence decisions that affect their lives. Many scholars (see, e.g., Gutierrez, GlenMaye, & DeLois, 1995; Gutierrez, Parsons, & Cox, 1998; McGuire, 1994; Parsons, 1991) have expanded on Solomon’s (1976) work to include the empowerment of diverse populations, such as people with disabilities, women, gays and lesbians, the elderly,

AFFILIA, Vol. 15 No. 1, Spring 2000 82-95 © 2000 Sage Publications, Inc.

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youths, homeless people, residents of public housing, and families. In addition, feminists are credited with advancing empowerment theory because they, too, “reject either/or dual- isms and reification of privileged ‘truths’” (Bricker-Jenkins, 1994, p. 103).

In the past two decades, empowerment practice has addressed issues of structural oppression and economic depri- vation (Evans, 1992; Rose, 1990), racism and stereotyping, sex- ism, and the marginalization of minority groups (Parsons, 1998; Simon, 1990), and it remains a popular method of inter- vention. It has gained momentum and support as the economic deprivation and discrepancies among nondominant groups in this country have become more evident and indisputable (Brenton, 1994; Gutierrez & Nurius, 1994).

Although it is challenging to define empowerment theory, there is agreement that “the theory of empowerment is based on the assumption that the capacity of people to improve their lives is determined by their ability to control their environ- ment, namely, having power” (Hasenfeld, 1987, p. 478). According to Gutierrez, DeLois, and GlenMaye (1995), empowerment theory is rooted in three important elements: power, powerlessness, and oppression. Additional features of empowerment theory include the importance of engaging in activities to reduce the powerlessness that is created by nega- tive valuations of members of a stigmatized group (Solomon, 1976) and helping these persons exert “greater control and influence in their personal and professional lives” (Gitterman, 1994, pp. x-xi). To empowerment theorists, this power and con- trol are applicable at all systemic levels and must be considered in their cultural context (Bookman & Morgen, 1988; Rappaport, 1987). To Parr (as cited in Bricker-Jenkins, 1994), empowerment is the “ability to speak one’s own truths in one’s own voice and participate in the decisions that affect one’s life” (p. 97). Gutierrez, DeLois, et al. (1995) described intervention methods of empow- erment practice as

basing the helping relationship on collaboration, trust and share power; utilizing small groups; accepting the client’s definition

Busch and Valentine 83

of the problem; identifying and building on the client’s strengths; raising the client’s consciousness of issues of class and power; actively involving the client in the change process; teaching specific skills; . . . experiencing a sense of personal power within the helping relationship; and mobilizing resources or advocating for clients. (p. 535)

People who are victims of violence are, by definition, involved in a power dynamic. Sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and other forms of relationship violence stem from one person’s or group of people’s having power over others. Empowerment theory provides principles that are needed to inform empowerment practice with battered women.

BATTERED WOMEN

The battered woman’s movement emerged following the growth of the woman’s movement in the 1960s (GlenMaye, 1998), and since that time, advocates for battered women, who are often survivors themselves, have sought to empower vic- tims of domestic violence. The strategies of advocates have included providing services, such as shelters, economic assis- tance, and support groups, and influencing institutional change by working to establish severe penalties, mandatory arrest laws, and obligatory treatment and counseling services for batterers (Carlson, 1990).

The social work profession considers women to be a popula- tion at risk because many women have limited access to resources and are systematically excluded from positions of power (Bookman & Morgen, 1988; GlenMaye, 1998; Hall, 1992; Hooyman, 1994). Furthermore, social workers have been and continue to be a central force in recognizing the vulnerability of battered women and responding to issues of power and power- lessness with services and arrangements to protect the women’s safety (Carlson, 1990; GlenMaye, 1998). Discrimina- tion, economic deprivation, and oppression prevent battered women from leaving their violent partners and contribute to women’s continued victimization.

84 Affilia Spring 2000

Research has indicated that domestic violence is a woman’s victimization issue, since 95% of the victims of domestic abuse in the United States are female and 95% of the perpetrators are male (Salber & Taliaferro, 1994). The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (1995) estimated that a woman is assaulted every 9 sec- onds in this country and is six times more likely to be physically assaulted by her husband than by a stranger. The BJS estimated that 4 million women are battered each year by intimate part- ners (although many argue that this estimate is low) and that approximately 2,000 American women die at the hands of their abusers each year.

Every year, approximately 6 million women suffer psycho- logical and physical health problems because of domestic abuse (Henderson, 1992), which cost employers about $55 mil- lion in lost wages and medical expenses every year (Salber & Taliaferro, 1994). Tilden (1989) reported that the injuries of 20% to 25% of the women who seek medical care in hospital emer- gency rooms are related to domestic assault and that 1 in 12 women patients at prenatal clinics are victims of domestic vio- lence. Moreover, the physical assaults often start or escalate during pregnancy (Salber & Taliaferro, 1994).

Both the physical and mental health of battered women are compromised by the physical and emotional trauma that the women experience, including physical injuries and battered women’s greater tendency toward suicidality and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The financial losses that battered women sustain because of the violence perpetrated against them often result in poverty and homelessness for them and their children. Table 1 presents a typology of domestic violence that depicts the expression of oppression, stereotyping, powerlessness, and learned helplessness in the lives of battered women, based on patriarchal and hierarchical ideological belief systems and the attitudes and behaviors that the systems engender. Subsequent individual and community behaviors may include unrespon- siveness, gender inequality, and blaming and discriminating against battered women.

Busch and Valentine 85

EMPOWERMENT PRACTICE WITH BATTERED WOMEN

Powerless individuals or groups become empowered when they gain power and access to resources (Bookman & Morgen, 1988; Pinderhughes, 1983; Solomon, 1976, 1983; Staples, 1990). To help them achieve empowerment, social workers use four practice strategies: enabling, linking, catalyzing, and priming (Lum, 1996). Enabling involves identifying and recognizing the strengths of individuals or groups. Linking involves connect- ing individuals with others who share common histories, issues, and barriers. It is based on the assumption that “people and families can augment their own strengths by linking with others who can provide new perceptions and/or opportuni- ties” (Lum, p. 253). Catalyzing involves obtaining additional resources for individuals and families so that they can achieve independence and power on the assumption that these resources are “prerequisites to the family fully utilizing their existing resources” (Lum, p. 253). In priming, social workers act as brokers for individuals or families with systems that have been historically challenging and seek to educate the profes- sionals in these systems about the barriers and difficulties that disempowered individuals and families encounter.

Table 2 illustrates the four strategies of empowerment prac- tice and presents some examples of empowering strategies

86 Affilia Spring 2000

TABLE 1: Framework for Understanding the Typology of a Battered Woman in a Hierarchical and Patriarchal System

Ideological Belief System Attitude Behavior Expression

Hierarchical “That’s the Unresponsiveness Oppression Patriarchal way it is.” Blaming the victim Powerlessness

Apathy Gender inequalities Stereotyping Need to maintain Discrimination Learned the status quo helplessness

NOTE: The typology presented here is based on Lum’s (1996, p. 178) typology for understanding oppression and was modified to illustrate oppression and powerlessness in the lives of battered women.

with battered women at three systemic levels—the macrolevel (institutional), mezzolevel (interpersonal), and microlevel (intrapersonal)—consistent with the principles of empower- ment theory.

Macrolevel Strategies

Advocates for battered women often agree that societal macro- systems and events have consistently discouraged battered

Busch and Valentine 87

TABLE 2: Strategies for Empowering Battered Women at the Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Institutional Levels

Strategies Intrapersonal Interpersonal Institutional (microlevel) (mezzolevel) (macrolevel)

Enabling Giving choices Providing support The Clothes Line Validating the groups Project

situation Providing shelter Volunteer Providing support and positions for emotional support services for choices survivors

Providing shelter and opportunities support

Linking Reducing isolation Coalitions Developing State/national community advocacy

groups resources

Organizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Catalyzing Providing economic Creating new domestic Funding assistance violence programs Conducting

Providing Writing new research employment legislation Addressing assistance Expanding services issues of gender

Providing to women and inequities transitional children housing

Priming Appearing in court Helping families Violence with an advocate understand the education

Assisting with impact of violence Skill training order of Public awareness (assertiveness, protection and education self-control,

women from attaining optimal health, well-being, and power (Hilton, 1993). However, they also agree that certain elements of macrosystems have protected battered women from harm by providing shelter, making spouse abuse illegal, and placing domestic violence prominently on the public political agenda. For example, a 1991 survey (Roche & Sadoski, 1996) of 622 shel- ters for battered women in the United States found that, on average, the shelters had been in existence for 9 years. The sur- vey found that the shelters shared the following 15 common objectives:

To secure battered women’s safety, to promote a violence-free life, to achieve self-sufficiency and independence, to increase the safe surroundings for battered women and their children, to increase access to material resources, to increase legal protec- tion, to reduce the battered women’s isolation, to change cul- tural beliefs and values that promote violence against women, to change institutional and community decisions that support individual men’s use of abusive tactics against women, to end violence against women, to create a model organization of shared power and leadership, to build a political movement of women, to increase the collective power of women, to end racism, and to end homophobia. (p. 18)

The emergence of additional women’s shelters and domestic violence agencies has helped many battered women in their pursuit of physical, psychological, and emotional health and well-being.

In addition, many federal organizations and state coalitions assist battered women and promote their well-being by addressing matters of legislation, education, training, and research. One goal is to educate and inform the public about battered women and the scope of the domestic violence prob- lem. Another goal is to seek justice in systems that deter victims from seeking services or filing charges against their abusers, misunderstand the complexity of domestic violence and the lives of women who are living in violent relationships, and compromise the health and well-being of victims.

In September 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (U.S. Department of

88 Affilia Spring 2000

Justice, Violence Against Women Office, 1997). VAWA is the “most extensive support that the federal government has ever committed to improve, expand, and enhance services and com- munity responses to battered women” (Roche & Sadoski, 1996, p. 13). The Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice is responsible for supporting battered women and domestic violence agencies through lobbying and legisla- tive advocacy to protect battered women and to hold batterers accountable for their violence and through providing funding to state programs. In March 1995, President Clinton “announced $26 million in S*T*O*P* grants to states to bolster their law enforcement, prosecution, and victim services, to bet- ter address the violence against women” (U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against Women Office, pp. 2-3). The federal government’s increased commitment to ameliorating the prob- lem is aimed at keeping more women safe from violence in their homes.

Microlevel and Mezzolevel Strategies

Practitioners and researchers maintain that battering behavior reflects issues of power and control. Thus, the successful imple- mentation of the four strategies of empowerment is expected to result in changes at the microlevel and mezzolevel, as well as at the macrolevel. Four psychological changes occur in empow- ered individuals or groups: increased self-efficacy, the devel- opment of group consciousness, decreased self-blame, and the assumption of personal responsibility (Evans, 1992; Gutierrez, DeLois, & Glenmaye, 1995; Lum, 1996).

Self-efficacy. Bandura (1982, p. 122) defined self-efficacy as the belief in one’s ability to “produce and to regulate events in one’s own life.” Self-efficacy and a sense of competence develop as a person gains self-confidence (Evans, 1992). Women who are routinely abused by their husbands or part- ners report having little confidence in their ability to escape their tormentors (Mechanic, 1995). Walker (1979) suggested that battered women remain in abusive relationships because

Busch and Valentine 89

they cannot predict what will happen when they leave the rela- tionships, and thus, they believe that staying is safer than leav- ing. Battered women’s sense of self-efficacy, self-perception, and self-control (or lack thereof) are the foundations of the the- ory of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975). An empowering belief is feeling like a survivor, rather than a victim.

Group consciousness. Group consciousness, “an awareness of how political structures affect individual and group experi- ences” (Lum, 1996, p. 250), develops when members of a pow- erless group begin to recognize shared feelings and experi- ences. Many battered women report both perceived and actual isolation from family members, friends, and support systems (including their religious or spiritual leaders). This sense of iso- lation often perpetuates and exacerbates domestic violence (Walker, 1979). The women do not talk about the abuse because their families, friends, and others blame them for the violence or do not believe that the assaults have occurred or do not believe that they are as severe as the woman describe. These reactions, in addition to shame and embarrassment, are often enough to keep battered women from seeking help. An empowering belief for battered women is that they are not alone.

Reduced self-blame. When battered women are empowered, they are “freed from feeling responsible for their negative situation” (Lum, 1996, p. 251). Thus, decreasing self-blame is a critical step in empowerment practice with battered women. Many battered women believe that the abuse is their fault (Walker, 1979; Wood & Middleman, 1992). An empowering belief is that they are not responsible for the violence and rage of their abusers.

Assumption of personal responsibility. As Lum (1996) noted, “clients who do not feel responsible for their problems may not invest their efforts in developing solutions unless they assume some personal responsibility for future change” (p. 251). Assuming personal responsibility is different from

90 Affilia Spring 2000

assuming blame for the abuser’s behavior. Battered women who feel powerless frequently see themselves as helpless. An empowerment belief is for battered women to begin taking responsibility for their future by actively attempting to change their situations.

Psychological Dimensions of Empowerment

Table 3 illustrates the four psychological dimensions of empowerment, and it presents examples of women at the pre- empowerment level and those who are empowered at the three systemic levels. Battered women who are regaining some power and control begin to make statements that depict new strengths and capacities. For example, the statement, “it is not my fault,” depicts an empowered woman who no longer accepts responsibility for her abuser’s brutal behavior and rec- ognizes that she can do little to control his violence.

CONCLUSION

Hall (1992) suggested that “empowering changes in women’s attitudes result in new values that motivate [women] to partici- pate more actively in broader social contexts” (p. 97). Moreo- ver, research has indicated that empowering battered women enables them to escape violence in their lives (Davis & Srini- vasan, 1995; GlenMaye, 1998; Stout & McPhail, 1998; Tutty, 1996; Walker, 1994; Wood & Middleman, 1992). This article has shown how the principles of empowerment practice may be used to gain a better understanding of, and to collaborate with, battered women and to comprehend the typology of battered women in the current context of violence against women.

The four primary empowering strategies can be translated into practice techniques for work with and on behalf of battered women at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels and at the four steps (increasing self-efficacy, attaining group consciousness, reducing self-blame, and assuming responsibility) in the empowerment process. Moreover, they

Busch and Valentine 91

TABLE 3: Steps and Levels of Empowerment: Statements by a Battered Woman

Preempowerment Intrapersonal Interpersonal Institutional Step Statement (microlevel) (mezzolevel) (macrolevel)

Efficacy “I am a victim.” “I will survive.” “We will overcome.” “We can make a “I can’t change my “I am a survivor, not difference.”

situation.” a victim.” Group “I am alone.” “I am not alone.” “We will be most “There are many consciousness “No one else “I can’t control my successful when we institutions and

understands my batterer’s behavior.” can help each other.” systems that serve or situation.” should serve battered

women.” Reducing “It’s my fault; if only “It is not my fault.” “Domestic violence occurs “Laws need to be self-blame I wouldn’t make in many relationships.” changed to protect

him mad.” “Domestic violence crosses women and their economic, racial, cultural, children.” and ethnic boundaries.”

Assuming “I can’t do anything “I have to protect “I need to help my sisters.” “We have to raise responsibility to change my myself.” consciousness and

situation.” awareness.”

92

are based on the recognition that violence against women is a complex social problem and not the effect of individual women’s deficits. The empowerment perspective maintains that battered women are not victims of violence by choice and that given adequate support, resources, and opportunities, they will chose violence-free lives for themselves and their children.

REFERENCES

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women. Affilia, 7, 82-95.

Noël Bridget Busch, M.S.W., M.P.A., is a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work, Columbia, SC 29208; e-mail: [email protected].

Deborah Valentine, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Social Work, College of Health Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071.

Address all correspondence to Ms. Busch.

Busch and Valentine 95

Articles/Doyle, 2020 experiences of IPV - psychological, economic, physical, and sexual violence.pdf

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Women's Studies International Forum

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif

Experiences of intimate partner violence: The role of psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence Jessica Leigh Doyle⁎

Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

A B S T R A C T

This article investigates women's experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in relation to psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence. It does so based on qualitative findings from 63 semi-structured interviews with women victim/survivors of IPV from across Northern Ireland. The article presents key findings from these interviews and compares them with the quantitative findings from a recent pan-European Union (EU) study on violence against women (VAW). The findings reveal the myriad experiences of psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence endured by women in IPV relationships many of which have been overlooked in existing research and by the pan-EU study. The implications of these findings for research and policy are then discussed.

Introduction and literature review

The current Northern Ireland government strategy which deals with the issue of intimate partner or domestic violence (hereafter IPV) de- fines IPV as ‘threatening, controlling, coercive behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, virtual, physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional) inflicted on anyone (irrespective of age, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any form of disability) by a current or former intimate partner or family member’ (Department of Justice, 2016). This definition reflects the main aspects incorporated in most contemporary international definitions of IPV. While research shows that both women and men experience and perpetrate IPV, overall it appears that women are far more likely to be seriously injured and/or murdered by a male partner and more likely to experience economic and sexual IPV (Breiding et al., 2008; Hamberger and Larsen, 2015). IPV is increasingly recognised as a global public health and human rights issue, affecting the lives of 15–75% of women worldwide (Garcia- Moreno et al., 2006). Over the last few decades, research has identified a wide range of serious and often long term negative consequences of IPV for victim/survivors' physical and mental well-being, including injuries, digestive problems, hypertension, depression, anxiety, loss of self-esteem and isolation (Campbell et al., 2002; Matheson et al., 2015; Pico-Alfonso et al., 2006).

To date, the most comprehensive large-scale study to explore in- dividual experiences of the main forms of IPV, namely psychological, economic, physical and sexual IPV among women is the 2014 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (EU FRA) survey. This survey

incorporated the experiences of 42,000 women from across each of the 28 EU member states and found that 43% of them had experienced psychological IPV, 20% physical IPV, 12% economic/financial IPV (hereafter economic IPV) and 7% sexual IPV from a current and/or former intimate partner (EU FRA, 2014). As the survey also recorded specific experiences across each of these dimensions it provides a va- luable context and point of comparison for our qualitative findings on experiences of psychological, economic, physical and sexual IPV among women living in Northern Ireland and is thus referenced throughout the results section of this article. No comparative study to the EU FRA study exists for Northern Ireland and the closest we have is the Northern Ireland Crime Survey (NICS, 2011/12-2015/16)1 which recorded IPV prevalence rates of 12%, 10%, 5% and 2% respectively for psycholo- gical, physical, economic and sexual IPV among women surveyed (Department of Justice, 2013). In general, however, the NICS went into considerably less depth than the EU FRA survey, a factor which may explain the lower prevalence rates of all forms of IPV recorded by the NICS when compared to the EU FRA survey, including the UK specific EU FRA survey findings. Within this context, it is also worth noting that the official prevalence rate of IPV recorded by Northern Ireland's leading voluntary organization addressing IPV (Women's Aid Federa- tion) is far higher than the NICS figure, around one in every four ever- partnered women (Women's Aid n.d.) and even that is possibly an under-estimation given that barriers to seeking support often exist for victim/survivors of IPV (see, for example Fugate et al., 2005) .

Empirical studies on psychological IPV reinforce the findings from the EU FRA survey that psychological IPV is the most prevalent form of

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2020.102370 Received 13 November 2018; Received in revised form 16 August 2019; Accepted 15 April 2020

⁎ Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University, Jordanstown campus, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

E-mail address: [email protected]. 1 A personal interview survey with 1975 adults (over the age of 16) from across Northern Ireland.

Women's Studies International Forum 80 (2020) 102370

Available online 15 May 2020 0277-5395/ © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

T

IPV (Barnawi, 2017; Carney and Barner, 2012). Moreover, several studies have found psychological IPV to be an almost universal ex- perience among women victim/survivors. For instance, Stylianou (2018) found that almost 97% of 457 women victim/survivors of IPV surveyed had experienced psychological IPV. Studies have also found that psychological IPV is often a precursor to other forms of IPV and tends to co-occur alongside them. Coker et al. (2000) and Follingstad et al. (1990) both found that woman who reported physical IPV had all also experienced psychological IPV, although psychological IPV fre- quently occurred without physical IPV. Finally, several studies have noted the serious negative consequences of psychological IPV for victim/survivors' long-term mental health (Coker et al., 2000; Straight et al., 2003), including one study by Matheson et al. (2015) which found that most victim/survivors of IPV considered psychological IPV to be more damaging to their long-term mental health than physical IPV despite research and policy focus on the latter. Goldsmith and Freyd (2005) found that a consequence of this focus on physical IPV over psychological IPV is that victim/survivors of psychological IPV often do not recognise psychological IPV.

Even fewer studies have explored victim/survivor experiences of economic IPV and indeed economic IPV is often excluded even from definitions of IPV (including the World Health Organization (WHO) definition). Most large-scale quantitative studies (including the EU FRA survey) which have included economic IPV have recorded low pre- valence rates of it, a finding which has reinforced a view that economic IPV is less important than other dimensions of IPV. However, findings from those studies which have comprehensively examined economic IPV have challenged this view, as have the testimonies of victim/sur- vivors of IPV and those who work with them (Gibbs et al., 2018; Sanders, 2015). These studies and testimonies suggest that economic IPV is far more prevalent than often thought and draw attention to the serious consequences of economic IPV for victim/survivors. For ex- ample, 93% of participants in Stylianou's (2018) study had experienced economic IPV, making it more prevalent than physical IPV. The reason for the tendency of surveys to under-record economic IPV, argues Sty- lianou is that most do not measure all of the main forms of economic IPV. These are where a perpetrator controls a victim/survivor's access to economic resources, where they sabotage a victim/survivor's ability to obtain and maintain employment, and where they exploit a victim/ survivor's personal economic situation (Postmus et al., 2016; Postmus et al., 2016). Concerning the impact of economic IPV, studies have found that economic IPV has serious consequences for mental health and one study by Gibbs, Dunkle and Jewkes (2018) found that women who experienced economic IPV were more likely to report suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms than those who experienced physical or sexual IPV only, although the highest levels were observed among women who experienced all forms of IPV together.

Physical IPV has been the main focus of research, policy and public attention on IPV and a result of this has been the side-lining of psy- chological, economic and sexual IPV. On this basis, the focus here is mainly on these lesser studied forms of IPV rather than repeating the extensive literature on physical IPV (see Archer, 2002 for a meta ana- lytic review). However, several aspects of this literature are worth highlighting in the context of this article. First, like the other forms of IPV, physical IPV is strongly associated with poor outcomes in terms of victim/survivor physical and mental health (Coker et al., 2002). Second, research shows that physical IPV is often very serious; in Northern Ireland in 2016/17 alone domestic homicides accounted for one in every four murders, manslaughters and attempted murders (PSNI, 2018). Third, while a few studies suggest that women and men experience physical IPV at similar rates, research and national statis- tical data shows that women are far more likely to be serious injured or killed by their partner during an assault (Kimmel, 2002). Finally, most studies on physical IPV have found that less grave forms of physical IPV and being pushed or shoved in particular are the most prevalent ex- periences of physical IPV and several studies show that other forms of

IPV may be more damaging to victim/survivors' physical and mental health than physical IPV. This is not to detract from the obvious im- portance of understanding physical IPV, but rather to highlight the value of studying physical IPV alongside other, less researched di- mensions of IPV.

Most research and legislation on sexual VAW, both locally and in- ternationally has dealt with sexual violence perpetrated by unknown men (Bagwell-Gray et al., 2015). This is despite evidence suggesting that, at a minimum, intimate partners commit one third of all sexual assaults (Bagwell-Gray et al., 2015). Moreover, while research on sexual violence has often overlooked the issue of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV), research on IPV has too often overlooked victim/survivor experiences of sexual IPV. Partly, this is a product of the relatively recent recognition of IPSV as a social and health problem, as martial rape exemptions—by which a man could not be convicted of rape if the victim was his wife— existed in most countries throughout the 20th century (Bennice and Resick, 2003). Connected to this has also been the persistence of societal stigma on issues of sexual violence more generally. The consequences of this are the aforementioned tendency in research to overlook IPSV but also a lack of recognition of IPSV even among victim/survivors. For instance, Logan et al. (2007) found that women in their study simultaneously stated that they had never ex- perienced IPSV while also recounting instances where they had woken up to their partner having sexual intercourse with them and the British Crime Survey (2001; see Walby and Allen, 2004) found that only 28% of participants who had experienced rape from a current or former intimate partner described their experience as ‘rape’. This difficulty in identifying sexual violence when it is committed by an intimate partner is further compounded where experiences of IPSV do not conform to prosecutable crimes, such as where a woman engages in sexual activity against her will as part of an endeavour to prevent a violent outburst, appease her partner or for some other similar purpose (Bagwell-Gray, Messing and Baldwin-White 2015.). Research suggests that this is the most prevalent experience of IPSV among women and that that these experiences are physically and mentally harmful, although they are routinely ignored in policy and legislation (Maharaj and Munthree, 2007; Salwen et al., 2015).

However, despite the scale and impact of IPV, it remains largely under-reported and relatively under-researched in key areas. This ar- ticle contributes to research and knowledge in two of these areas. First, it contributes to the limited literature which examines victim/survivor experiences of IPV across each of the four main dimensions of IPV, namely psychological, economic, physical and sexual IPV. Although a great deal of literature has explored victim/survivor experiences of IPV, most literature has focused on one dimension of IPV, usually physical IPV and it is evident there is a shortage of studies which explore psy- chological, economic and sexual IPV. Even fewer studies have examined all four dimensions of IPV together within the same population. Understanding these lesser studied dimensions of IPV is vital for the development of evidence-based policy measures to address them, while a holistic analysis of IPV provides a full picture of victim/survivor ex- periences and the relationship between these experiences. Second, the article contributes to qualitative knowledge on victim/survivor ex- periences of IPV which has been lacking as most studies have taken a quantitative approach. Yet, qualitative research has several notable advantages over quantitative research which make it particularly va- luable for understanding victim/survivor experiences of IPV. To give one example, qualitative methodologies typically provide more time and opportunity to explain and explore subject materials, which may be beneficial when dealing with sensitive or not well understood issues like IPV.2 A final contribution of the article is to the local literature, as the study represents the first comprehensive study of victim/survivor

2 See Berg and Lune (2012) for a comprehensive account of the advantages of qualitative research.

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experiences of IPV in Northern Ireland for over two decades (see McWilliams and McKiernan 1993). Within that context, the core ob- jective of the article is to examine women's experiences of IPV. Speci- fically, the article asks what are women's experiences of IPV in relation to psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence?

Methodology

Sampling and participants

The research was qualitative and relied mainly on open-ended semi- structured interviews with women victim/survivors of IPV from across Northern Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were preferred as they afford participants a high level of autonomy in describing their ex- periences, while still offering consistency across themes and strong cross-checking potential. A non-probability sampling strategy was em- ployed to identify potential participants, taking care to include women3

from across different age groups,4 locations, and religious, ethnic and economic backgrounds.5 This produced a final sample of 63 women victim/survivors of IPV. Most participants (87%) had left the violent relationship at the time of interview although eight (13%) remained in the violent relationship. Some key background details of participants are shown in Table 1. This larger than average qualitative sample size6

was intentionally sought as comprehensive qualitative studies with victim/survivors of IPV are relatively scarce. Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland partnered the research, assisting with the recruitment of participants through their refuges and outreaches centres and pro- viding fully qualified emotional and practical support to participants throughout the study. Ensuring the provision of this support and safe- guarding participant well-being was a high priority of the research, which gained full ethnical approval from the University ethics com- mittee.

Materials and procedure

The research was part of a larger, comparative study on IPV in Northern Ireland between 2016 and 1992. The larger study explored the following key themes: (1) participant experiences of psychological, economic, physical and sexual IPV, (2) the impact of IPV on physical and psychological well-being, (3) the impact of the Northern Ireland socio-political and economic context on IPV and (4) participant ex- periences of help seeking for IPV from informal (e.g. family and friends) and formal (e.g. statutory and voluntary) sources. These themes in- formed the development of interview guides and coding and analysis of results. This article focuses on the first theme, namely participant ex- periences of psychological, economic, physical and sexual IPV.7 The interview questions for this theme were intentionally designed to reflect questions asked by the EU FRA survey (2014) and by the aforemen- tioned 1992 study to allow for comparative analysis. A list of sample interview questions for this theme are provided in Table 2. The authors also enquired of participants whether any experiences of IPV were missed by the interview questions, so to ensure these experiences were

included in the analysis. The length of interviews ranged from 36 to 105 min and the mean

length was 66 min. Most interviews (60 of 63) were recorded using a digital recorded and where a participant did not want their interview recorded detailed notes were taken during the interview instead. In order to ensure the safety of participants, protect their right to privacy and increase openness and frankness the anonymity of participants was maintained at all stages. Upon completion of interviews they were transcribed verbatim and a series of codes organised according first to the aforementioned main themes and second to a set of subsequent sub- themes drawn from the research questions, interview questions and main debates in the literature were used as a template for analysing data. Each transcript was assigned a random number between one and 63 and reviewed in-depth. In each instance where an issue was men- tioned, the corresponding interview number was inserted next to the relevant code in an Excel spreadsheet. For example, if participant number ‘1’ reported that they had been followed/stalked by their partner than the number ‘1’ was inserted next to ‘Followed/stalked e Yes’ in the coding spread sheet. Coding in this way ensured that the analysis was data driven, while quantifying the qualitative data high- lighted common themes and their prevalence and reduced the possi- bility of researcher bias, thus adding to the robustness of the study.

Results

Types of IPV experienced

Participants described their experiences of IPV as a range of assaults that were psychological, economic, physical and sexual. Table 3 offers a comparison of prevalence rates of these dimensions of IPV as found by our study and by the EU FRA survey. It is important to state at the outset that the EU survey was a general population survey including both victim/survivors of IPV and non-victims whereas our study in- cluded IPV victim/survivors only. This means that the prevalence rates recorded by our study are, naturally, higher. Nonetheless, it beneficial

Table 1 Background information on study participants (%).

From Age group Religious background

Northern Ireland (75%; 47/ 63)

18–29 years (14%; 9/ 63)

Catholic (44%; 28/63)

Irish Travellers (6%; 4/63) 30–39 (19%; 12/63)

Protestant (38%; 24/63)

England (6%; 4/63) 40–49 (30%; 19/63) Mixed Catholic- Protestant (5%; 3/63)

Eastern Europe (6%; 4/63) 50–59 (17%; 11/63) Muslim (3%; 2/63) Middle East North Africa

(3%; 2/63) 60–69 (17%; 11/63) Other unlisteda (6%; 4/

63) Asia (3%; 2/63) 70+ (2%; 1/63) Baptist (2%; 1/63)

Methodist (2%; 1/63)

a This is listed as ‘other’ as it refers to individual participants who are from religious backgrounds with a very low representation in Northern Ireland and therefore providing their religious backgrounds risks jeopardising their anon- ymity.

Table 2 Sample interview questions for experiences of IPV.

• Has/did your husband/partner ever made you feel bad about yourself? In what ways?

• Is/was your husband/partner ever physically violent? In what ways?• Did your husband/partner ever make you take out loans for his benefit and left you in debt?

• Did you ever have sexual intercourse when you did not want to because you were afraid of what your husband/partner might do?

3 In order to maintain methodological consistency with the EU FRA study, the study focused only on women's experiences of IPV.

4 For ethical reasons no women/girls under the age of 18 were interviewed. 5 One group of women who were not included in the study were LGB&T

women. The reason for this was that there were very few LGB&T women in domestic violence refuges and outreach centres in Northern Ireland at the time of the research and none we approached were willing to participate in the study. This means that the experiences of these women are not included in the study and this is a limitation of the study.

6 Mason (2010) found that the median sample size of qualitative studies is 20 to 30.

7 For a discussion of research findings for the other themes see Doyle and McWilliams (2020) and Doyle and McWilliams (2018).

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to consider these results together as the qualitative results from Northern Ireland expand upon, challenge and provide depth to what the EU quantitative data in many places suggests.

It is evident that 98% of participants in our study reported experi- encing psychological IPV, 75% economic IPV, 71% physical IPV and 51% sexual IPV although the prevalence of sexual IPV is considerably higher (71%) if participants who consented to sexual intercourse against their will due to fear of their partner are included. Participant experiences of these different dimensions of IPV are discussed in detail in the sub-sections that follow but there are three important observa- tions concerning the overall prevalence figures worth highlighting. First, there is consensus between our findings and those of the EU FRA survey that psychological IPV is the most prevalent form of IPV. Indeed, for our study psychological IPV was an almost universal experience of IPV insofar as while the prevalence of economic, physical and sexual IPV varied, almost every study participant (98%) reported experiencing psychological IPV. Second, our study and the EU FRA survey differ with respect to the second most prevalent form of IPV; for our study this was economic IPV whereas for the EU FRA survey it was physical IPV. Third, sexual IPV was much more prominent in our study compared to the EU FRA survey; over half the participants in our study reported sexual IPV compared to only a minority in the EU FRA survey. One possible explanation for the higher prominence of both economic and sexual IPV in our study is that these experiences were under-reported in the EU study. The evidence to support this is discussed in the relevant sub-sections.

Psychological IPV

As mentioned above, psychological IPV was the most prevalent form of IPV reported by participants in our study. Given that all participants

were victim/survivors of IPV this finding indicates that psychological IPV is a consistent feature of IPV relationships, an argument also sup- ported by Stylianou (2018) and Pico-Alfonso et al.'s (2006) findings. Table 4 shows the full range of experiences of psychological IPV re- ported by our study participants, as well as the prevalence of these experiences for the EU FRA study where recorded.

The most common experience of psychological IPV for our study was being belittled or made to feel bad about oneself by a partner, reported by 98% of participants. The following extract provides a ty- pical example of these accounts:

‘He would always put me down; saying “you can't do this”, “you don't know how to do that”...“you're not going to wear that”… or “you're putting on weight.”’ (Interview 34, April 2016).

In addition to being the most prevalent IPV experience, many par- ticipants reported that being belittled was one of their worst experi- ences of IPV. Indeed, most participants who had experienced both being belittled and physically assaulted by their partner said that they found the former worse and longer lasting in its affect:

‘[I]t stays with you, the comments and the nastiness, goes deeper and [is] harder because if they hit you, they hit and it's done…but mental abuse is in your brain all the time’ (Interview 8, February 2016)’.

This is interesting because it contradicts the commonly held view that psychological IPV is less serious than physical IPV and because it reflects the findings from several other studies on psychological IPV (Al- Modallal, 2012; Matheson et al., 2015; Naughton et al., 2017).

The findings on psychological IPV also reveal the extent of control exerted by perpetrators in IPV relationships. This has become an issue of importance in research and subsequently policy in recent years (Department of Justice, 2016; Stark, 2009). In 2015 England and Wales introduced a specific offence to capture patterns of control and coercion in intimate partner relationships, followed by Scotland in 2018. The introduction of this offence is significant as it arguably represents one of the most significant attempts to align criminal justice responses to IPV with feminist conceptual understandings of IPV and with experiences of IPV as reported by victim/survivors (Burman and Brooks-Hay, 2018). However, Northern Ireland has yet to introduce a similar offence, al- though in July 2019 it was confirmed that the government in West- minster intends to extend the legislation to Northern Ireland and in

Table 3 Prevalence of violence by intimate partner.

Type of IPV NI study (IPV victim/ survivors only)

EU FRA survey (General population)

Psychological violence 98% (62/63) 43% Economic violence 75% (47/63) 12% Physical violence 71% (45/63) 20% Sexual violence 51% (32/63) 7%

Table 4 Experiences of psychological IPV.

Experience NI study (IPV victim/survivors only) EU FRA survey (General population)

Insulted/Belittled/made feel bad about self 98% (62/63) 25% Partner restricted her contact with friends 86% (54/63) 12% Restricted her contact with family 86% (54/63) 19% Insisted on knowing whereabouts in a way that goes beyond general concern 76% (48/63) 23% Accused her of being unfaithful 68% (43/63) 23% Got angry if she spoke with another man/woman 65% (42/63) 21% Threatened to hurt her physically 62% (39/63) 14% Forbid her from leaving the house, took away her keys or locked her in/out of house 56% (35/63) 5%a

Her calls/texts/internet monitored/restricted 56% (35/63) – Followed/stalked 48% (30/63) 10% Threatened to take her children 46% (29/63) 7% Sent her abusive text messages 32% (20/63) – He threatened suicide if she left 29% (19/63) – Threatened to hurt children 25% (16/63) 3% Threatened to hurt someone else she cares about 25% (16/63) 3% Turned children against her 14% (9/63) – Chose/restricted what she was wearing 11% (7/63) – Made her think she was ‘going crazy’ 10% (6/63) – Partner threatened to hurt pet 6% (4/63) – Religious abuse (Forced to pray, prevented from practicing religion) 3% (2/63) –

a For the EU FRA being locked out of the house was not included here.

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April 2020 the Bill moved to the second stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly.8 Returning to the qualitative research findings from Northern Ireland, the most prevalent experience of control reported was where a partner restricted a victim/survivors' contact with their family and friends, reported by 86% of participants. Striking was reports by most participants that this was carried out surreptitiously by their partner and that consequentially they did not initially or even for a long time recognise this form of control:

“You know when people say ‘did he keep you from your friends?’ It's not like he said ‘you are not going out with that friend’… [rather], he would say things like ‘she's a bad influence on you’, or ‘she said such-and-such about you’...and I wouldn't be friends with her [anymore]. Then it would be another person …and before you knew it, I was on my own.” (Interview 31, March 2016).

This was also often the case where a perpetrator insisted on knowing a victim/survivor's whereabouts (76%) and/or monitored her calls, texts and/or internet (56%). Indeed, several participants said that they initially mistook these actions as a sign of affection:

‘Looking back, I knew there was something wrong, but...I thought he was just trying to make me stay with him all the time because he loves me.’ (Interview 7, February 2016).

These findings are important as they suggest a lack of public knowledge on more subtle aspects of psychological IPV, which needs to be addressed.

Other common experiences of psychological IPV reported include being threatened by a partner (physically or emotionally), followed and/or stalked, forbidden or reprimanded for speaking to other men and women (particularly men) and/or having ones freedom restricted, for instance by not being allowed to leave home or having ones clothes chosen. The following extracts provide examples of this and highlight the level of control faced by participants:

“From eight in the morning to 12 at night my phone beeped con- stantly with [messages like] ‘where are you?’...‘who are you with?’…He would keep me on the phone for six, seven hours just to be sure I was not going out.” (Interview 47, May 2016).

‘He would cry and say that he was going to kill himself if I left and it was my fault if he dies. He went into the garage one time with a rope and said he was going to do it and I would be worried and thinking poor him’ (Interview 30, March 2016).

Comparing our qualitative findings to those of the EU FRA survey, there are three aspects which warrant further comment. First, the main experience of psychological IPV, namely being belittled or insulted is consistent between the studies. This finding is significant because it reinforces the argument made previously that this is a prevailing ex- perience of IPV. Second, the studies differ considerably with respect to a partner restricting a victim/survivors' contact with their friends or fa- mily. These experiences emerged as conjointly the second most pre- valent experiences of psychological IPV in our study but feature much

further down the list as sixth and eight for the EU study. One ex- planation for this suggested by our findings is that these experiences were not identified and thus reported by many participants in the EU FRA study. Third, several experiences of psychological IPV recorded by our study were not recorded by the EU FRA study, including having ones' calls, texts and/or internet monitored, being sent abusive text messages, where a partner threatened suicide if she left and where he threatened to hurt their/her children (among others; see Table 4). That these experiences were often prevalent in our study suggests that the EU FRA survey misses key experiences of psychological IPV. Interestingly, most of these experiences were raised independently by participants in our study, often when they were asked if there were any additional experiences of psychological IPV not included in interview questions. This highlights the value of qualitative research over quantitative sur- veys in capturing the full range of victim/survivor experiences of IPV.

Economic IPV

There has been a shortage of research on economic IPV and it has rarely been addressed in policy (Gibbs et al., 2018; Sanders, 2015). Yet, the studies which do examine economic IPV have found that it is more common than acknowledged and has significant negative consequences for victim/survivors, including mental health problems and poverty (Gibbs et al., 2018; Sanders, 2015). Economic IPV was reported by 75% of participants in our study and featured as the second most prevalent dimension of IPV overall. Table 5 shows the main experiences of eco- nomic IPV for our study and the EU FRA survey.

The most prevalent form of economic IPV for our study was ex- cessive economic control, reported by 63% of participants. Common examples of this were where a perpetrator controlled all finances and/ or where they required a participant to hand over their income, to al- ways ask for money including for household expenses, and/or to submit receipts for all spending. The following extracts provide some examples:

‘Any money I needed I had to ask him…I couldn't have taken money from my account [and] my [ATM] card was always with him… Even if it was ten pounds I would've had to explain what I used it [for].’ (Interview 32, April 2016).

‘He controlled all the money. If he left me money for shopping, I still had to bring the receipt to show him how much I spent and what I bought and…when I was working all of my money went to him, my money was his money too.’ (Interview 24, March 2016).

The second most prevalent experience of economic IPV was being prevented from making financial decisions, reported by 46% of parti- cipants. For the most part this issue was raised during discussions of a partner's excessive economic control and the two experiences linked. The most common experiences of this were being excluded from all financial decision making and/or being prevented from shopping in- dependently:

‘He controlled everything … He decided to buy the car, to buy the TV, whatever. I didn't ever have a say in anything…He even wrote the shopping list [for me].’ (Interview 30, March 2016).

All participants who reported economic control by a partner ex- plicitly connected it to other controlling behaviour and to psychological control in particular, a finding which highlights how the different di- mensions of IPV are linked.

Thirty eight per cent of participants reported that their partner prevented them from working outside the home. Participants who were in regular employment9 also spoke about how IPV limited their em- ployment. They had been harassed at work by their partner, abused for

Table 5 Experiences of economic IPV.

Experience NI study EU FRA survey

Excessive economic control 63% (40/63) – Prevented from making financial decisions 46% (29/63) 10% Prevented from working outside the home 38% (24/63) 5% Put into debt by perpetrator 32% (20/63) –

8 In general, IPV legislation and policy in Northern Ireland lags behind that of England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland across several areas which are discussed in a recent article by Doyle and McWilliams (2019).

9 A minority of participants, despite most reporting that they worked prior to/ early in the IPV relationship.

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working and/or said they found it difficult to work while coping with persistent violence and control. Participants who had left employment cited these same reasons for leaving, as well as a partner expressly forbidding them from working and/or the impact of the negative con- sequences of IPV for physical/mental health (documented elsewhere; see Doyle and McWilliams, 2018). The following extracts provide in- sight into these issues:

‘He told me my clothes weren't appropriate for work and wouldn't let me leave the house, another time he came to my work and made a big scene...It was pretty clear he didn't want me working.’ (Interview 53, June 2016).

‘I had my own business, it was a great business, but when he started to change [become abusive] my mind was always [focused] on [that]. I got depression and…couldn't cope [so] I sold my business.’ (Interview 12, March 2016).

A final experience of economic IPV raised by 32% of participants was being put into economic debt by a partner. The main experiences of this were where a partner forced or coerced a participant into taking out loans, ran up debt in their name, and/or gambled their money/ assets. Several cases of this were quite extreme; one participant was left £25,000 in debt by her partner and another £90,000 in debt. For the most part however, the level of debt was smaller (under £5000) and involved credit card debt. Consistent across all reports however was the high level of distress this caused participants, most of whom were not well off to begin with:

‘He used my name to open accounts…and get credit cards and then he upped and moved [overseas] and I was left [in debt]. I started getting hounded by…debt collectors…It was the worst time of my life…I had a break down because of it.’ (Interview 27, March 2016).

The prevalence and impact of these experiences are important as they are mostly omitted from studies on economic IPV, which have tended to focus only on economic control and employment.

Comparing the foregoing findings to those of the EU FRA survey, it emerges that the issue of economic IPV was not inquired about in the same way. For instance, the EU FRA survey inquired about economic control only in relation to being prevented from making financial de- cisions and while this is an important aspect of economic control our study findings suggest that it does not adequately measure economic control and may not appear relevant to the experiences of victim/sur- vivors:

‘I've been asked before if I could have shopped without him and made financial decisions…but when [he] only gives you ten pounds a week you don't have much to decide about or shop with!’ (Interview 61, June 2016).

Similar testimonies were given by the other participants who re- ported excessive economic control but not being prevented from making financial decisions, showing the value of the former as a mea- sure of economic IPV. In addition to this, the EU FRA survey did not include the issue of being put into debt by a partner, which was re- ported by almost one third of participants in our study. Put simply, our findings suggest that the EU FRA survey misses key experiences of economic IPV and that it consequentially under-estimates the overall prevalence of economic IPV.

Physical IPV

Physical violence IPV has been the main and often only focus of research and policy on IPV (Basile and Hall, 2011). For our study physical IPV was less prevalent than either psychological or economic IPV, although it was still reported by the majority (71%) of participants. Most of these participants (54%) had furthermore sustained injuries from physical IPV that were serious enough to require medical

attention. Participant experiences of physical IPV are set out in Table 6. The most common experience of physical IPV for our study was

being slapped, reported by 41% of participants. This was followed by being pushed or shoved, reported by 37%. Many of these participants said that their partner had slapped, pushed or shoved them in a way that made it seem accidental, playful and essentially not an instance of physical IPV:

“He would've hit me on the arm and I'd go ‘would you stop that, it's really sore!’ He”d always say “I'm only joking” (Interview 39, April 2016).

‘He's so clever…He would throw things at me aggressively, like if I asked for the [television] remote he'd throw it really hard so it would hit me and he'd slam doors so they'd hit me. But he could always say [that] these were accidents and [that] he never hit me.’ (Interview 47, May 2016).

These participants and others who gave similar accounts spoke of how they did not initially recognise these experiences as physical IPV. This finding suggests that instances of physical IPV like these may be overlooked by victim/survivors and consequently under-reported.

The third most common experience of physical IPV was being suf- focated, choked or strangled, reported by 25% of participants:

“He pinned me down and tried to strangle me. He said ‘I'm going to kill you, you bitch’…I literally couldn't breathe.” (Interview 58, June 2016).

The high prevalence of this experience among participants (one in four) is particularly troubling as several studies have identified being choked/suffocated/strangled as a particular risk factor for femicide (Glass et al., 2004; Koziol-McLain et al., 2007). Twenty two per cent of participants reported that they had been beaten with a fist or hard object. In many cases, participants incurred injuries as a result of this and other experiences of physical IPV - being grabbed/pulled by the hair, having one's head beaten against something and being burned or cut or stabbed - occurred in conjunction with this. The following extract provides of one of the examples of serious physical IPV recounted by participants:

‘I lost three babies [because of the violence]. The last one was really traumatic for me because… he beat me on purpose so that I lost the baby. [When] I tried to run away he beat me on my face and he actually tried to pull my eyes out. He broke my eye socket…it was terrible.’ (Interview 39, April 2016).

The full list of injuries sustained by participants in our study is provided in Table 7. The most common injuries were bruises or black eyes but several participants had sustained very serious injuries, in- cluding broken and fractured bones, head injuries, stab and burn wounds, and internal injuries as a result of physical IPV.

However, while 54% of participants had sustained physical injuries serious enough to require medical attention only 32% had received it. Participants reported that they had not sought medical attention for

Table 6 Experiences of physical IPV.

Experience NI study EU FRA survey

Slapped 41% (26/63) 13% Pushed or shoved 37% (23/63) 16% Tried to suffocate, choke or strangle 25% (16/63) 4% Beaten with a fist or hard object, or kicked 22% (14/63) 7% Hard object thrown at them 11% (7/63) 7% Grabbed or pulled by the hair 10% (6/63) 8% Beaten head against something 8% (5/63) 4% Burned 5% (3/63) 1% Cut, stabbed or shot 5% (3/63) 1% Sustained injuries requiring medical treatment 54% (34/63) –

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broken bones, fractured eye sockets and stab wounds with some ad- ministering their own treatment to wounds:

‘He stabbed me twice in the back of the legs with a knife but I covered [it] up. Interviewer: Did you ever seek medical attention?

Respondent: No, never. For those wounds I just got paper stitches and done it myself.’ (Interview 40, May 2016).

Comparing the foregoing findings to those from the EU FRA survey, the most interesting observation is that there is a high level of similarity between the studies. Specifically, all experiences of physical IPV re- corded by our study are also recorded by the EU FRA study and with the exception of being suffocated, choked or strangled (more prominent in our study10) these experiences are similarly ranked in terms of their prevalence. These commonalities and in particular the fact that physical IPV stands out as the only dimension of IPV for which the EU FRA survey captured all of the experiences reported by our participants suggests that physical IPV is the dimension of IPV best understood by the EU FRA survey. This is hardly surprising in light of the aforemen- tioned research and policy focus on physical IPV over other dimensions of IPV.

Sexual IPV

Research shows that sexual IPV is often not recognised, including by those who experience it and this is particularly pronounced with respect to those experiences of sexual IPV which do not conform to prosecu- table crimes (Logan et al., 2007; Walby and Allen, 2004). Our findings

support this by highlighting the discrepancy between reports by parti- cipants that they had experienced sexual IPV (51%) and that they had

consented to sexual activity against their will due to fear of what might happen (71%). The main experiences of sexual IPV are set out in Table 8:

The most prevalent experience of sexual IPV for our study was consenting to sexual activity against one's will due to fear of what might happen otherwise, that generally being a partner becoming physically or psychologically violent and/or forcing intercourse:

‘My second child had just been born and I was in that time when you're not supposed to have sex and I didn't want to have sex, [but] …he started choking me and…accusing me [of] sleeping with somebody else, so I had no other choice and from that time on I knew if I refused sex there would be a problem so even if I didn't want to I did it.’ (Interview 34 April 2016).

‘I was afraid to refuse sex because I knew if I refused then he would beat me in front of the children. So to protect them I would have obliged him’ (Interview 27, March 2016).

These extracts show how ‘consent’ as typically understood can be rendered meaningless where fear and a power imbalance characterise a relationship, as is often the case in the IPV relationships. This is im- portant as it challenges the view that sexual activity is only forced if it is physically forced. These findings suggest that a greater understanding of this issue is needed, as are measures to address it.

Forty six per cent of participants reported that their partner had forced sexual intercourse and 49% that they had attempted to force intercourse. This means that almost half of participants had been raped (in legal terms) by their partner. This proportion is striking as official statistics for the same year in Northern Ireland recorded just over 200 rape offences with a domestic abuse motivation compared to 13,933 domestic abuse crimes (PSNI, 2018). Our findings suggest that rape in IPV relationships is much more common than these statistics suggest. One likely explanation for this from our findings is a lack of recognition that forced intercourse within a relationship is rape; many participants in our study did not recognise forced intercourse by their partner as rape and specifically spoke about how they viewed intercourse, con- sensual or not, as compulsory and part of their ‘duty’ as a wife/girl- friend:

‘I would have just let him away with whatever because I was mar- ried to him and when you're married that's your duty. [Only later did] it sort of click with me that I was being raped.’ (Interview 26, March 2016).

“I woke up and he was inside [me], and I was like ‘get off, what are you doing?’ He [said] ‘I'm your husband, you're my wife, I can do what I want to you’. It could've been rape and I wouldn't have known it was rape - that's being truthful” (Interview 1, February 2016).

A final experience of sexual IPV reported by 14% of participants was violent sexual activity. The main examples of this were where a violent partner choked, hit or was physically aggressive towards a partner during intercourse and/or where they inserted foreign objects into their vagina and/or anus:

Table 7 Injuries sustained from physical violence for the Northern Ireland study.

Injury NI

Bruises/black eye 51% (32/63) Throat/neck injuries from choking/strangling 22% (14/63) Broken bones 16% (10/63) Hair pulled out 10% (6/63) Head injuries 8% (5/63) Stab wounds 5% (3/63) Miscarriage/damaged baby 5% (3/63) Burns (including with bleach) 5% (3/63) Knocked unconscious 3% (2/63) Bruised bones 3% (2/63) Internal (vaginal) injuries 3% (2/63) Split lip 3% (2/63) Internal bleeding 3% (2/63) Fractured bones 3% (2/63) Fractured eye socket 3% (2/63) Loss of teeth 2% (1/63)

Table 8 Experiences of sexual IPV.

Experience NI study EU FRA survey

Consented to sexual activity against will because afraid of what might happen otherwise 71% (45/63) 5% Attempted forced sexual intercourse 49% (31/63) 4% Forced sexual intercourse 46% (29/63) 4% Violent sexual activity 14% (9/63) –

10 Being suffocated, choked or strangled was ranked as the third most pre- valent experience of physical IPV in our study compared to the seventh for the EU FRA study.

J.L. Doyle Women's Studies International Forum 80 (2020) 102370

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‘He would be aggressive having sex…. strangling [me], slapping me a lot, biting me…It was so painful…He used to tie me up and it didn't feel safe…I hate those things but I didn't feel I had a choice.’ (Interview 31, April 2016).

‘He… put things in places where….bottles and…he made me [have] anal sex a lot as well….he would have forced me to do that.’ (Interview 44, May 2016).

Participants often found it particularly difficult to discuss these experiences and several initially responded in the negative to this question only to disclose at the end of the interview. These observations are important as they suggest that several participants may have chosen not to disclose violent sexual activity despite experiencing it and thus that the prevalence of this issue may be higher than these figures imply.

Comparing our findings with those from the EU FRA survey we can see that while the prevalence of sexual IPV was quite high for our study (51%), only a small minority of participants (7%) in the EU FRA survey reported it. One possible explanation for this concerns the difference in the methodologies used as research has shown that qualitative methods often have an advantage over quantitative methods when it comes to eliciting sensitive information and researching issues which are not well understood/recognised, both categories into which sexual IPV falls (Corbin et al., 2015). A second observation is that the EU survey does not incorporate a key experience of sexual IPV, namely violent sexual activity. Omitting this means that the EU FRA survey essentially over- looked what according to our participants was a particularly traumatic aspect of IPV. This also has obvious implications for the accuracy of EU FRA prevalence figures on sexual IPV overall. One key issue on which the studies do agree is that consenting to sexual activity against ones will due to fear of a partner is the most prevalent experience of sexual IPV; a finding which again highlights the necessity of addressing this issue in policy and practice.

Conclusion

Drawing on qualitative empirical evidence from Northern Ireland, this article sought to advance our understanding of women's experi- ences of IPV in relation to psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence. The findings to emerge are important because they are based on one of the only qualitative studies to consider all four dimensions of IPV together and because they elucidate issues not usually documented in research. Our study represents the first comprehensive study on IPV in Northern Ireland since 1993 and therefore represents a unique con- tribution to local knowledge. While not discussed here, the findings are in many ways unique to the local context as they show how socio-po- litical, cultural and economic factors in Northern Ireland shape victim/ survivors experiences of IPV.11 These factors include the influence of the violent conflict, the transition from conflict to peaceful political settlement and religious and conservative social attitudes in Northern Ireland. However, the findings also challenge and contribute to the wider knowledge on IPV in important ways. The findings on psycho- logical and economic IPV in particular challenge the view that physical IPV is the most serious dimension of IPV; a view which is most clearly reflected in the overwhelming focus on physical IPV in research and policy. Recently, a body of literature has emerged which contends this and shows that other forms of IPV have more serious and longer lasting implications for physical and mental health than physical IPV (Al- Modallal, 2012; Matheson et al., 2015; Naughton et al., 2017). Our research supports this literature by showing that psychological IPV in particular is often viewed as ‘worse’ than physical IPV by victim/sur- vivors. Although not discussed here, our research also shows that non-

physical forms of IPV have longer term consequences for victim/sur- vivors' (self-appraised) physical and mental health than physical IPV (see Doyle and McWilliams, 2018).

The results on economic and sexual IPV challenge subnational (EU FRA) and national (NICS) survey findings which suggest that economic and sexual IPV are uncommon. Indeed, the results from Northern Ireland show that economic IPV is highly prevalent and for our sample more common than physical IPV and that sexual violence is common within IPV relationships. These findings support and add to an emer- ging body of literature which records similar trends, although much more research is needed here (Gibbs, Dunkle and Jewkes 2018; Stylianou's, 2018; Sanders, 2015; Logan et al., 2007; Walby and Allen, 2004). Our findings also reveal the high level of stigma that surrounds sexual IPV, one consequence of which is that sexual IPV is often not identified even by those who experience it. In practice, this likely means that sexual IPV was under-reported even for our sample. Although not discussed in the context of this article, the conservative social attitudes which pervade in Northern Ireland are likely influential here.12

Our study also draws attention to the value of qualitative research into experiences of IPV. To date, most research on experiences of IPV has been quantitative in methodology. Our qualitative findings add detail to these quantitative studies and expand upon their findings by adding nuance to experiences of IPV recorded in these studies and also by recording new experiences of IPV which are not detailed by them. For instance, our findings show how prevalent aspects of psychological and physical IPV can be carried out by a perpetrator in a way that masks these acts as instances of IPV and several key experiences of psychological, economic and sexual IPV reported by our participants are not documented in survey studies.

The foregoing has several important implications for future research and the development of policy. First, they highlight the value of qua- litative research for providing detail on and enhancing our under- standing of key experiences of IPV. This is important because compre- hensive qualitative studies of victim/survivor experiences of IPV have been quite scarce relative to quantitative studies. Thus one potentially valuable avenue for future research is qualitative studies on this issue. It would be particularly beneficial if other European countries were to serve as case studies for this as that would provide a point of compas- sion for both the EU FRA and our Northern Ireland study findings. Second, the findings highlight the prevalence and extent of psycholo- gical, economic and sexual IPV and call attention to current imbalance in research, policy and service provision whereby physical but not psychological, sexual and in particular economic IPV are addressed. Another valuable avenue for future research thus concerns the conduct of empirical studies on these dimensions of IPV. From a policy per- spective, this information would be extremely beneficial to the creation of evidence-based policies to address these dimensions. Without un- derstanding and addressing these dimensions of IPV we will surely fail victim/survivors.

Limitations of the research

While it is important not to detract from the status of the research as one of the most comprehensive qualitative empirical studies with victim/survivors of IPV conducted to date, the following six limitations can be identified. First, while a sample size of 63 is considered large for a qualitative study13 and care was taken to include participants from a range of different backgrounds, the study is obviously not generalisable in the same way a quantitative study would be. Second, the study fo- cuses only on women's experiences of IPV and therefore the findings are

11 These issues are discussed at length in Doyle and McWilliams (2020) and Doyle and McWilliams (2018).

12 See Doyle and McWilliams (2018) for a discussion of the influence of social attitudes on IPV in Northern Ireland.

13 Mason (2010) found that the median sample size of qualitative studies is 20 to 30.

J.L. Doyle Women's Studies International Forum 80 (2020) 102370

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not generalisable to men. As discussed previously, this decision was taken in order to maintain methodological consistency with the EU FRA study. IPV is also now recognised as gender-based violence, requiring a gender cognisant understanding. Third, no LGB&T women could be recruited for the study14 and this means that the experiences of these women are not included in the study. Fourth, as Women's Aid partnered the study and recruited participants through their services only women who had sought support from Women's Aid were included. The decision to recruit participants only through Women's Aid was nonetheless taken as they were uniquely positioned to provide women using their services with fully qualified support and ongoing support. Fifth, given the sen- sitive topic being discussed some participants were reluctant to disclose information on the record and there were several instances in which valuable information was given but not permitted to be included in research findings. It should also be acknowledged that for these same reasons participants' may have withheld information during interview.

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to Professor Monica McWilliams, Ulster University, who conducted this research with me. Thank you also to Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland who partnered the research and to the 63 women who participated in the study.

Funding

This publication is an output of the Political Settlement Research Programme funded by UK Aid from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing coun- tries. The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of DFID.

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  • Experiences of intimate partner violence: The role of psychological, economic, physical and sexual violence
    • Introduction and literature review
    • Methodology
      • Sampling and participants
      • Materials and procedure
    • Results
      • Types of IPV experienced
      • Psychological IPV
      • Economic IPV
      • Physical IPV
      • Sexual IPV
    • Conclusion
    • Limitations of the research
    • Acknowledgements
    • mk:H1_15
    • Funding
    • mk:H1_17
    • References

Articles/EconomicJusticeProjectProfile.pdf

3605 Vartan Way, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17110 • 800-537-2238 • TTY: 800-553-2508

Program and Practice Profiles

Economic Justice Project

2 of 7Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project - www.dvevidenceproject.org

OVERVIEW OF THE DV EVIDENCE PROJECT

Increasingly, domestic violence programs are being asked to learn more about, contribute to, and describe

how they are engaging in evidence-based and evidence-informed practices. Funders, policymakers,

researchers, and advocates themselves are more interested today in what evidence exists that a particular

intervention or prevention strategy is making a positive difference for survivors, or is meeting the outcomes

it was designed to achieve. With this information, domestic violence programs can better secure continued

support for proven programs and practices, and can more easily identify, develop, and/or adapt innovative or

exemplary approaches from other communities.

To respond to this new emphasis on evidence-based and

evidence-informed practice, the National Resource Center

on Domestic Violence (NRCDV), with support and direction

from the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program

at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

engaged in a two–pronged approach. First, evidence was

collected and synthesized from published, empirical research

studies. Second, in recognition that controlled research studies are not the only form of evidence to consider

in determining program effectiveness (Puddy & Wilkins, 2011; Schorr & Farrow, 2011), the project also

identified where emerging and promising evidence exists that specific programs and practices are effectively

addressing complex social problems in community settings.

The community practices and programs profiled have been identified by at least one peer as being innovative

and noteworthy and have gathered some level of field evidence to examine their effectiveness. What these

program evaluations may lack in traditional methodological rigor they more than make up for with “ecological

validity”, or the extent to which their findings accurately reflect real-world concerns and successes.

The overall goal of the NRCDV’s DV Evidence Project is to combine what we know from research, evaluation,

practice and theory to inform critical decision-making by domestic violence programs and allied organizations.

This Program and Practice Profile should be viewed as one important piece of information to consider, but

its inclusion in the registry does not necessarily reflect an endorsement by either the NRCDV or the Family

Violence Prevention and Services Program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

which provided funding for this project. Further, there are many innovative and exciting programs occurring

throughout the country. The project website (www.dvevidenceproject.org) provides a sample, but not

an exhaustive list, of these practices and programs, as well as related conceptual frameworks, research

summaries and other tools.

“In one field after another, we are

learning that so much of the most

promising work in addressing the most

intractable social problems is complex,

multifaceted, and evolving.”

Schorr & Farrow, 2011; p. 22

3 of 7Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project - www.dvevidenceproject.org

PROGRAM PROFILE: ECONOMIC JUSTICE PROJECT

Brief Description: The Economic Justice Project (EJP) provides three main programs to survivors of intimate partner violence that support their ability to attain economic stability. The EJP offers women the opportunity to participate in two matched-saving programs called the Classic IDA (federally funded) and Car IDA (privately funded). Both of these programs help survivors save for valuable assets like post-secondary education, a first home, small business expenses, or transportation. EJP also provides IDA participants an opportunity to build their credit through a microloan program. Survivors work closely with a trained advocate to create and meet financial goals (e.g., build a credit score) and receive continued support in attaining economic self-sufficiency.

Program Description

Program Goals The goal of the Economic Justice Project (EJP) is to foster economic independence and self-sufficiency among survivors of intimate partner abuse. The EJP provides survivors an opportunity to participate in three main program components: the Classic IDA program, the Car IDA program, and the microloan program. IDA stands for an Individual Development Account, which is a matched savings account.

Program Origins This project was started in 2004 by the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA), in collaboration with 15 partner programs. To date, KDVA is the sole domestic violence coalition receiving a federal IDA grant through the Assets for Independence program of the Office for Community Services. In 2008, the microloan program was created to continue to support women building or repairing credit in a manageable and useful way.

Program Components

Women are recruited into EJP through trained case managers at one of the member programs. If they agree to participate, women receive individualized, case-management services with trained economic justice advocates. The relationship with the EJ advocates is vital to the success of this project. There is one EJ advocate for each member organization. The advocates’ level of engagement within the organization depends on the community members who reach out to the shelter for economic advocacy. An EJ advocate meets with women, provides case management, and offers women various tools and strategies related to financial wellness such as creating budgets. The EJ advocate works with women as they participate in one of the three components of the EJ project: Classic IDA, Car IDA, or the microloan program.

Classic (Federal) IDA program: The Classic IDA program is a four-to-one matched savings program. Women who save up to $1000 are able to receive an additional $4000, for a maximum of $5000 total. Women must save a minimum of a $20 a month to the IDA for at least six months while receiving case management services and participating in financial education opportunities. Once a participant has met program requirements and is ready to make an asset purchase, savings and matching funds are used toward the purchase.

4 of 7Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project - www.dvevidenceproject.org

Program Components

Women are provided information by advocates about the federal IDA program if they are currently receiving case management services through the organization. The screening process differs at each member program, but all applications are approved by program coordinators at KDVA. To be eligible, the woman’s household income must be at 200% or less than the federal poverty level, cannot have net worth more than $10,000, and the applicant must have earned income. Once approved, women then open an account at a participating community bank. EJ advocates pull a credit report for each woman and use it as a road map to set and accomplish financial goals for their time in the program. After 6 to 12 months, advocates request the woman’s credit report again to check for accuracy and evaluate progress.

Women can miss up to three deposits into their IDA account. After 3 missed payments, they usually withdraw from the program, or they go on a “respite” from the program for 6 months. This break allows women to reestablish themselves financially. If women are still unable to continue to make deposits after 6 months, they are removed from the program and can withdraw their savings or convert their accounts to regular savings accounts. They no longer have access to matching funds.

Car IDA program: The Car IDA program follows the same model as the federal IDA program, but it is not federally funded. It is a one-to-one matched savings program and women can save up to $2000 and receive $2000 in matching funds. It is considered a building block to build eligibility and strong savings habits for the federally funded IDA program. The program came to fruition after advocates told KDVA that the regular IDA program was too financially ambitious for many of their clients. The car ID program was also a better fit for women’s needs and allows participants to purchase automobiles. Funds can be used for down payment, full payment, and/or for automobile insurance.

To qualify for a Car IDA, applicants should have a household income less than 200% of the federal poverty guideline, must save a minimum of $20/month, stay enrolled a minimum of 6 months but no more than 2 years, attend regular case management meetings focused on financial education, and participate in a one-time course on how to purchase a car and take care of it (Car Maintenance 101). After a woman is approved for the car IDA program, she will open an account at a community bank in partnership with KDVA. While she saves for a vehicle, she is participating in case management, and meeting regularly with an advocate. Most women save for approximately a year. Before buying the car, KDVA requests an Edmonds.com report and a Carfax to check that the car has not been in a major accident and is being offered for a reasonable price. Women in the car IDA program can be immediately enrolled for the federal IDA if they meet the qualifications, but they cannot be enrolled in two IDAs at the same time.

Microloan: The microloan program allows survivors who have IDAs to take out small, zero-interest loans that safely build consumer credit and help them avoid the use of payday lenders. These microloans can be used to cover necessary expenses or to engage in entrepreneurial efforts. In order to take out a microloan, women have to have an IDA to serve as collateral. Women can borrow anywhere from $200 to $2000.

5 of 7Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project - www.dvevidenceproject.org

Program Components

There are no restrictions for what women can take out loans for and, typically, women have used the money for car repairs or to pay off debts. KDVA has a loan pool that they use to provide women with loans, but every time a woman makes a payment it is reported to the credit bureau to help build women’s credit. If women miss 3 payments, then KDVA will pull money from IDA and pay off the remainder of the loan. A missed payment is also reported to the credit bureau.

Target Population

The EJP is specifically designed for survivors of intimate partner violence both in urban and rural settings who are beyond the crisis stage of their healing and who are willing and able to save $20 a month to reach a larger financial goal. Some of the organizations that KDVA partners with on the IDA program work with other at-risk populations such as women recovering from substance abuse or lower-income rural Appalachian residents.

Target Setting The 15 member programs that are part of the EJP are located in diverse geographical areas in the state of Kentucky. However, KDVA has found that implementation is easier in urban areas due to feasibility of service delivery and fewer economic barriers.

Practice Evidence

Evaluation Methods

EJP documents: (1) the number of women who created a financial plan and met desired goals from that plan: (2) the number of times women open new car and federal IDAs; (3) the number of women who received a copy of their credit score; (4) the number of women who increased their credit score by 50 points or more; (5) the number of women who made regular deposits to their IDAs; and (6) how IDA savings are spent (e.g., purchase a home, save for school, buy a car, start a business, etc).

Evaluation Outcomes

The primary goal of this program is to help survivors become more economically self- sufficient. After participating in the IDA program, it is expected that women will be less reliant on public assistance, and will have increased knowledge around financial planning, using the banking system, and using mainstream financial products. They will also hopefully not be victimized by predatory services like payday lenders. It is further hoped that women will have an emergency savings account.

In the short term, the EJP is interested in getting women into a regular case management routine, opening up an IDA, building credit through the microloan program, and having women complete taxes. In the long term, the EJP is interested in seeing women make a large purchase such as a down payment on a home, a car, or paying for school. Credit score should also increase, and women could possibly continue to save by opening up a second federal IDA.

Since its beginning, women have made 265 asset purchases, 120 became first-time home buyers, 114 pursued a higher education, 30 purchased cars, 7 established a credit score, 18 women increased their credit score by 50 points or more, 11 women increased their credit scores by 100 points or more, 82 women took out microloans, and 31 started or expanded small businesses.

6 of 7Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project - www.dvevidenceproject.org

Evaluation Outcomes

There are also unanticipated outcomes that are beneficial for all involved. For example, many of the trainings provide advocates with skills that transfer to women during case management. This helps member programs broaden the kinds of services that they provide to all women. It also helps advocates provide economically informed case management in all aspects of their work. Many of the programs have staff members who have participated in the IDA program and can benefit from the information and actively apply it to their own lives.

Organizational Readiness & Future Implementation

Practice Cost The total cost of this program is approximately $800,000 annually. This amount covers the microloan pool, matching funds, annual programming, credit reports, and support staff at the association. Americorps and VISTA volunteers are a good way to alleviate some of the cost of the program. In some programs, VISTA service members are the main EJ advocates for the organization, and with other member programs, Americorps/VISTA volunteers support the main EJ advocate

Preferred Language

There is not a preferred language for this program.

Training Requirements

Advocates across the 15 member programs are trained annually in a 2-day workshop. The training is expansive and covers the necessary information that advocates will need to answer women’s financial questions and support their financial progress. Advocates learn how to read a credit report, and teach a financial class. KDVA also refers advocates and helps them apply for scholarships to trainings offered nationally by the Assets for Independence Program and NeighborWorks America. KDVA is sometimes able to assist with some travel costs.

Planning Requirements/ Readiness Considerations

Organizations interested in adopting a model like the Economic Justice Project should have the capacity to sustain the program for an extended period. The organization should have a case manager that can spend one afternoon every two weeks with women. KDVA recommends that domestic violence organizations try to find an IDA program in their state or community and develop a partnership. The EJP is successful because there are relationships with community partners and because each of the member programs utilizes resources in its community. Urban and rural areas are included in the EJP in Kentucky; however, rural domestic violence organizations in a small, impoverished area might find it more difficult to reach out and sustain women in the IDA programs due to a variety of barriers faced by both the participants and the agencies. EJP also seems to works well with agencies that have strong non-residential outreach programs, and would be a good fit for any organization that has a transitional or permanent housing component to their organization.

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Caveats/Cautions Raising funds for the project has been easier than building capacity within organizations, particularly around staff turnover. The IDA program funded by Assets for Independence requires that grantees raise non-federal match funds equal to the federal matching funds received for the program, and this can be a challenge.

It is also difficult to sustain women’s participation as they are already low-income due to larger social barriers and intersecting life issues such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and/or immigration barriers. Programs should plan and design their IDA around the complexity of women’s lives.

Training Tools Organizational training tools available for download and through PPTs.

Supplemental Materials & Additional Resources

Assets for Independence Resource Center: http://www.idaresources.org/ page?pageid=a047000000Bmr7F

AFI Serving Domestic Violence Survivors Toolkit: http://www.idaresources.org/page?pageid=a047000000Bmr7F

Contact Information:

Mary O’Doherty Kentucky Domestic Violence Association 111 Darby Shire Circle Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: 02.209.5382 Fax: 502.226.5382 Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.kdva.org

© Copyright 2012. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. All rights reserved

Notice of Federal Funding and Federal Disclaimer. The production and dissemination of this publication was made possible by Grant # 90EV0734-05 and # 90EV0410-02 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, Family Violence Prevention and Services Program. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Distribution Rights. This DV Evidence Project paper may be reprinted in its

entirety or excerpted with proper acknowledgement to the author(s) and the

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, but may not be altered or

sold for profit.

Suggested Citation. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. (2012,

October). Program and Practice Profiles: Economic Justice Project, Harrisburg, PA: National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Retrieved month/day

year, from: http://www.dvevidenceproject.org

Articles/Eriksson & Ulmestig, 2021, It's not all about the money - financial abuse and VAW.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517743547

Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2021, Vol. 36(3-4) NP1625 –1651NP

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Original Research

“It’s Not All About Money”: Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding of Financial Abuse in the Context of VAW

Marie Eriksson1 and Rickard Ulmestig1

Abstract Men’s violence against women (VAW) is multifaceted and complex. Besides physical, psychological, and sexual violence, women subjected to VAW often suffer from economic hardship and financial abuse. Financial abuse involves different tactics used to exercise power and gain control over partners. Experiences of financial abuse make it difficult for women to leave an abusive partner and become self-sufficient. From an intersectional perspective, applying the concept of the continuum of violence, the aim of this article is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how women subjected to men’s violence in intimate relationships experience the complexity of financial abuse in their lives, in the context of VAW. Based on 19 in-depth interviews with women surviving domestic violence, the study describes how intertwined women’s experiences of financial abuse are with other forms of abuse, influencing each other, simultaneously experienced as a distinct form of abuse with severe and longstanding consequences. Women in the study describe how men’s abuse affects them financially, causing poverty and affecting their ability to have a reasonable economic standard. Financial abuse also causes women ill health, and damages their self-esteem and ability to work, associate, and engage in social life. The interviewed women describe

1Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

Corresponding Author: Marie Eriksson, Department of Social Work, Linnaeus University, Växjö 341 95, Sweden. Email: [email protected]

743547 JIVXXXXXX10.1177/088626051774354710.1177/0886260517743547Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceEriksson and Ulmestig research-article20172017

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how experiences of financial abuse continue across time, from their past into their present situation and molding beliefs about the future. According to the interviews, financial abuse in private life sometimes continues into the public sphere, reproduced by social workers mimicking patterns of ex- partners’ abuse. Bringing out a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic continuum of financial abuse, our results deepen knowledge about the complexity of VAW in women’s lives, and thereby are important in processes of making victims of violence survivors of violence.

Keywords men’s violence against women in intimate relationships, VAW, domestic violence, financial abuse, continuum of violence, intersectional perspectives

Introduction

In the context of men’s violence against women in intimate relationships (VAW), financial abuse occurs when men “control and limit women’s access to, and use of, money” (Branigan, 2004, p. 11). Financial abuse is one impor- tant tool in exercising power and gaining control over a partner, depriving her of financial resources to fulfill her basic needs, diminish her ability to live independently and deter her from leaving or ending the relationship (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barnett, 2000; Branigan, 2004; Chronister, 2007; Green, 2014; Hughes, Bolis, Fries, & Finigan, 2015; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Sung, 2012; Purvin, 2007). Financial abuse and the economic hardship that follows can also force women who are its victims to return, sometimes risking their lives (Haeseler, 2013a; Purvin, 2007; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). According to Stylianou, Mathisen, Postmus, and McMahon (2013), many studies of VAW neglect financial abuse or make it invisible when describing it as a form of psychological abuse. One explanation for this negligence could be that early radical feminist researchers on VAW focused on sexuality and the body, with little interest in financial exploitation as a dimension of women’s subordina- tion—in contrast to their Marxist and socialist sisters (Gemzöe, 2002). Branigan (2004) puts forward another interpretation, arguing that economic abuse can remain unseen because of an ideology of marriage and money that presumes that partners—men and women—have the same interests and share financial resources for the common good. Näsman and Fernqvist (2015) argue that scholars’ unwillingness to connect financial vulnerability and gen- der-based violence can be understood in the light of a feminist critique of socioeconomic explanations that dominate the research on financial

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vulnerability and to some degree disregard gender. Consequently research on financial abuse in the context of VAW is still limited. Most studies on the subject are from the United States and Australia, based on a quantitative approach. Hence, to deepen our knowledge, we argue it is relevant to explore the relationship between financial abuse, its different forms, and other forms of abuse by using qualitative methods and by focusing on other welfare contexts.

Sweden, one of the Nordic welfare states and the context of this study, is often perceived as a haven of gender equality, with small socioeconomic dif- ferences and an inclusive and strong welfare state (see Borchorst, 2012; Hakovirta, Kuivalainen, & Rantalaiho, 2013). Sweden has also adopted strong legislative intent to prevent VAW and to support victims of crime (Ljungwald, 2011; Peters, 2006). For example, the Social Service Act includes a particular section on municipalities’ responsibility to support vic- tims of crime, especially women and children who are victims of men’s vio- lence in intimate relationships (Social Service Act, 2000, 5§ 11 cap). Yet some critics argue the legislation is mainly symbolic (Elman, 2001; Ljungwald, 2011). However, Sweden ranks high in international compari- sons on many aspects of gender equality (Global Gender Gap Report, 2015) and the level of women’s participation in paid work is among the highest in the world (Harsløf & Ulmestig, 2013). The socioeconomic differences among the population used to be low, but are now getting closer to an average European level (see Fritzell, Bäckman, & Rotakallio, 2012).

Like other forms of VAW, financial abuse is characterized by a repeated pattern of abuse, embedded in “a continuum of control and coercion,” some- times as extreme as the term “surveillance” implies (Branigan, 2004, pp. 23-24). Liz Kelly developed the concept continuum of violence to understand the complexity in abused women’s experiences of violence, which did not neatly fit into the ordinary categories used by researchers or the judicial sys- tem (Kelly, 1988, 2012). Using the concept of continuum of violence, the aim of this article is to understand financial abuse, by analyzing women’s experi- ences of financial abuse in relation to other forms of VAW. Are financial abuse and other forms of VAW related, and how? Is financial vulnerability among survivors of VAW linked to other forms of vulnerability? If so, can their situation be understood as a continuum? If so, then how?

Literature Review

As research on VAW has shown, women’s experiences of violence in intimate relationships are complex, involving physical, psychological, sexual, emo- tional, and financial abuse—often related, co-occurring in their lives,

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reinforcing each other (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Kelly, 1988, 2012; Lundgren, Heimer, Westerstrand, & Kalliokoski, 2001; Postmus et al., 2012; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). Nevertheless, scholars argue that financial abuse is also a specific form of abuse, which comprises characteristics distinct from other forms of VAW (Adams et al., 2008; Branigan, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012).

In a pioneering study, Adams et al. (2008) concluded that financial abuse is when the offender in different ways interferes with the victim’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources. Related to how financial abuse interferes with abused women’s ability to acquire financial resources, schol- ars have, for example, explored how men’s violence affects their partners’ employment and capacity to work or study, and thus their ability to earn an income and be self-sufficient (Moe & Bell, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012; Riger, Ahrens, & Blickenstaff, 2000; Riger & Staggs, 2005; Swanberg, Macke, & Logan, 2006; Tolman & Raphael, 2000). Tactics or strategies of financial abuse can, for example, include withholding of earnings or information about finances, constraining involvement in paid work, and limiting the control of money or financial decisions, creating debt or ruining credit, stealing, and destroying property (Branigan, 2004; Postmus et al., 2012; Sanders, 2015; Stylianou et al., 2013; Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005).

Exploring the correlation between different forms of VAW, Stylianou et al. (2013) found that 75% of women in their study who suffered from physical and/or psychological abuse from a male partner also experienced financial abuse. This supports the results of Postmus et al. (2012), who also found a strong correlation between financial abuse and other forms of abuse in analy- ses of VAW. Branigan’s (2004) study shows that women’s experiences of financial abuse are similar to other forms of abuse by being both “a contin- uum of control and coercion,” and “a repeated pattern of abuse, rather than isolated incidents.” Furthermore, studies have shown that financial abuse also can work as a risk factor in women’s lives, increasing their vulnerability to other forms of violence or having consequences such as physical violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, HIV, drug usage, and other criminal activities (Fawole, 2008; Haeseler, 2013b). As Sanders’s (2015) results demonstrate, financial issues are frequently “an impetus” to other forms of abuse in the context of VAW, including physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.

According to Kelly (2012), the meaning of her concept continuum of vio- lence most commonly referred to derives from the original definition of the term, emphasizing that it is “‘a basic common character that underlies many different events’—that the many forms of intimate intrusion, coercion, abuse and assault [are] connected” (preface, p. xviii). Less used is another definition of the concept pointing out that “the categories used to name and distinguish

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forms of violence . . . in research, law or policy, shade into and out of one another” (Kelly, 2012, preface, p. xviii). In line with Kelly, then, one argument for applying the concept of continuum in analyses of women’s experiences of financial abuse is that it is still a challenge to explore the meaning of the con- tinuum and how women’s—and men’s—lived experiences of violence are intertwined—when constructed as distinct categories in law and policy (Kelly, 2012).

Building on Kelly’s continuum of violence, other feminist scholars have pointed out the importance of what they call a “comprehensive” interpreta- tion of violence, in avoiding a fragmented view that tends to trivialize or ignore some forms of violence, making them invisible as actions of vio- lence (Lundgren et al., 2001; Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005). From this feminist position, we want to argue that financial abuse is a distinct form of VAW, yet sometimes entwined with its other forms. In a study on financial abuse, Sanders shows how women’s experiences of VAW are related—for example, by describing how conflicts over financial issues often escalate into other abusive acts. Yet, without applying the concept continuum of violence, it appears implicit when Sanders concludes that “women’s access to financial resources is often restricted, monitored or completely con- trolled by an abusive partner” (Sanders, 2015, p. 23). Sanders’s results strengthen our argument that the concept of continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012) can be fruitful to apply also in analyses of financial abuse, to achieve a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of VAW (Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005).

The opportunities women have to leave abusive men, be self-sufficient, and live a life free from violence are not only related to their individual resources but also depend on society’s welfare system (e.g., Gordon, 2002). Today’s Sweden is a mature welfare state with welfare systems that are well developed by international standards (Harsløf & Ulmestig, 2013; Kvist, Fritzell, Hvinden, & Kangas, 2012). A general conclusion has been that the Nordic institutional welfare model has enabled women to strengthen their social and economic position in society. Still, feminist researchers have been more critical and pessimistic about its potential to form a “women-friendly state,” arguing that it reproduces a new form of patriarchy with changed structures of inequality rather than bringing real gender equality (e.g., Hirdman, 2003; Siim, 1990).

Concerning VAW, Swedish legal reform has gradually been improved to protect women from men’s violence, but the process has also been character- ized by a continuous questioning of gender-specific legislation, worries about rule of law, and a conservative defense of (men’s right to) privacy in family life (Wendt Höjer, 2002). In Sweden today, men’s VAW is officially recognized as

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a political problem, a prioritized subject in policies on gender equality, and considered as one consequence of unequal gender-based power. Still, in prac- tice, many politicians and officials look upon the problem as social, not politi- cal, thus abdicating from their legal responsibility for all inhabitants in the municipality (Holmberg & Bender, 2001, 2003). Consequently, women suffer from men’s violence and its long-term negative financial consequences also in a Swedish context (Lövgren, 2014; Näsman & Fernqvist, 2015; Trygged, Hedlund, & Kåreholt, 2013).

Method

This study is based on 19 interviews conducted with women in three Swedish municipalities of different size and character. These in-depth interviews (see Irvine, 2011; Lucas, 2014) were semistructured, and lasted about 1 hr and sometimes a bit longer. Two of the interviewed women were recruited through ads in local newspapers and 17 of them via contact with women’s shelters. Most of the interviews were conducted at a women’s shelter, but in a separate and private space. In three of the interviews, women were accompanied by their small babies. One of the interviews was performed via telephone and another one where an interpreter translated via telephone.

Notable is that all the interviews were conducted in Swedish—including the one that involved an interpreter—but are presented here in English. Such processes of translation inevitably involve the risk distorting meanings and nuances in language. To reduce such risks, we have continuously reflected upon nuances and meanings in translating the interviews, including the engagement of a professional translator, native English, who has lived in Sweden for a long time.

All the interviewed women had left a relationship with a violent male partner between 1 month and 7 years before. In most cases, the breakup was less than 18 months ago. The women were aged 25 to 55, and 18 of them had children, most of whom lived together with their mothers at the time of the interviews. A majority of the women had a small, fragile personal network, for example, with friends and family. With a few exceptions, the women interviewed were working-class according to their education, socioeconomic background, and position on the labor market. Eight were born abroad, three were born in Sweden with parents born abroad, and eight were born in Sweden with Swedish-born parents.

When the women were interviewed about the financial consequences of breaking up from a violent male partner, they also described experiences of financial abuse, its different aspects, consequences, and associations with other forms of abuse. Loaded with feelings such as anger, sadness, anxiety,

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and relief, the interviews often became emotional, and affected both the inter- viewer and the woman interviewed. When the participants were informed about the study, all of them said they had someone to turn to after the inter- view if in need of support. Nevertheless, written information handed over to the participants included information on how to contact local women shelters.

Applying the concepts of the continuum of violence and intersectional- ity to our interviews on financial abuse, we have worked out an analysis based on a reflective approach (see Alvesson, 2003; Alvesson, Hardy, & Harley, 2008). This analytical approach can be described as a process where the researchers alternate between the empirical data, earlier research, and theory. More precisely, the analytical process already began with the transcription of each interview, followed by close readings of the material where the researchers also alternated between analytical proximity and distance. Then empirical themes were identified and analyzed in a reflec- tive dialogue involving the researcher, existing research, and the empirical evidence—a method inspired by Alvesson and Kärreman (2007). In the readings, certain themes were immediately evident, while others appeared after a more in-depth analysis. Overall, this approach helps to meet the complexities of the interview material, by allowing different understand- ings, meanings, and categories to emerge (Alvesson, 2003; Alvesson et al., 2008). It also encourages researchers to distance themselves from earlier research and biases. By using this structured data analysis strategy, we aim to reflect on our own understandings, and problematize our positions, min- imizing the negative effects on the analysis. This mode of analysis attaches great importance to earlier research and the extensive literature review motivated by a need to put our results in a context of what we already know about financial abuse. However, presenting our material with refer- ence to long summaries from the interviews instead of more but shorter quotations is due to our theoretical position and the importance we attri- bute to giving voice to survivors’ experiences in our study.

Based on the ethical principles of the humanities and social sciences (Swedish Research Council, 2005), the study was granted permission by the Regional Board of Ethics of research involving humans in Linköping (No. 2012/396/31). When trying to get access to the field, we brought written information about the research project, including ethical reflections on risks involved for participating informants, for example, the risk of bringing repressed memories and experiences of abuse to the surface. To resolve this, we stated that a female researcher with theoretical and practical knowledge of domestic violence conducted the interviews with the survivors, well prepared to give them further support if needed.

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Theoretical Frame: Continuum of Violence and Intersectionality

From an integrated and comprehensive feminist interpretation of violence, violence as a continuum means that there are no sharp boundaries between different forms of abuse. Controlling acts, insults, threats, and verbal, psy- chological, physical, and sexual abuse are not understood as distinctly separated categories, but as interconnected acts and manifestations with blurred boundaries, reinforcing each other—influencing the abused woman in negative ways (Kelly, 2012; Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005). The con- cept also brings a perspective where violence can be analyzed as a process, and in a wider context, emphasizing the intersections between different violent acts and behaviors—and their consequences—placing serious criminalized physical acts of violence on the same sliding scale as legiti- mate and accepted forms of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012). A continuum perspective on VAW also influences our ethical position as researchers, understanding that “all forms of gender-based violence are serious, but all forms of violence are not ‘the same’” (Lundgren & Westerstrand, 2005, p. 493, our translation).

Lynn Segal (1990) has argued that the concept of continuum blurs bound- aries too much, without a differentiation between men and violence—making all men guilty and making violence an inherent essence of masculinity. In a comment on Segal’s critique, Kelly contends that it is clichéd, and involves a misconception that a radical feminist like her cannot share a social construc- tivist epistemology (Kelly, 2012). Another criticism of Kelly’s concept has questioned why certain forms of violence, such as honor-based violence and female genital mutilation/cutting, are excluded. According to Kelly, this lack of intersectional aspects of women’s experiences of violence in her develop- ment of the concept does not prevent such practices from being included (Kelly, 2012).

With the aim of underscoring the “multidimensionality” of abused wom- en’s lived experiences, Kimberlé Crenshaw (1993) coined the concept inter- sectionality. Focusing on domestic violence and rape, she showed that systems of race, gender, and class converged in the experiences of battered women of color. From an intersectional perspective (see Bograd, 2010; Crenshaw, 1993; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010), we want to acknowledge that though men’s VAW is a universal problem, neither gender nor violence are universal categories. Women—and men—have specific experiences, inter- ests, and needs depending on how they are situated and positioned in relation to categories and power asymmetries such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, civil status, and so on.

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Thus, women subjected to financial abuse experience the abuse and its consequences in different ways, not only because of their gender but also because of their class position, ethnicity, age, and so on. Worth noting here is that the welfare state has mainly developed to financially equalize power relations based on class, not gender (see Fraser, 1998).

Result and Discussion

This section starts with an analysis of how financial abuse relates to other forms of abuse in the context of VAW, and how the interviewed survivors experience this. Following on from that is a section on how financial abuse, as described by the survivors, also can be understood as a distinct form of abuse. Finally, there is an analysis of how women’s experiences of financial abuse relates to financial vulnerability.

Financial Abuse From a Continuum Perspective

From our interviews, it is evident that financial abuse is connected to and intertwined with other forms of abuse in women’s lives. Analyzing wom- en’s experiences of financial abuse from a continuum perspective and with a comprehensive understanding of violence makes visible how, for exam- ple, the physical violence the women have been subjected to is intertwined with financial abuse, or the ways in which men’s violence has affected their financial situation. The financial consequences of having a relation- ship with an abusive man vary but can be far-reaching and continue across time, into the future, thus reducing women’s financial ability and their possibility to empower themselves. Margaret is one example. She is a 57-year-old, well-educated and “settled” woman with three children. Margaret has also experienced psychological, physical, and sexual abuse from their father, her ex-husband. When describing him, she says he is well established in the local community, and has a good economy, which he uses to fight her in court.

As with several women in our study, Margaret has become poor within the relationship. Now she has to pay lawyers to get custody of her children and thereby be free from the ties to her violent ex-husband. Asked about the con- sequences of her new financial situation, she says,

My financial situation also means that I will never get into a new relationship, I can’t imagine myself, I don’t initiate contacts, I reject invitations, it prevents me from having a relation to anyone whatsoever, I can’t afford it, to go out, to go anywhere, I can’t afford to have a coffee, I have nothing to offer.

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Illustrating how financial abuse can be exercised through social institu- tions with endless custody cases as an example, Margaret’s story fits well with research that shows how abusive men use courts to harass their victims, and how having an economic advantage makes their strategy even more effective (Morrow, Hankivsky, & Varcoe, 2004). Margaret’s experiences also reveal that financial abuse in the context of VAW can continue long after the relationship has ended; how the consequences of financial abuse still confine and circumscribe her possibilities to engage in social relations, prevent her from taking new contacts and dash her hope for a future relationship. Many of men’s various tactics of financial abuse not only undermine women’s financial independence, but also their freedom of mobility and association. Thus, it is also an abuse causing isolation, that sometimes ends up in a depres- sion that decreases the abused woman’s self-esteem, and further adds to her isolation, victimization, and difficulties in leaving the perpetrator (Green, 2014).

Another example of how financial abuse circumscribes social life we get from Annie, who describes how becoming poor has disqualified her from both arranging and being invited to dinners and birthday parties, because her middle-class neighborhood requires a standard she “no longer can match.” Financial ability is important and a prerequisite for full participation in soci- ety (Cheng, 2012; Chronister, 2007), just as women’s freedom from violence and fear of violence is essential for democracy and citizenship (Wendt Höjer, 2002). Some women interviewed tell of how experiences of shame can com- plicate social relations and participation in society—both the shame of being subjected to violence, and the shame of being poor or unable to afford things. According to Denise, shame of being poor arises not only in contact with welfare authorities, when asking for financial support, but also when she is out and her friends pay for her, well aware she cannot pay back: “You’re ashamed, avoiding [social situations] . . . you always take, without giving back, it’s not good.” Mira’s story of being subjected to a husband’s violence, and to poverty—as a consequence of his financial abuse—exposes how dif- ferent forms of abuse intersect, sometimes with long-lasting and considerable effects on the self: “I don’t forget this shame, how awful . . . each time you get smaller and smaller and lose your self-esteem and self-confidence.” Shame can also be a consequence of men’s conscious humiliation related to financial abuse. Lea, another woman interviewed, tells of her husband: “[he] often bought clothes for himself, sometimes quite expensive.” But to “humil- iate her,” he did not allow her to buy anything for herself, but forced her to wear worn and damaged clothes. Experiences of shame also appear in other abused women’s stories, sometimes conveying a double shame that is a two- fold effect of financial abuse, originating from experiences of being a victim

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of abuse and from being poor. Feelings of shame can be long-lasting, just as the precarious financial situation that many survivors of VAW suffer from often continues long after the breakup—due to the high costs of divorce, large debts, health problems, difficulties in housing, keeping a job, and so on (Branigan, 2004; Green, 2014; Haeseler, 2013b; Lindhorst, Oxford, & Gillmore, 2007).

Lisa is an example of how emotional fragility as an effect of VAW can have an impact on victims’ possibilities to get employed, and how their unemployment can be intertwined with partners’ desire for power and con- trol. A woman in her twenties with a 6-month-old baby, staying at a women’s shelter, Lisa describes how multifaceted her former boyfriend’s financial abuse was. Among other tactics he used was employment sabotage, including harassing her at work by endless calls and a constant nagging demanding her to be at home, serving him, instead of working. As an effect of her partner’s abuse, Lisa is still unemployed, more than a year after breaking up from him. At the time of the interview, she was on parental leave, taking care of her baby. When thinking of going back to work, Lisa says, “I am afraid it will be difficult.” She questions how to be able to handle smells and sounds that remind her of her abusive partner. She also explains how experiences of her boyfriend’s abuse and threats from his family make it difficult for her to be in public places at all, especially if there are many men, and if they look at her. An incident like that recently happened, that made her panic and rush away. Asked about her present financial situation, she concludes, “Now I am more dependent on social benefits than ever before, because I have become very much damaged.” Discussing her experiences of abuse, and how they have affected her, Lisa says,

The physical violence is not that hard, actually. The wounds disappear, the psychological lasts for years, many, many years . . . and every time you see a bill . . . it will immediately remind you of your past life, what you want to put behind you.

Lisa’s story reveals how experiences of men’s physical VAW in intimate relationships can be intertwined with psychological and financial abuse, and mutually affect women’s mental health for a long time. Hence, cumulative vulnerability and victimization as a consequence of VAW hinder women from managing a job and becoming self-sufficient (Cocker et al., 2002; Lindhorst et al., 2007).

For related reasons, Ellen (008), who has a protected identity because of death threats from her ex-husband, explains that her situation makes it diffi- cult to find a suitable job that does not reveal her identity. Diagnosed with

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posttraumatic stress disorder as a consequence of being abused further com- plicates her chances of getting a job, together with ignorance among welfare officers not taking her position as a victim of crime seriously. Women sub- jected to VAW often have higher absence from work because of men’s vio- lence (see Adams, Tolman, Bybee, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2012; Brandwein & Filiano, 2000). Accordingly, the difficulties in finding and keeping a job make abused women dependent on welfare (Adams et al., 2008; Roschelle, 2008). In a Swedish study, Trygged et al. (2013) conclude that the abused women in their sample had a lower education and a weaker financial position, even before they were assaulted, compared with the women in the sample who had not been assaulted. Yet, the results also show that all the abused women in the sample (no matter what their education level) who received hospital treatment for injuries caused by a male partner’s assault also were at greatly increased risk of having low incomes and of being in need of welfare support.

The stories of survivors that appear in our material offer support for a feminist understanding of violence, suggesting that abusive men exercise power and control over women also by means of financial exploitation and control (Adams et al., 2008; Branigan, 2004; Sanders, 2015). Karin, a woman in her fifties, who had suffered from psychological and financial abuse, but now is divorced from the perpetrator, gives her picture saying, “For him I don’t think it was so much about the money, but more about breaking me down.” Applying the concept of continuum of violence (Kelly, 1988, 2012) to the survivors’ experiences helps us understand how different forms of vio- lence coexist and reinforce each other—“shade into and out of one another in complex ways” (Kelly, 2012, p. xviii)—turning physical and psychological violence into financial abuse with far-reaching consequences. The women interviewed give several examples of how violence works as a continuum in their lives, across time and place, and how these intertwined experiences of abuse mold a cumulative vulnerability (Scott-Storey, 2011). In a longer per- spective, disrupted employment records can result in abused women’s diffi- culties in getting work, earning a living, and establishing financial independence (Lambert & Firestone, 2000; Roschelle, 2008; Tolman & Raphael, 2000).

Financial Abuse as a Distinct Form of Abuse

In the United States, the pioneering research of Adams et al. (2008) and Stylianou et al. (2013) has yielded interesting results, making important con- tributions to the conceptualization of financial abuse by showing that it is a specific form of abuse, moderately correlated to the other forms, and

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therefore should be treated as a distinct construct. Some research in the field of VAW considers financial abuse as a distinct form of abuse, at the same time trying to conceptualize financial abuse vis-à-vis other forms of abuse women suffer from in relationships with men (Kim, 2015; Sanders, 2015). Parallel to this emerging field of research, the United Nations has conceptual- ized financial abuse as a distinct form of abuse when discussing indicators of VAW (UNSTATS, 2010). Yet, when concluding that the low social and finan- cial status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of financial abuse, they do not discuss it as a distinct theme in their report (UNSTATS, 2010).

As mentioned, financial abuse can affect women’s chances of finding work. In the following, Anna’s story brings evidence of how this form of abuse can be understood as a distinct form of VAW. Anna, who is a well- educated middle-class woman in her fifties, describes the complexity of financial abuse and how it has affected her. Asked about how her financial situation was at the time of her relationship, Anna says it was very good. She had just sold an apartment and was financially independent. However, as she had her own company where she received most of her orders through her ex- partners’ contacts, she was still dependent on him for her income.

Anna’s business was successful for many years. Asked about how the rela- tion to her partner developed, Anna describes how his violent behavior started with him “pushing her down,” complaining she did not do her job, and claim- ing she was not capable of running a business. The ex-partner’s harassment continued and ended up in two incidents when he assaulted her. Then he and Anna separated, and she moved from the house they owned together. After the separation, they no longer worked together. The number of assignments declined, and when Anna did not manage to run her business anymore, her savings soon ended. She says, “He was kicking at my skills and that was what provided my living.”

When her partner refused to pay the mortgage on the house, Anna thought she had no other option but to move back and stay with him until they man- aged to sell the house—which turned out to be difficult. After another inci- dent when he pressed a glass in her face, Anna moved again. During a period, she had to pay for the house, for long journeys to work and her rent. Anna’s savings then declined further. Now she says that her savings are gone, and she supports herself on a temporary employment.

Anna’s experiences are an example of how VAW and financial abuse can result in loss of professional self-confidence, work opportunities, income, and material belongings. Her story supports previous research findings and fits well into the concept of “employment sabotage,” a form of financial abuse defined by Stylianou et al. (2013). Women frequently speak of being

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subjected to different forms of employment sabotage in our material. Roschelle (2008) has found that a common tactic among abusive men is to harass their victims and their colleagues at work, putting victims’ jobs at risk. That is how Ellen lost her job. Repeatedly harassed at work by her ex-partner, her boss finally told her she had to quit. Maria, employed in home-care ser- vice, also had to resign from her job because of fear of her violent ex-partner who lived in the same area where she worked. Men’s employment sabotage can be long term, determining a woman’s entire professional life. In Mira’s case, it was a constant feature in her marriage to a violent husband, lasting more than 20 years:

When we moved to [a city] I immediately got a job, worked there a couple of years . . . it was jealousy, everyday life was very difficult, it was hard all the time, he prevented me from working and studying . . . he became worse and worse, he wanted me at home, I was expected to take care of him.

Women subjected to violence report difficulties in concentrating at work and having poor attendance at the workplace as an effect of being abused— which puts their jobs at risk (Adams et al., 2012). Conversely, Chronister (2007) argues that women with social and psychiatric problems seem to be more vulnerable to domestic violence because of their problems getting access to the labor market. As we have seen, Anna’s partner used the house mortgage as a tool to threaten her financial independence, and a device to make her more dependent on him, forcing her to move back to him. However, shortly afterward, he was beating her and she moved out again. Physically abused, Anna was forced into a situation that increased her expenses—and her vulnerability—when having to pay double rents, buy new furniture, increased expenses for travels, and so on. Altogether, Anna is an example of how financial abuse has its own character and consequences, sometimes independently of other forms of abuse, sometimes intertwined.

Intersections of Financial Vulnerability

In our analysis, we link the concept of continuum of violence to an intersec- tional perspective, recognizing that structural forms of oppression—such as men’s VAW—intersect not only with gender but also with structures such as class, race, ethnicity, functioning, sexuality, age, and civil status (e.g., Hetling, 2011; Hughes et al., 2015; Keskinen, 2011; Lindhorst et al., 2007; Mays, 2006; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). In recent years, researchers have criticized simplistic analyses of domestic violence, challenging stereotyped notions of battered women tainted by sexism, racism, and classism (Bograd,

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2010; Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Mays, 2006; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). For example, Donna Cocker shows how an unstated norm for battered women as White and nonpoor is constructed when policy or law neglects the relation between poverty and violence, and ignores racialized differences in battered women’s experiences. Consequently, abused women’s needs are constructed as primarily psychological rather than material (Cocker, 2010). Toni tells another story.

Toni is a 24-year-old woman born in an African country who has lived in Sweden for 3 years. After fleeing an abusive husband, she is now isolated from friends and family. When asked whether there is anyone who can help her to get financial support, she says, “There is no one. My mother got no money; they are really poor in [an African country].” Toni has two children. One of them is newborn and the child of her abusive ex-husband. From our interviews, we conclude that lack of family support and other social networks makes women even more dependent on welfare and sometimes women’s shelters become their only support system—that lend them money, offer clothes and food, give advocacy support, and so forth.

Toni was forced into a marriage with a man known to her family. He turned out to be an alcoholic and subjected her to different forms of violence, for example, physical and financial abuse. During their marriage, her hus- band was unemployed; they lived on social assistance and were in constant need of money. Toni’s husband borrowed money from friends, and he owed them money for buying him alcohol. Toni was trying to manage on the small income she received from state parental benefits. She also tried to save small amounts without affording anything for herself and hardly anything for her children. About her husband’s financial abuse, she says,

He borrowed money all the time. When we had a little money he took everything and paid back to the people he owed money. I . . . we did not have so much money. I had a little account for savings in the bank. All the time he said to me: “Go fetch the money!” “Go fetch the money!” . . . But there was only a little money. I have brought some money to the bank. I go and I leave some money there. All the time [her husband says]: “Go fetch the money!” I mean there is only a little money in the bank. You know it is from the parental benefit and my child benefit. I only had one child before. I just use the money to buy food and go shopping to eat, nothing else.

Toni says she is stressed because her family of origin now is in conflict with her ex-husband’s family. Her ex-husband also stresses her by being drunk when he spends time with the children, using his visitation rights. Toni feels that she does not get any support from the social services when com- plaining about her situation, and she does not understand the rules.

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Nevertheless, the problem is not about Toni’s ability to understand. Rather, as Purvin (2007) argues, it is a policy failure when women “are not being informed of potential policy options that might have protected them or helped them leave an abusive situation” (p. 202). As with other women in our study, Toni’s story gives evidence of how men’s financial abuse deprives women of essential resources and housing (Branigan, 2004; Sanders, 2015). Toni has hardly any furniture in her apartment because she had to move hurriedly, and only managed to bring the TV and some basic clothes for her and the chil- dren. Nevertheless, Toni says she is better off financially after the separation than before. Similar paradoxical experiences are expressed by other women in our study, describing both experiences of the exploiting and damaging effects of financial abuse—making them poor, vulnerable, and dependent— and simultaneously feelings of relief, control, and self-esteem, being rehabili- tated as capable economic subjects in charge of their own (yet poor) finances.

Tina, for example, who has to live on social assistance after escaping a violent partner, explains that she is better off now—despite being poor—than before, when her partner was stealing her money: “[I]f I had lived with him, and had a full-time-job, he would have been taking all my money.” Similar experiences are expressed by Fia, a 26-year-old woman with three small chil- dren, recently separated from their violent father who is addicted to gam- bling. She describes a financial situation filled with stress, where she has to pay a large amount of her monthly income for many years to come, because of the debt her husband has left her with. Nevertheless, Fia also expresses feelings of relief and of getting control:

I know what I get every month . . . it’s my money . . . I make a budget for every month so I know I can save money if I don’t get anything from the unemployment insurance.

Yet the situation for financially abused women can be complex and ambiv- alent. Sanders concludes that abusive men may continue to interfere even when their partners are gaining more financial resources and financial inde- pendence. Consequently, women are vulnerable to abuse “not only when their resources are low and their dependence high” (Sanders, 2015, p. 23). Studying a family context, Näsman et al. (2015) found that women experi- enced men’s ongoing financial abuse also after separation. For example, fathers refused to pay for their children, sabotaged women’s possibilities to receive welfare support, and delayed maintenance payments (Branigan, 2004; Bruno, 2016; Näsman et al., 2015). Taken together, problems in earn- ing money and a lack of financial resources—as consequences of VAW— make it difficult for women to start over and establish a household and an

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economy of their own (Branigan, 2004; Strand Hutchinson & Weeks, 2004; Sanders, 2015). As in Sanders’s (2015) research, our material gives many examples of women who do not lack subjective agency when being subjected to financial abuse, but rather resist and respond to it in different ways. Toni, who both openly refused to obey her husband’s demands to make withdraw- als from her bank account, and secretly continued to save money even when the amounts were negligible and put under constant pressure from him, is just one example.

The continuum of violence does not mean that financial abuse continues across time forever, without ending, but rather emphasizes that it seldom ceases to exist when the abusive relationship ends. Then financial abuse in the context of VAW can lead to a feminization of poverty within relationships that continues into abused women’s future, with material as well as social and psychological consequences.

Whether the women in our study who are looking for work will find employment or not depends very much on their educational background. The Swedish labor market is characterized by high unemployment among unskilled workers, immigrants, and young people (SCB, 2014). Women earn- ing high wages also have greater significance for a family’s overall financial situation and are therefore “allowed” by husbands/partners to be financially active and gain experience in the labor market (Anderberg & Rainer, 2012). Class position also plays a role in how education can lead to a higher-paid job, greater life opportunities, and the ability to take charge of one’s financial situation (Postmus et al., 2012). This makes class a further issue, both during the relationship with an abusive partner and after leaving him.

Despite the fact that VAW exists in all socioeconomic classes, and women share experiences of financial hardship in relations with abusive men, studies have shown that poverty is a high predictive risk factor, making poor women especially vulnerable to men’s violence in intimate relationships (Bassuk, Dawson, & Huntington, 2006; Tolman & Raphael, 2000). For example, women in low-paid jobs are less prone to break up from relationships to abu- sive men (Gelles, 1976), and when abused women do not have their own income or access to financial resources, their dependency increases and it becomes more difficult to leave (Sullivan, 1991; Weis et al., 2005). Being on welfare can be an additional risk factor. Research by Kurz (1998) shows that divorced women on welfare experience higher rates of male partner violence than any other group, and the poorer the woman is, the more serious is the violence she is subjected to. Many abused women feel they have no other choice than to return to abusive men, so as to make financial ends meet, while other women cannot even afford to leave (Weis et al., 2005). Nevertheless, our empirical findings support earlier research showing that irrespective of

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socioeconomic background, financial hardship and financial dependency are major motivations for women enduring in relationships with violent men (Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barnett, 2000; Purvin, 2007). How a financial situation—caused by an abusive man—can hinder women from leaving in other ways, is evident in Lea’s story. She says she was never afraid of leaving her husband because of fear of not managing financially on her own. Still, their financial situation and ideas about the importance of a stable economy for a happy marriage gave her “false hopes” of a better relationship to her husband and kept her from breaking up, thinking,

If we only get a little better finances, we can do things together, and then he may feel a bit better too, and become who he was in the beginning of our relationship . . . our first year . . . he was a very nice person . . . you always had a hope it would be better if only the economic situation improved.

Conclusion

The theoretical framework in this study builds upon feminist theories of vio- lence and gender. Therefore, we use the concept “men’s violence against women” (VAW) and regard the gender relation as a relation of power where women structurally are socially and culturally subordinate to men. Consequently, gender inequality is considered a primary reason for the exis- tence of VAW, and VAW to be one way (of many others) to maintain, repro- duce, and restore the societal gender order (Hearn, 1998; Walby, 2002). Our results support feminist theory, suggesting that financial abuse in its different forms involves tactics and strategies for men to control women, curtailing their freedom and subjectivity. Financial abuse involves a repeated pattern of men controlling and limiting women’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources (Adams et al., 2008) with long-term effects such as pov- erty, ill health, and dependence for them and their children (Branigan, 2004).

Financial abuse occurs and is experienced along a continuumof different types of financial abuse, categorized as economic control, employement sab- otage and economic exploitation (Postmus et al., 2012, p. 418). Often it is intertwined with other forms of violence such as sexual, physical, and psy- chological, and continuing over time. However, the continuum of violence does not mean that the financial abuse lasts forever, but reveals that it seldom ceases to exist when the relationship ends. Financial abuse and its effects can continue for a long time, into women’s future, and shape it with material as well as social, psychological, and medical consequences.

The focus in the article has been on financial abuse. Nevertheless, despite the fact that financial abuse appears as a distinct category of violence in

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women’s narratives of men’s violence, all the women in our study, besides being subjected to financial abuse, have also been exposed to other forms of men’s abuse and control. From the interviews, it is also evident how financial abuse and other forms of violence are intrinsically interdependent and mutu- ally reinforcing in women’s lives. Hence, our results support feminist theory showing that financial abuse in its different forms and interactions involves tactics and strategies for men to control women, curtailing their freedom and subjectivity (Branigan, 2004). Nevertheless, and in accordance with Sanders (2015), our results also demonstrate that women, despite their experiences of financial abuse, did not lack subjective agency, but also responded to and resisted financial abuse in different ways. We argue that financial abuse is connected to other forms of abuse and that this understanding gives the pos- sibility for a comprehensive understanding of VAW and different strategies used by abusive men. However, financial abuse is also a distinct form of abuse with its own characteristics, affecting women and children. Still, finan- cial abuse is widely underrecognized both in research and in society, making further research and policy necessary.

The survivors in our study described how the financial exploitation and control they have been subjected to affect their ability to achieve a reasonable standard of living both during the relationship and long after the relationship had ended. Furthermore, their narratives are intertwined with other power relations than gender, showing that structures such as class and ethnicity also influence the effects and women’s experiences of financial abuse. In the interviews, women expressed experiences of being denied agency and sub- jectivity by men controlling and limiting their access to and use of financial resources in intimate relationships. Ending the relationship seldom stopped the financial abuse or its consequences, making it a form of abuse “to be continued.” This finding is supported by earlier research (see Branigan, 2004; Green, 2014; Postmus et al., 2012; Stylianou et al., 2013).

Men’s VAW is a universal problem, existing in all levels, arenas, and social classes in society. Nevertheless, as critics of a universalistic approach have argued, women are differently positioned or situated, in relation to structures such as class, ethnicity, sexuality, and so on and therefore have both varied experiences of abuse and diverse needs of help and support (Crenshaw, 1993; Kandaswamy, 2010; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010; Weis et al, 2005). Applying intersectionality as a theoretical perspective means that we have analyzed financial abuse and financial dimensions of VAW as a com- plex social and political problem, not only based on gender inequality but also linked to other forms of oppression and vulnerabilities that intersect with gender and sexism (Chronister, 2007; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010). Theoretically, this brings to the fore a need to reflect on universality in

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relation to intersectionality and to move toward a “multiple gender” theory that recognizes differences both between genders and within genders (Connell, 1987; Crenshaw, 1993; Sokoloff & Dupont, 2010).

As earlier research has shown, our results suggests that financial abuse con- tinues not only across time but also across space—from the private sphere into the public. For example there is research showing how state bureaucracies and their institutional practices and procedures mimic and support the perpetuation of men’s financial abuse—although often unconsciously (Branigan, 2004; Ulmestig & Eriksson, 2016). Survivors of VAW are also confronted with a lack of respect from social services, including “mind games,” extreme rudeness, and caseworkers “talking down” to them (Laakso & Drevdahl, 2006). We argue that the concept of continuum of violence can also be applied to these findings to highlight how women’s experiences of financial abuse in intimate relation- ships, in the private sphere, are inextricably intertwined with aspects of finan- cial abuse they experience in the public sphere, when confronting state bureaucracies. Analyses of financial abuse showing that the dichotomy between the public and private spheres is false (Branigan, 2004) further strengthen our suggestion to apply the concept of continuum of violence. As our model dem- onstrates (Figure 1), a continuum perspective on financial abuse can help us understand how different forms of financial abuse and different types of vio- lence intersect and are intertwined in women’s experiences of VAW, how finan- cial abuse has a continuum across time—and does not end with separation. Finally, we show how women’s experiences of financial abuse also are charac- terized by continuity across space, and work as a continuum between private and public spheres, different arenas and practices.

The study has its limitations, especially due to its limited numbers of inter- views. However, the quality or impact of qualitative research should not be judged by its numbers but on the quality of the data and the analysis. Generalizing results, building on 19 interviews and from a specific context, is of course difficult but the study still adds cumulatively and theoretically to our understanding of women’s experiences on financial abuse and VAW. To deepen that knowledge, and to enable comparative analyses, there is a need for more research, for example qualitative analyses of financial abuse, how social welfare institutions handle it, and how women survivors of VAW in different welfare contexts experience it.

The women in our study live in a country with, by international standards, a generous welfare state, a high level of formal gender equality, and relatively strong legal protection for victims of VAW. Regardless of whether the women interviewed have separated from their abusive partner or not, the financial abuse they have experienced most likely continues. To stop financial abuse—and other forms of VAW—and find sustainable solutions to the problem we argue that a

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more comprehensive understanding of VAW and financial abuse is necessary. Our results make financial abuse visible also in generous welfare states and help researchers as well as social workers to see and act on the abuse. By unveiling the complexity in women’s experiences of financial abuse, we think that the distinction between financial abuse and nonabuse can be questioned and policy makers can be offered a tool to understand that financial abuse is a distinct form of abuse, but not separated from women’s experiences of other forms of abuse.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figure 1. A model for a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of how different forms of financial abuse are intertwined in women’s lives, together with other forms of VAW, and how it continues across time and across different spheres/institutions. Note. VAW = violence against women.

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Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research project has been funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority [Brottsoffermyndigheten] (Grant number 47210012).

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Author Biographies

Marie Eriksson is a senior lecturer in social work at Linnaeus University, Sweden. She has a PhD in history, and her thesis is about marital discord and men’s violence against women in 19th-century Sweden. Her main research interest revolves around gender and violence—both in present and past times. At present, she is involved in a research project on financial abuse in the context of men’s violence against women. Together with Richard Ulmestig, she has recently published an article “Financial Consequences of Leaving Violent Men: Women Survivors of Domestic Violence and the Social Assistance System in Sweden” in European Journal of Social Work. In another research project, she is studying different forms of women’s violence in the 19th- and 20th-century Sweden.

Rickard Ulmestig is a senior lecturer in social work at Linnaeus University, Sweden. His main research interest is in policy change and organizational change within the welfare state. He has published several studies within labor market policy, social assistance, and the specific welfare policy in the Nordic countries. He has, together with Ivan Harslöf, edited Changing Social Risks and Social Policy Responses in the Nordic Welfare States (Palgrave). He has lately started to study financial aspects on domestic violence and how these are handled by survivors of domestic violence and by the welfare state.

Articles/Financial-Capability-and-Domestic-Violence.pdf

Page 1 of 4

This brief begins with a broad overview of

the economic challenges survivors of

domestic violence face. It then highlights

early research on enhancing survivors’

financial capability. The brief concludes with

takeaways from leading researchers and

practitioners as well as a list of curricula and

other resources.

Economic Status and Domestic Violence

Women’s economic status is linked to

domestic violence in three primary ways.

First, although domestic violence occurs

across socioeconomic classes, poorer women

are more likely to be survivors of domestic

abuse than wealthier women, both due to

contextual (e.g. neighborhood) and

individual (e.g. male employment instability)

factors. Second, women who are

economically dependent on their abusers are

less able to leave and more likely to return to

abusive partners. Further, the degree of

women’s economic dependence on an abuser

is associated with the severity of the abuse

they suffer. Greater economic dependence is

associated with more severe abuse. Third,

economic abuse is in itself a form of

domestic abuse since abusive partners may

act in ways that harm women financially and

undermine their ability to become financially

independent. Examples of economic abuse

include limiting women’s access to funds and

undermining their ability to gain employment

or attend school (This discussion is drawn

from Weaver et al., 2009; please see their

article for more specific citations).

Given the centrality of financial matters to

domestic violence, advocates have

increasingly made financial capability a

component of domestic violence

interventions. Importantly, as Sanders

(2011) emphasizes, efforts to enhance

domestic violence survivors’ financial

capability must always be approached with

safety issues in mind.

Research on Financial Capability Building Interventions for Survivors

Research on financial capability building

interventions and domestic violence is in its

infancy. Although the relationship between

women’s economic status and domestic

violence is well established, research is far

less clear on the effects of policies and

programs designed to enhance survivors’

financial capability. To give readers a sense

of what research does exist in this area, the

following paragraphs highlight two studies

conducted by leading researchers in this

field.

Sanders, Weaver, and Schnabel (2007)

evaluated a financial education program

delivered in two battered women's shelters.

Women in two similar shelters were tracked

as a comparison group. The program

consisted of four three-hour sessions that

focused on money and power, developing a

cost-of-living plan, building and repairing

credit, and banking and investing. Although

the program sought to provide general

financial education, it also dealt with topics

specific to domestic violence. The pre- and

post-tests consisted of a 35-item

questionnaire, with the post-test

administered two weeks after the final class.

The comparison group's mean score did not

change from pre- to post-test, with the

treatment group's mean score increasing by

4.5%. Overall, this study provides

preliminary evidence that financial education

for survivors of domestic violence leads to

improvements in financial literacy and other

measures including self-efficacy, but more

research is needed on longer-term outcomes.

Another study evaluated the All State

Foundation’s Moving Ahead Through Financial

Management curriculum, which was

specifically developed for survivors of

domestic violence. In the final report on the

study’s exploratory phase, Postmus (2010)

Page 2 of 4

found that 96 percent of respondents

“agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the

curriculum was useful, more than one-half

referred to the curriculum when they had a

question, 88 percent had set financial goals,

three quarters had created a budget, nearly

25 percent started a retirement account, and

about two-thirds reported looking up their

credit history. Because this study is

descriptive in nature (meaning there is no

comparison group) and the outcomes are

self-reported, some caution is needed in

interpreting these overwhelmingly positive

findings. Nevertheless, these findings

indicate that participants valued the financial

education program and thought highly of the

Moving Ahead curriculum. Ongoing research

on this intervention is focused on longer-

term outcomes.

Takeaways for Policy and Practice

In May 2011, the UW-Madison Center for

Financial Security, U.S. Department of the

Treasury, and U.S. Social Security

Administration cohosted the Exploring the

Intersection between Financial Capability and

Domestic Violence workshop in Washington,

DC. The event brought together leading

researchers, practitioners, and policy

makers. The workshop generated several

important takeaways for policy and practice,

as summarized by Gjertson (2010). These

takeaways include:

1. Interventions must always remain

mindful of safety concerns.

2. Strategies must meet short-term

economic needs and support long-

term financial stability in order to

increase women’s ability to leave and

stay away from an abuser.

3. Programs should be designed with

expectations that are realistic given

the myriad of challenges faced by

survivors of domestic violence.

4. Domestic violence services offered in

shelters are characterized by short-

term relationships in a chaotic

environment, whereas financial

education and skill-building programs

are typically time intensive and

extend over many months.

Interventions offered in shelters need

to be adapted to the environment.

5. Interventions need to recognize the

extraordinary variation among

survivors of domestic violence and

remain cognizant of the ways that

race, ethnicity, and culture affect the

victim’s experience. Being responsive

to diversity includes identifying and

capitalizing on the strengths and

resources of different individuals and

populations.

6. Advocates need to collaborate more

closely with agencies that provide

affordable housing.

7. Building capacities within communities

and workplaces to provide services

such as child care and check cashing

at affordable prices would support all

low-income families while also

meeting the needs of domestic

violence survivors.

8. Financial education alone is not

enough. Financial institutions may be

key partners to offer affordable

transaction accounts, accessible credit

and other products and services.

There are also opportunities for

tailoring technological financial

innovations to address the needs of

domestic violence survivors.

9. Survivors should be consulted

frequently as interventions are being

developed.

For more information, please visit the

websites listed on the following pages.

Page 3 of 4

Curricula (Know of others? Please contact [email protected])

Moving Ahead through Financial Management.

The Allstate Foundation's Moving Ahead through Financial Management curriculum is a

comprehensive package of tools and information designed to empower survivors of domestic

violence on their path to economic self-sufficiency. The Moving Ahead curriculum is available

free of charge on the All State Foundation’s Click to Empower website in both English and

Spanish. The curriculum is composed of five modules: 1) Understanding Financial Abuse, 2)

Learning Financial Fundamentals, 3) Mastering Credit Basics, 4) Building Financial Foundations,

and 5) Creating Budgeting Strategies. This brief and presentation cover research on the

Moving Ahead curriculum conducted by Professor Judy Postmus of Rutgers University.

Redevelopment Opportunities for Women’s Economic Action Program (REAP).

Redevelopment Opportunities for Women (ROW) of St. Louis offers a comprehensive

curriculum for women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Safety considerations

are integrated throughout the core financial information on budgeting, credit, banking, and

investing. ROW’s own program in St. Louis includes economic education, credit counseling,

individual development accounts, and economic advocacy and support. ROW also runs the

REAP training institute, which trains domestic violence advocates on how to increase the

economic empowerment of women experiencing intimate partner violence. Professor Cynthia

Sanders of Boise State overviews an evaluation of REAP in this brief and presentation.

Hope and Power for Your Personal Finances.

The National Coalition against Domestic Violence offers this curriculum free of charge on its

website.

Personal Economic Planning program (PEP).

The PEP was both developed by and used in a domestic violence shelter and transitional

housing setting. The PEP is used by the Iowa Coalition against Domestic Violence.

Research, Policy, and Practice

National Online Resource Center on Violence against Women (VAWnet).

VAWnet is a comprehensive and easily accessible collection of full-text, searchable materials

and resources on domestic violence, sexual violence, and related issues. VAWnet seeks to use

electronic communication technology to enhance efforts to prevent violence against women

and intervene more effectively when it occurs. The Center’s Economic Justice page includes a

range of resources on financial issues as they relate to domestic violence (for example,

housing, credit, and employment). VAWnet also has a list of resources specific to Asset

Building and Individual Development Accounts.

Page 4 of 4

National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV).

NNEDV’s Economic Justice Project works to strengthen advocates’ financial capabilities to

better assist survivors of domestic violence. The Economic Justice Project includes a “train-the-

trainer” approach to delivering financial literacy lessons to victim advocates. NNEDV uses a

range of outreach methods to inform victim advocates about personal finance tools, resources,

and the most recent research available in the field of financial literacy and capability.

Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA).

Recognizing that a lack of financial stability is one of the biggest deterrents for women who are

considering leaving an abusive relationship, KDVA formed its Economic Justice Project in the

early 2000s. Through a network of member organizations, the Economic Justice Project offers

Individual Development Accounts, free tax-preparation, financial education, and other asset

building services to survivors of domestic violence. In 2011, 48 units of supportive housing for

survivors of domestic violence were opened using tax credits issued by the Kentucky Housing

Corporation.

Exploring the Intersection between Financial Capability and Domestic Violence Research Workshop.

In May 2011, the UW-Madison Center for Financial Security cohosted a research workshop on

domestic violence and financial capability with the Department of the Treasury and Social

Security Administration. The workshop brought together leading researchers, practitioners,

and policy makers for a rich discussion on the intersection of financial capability and domestic

violence over the life course. The workshop’s website includes briefs and presentations by

leading researchers, along with short podcasts with practitioners and researchers. A summary

brief provides an overview of the event.

References

Gjertson, L. M. (2010). Summary of Workshop Proceedings: Exploring the Intersection

between Financial Capability and Domestic Violence. (CFS Issue Brief 2011-5.7). Center

for Financial Security, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Postmus, J. L. (2010). Final Report on the Moving Ahead Through Financial Management

Curriculum. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University School of Social Work Center on

Violence Against Women and Children.

Sanders, C. K. (2011). Asset Building Programs for Domestic Violence Survivors. National

Online Resource Center on Violence against Women.

Sanders, C. K., Weaver, T. L., & Schnabel, M. (2007). Economic Education for Battered

Women. Affilia, 22(3), 240-254.

Weaver, T. L., Sanders, C. K., Campbell, C. L., & Schnabel, M. (2009). Development and

Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of the Domestic Violence—Related Financial Issues

Scale (DV-FI). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(4), 569-585.

The University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX) Cooperative Extension’s mission extends the knowledge and resources of the

University of Wisconsin to people where they live and work. Issue Briefs are an ongoing series of the Family Financial Education Team. This brief was drafted by J. Michael Collins, Assistant Professor in Consumer Finance and Extension State Specialist and

Collin O’Rourke, Outreach Specialist, Center for Financial Security. © 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

Articles/Hamdar, Hejase, Hakim, Le Port, & Baydoun, 2015 economic empowerment of women in Lebanon.pdf

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Economic Empowerment of Women in Lebanon

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World Journal of Social Science Research ISSN 2375-9747 (Print) ISSN 2332-5534 (Online)

Vol. 2, No. 2, 2015 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr

251

Economic Empowerment of Women in Lebanon

Bassam Charif Hamdar1*, Hussin Hejase1, Fadi El-Hakim1, Jessica Antonios Le Port1 & Rebecca

Baydoun1 1 Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics, American University of Science and

Technology, Beirut, Lebanon * Bassam Charif Hamdar, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This research discusses the importance of the economic role of the working woman in Lebanon. It

discusses the revolution of the changing role of the Lebanese woman from being a mother and a wife,

to being an important contributor to the economic growth. It highlights the effective impact of this

changing role on the family stability, following the Lebanese woman integration into the working force

which results in decreasing the dependency on the male partner in providing essential family needs.

Furthermore, this paper tackles the cultural differences among Lebanese women, the ambitions, the

values, and the priorities of Lebanese women. It touches also on the economic empowerment of woman,

who plays a significant role in facilitating the achievement of a higher level of economic welfare.

However, the main focus of this paper is on the socio-economic role of the woman in the global

environment where material needs have become a priority and an ultimate value.

Questions which to be addressed by this paper are: should oriental women devote their lives to

material gains even if it is done at the expense of the family life? How economically important to

promote the women’s role as leaders and managers fully devoted to economic growth and money

earnings? Are working women economically independent?

Keywords

empowerment, Lebanese women, working force, economic welfare, Lebanon

1. Introduction

The integration of women into the labor force has meant less dependence on men, because these women

can take over jobs, earn money and meet the daily needs of life. This integration has widened the

intellectual pool in social, political and economic debate. Not to mention that the appointment of women

in administrative posts shattered myths that the domain of politics and leadership in public sphere is

purely for men (Daily, 2009).

Dealing with the problem of women and economic development, as they take their place in the labor

market, there are a number of issues to which one must research, i.e., pay equity, the “glass ceiling”

principle, work and family balance, and women in a learning society.

Over recent decades, there has been a rapid increase in the number of women entering the workforce.

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252 Published by SCHOLINK INC.

However, in the orient most people continue to believe that a woman’s place is at home, taking care of

the family and managing the domestic world. World War II had brought a complete reversal of this trend

when women were hired to fill the positions of men who were in combat. They had to take jobs in

construction, airplanes, ships, and gun production. They took over the production lines in factories, and

even used to work as nurses, doctors, and radio operators. As a result, many women tried to fight for their

destinies and entered the workforce; they even replaced men’s jobs and showed high levels of

productivity and responsibility in handling such jobs (Standlee, 2010).

Today, women are struggling to show their capabilities and to prove to their partners that they can

survive without even relying financially on them, and they are powerful in aligning their home duties

(being a mother, wife, household organizer) with their jobs (Daily, 2009).

Women’s economic participation and empowerment are fundamental to strengthen women’s rights and

enable them to exert influence on society. Women often face discrimination and persistent gender

inequalities; moreover, some women experience multiple discrimination and exclusion because of

factors such as ethnicity, caste, religion, nationality and gender. Social changes have also contributed to

the rise of women participation in the work force, at the same time, the institution of marriage has

undergone significant changes during recent decades. Marriage was regarded as a community where

harmony was a key element in its stability and continuity. However, when women had entered the

workforce, and had become as much important as men in building the society and the economy, they

have become more ambitious, pursuing higher education, and looking for higher positions to be

financially independent. These trends in turn have contributed to a gender role reversal in the gains from

marriage.

The goal of this paper is then to highlight the effective role of women in increasing their economic

empowerment and the major reasons that brought them to the workforce. The demand for women

participation has increased dramatically after WWII, and the decline of the family income especially

during the depression periods of the1970’s and 1980’s, pressured women to join the workforce to sustain

the family income and protect the family from falling prey to poverty. This had led to the decline of the

traditional form of marriage which forced women to seek higher educational levels, and to obtain more

skills so that they may become more competitive in the work force (Karen, 2001).

Finally, a question remains in order, whether the family responsibilities that are born with women might

constrain their ability to fully achieve their employment ambition.

2. Historical View

The main concern here is the change in the women’s role in society from the traditional roles of being

housewives, mothers or daughters, and from traditionally doing specific work such as teachers,

secretaries, nurses, etc. to essential roles as full partners in the society. This paper follows up on the

Lebanese women struggle to enter the work force as equal to their male partners.

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253 Published by SCHOLINK INC.

2.1 Industrial Revolution

The roots of modern feminism go back to the industrial revolution of 1800. In 1807, U.S. President

Jefferson signed the Embargo Act, which stopped all trade between Europe and America following the

war between Great Britain and America. As a result, importing and exporting stopped between these

continents. In 1814, Francis Cabot Lowell from Boston established the first modern factory, and changed

the way things were done. He hired single women instead of men for being less expensive by accepting

lower salaries for the same jobs. But he faced a real obstacle in convincing the parents of women’s

laborers to permit them to work (Thomas, 1990).

To resolve the problem, he built what was called a boarding community where the women workers lived

and worked together and assured their families that they would be protected and disciplined.

By 1850 most of the country’s goods were made in factories causing a rapid migration of people from the

country to the city especially single women who had no responsibilities except to prevent their families

from falling to poverty.

Then, it became a must for single women to work outside home and many women started delaying

marriage even for longer periods, while others decided to stay single. However, married women in

contrast stayed at home and dedicated their time to raise their children and to take good care of them and

their husbands. In 1900 less than 5.6% of all married women worked in factories (Thomas, 1990).

2.2 Women Struggle to Gain Political Voting Power

In addition to the various opportunities that women were considered for, nevertheless, the greatest

opportunity of all was the American women’s right to vote which was finally guaranteed in 1920, by the

ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This achievement crowned a

movement that went on for more than seventy years. Many debaters foresaw the great change in politics

that women voters could cause.

As a result, many politicians became nervous especially after a number of women’s organizations united

together to form the women’s Joint Congressional Committee that represented 10 million members. This

came after the declaration made by the woman who led the final fight “Carrie Chapman Catt”, claiming

an equal voice with men nothing less (McCulloch, 1929).

2.3 World War I

World War I was a catalyst that changed the life of women; it gave women the opportunity to prove

themselves in a male-dominated society instead of staying at home, and doing their routine jobs. With so

many men volunteering to join the war, there was a large gap in employment and an opportunity for

women to fill it and replace men in their jobs (Karen, 2001).

2.4 The Great Depression

As the unemployment rate during the Great Depression exceeded 25 percent of the work force, women

had to step aside sending their husbands and fathers to work. A large number of wives sought to

participate in the workforce in order to help their families from falling into poverty. But women were

given the jobs that men did not take. So, almost 15% of women were active in the workforce by the

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beginning of the WWII (Feinstein, 2006).

2.5 World War II

Public opinion was generally against the working of married women. The media and the government

started a fierce propaganda and a campaign to change this opinion. The federal government told the

women that victory could not be achieved without their entry into the workforce. Working was

considered part of being a good citizen, and a working wife was a patriotic person (Standlee, 2010).

2.6 Post World War II

World War II marked a turning point to the distribution of economic roles between women and men in

the twentieth century. However, during the 1950s, the mass media promoted an image of family union

that defined the mother's role as central to all domestic activities. So many women went back to look

after their families as housewives. But this situation did not last long since women from lower

economic ranks had to remain in the workforce because of economic necessity. So Many women

returned to work to subsist and help their husbands. A baby boom trend took place during the 1950s.

Women who returned home dedicated their lives once again to their children. But around the same time

an important change had come in the American life. This was the spread of the television. By 1960,

90% of the population owned at least one set. Families would gather around the screen for

entertainment (Feinstein, 2006).

2.7 Today

The majority of women still work at the lower levels of the economic pyramid. Most are employed in

clerical positions, factory work, retail sales, or service jobs. Around 50% of the workforce is female.

While about 78% of all cashiers and 99% of all secretaries today are female, only 31%of managers and

administrators are female. Equality in the workplace has been a mirage but it has conned millions of

women into leaving their homes and destroying the family structure. It was only when economic or

political factors made it necessary to get more workers that women were called to work (Daily Star,

2009).

3. Gender Differentiation and Family Roles

3.1 A Theoretical Perspective on Gender

There are many theories explaining how gender behavior did emerge. Three most important models will

be discussed, including biological, social and cultural, and structural models. Each perspective explains

the causes that lead to different behavior among men and women:

1) The biological model: the development of the biological model is based on the biological differences

between men and women influencing the behavior among them due to differences in the genetic and

physical factors. Traditionally, the brain size was used as the only indicator of intelligence level. It was

assumed that women have smaller brains and so should be less intelligent than the other gender. However,

this assumption was proved to be based on unsubstantiated claims (Mikkola, 2012).

2) The socialization model: it suggests that sexual identity and the differences between women and men

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are acquired by the way humans passed through various stages of development. It recognizes the

differences between men and women that emerged in the process of social and cognitive development

assuming that men and women behave differently as a result of the learning environment (Denhart &

Jeffress, 1971).

3) The structural-cultural model: this approach focuses on the social structure, arrangements and

environments that define and support gender differences and the reasons why society supports boys and

girls to learn these messages (Abercrombie & Turner, 2000).

3.2 Gender Differentiation in the Workplace

Sex and gender are often used interchangeably. The term sex is defined by the “biological differences

in the genetic composition and function. While gender, reflects interpersonal and social aspects of

masculinity and femininity” (Cleveland, Stockdale, & Murphy, 2015).

At the interpersonal level, gender teaches us the proper way we should behave and interact with others.

Often, when men and women behave in the same way, their behavior is interpreted in very different ways.

However, there is evidence that the behavior by men and women can raise different reactions by others. It

is also known that, in the work field, there’s some work called “women’s work” and other work known as

“men’s work” (Cleveland, Stockdale, & Murphy, 2015).

3.3 Gender Stereotypes and Attitudes

Even today, the influence of stereotyping on women’s capacities and capabilities render women not

eligible to be hired for senior positions, nor can they be leaders as men, they can only be followers and

controlled by them. Gender stereotypes still harm women and are biased to men (Whitley & Kite, 2010).

Traditional Gender Traits and Roles:

Men Women

Aggressive, active, competitive, strong Passive, noncompetitive, quiet

Courageous, rough, hence dominant Compliant, submissive

Reserved, emotionally distant Emotional, easily having feelings hurt

Stereotypes are harmful to every human being. When women and men are demanding roles providing

leadership and management positions, evaluations are influenced by expectations related to gender in the

context. Women in professional roles, traditionally reserved for men, can be placed in a stalemate called

the double threat to performance based on how they are perceived (Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman,

& Broverman, 1968).

Sackett, DuBois and Noe (1991) found that when women accounted for less than twenty percent of the

working group, the evaluation of their performance was significantly lower than those received by men.

So as the number of women increases in groups, they will receive slightly higher ranking. These results

suggest that the psychological satisfaction of women and their positive attitudes appear to be based on the

number of women in any given organization. In so, the gender composition of the organization may be a

factor that influence the number of women leaders who can reach higher positions in organizations.

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3.4 The Changing Nature of the Family

Gender roles have undergone many changes over decades, they can be described as the attitudes and

behavior expected of men and women in society (Evans, 1987).

3.4.1 Traditional Families

Traditionally, the experience of marriage and motherhood dominates the life and identity of women.

Family structure was described as family male-oriented. Women were described as being distinct, pure

and counted to be unstained. A woman was fulfilling her role as a wife, a mother and a builder of home.

However, men were viewed as breadwinners for the family; they had to go outdoors to work, to provide

the income of the family. The followings are the changes that shaped the new nature of today’s families:

a) Economic changes: starting from the depression period, passing by the economic recession, many men

lost their jobs and stayed home. This pushed women to integrate in the work force in order to save their

families and provide them with the basic needs (Blair & Johnson, 1992).

b) Social changes: changes in role of family genders were viewed as being difficult since everyone has a

unique role to play in order to protect the family and save it. However, the revolution took place in the

workforce, provided women with self-confidence to control their lives and be independent from the other

partner. Nowadays, women have more liberty and freedom to choose whether to enter the workforce, or

stay at home playing their traditional role as a caregiver, mothers and wives (Helm, 1977).

4. Economic Empowerment of Women

Economic empowerment is referred to as a capacity of both genders to participate in, contribute to and

benefit from growth processes in ways that identify the value of their contributions, respect their dignity

and make it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth. Women’s economic

empowerment is a human right and a social justice issue, which facilitates women’s participation in

resource allocation, and contributes to reduce poverty rates and gender inequality. Economic

empowerment increases women’s access to economic resources and opportunities including jobs,

financial services, property and other productive assets, skills development and market information

(IDRC and DIFID).

Women’s economic empowerment is the most important factor which contributes to gender equality and

enhances women’s living standards. In addition, it gives them the freedom to choose the way they live

and how to influence the society. This process of empowerment is contingent upon the availability of

resources and the ability to use them; access to economic opportunities; and the control over economic

benefits.

Empowering women economically will reduce the impacts of the economic crisis and will lead to

economic resilience and growth. However, women are in some contexts bearing the costs of recovering

from the crisis, i.e., facing the loss of jobs, working under poor conditions, and experiencing increasing

precariousness.

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4.1 Four Strategies for Achieving Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment

Four strategies those contribute to achieve gender equality and women’s economic empowerment:

1) Achieving equal access to health and education services.

2) Increasing women’s voice in sharing resources and participating indecision-making process.

3) Enhancing women’s economic empowerment policies and improving the living standards of women.

4) Eliminating violence against women at home, and in their communities.

4.2 Aspects of Empowerment

Emphasizing what was mentioned above, one would conclude that the ability of women to control and

lead their lives is a key requirement for the success of the process of empowerment. This may involve a

wide range of aspects, which can be grouped in different ways as follows (Mayoux, 2000; World Bank

Institute, 2001):

1) Access to and control over various resources material and non-material resources.

2) Participation in and power over various market and non-market processes and activities at different

levels in society.

However, there are three categories of empowerment: political empowerment, economic empowerment,

and social/legal empowerment:

a. Political empowerment is defined as increasing the participation of women in legislative assemblies,

their decision power in these assemblies, the ability of women to publicly voice their opinions and to

affect the composition of legislative assemblies. Social and legal institutions still do not guarantee

women equality in basic legal and human rights, in access to or control of land or other resources, in

employment and earning, and in social and political participation. Laws against domestic violence are

often not enforced on behalf of women.

b. Economic empowerment: the primary factor of this type of empowerment is the ability of women to

involve into employment of formal parts, self-employment, borrowing, saving and access to and control

of economic resources. Examples of economic empowerment would be an increase in women’s control

of household resources or an increase in women’s access to borrowing in the financial markets.

c. Legal/social empowerment: this aspect is often emerged under the concept “empowerment” it is

defined under the status of women whether single or married including their social conditions and their

rights as stated by law. Key aspects in this group are legal rights, status and norms. Examples of legal

empowerment include: the removal of legislation which constrains women from divorce, and assistance

directed at supporting women in the battle for their legal rights.

5. An Overview of Gender Inequality in Lebanon

Gender inequality implies a society in which both genders do not enjoy equality in outcomes and

equality in opportunities (Thomas, 1990).

Therefore, gender inequality is an important issue considered as being a universal feature in developing

countries including Lebanon. Women’s voice in developing countries are stifled by cultural factors

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where they became silent, unlike women in developed countries who are economically, legally, and

culturally empowered and have a powerful voice. Gender inequality, equal rights and equal

opportunities have been affected by economic and cultural factors.

For example, religiously speaking, genetic laws differ between Muslims and non-Muslims. Where the

Islamic religion gives more precise details of how the inheritance should be distributed. Muslim

Women may inherit from their fathers or mothers or husbands or children or in some cases from other

family members, but they get less than the share of men. To non-Muslims, the code of inheritance

states that men and women inherit equally, despite the fact that customs and cultural practices favour

male heirs.

Limited access to education and thus to employment reduces the women decision making power role in

the society and at home. Internationally, their participation in national parliaments has been increasing

yet no single country in this world has achieved complete gender count equality. In addition, and in

accordance to the millennium indicators data base of UN (2005) shows women occupying 16% of

parliamentary seats worldwide, 21% in developed countries and 14% in developing countries. This low

representation of women in national parliaments could be due to women’s social and economic status,

socio-cultural traditions and beliefs about women’s place in the family and society, and women’s double

burden of work and family responsibilities (UNFPA, 2005).

5.1 Lebanon

Structure of Society: Lebanese society is riddled with economic, political, social and sectarian divisions.

The principal object of loyalty and the basis for marriage and social relationships are primary identified

by Lebanese people who live in a society divided by sectarian issues and socio-economic layers

including:

a. The family;

b. Gender roles;

c. Marriage, taboos and laws.

5.2 The Family

In Lebanon, family comes first in all cases especially; it backs up the individual and grants him/her

political power, money and other forms of support.

5.3 Gender Roles

The Lebanese family assigns different roles to every family member. Its structure is patriarchal; a

father’s role is defined to be the producer and the breadwinner upon whom the family members depend.

Moreover, he is the property owner and the master of family decisions.

In contrast, the woman’s role is limited to those of a mother and a homemaker, despite the fact that

women were used to participate in peasant work. However, the Lebanese society has given a great

chance to women to play a more active social role, and allowed them to enter the workforce. Moreover,

Lebanese women enjoy better civil rights than those of other Arab countries (Anderson & Baland,

2002).

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5.4 Marriage

In the past, the rule of marriage was within the lineage, where the preference for marriage of any

woman was directed towards patrilineal first cousin or one relative in order to preserve the property

family property and reduce tensions. Consequently, women felt secured living with whom they are

relatives.

However, in some conservative Muslim and Christian Lebanese villages, the choice of marriage is

considered by the father and is obligatory, where no negotiation or rejection is allowed. In contrast, in

Roman Catholic law the marriage of persons within the same bloodline is explicitly forbidden; the

women are also free to choose their husbands.

6. Methodology

This paper investigates the empowerment of women. It utilizes a descriptive research design to

determine the degree of empowerment, and to provide insights into the ways in which Lebanese

women may be empowered.

6.1 Research Locale and Respondents

Since Banque du Libanetd’ Outre-Mer (Blom bank) is one of the largest banks in Lebanon. It was

chosen as a case study for having branches all over the country. The study covered all Blom employees

in the regions including: Beirut, Beirut Suburbs, South Lebanon, North Lebanon and Beqaa. The

collected data for 500 women was analysed using SPSS Version 17.0.

Respondents were approached to complete a one-page survey. The respondents were informed that

their results would be anonymous and confidential.

The first part of the questionnaire was quantitative and focused on demographic data included as

marital status. The second part relates to the perceptions of the respondents on women’s contribution to

the family welfare and the degree of economic independence.

6.2 Research Instruments

The survey was based on a questionnaire that determined the profile of the respondents specifically the

gender and marital status. Through such an instrument the respondents’ level of empowerment had

been measured.

7. Results and Discussions

This part of the thesis highlights the interpretation and analyses of the results of the survey

questionnaire solicited from respondents.

7.1 Responses Analyses

The responses Analyses is divide into two sections: the first is the distribution of the responses among

the demographic aspects, and the second is the variables that answer the research questions and

concerns.

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7.1.1 Demographic Aspects

“Question 1: gender classification by the respondents”

Table 1. Respondents by Gender

% BEIRUT S.B M.L BEKAA S.L N.L

MALE 20% 35% 50% 60% 50% 55%

FEMALE 80% 65% 50% 40% 50% 45%

Table 1 indicates that the majority of the female respondents came from the Beirut and Beirut Suburbs

regions. However, Mount Lebanon and South Lebanon statistics showed a clear balance in the gender

employment.

In Beqaa, it is evident from Table 1, that the slight majority of respondents are male. Similar to Beqaa,

the majority of the respondents in north Lebanon are males with 55%, and the remaining 45% are

females.

Why in the Beqaa and North Lebanon, the female rate is lower?

One of the most important causes of this inequality is due to the “wrong-practice” of the religion

doctrines. While the majority of people in the Beqaa and North Lebanon are misusing the Islamic Laws,

girls are taught that their primary role is to raise children and take care of the household. According to

their Culture and beliefs, a woman’s place is at home and a man’s place is at the workplace. The

Islamic law allows women to work, provided it does not lead to her neglecting her essential duties of

homemaking.

It is mainly middle-aged women with relatively older children belonging to a certain group, who

attempt to start an enterprise. Other women find themselves prevented by social pressure from working

independently outside the house, and do not even attempt to start their own business.

Although the status of Lebanese women has improved over recent years, to some extent within the

socio-cultural context—they still do not fully participate in development activities. Reality remains

quite complex. The evolution of practices and mentalities seems to be far ahead of changes in the

discriminatory laws, which would enable women to take up economic activities outside the home.

“Question 2: classification of the respondents based on their marital status”

Table 2. Respondent’s Marital Status

% Beirut S.B M.L BEKAA S.L N.L

Single 30% 65% 65% 50% 60% 50%

Married 65% 35% 25% 45% 35% 30%

Divorced 5% 0% 5% 5% 5% 10%

Widowed 0% 0% 5% 0% 0% 10%

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It is obvious from Table 2, that the majority of the respondents in Beirut region are married with 65%.

In contrast, in Beirut Suburbs and in Mount Lebanon, the majority are single with 65%. In addition, the

Beqaa region shows slight similarities in results. The Southern region showed the majority of

respondents to be single with 60%.

Moreover, in the Northern region 50% of respondents are single, thus, the majority in these regions are

single. So, why the numbers differ in different regions?

In the 1950s and 1960s, most married women did not work outside the home, instead relying on their

husbands income to support the family, in 1960, 32% of wives were in the Labour force. By 2008, that

share had risen up to 61%.

The net result is that a marriage gap and socio-economic gap have been growing side by side for the

past half century, and each may be feeding off on the other. Adults on the lower rungs of the

socio-economic ladder (whether measured by income or education) are just as eager as other adults to

marry.

Along with their greater participation in the labour force, women began to delay marriage and have

fewer children. In addition, women have been faced with the challenge of balancing marriage,

motherhood, and work, the changes in marriage rates are driven in large by the behaviour and attitudes

of young adults, who both are delaying marriage and entering into less traditional family arrangements.

The fact that young adults are delaying marriage does not necessarily mean they will never marry.

7.1.2 Dependent Variables

In this section, the respondents were to indicate the degree of their agreement with the statement given.

“Question 3: do you agree that working women are contributing to the welfare of the family?”

Table 3. Identifies Respondents’ Opinion on the Contribution of Working Women to the Family

Welfare

% Beirut S.B M.L Beqaa S.L N.L

Strongly agree 55% 35% 45% 30% 50% 45%

Agree 40% 55% 40% 60% 50% 50%

Strongly Disagree 5% 10% 15% 10% 0% 5%

Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

As illustrated by Table 3, the results reflect some divided opinion, a significant number of the

respondents (55%) have indicated that they strongly agree with the fact that working women are

contributing to the welfare of the family, while the other 40% have only agreed with this hypothesis,

however the rest 5% disagreed with this statement. Thus, majority of the respondents chose Strongly

Agree or Agree.

A host of studies suggest that putting earnings in women’s hand is the intelligent thing to do to speed

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up development and the process of overcoming poverty. Women usually reinvest a much higher portion

in their families and communities than men, spreading wealth beyond them. This could be one reason

why countries with greater gender equality tend to have lower poverty rates.

Women have become more assertive in today’s modern world. They are shouldering family

responsibilities and are on par with men taking care of themselves socially and economically. They are

successfully earning their place in society and striving hard to become economically independent.

“Question 4: do you agree that working women are economically independent?”

Table 4. Identifies the Respondents’ Opinion on the Economic Independence of Women

% Beirut S.B M.L Beqaa S.L N.L

Strongly agree 50% 35% 15% 20% 30% 45%

Agree 40% 55% 65% 70% 60% 50%

Strongly Disagree 10% 10% 20% 10% 10% 5%

Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

It is obvious from Table 4, that 50% of the respondents are strongly agree that working women are

economically independent, 40% agree and 10% strongly disagree. Thus, majority of the respondents

Agree or strongly agree with this statement.

Economic independence refers to a condition where the individual woman and man have their own

access to the full range of economic opportunities and resources in order to shape their own needs and

those of their dependants.

“Question 5: do you believe that working women are needed nowadays in the workforce?”

Table 5. Appraisal Identifies Respondents’ Opinion if Working Women are Needed Nowadays in

the Workforce

Beirut S.B M.L Beqaa S.L N.L

Strongly agree 55% 30% 55% 15% 55% 45%

Agree 45% 70% 45% 75% 45% 55%

Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 10% 0% 0%

Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

It is obvious from Table 5, that the majority between all regions 55.9% of the respondents agree that

working women are needed nowadays in the workforce, 42.5% strongly agree and 1.6% disagrees.

As indicated by chapter 1, during WWII, there was a labour shortage due to the fact that men were

heading off to war. The U.S. government created a campaign using the fictional character of Rosie the

Riveter to lure women into working. From 1940-1945, the female labour force grew by 50%. This also

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shifted cultural attitudes, making it okay for middle class women to work.

8. Conclusion

The International Monetary Fund’s survey of 2006 found that “societies that increase women’s access

to education, healthcare, employment, credit and that narrow the differences between women and men

regarding economic opportunities, could increase the pace of economic development and reduced

poverty”.

Moreover, women’s economic empowerment can be achieved into five major factors including:

1) Women’s sense of self worth,

2) Their right to have and determine choices,

3) Their right to have access to opportunities and resources,

4) Their right to have the power to control their own lives (within and outside their homes),

5) Their ability to influence the direction of social change to create more just social and economic

orders nationally and internationally.

These five factors are peculiarly pertinent to the economic orb, where the women’s economic

empowerment can be realized by targeting advantages and initiatives to magnify the women’s

economic opportunities; solidify their legal status and rights; guarantee their voice, and contribution in

economic decision-making processes.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are essential to speed up the economic empowerment process of the

Lebanese women:

a. Emphasize the need to solve the problems of the discriminatory behaviour, and the prejudiced

attitude of men against women in the Lebanese society.

b. Eliminate the stereotypes that are based on the old and the narrow minded traditions regarding the

stance of the Lebanese women in society or at the workplace.

c. Eliminating gender inequality in employment.

d. Guaranteeing women’s property and inheritance rights which reinforce women’s effective admission

to assets and other resources required for productive financial and economic activity.

e. Promote equal citizenship role.

f. Increasing women’s share of seats in the Lebanese parliament, bringing women’s voice into decision

making process and hastening women’s enrolment in the economic agenda.

g. Furthermore, Stress the need for the empowering of the incorporation of women, as equal to men,

into the formal economy, and giving in particular women the authority to take part in economic

decision making process.

h. Express the need to introduce laws to protect women from all forms of violence especially domestic

violence and sexual harassment.

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i. Monitoring the customs and traditions and promote only the common good of them.

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Articles/Hartley & Renner, 2018 Economic Self-Sufficiency among Women Who Experienced IPV and Received Civil Legal Services.pdf

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Carolyn Copps Hartley1 & Lynette M. Renner2

Published online: 27 July 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract Literature supports the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women’s short and long-term material hardship; yet, little research has examined the role of civil legal services in addressing women’s economic self-sufficiency. Using survey data from a sample of low-income women seeking civil legal services related to IPV, we examined changes in women’s economic self- sufficiency over a one-year period of time. The sample consisted of women who were experiencing IPVand receiving assistance with a civil protective order (CPO) or a family law problem. Eighty-five women completed three waves of data collected, baseline and every six months, over a period of one year. Nearly two-thirds of the women received assistance for a CPO (n = 56); the rest were represented in a family law matter. Approximately 45% of women lived in non-metro/rural areas (n = 38). Measures of economic self-sufficiency included income, use of public assistance, adequacy of family resources, and perceptions of the difficulty living off their current income. Women’s monthly income and adequacy of some family resources increased, while difficulty living on their current income and the number of assistance resources used decreased (Wave 1 to 3). There was no relation between the type or amount of legal services received and changes in study outcomes. Study findings suggest that civil legal services are a critical component of a community coordinated response to IPV.

Keywords Intimate partner violence . Domestic violence . Civil legal services . Economic self-sufficiency

An estimated 36% of women in the U.S. experience rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime (Black et al. 2011). In addition, most women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) report their perpetrators controlled their access to or use of financial resources (Adams et al. 2008; Postmus et al. 2012). IPV affects women’s finances and undermines their efforts to become economically secure (Sanders 2015). In addition, the relationship between IPVand economic self-sufficiency is cy- clical in nature. IPV impacts women’s economic well-being and low levels of economic self-sufficiency create barriers to

women exiting an abusive relationship (Hetling et al. 2016). Civil legal services have the potential to positively address economic self-sufficiency but few researchers have pursued this line of inquiry. Through this study, we sought to address this gap.

IPV, Material Hardship, and Women’s Decisions to Leave Abusive Relationships

A component of economic self-sufficiency, adequate material goods (e.g., food, housing, medical insurance, adequate mon- ey to pay bills), has been found to be negatively associated with IPV. Women experiencing recent IPV report significant material hardship, including utilities shut-offs and food insuf- ficiency (Adams et al. 2013; Heflin and Butler 2013; Tolman and Rosen 2001) and unmet medical needs (Heflin and Butler 2013). Compared to low-income women who did not experi- ence IPV, material hardship was significantly more prevalent among low income women who did experience IPV (Romero et al. 2003). Women whose partners controlled their access to income and resources report even more material hardship,

* Carolyn Copps Hartley [email protected]

Lynette M. Renner [email protected]

1 School of Social Work, University of Iowa, 308 North Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA

2 School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA

Journal of Family Violence (2018) 33:435–445 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9977-0

Economic Self-Sufficiency among Women Who Experienced Intimate Partner Violence and Received Civil Legal Services

including difficulty paying bills or providing food or other necessities for their families (Adams et al. 2008). Women who reported that their partners interfered with going to work or school or restricted their access to money were 47% more likely to experience material hardship compared to women who experienced IPV but whose partners did not restrict em- ployment or access to income (Schrag 2014).

Economic issues also present a significant barrier for wom- en trying to leave abusive partners; and, in fact, income vari- ables have been shown to be stronger predictors than psycho- logical ones in women’s decisions to leave abusive relation- ships (Anderson and Saunders 2003). Researchers have also shown that a lack of access to economic resources makes women dependent on abusive partners (Sullivan 1991).

The impact of IPVon women’s economic well-being con- tinues after women exit abusive relationships (Lindhorst et al. 2007). Lack of employment and job instability can negatively impact women for several years after the abusive relationship ends (Adams et al. 2013; Crowne et al. 2011; Lindhorst et al. 2007). For example, Adams et al. (2013) found that women reported significant material hardship (e.g., insufficient hous- ing, food, and money to pay bills and utility shut offs), in part due to their job instability as a result of the violence, which lasted up to three years after the IPV ended.

Researchers have established the impact of IPV on women’s access to sufficient economic resources to care for themselves and their families, and recent interventions have been aimed at increasing women’s financial literacy with the goal of improving economic empowerment and self- sufficiency (Hetling and Postmus 2014; Sanders 2007; Sanders and Schnabel 2006; Sanders et al. 2007). What is not known is how other domestic violence services, such as civil legal services, might lead to positive changes in women’s economic self-sufficiency.

The term economic self-sufficiency is not well-defined in policy or research literature (Hetling et al. 2016). Economic self-sufficiency is sometimes conceptualized to mean the op- posite of receiving public assistance (Gowdy and Pearlmutter 1993) or as a measure of the cost of necessities a family needs to live above the poverty line (Gu et al. 2010). Hetling et al.’s (2016) validation of a measure of economic self-sufficiency includes three dimensions: the ability to manage financial needs (meeting financial obligations without having to borrow from family or friends, staying on budget and paying debts), the ability to have discretionary funds (money for extras in- cluding vacations, money to save), and the ability to maintain independent living (adequate housing, transportation, and child care, freedom from government assistance). In this study, we examined changes in both economic status (income, use of public assistance) and economic self-sufficiency (ade- quacy of economic resources to meet family needs) among women who experienced IPVand received civil legal services. Partly in line with Hetling et al.’s (2016) dimensions of

economic self-sufficiency, we conceptualized economic self- sufficiency to include reduced reliance on assistance programs and adequacy of family resources for physical, health, and housing necessities (e.g., food, clothing, housing, heat, trans- portation, phone access, dental and medical care), personal growth (e.g., extras for family entertainment or travel, time to spend with family and children), and adequate child care. We also included a measure of women’s perceptions of the difficulty living off their current income.

Civil Legal Services and Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency

Civil legal services encompass all legal representation that is not criminal. Family law, which includes divorce, custody/ visitation, and/or child support petitions, and civil protective orders (CPO), are the most common types of civil legal ser- vices provided to women who experience IPV (Institute for Law and Justice 2005). Unlike the criminal legal system, where the State brings a case against a perpetrator, in the civil legal system, women initiate a petition for a divorce, child support, or a CPO against their partners.

Civil legal services can potentially address women’s economic self-sufficiency by increasing women’s income and decreasing their economic liabilities. For example, civil legal services can benefit women economically during fam- ily law proceedings (Hartley et al. 2013). When women have children in common with their partner, civil attorneys can argue for adequate child support and bring contempt proceedings for failure to pay. In divorce proceedings, at- torneys can help assure women receive an equitable distri- bution of marital assets and property, in addition to arguing for sufficient child and spousal support so women can ade- quately care for their families. Civil attorneys can also help reduce women’s economic liabilities when exiting a mar- riage. If the attorney can show that the perpetrator incurred debt during the marriage for items only he used, or accrued credit card debt by fraudulently opening a credit card in the woman’s name, the attorney can ask the court to assign that debt to the perpetrator in the divorce decree. In addition, if a woman has medical bills resulting from the abuse, the per- petrator can be ordered to pay these bills.

Although the primary intent of a CPO is to order a perpe- trator to stay away from a victim, CPOs can also address economic issues. In 37 states, women can ask that a CPO include an order for temporary child support; and, in 48 states, a CPO can require the perpetrator to vacate the shared resi- dence, grant the woman exclusive possession of the shared residence regardless of ownership, or require the perpetrator to provide suitable alternative housing for the woman and her children (American Bar Association n.d.). These provisions are available in Iowa where this study was conducted.

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With the significant negative economic impact of IPV, it is reasonable to assume that reducing incidents of IPV would decrease these effects and researchers have shown that pro- viding civil legal services reduces IPV. In a population-based study, Farmer and Tiefenthaler (2003) found that the availabil- ity of legal services was significantly related to declines in domestic violence rates in the 1990s, while other service var- iables, such as shelters, hotlines, and batterers programs, were not significant factors in explaining these rates. The direct financial benefits of receiving civil legal services for low- income clients, many of whom have experienced IPV, has also been established. Family law representation (divorce, child support, child custody), which includes assistance with CPOs, is the largest category of legal services provided by federally-funded legal aid agencies, and over half of these cases involve a client who has experienced IPV (Legal Services Corporation 2018). In fiscal year 2015, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (2015) secured $2.2 million in child support orders averaging $128 per week. In FY 2009–2010, legal aid attorneys in Virginia won $3.2 million in new or past case child support awards against do- mestic abusers through CPOs, child support orders, or divorce cases (Smith and Brewer 2011). In 2011, Iowa Legal Aid (2013) obtained $131,360 in direct financial benefits for cli- ents who experienced IPV.

Given that civil legal services can address a variety of eco- nomic issues women face, the purpose of this study was to examine changes in economic self-sufficiency among women who experienced IPV and received civil legal services. We anticipated that women who received these services would report positive changes in their economic self-sufficiency over a one-year period.

Method

Data Source

Data for this study came from a two-year panel study of wom- en who experienced IPVand received civil legal services from Iowa Legal Aid (ILA). Eligible participants were self- identified victims of IPV who had contacted ILA for a civil legal matter. ILA is a non-profit civil legal aid organization providing services to low-income Iowans from 10 regional offices across the state. In 2015 ILA closed 16,300 cases serv- ing nearly 38,000 Iowans. One-third of ILA cases involve family law issues (divorce, custody, child support, etc.), with the majority of these involving IPV. ILA has had a long- standing commitment to addressing IPV-related issues through their Board-set priority of ‘preserving the safety and stability of individuals and families’.

A longitudinal panel design was selected over other exper- imental or quasi-experimental designs for several reasons.

First, randomly assigning women to experimental or control (i.e., no intervention or wait-list) groups was not possible. Victims of IPV face serious and imminent safety concerns that could be exacerbated by assignment to a non-intervention group. Second, a quasi-experimental design was not possible due to the case selection procedures used by ILA. ILA prior- itizes cases based on the immediacy of the client’s needs par- ticularly with regard to the imminent impact of the IPV, whether the client’s case has legal merit, and on which cases ILA is likely to have the most impact. Thus, there are signif- icant qualitative differences between clients served by ILA and clients not receiving their services.

According to Rossi and Freeman (1993), when experimen- tal or quasi-experimental designs are not possible, panel stud- ies provide more plausibility by using additional data collec- tion points to allow the researcher to specify the processes by which an intervention impacts recipients. The authors assert that Bpanel studies that involve repeated measures on the same group over a period of time can often be used to produce estimates of net intervention effects that have a fair degree of credibility^ (p. 349). Panel studies are particularly relevant to studying ‘full-coverage’ programs in which all participants receive but are differentially exposed to the intervention. In our study, receipt of legal aid services can be thought of as a full-coverage program in which women received varying types and amounts of service depending on their legal needs and the complexity of their legal case.

Data Collection

Women recruited for this study met the following inclusion criteria: 1) female and 18 years of age or older; 2) currently experiencing IPVor had a recent history of being a victim of IPV based on screening questions used by ILA during their client intake process; 3) had minor children in the home; 4) her case was taken by ILA (because we were assessing the longer- term effects of civil legal services, we were only interested in following women who actually received ILA services); and 5) the civil legal service request was for assistance with a CPO or a family law problem (divorce, child custody, child support).

The women were recruited shortly after ILA decided to take their case. ILA contacted clients who met the study criteria to obtain their permission to share their safe contact information with the researchers. A research assistant contacted women to explain the study and ask if they were interested in participating. Those women who agreed were then assigned to an interviewer in their geographic area of the state. A total of 383 women gave permission for their contact information to be shared with the researchers. The research assistant reached 242 of these women. Women (n = 127) were unable to be reached because they either did not return our calls, their phone number was no longer in service, or their phone did not accept voicemails to leave a message.

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Of these 242 women, 35 declined to participate, 207 agreed to be interviewed, and 150 women were enrolled in the study.

Interviewers in seven locations around the state (Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Waterloo, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City) conducted an initial inter- view (Wave 1) and up four follow-up interviews (Wave 2 and 5) every six months using a survey instrument to collect data at each wave. The interviewers participated in an extensive, in-person training on the study proce- dures, human subjects requirements, and dynamics of IPV prior to conducting any interviews. Interviews were conducted at a confidential location selected by the par- ticipant. During the first interview, interviewers collected detailed contact information (cell, home, and work phone numbers, email address, home address) from the women to facilitate being able to reach them for follow-up inter- views. For each piece of contact information provided, women were asked to indicate during which hours it was safe to call, whether it was safe to leave a message and what the message should say, and whether it was safe to send a letter, email, or text message. In the initial in- terview, each woman was also asked to provide contact information for up to three people who would know her whereabouts in case the interviewer was unable to reach her with the contact information she provided. Women signed a ‘permission to contact’ form that could be sent to her alternate contact if this person had concerns about sharing information with the researchers. Interviewers al- so did three-month ‘check-in’ calls between follow-up interviews to remind women of the upcoming interviews and to update changes to their contact information. All interviews were conducted in-person unless a participant moved out of the area and was willing to complete a follow-up interview by phone. All study procedures were approved by the University of Iowa, Institutional Review Board (IRB). Written consent was obtained during the initial assessment interview and women were compensat- ed for their participation.

Sample

Women were interviewed every six months for a period of two years (Wave 1 through Wave 5). One-hundred fifty women completed a Wave 1 interview. Of these 150 women, 112 completed Wave 2, 85 completed Wave 3, 62 completed Wave 4, and 32 completed Wave 5.

The study sample included the 85 women who completed Waves 1–3 interviews. The mean age of these 85 women at Wave 1 was 31.65 years (SD = 7.23) (Table 1). All the women had children, with the number ranging from 1 to 9, and an average of 2.53 (SD = 1.63). The majority of women in Wave 1 were non-Hispanic white (85.9%), although the per- centage of non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women was

higher than their rates in the state of Iowa (sample non- Hispanic black = 5.9%, state of Iowa = 3.4%; sample Hispanic = 7.1%, state of Iowa = 5.6%) (United States Census Bureau 2015). Almost three-quarters of the women had some college or a college degree (75.3%), but only a little over half the women (51.8%) were working at least part-time at the time of the first interview.

The average length of the relationship between the woman and her partner was 6.86 years (SD = 5.48). Almost all the women reported having lived with the perpetrator at some point (95.3%) but only 58% were ever married to him. Women’s zip codes were used to determine their county of residence at Wave 1. Counties were identified as metro (pop- ulations in metro areas ranging from 250,000 to 1 million) and nonmetro (i.e., urban populations of 20,000 or more not adja- cent to metro areas; urban populations of 2500 to 19,999 ad- jacent and not adjacent to metro areas; and completely rural populations of less than 2500) based on 2013 Rural Urban

Table 1 Demographics at Wave 1 (N = 85)

Wave 1 M (SD) or n (%)

Age in years 31.65 (7.23)

Number of children 2.53 (1.63)

Race and Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic white 73 (85.88%)

Non-Hispanic black 5 (5.88%)

Hispanic 6 (7.06%)

Other 1 (1.18%)

Education level

Less than high school 8 (9.41%)

High school degree 13 (15.29%)

Some college/trade school 50 (58.82%)

Bachelor’s degree or higher 14 (16.47%)

Currently working 44 (51.76%)

Length of relationship with perpetrator of IPV 6.86 (5.48)

Was ever married to perpetrator of IPV 49 (57.65%)

Had ever lived with perpetrator of IPV 81 (95.29%)

Geographic location

Metro 47 (55.29%)

Urban 24 (28.24%)

Rural 14 (16.47%)

Index of Spouse Abuse

Total ISA (range = 0 to 100) 50.57 (18.40)

Physical Abuse (cutoff = 10) 43.94 (19.22)

Non-Physical Abuse (cutoff = 25) 62.24 (21.67)

Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory

Dominance-Isolation (range = 7–35) 26.31 (6.79)

Emotional-Verbal (range = 7–35) 29.92 (5.04)

Women’s Experience of Battering (range = 10–60) 51.04 (9.93)

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Continuum codes (United Stated Department of Agriculture 2016). Approximately 45% of the women lived in nonmetro/ rural areas.

At Wave 1, women in the sample reported high levels of physical and non-physical IPV (Table 1). All the women were above the clinical cutoff score on the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA; Hudson and McIntosh 1981) physical abuse subscale (cutoff of 10) and 94% were above the cutoff of 25 for the non-physical abuse subscale. Emotional-verbal abuse and dominance-isolation were measured by the short form of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (PMWI-F; Tolman 1999) and also indicated high levels of abuse, with means for both subscales above 26 (range = 7 to 35). Finally, the mean score on the Women’s Experience of Battering (WEB; Smith et al. 1999) was 51.04 on a scale of 10 to 60.

Sixty-six percent of women (n = 56) received assistance from ILA for a CPO, while 34% (n = 29) sought services for a family law problem. The average amount of billable hours spent on a CPO case was 12.10 (SD = 6.46; range = 3.50– 35.30) and the average hours spent on a family law case was 35.06 (SD = 28.1; range = 10.50–137.65).

Attrition Analysis

The study sample included the 85 women who completed interviews in Waves 1–3. Recruitment was ongoing and con- tinued throughout the entire study. As such, some women were never able to be interviewed in later waves (e.g., a wom- an was recruited one month prior to the end of the study) because the study ended. Based on whether a woman had the opportunity to be interviewed in a subsequent wave, ap- proximately 75% (n = 112; 74.7%) of the Wave 1 sample was retained for Wave 2 and 75.9% (n = 85) of the Wave 2 sample was retained at Wave 3. Although not used in this study, re- tention rates for Waves 4 and 5 are 72.9% (n = 62) and 51.5% (n = 32), respectively. Calculated in the traditional way, reten- tion rates are 74.7% and 56.7% for Waves 2 and 3.

Attrition analyses examined the relations between demo- graphic variables and the presence of missing data at each wave. We tested the relations between the demographic vari- ables and attrition for Waves 2 and 3 separately using a series of chi-squared tests and independent samples t-tests. Demographic variables included location (urban vs. rural), race (non-Hispanic white vs. other), education (college degree vs. no college degree), employment (currently working vs. not working), type of legal services (family law vs. CPO), current relationship status with their partner, amount of legal services received, age, number of children, and length of relationship with their partner. We also examined whether attrition was related to the study outcomes by testing if data from the pre- ceding wave (Wave X) predicted continued participation in the current wave (Wave X + 1). For example, at Wave 3, we

looked to see if scores on the study outcomes at Wave 2 were related to whether or not a participant was still in the study at Wave 3.

At Wave 2, location and education level were related to study attrition (p < .05), with women in rural settings and women with college degrees more likely to remain in the study. Women with higher scores on several IPV measures (e.g., Index of Spouse Abuse total scores and physical abuse scores, and the Women’s Experience of Battering total score) at Wave 1, were also more likely to remain in the study at Wave 2. At Wave 3, location was the only variable related to study attrition, with women in rural settings more likely to remain in the study. None of the study outcomes were related to whether participants remained in the study.

Measures

We examined changes in both economic status (monthly in- come, number of assistance programs used) and economic self-sufficiency. Measures of economic self-sufficiency in- cluded perceptions of the difficulty of living off one’s current income, and a measure of the adequacy of resources to meet family needs.

Economic Status Total monthly income was calculated from all sources of reported income, including wages, child support, public assistance, food stamps, social security benefits, dis- ability compensation, unemployment insurance, money from family or friends, etc.

Program assistance utilization measured the number of assistance programs women used. Women were asked, BIn an average month, which of the following resources do you use to help make ends meet?^ in response to: public housing assistance, utility assistance, telephone assistance, food bank, donations from church or shelter, and state-funded daycare. For each of the six assistance types, women responded ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to indicate whether the type was typically used.

Economic Self-Sufficiency Women’s perceptions of how dif- ficult it is to live on their current income was measured by a single item: BIn your opinion, how difficult is it for you [and your children] to live on your current monthly income at this time?^ The five response options for this item ranged from ‘not at all difficult’ to ‘extremely difficult’.

The Family Resource Scale (FRS; Dunst and Leet 1987) was used to measure women’s reports of the adequacy of various resources for her and her family at Wave 1 and each subsequent wave. Items are rated on a 5-point scale from ‘not at all adequate’ to ‘almost always adequate’ with higher scores on the FRS subscales indicating more adequate resources. We used the total FRS score (35 items, scores range from 35 to 175; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .86, Waves 2 = .86, Wave 3 = .89) and five subscales: 1) growth and support—time for

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personal growth and money for extras like family entertain- ment or travel (9 items, scores range from 9 to 45; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .72, Wave 2 = .79, Wave 3 = .86); 2) ne- cessities and health—money for clothing, monthly bills, and dental/medical care (11 items, scores range from 11 to 55; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .76, Wave 2 = .77, Wave 3 = .79); 3) physical necessities and shelter—food, housing, heat, transportation, and phone access (9 items, scores range from 9 to 45; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .67, Wave 2 = .58, Wave 3 = .74); 4) intra-family support—time to spend with family and children (two items, scores range from 2 to 10; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .92, Wave 2 = .82, Wave 3 = .87); and 5) child care—adequate child care (two items, scores range from 2 to 10; Wave 1 Cronbach’s alpha = .61, Wave 2 = .67, Wave 3 = .61).

Amount and Type of Civil Legal Services Although clients receive free services, attorneys are required to record the amount of time spent on each case. The amount of service time was defined as the number of billable hours recorded by ILA, and this was entered into the analyses as a continuous variable. The type of legal representation was defined as either family law (e.g., divorce, custody) or CPO, which was entered into the analyses as a di- chotomous variable.

Demographic Variables Information on various demograph- ic variables was collected at Wave 1. These variables in- cluded women’s age, number of children, race/ethnicity, highest education level, employment status, length of the relationship with the perpetrator, and ever married to or lived with the perpetrator.

Data Analysis

Repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were con- ducted on each economic self-sufficiency measure to examine change over time. We further examined study outcomes taking into account the type of civil legal service (CPO or family law) and the amount of service hours (i.e., billable hours or time spent on a case) received; although, we had no assumptions related to the type or amount of services. Due to the low sample sizes in Waves 4 and 5, only data from Waves1–3 were used in the current analyses.

Data analysis proceeded in steps. The first model was a repeated measures ANOVA using Waves 1, 2 and 3, with no covariates. If significant overall main effects were found, post hoc t tests were conducted to determine the pattern of change over time. This was followed by a model where two covari- ates, the type of legal services and the amount of service hours, were entered into the model. Regardless of the type of legal service, we anticipated that women’s economic self- sufficiency would improve over time.

Results

Descriptive Statistics for Economic Status and Self-Sufficiency Measures

Descriptive statistics for the economic status and self- sufficiency measures at each wave are presented in Table 2. Women’s Wave 1 mean total monthly income from all sources was $1633 (SD = $1120), although this mean is slightly inflat- ed by a handful of women who reported monthly incomes over $3000. In regard to program assistance utilization, the mean number of assistance programs used at Wave 1 was 1.13 (SD = 1.19), and in fact 38% of women did not report using any assistance programs. The most frequently reported assistance programs used were utility (30.0%) and food bank assistance (26.7%). When asked about the difficulty they have living on their current income, the Wave 1 mean was 3.38 (SD = 1.18), which reflects that the women found it somewhat difficult to make ends meet. When we looked at the frequen- cies for this variable, 46% of women reported that it was ‘very’ to ‘extremely difficult’ to live on their current income.

The Family Resource Scale (FRS) measures the adequacy of resources for meeting a variety of needs. There are no norms for the FRS other than higher scores indicating more adequate resources. When looking at the means for each sub- scale, women reported more adequacy for concrete resources as seen in the mean scores for the necessities and health (M = 41.29, SD = 8.22 out of a possible range of 11 to 55) and physical necessities and shelter (M = 36.64, SD = 6.42 out of a possible range of 9 to 45) subscales. They also appeared to have high levels of intra-family support (M = 8.34, SD = 2.12 out of a possible range of 2 to 10). Examining individual items on the FRS scale, the women reported that housing, food, furniture, medical and dental care for their children, depend- able transportation, and access to a phone were generally ‘usu- ally’ or ‘almost always’ adequate. What women reported as less adequate were resources to meet their own needs and things that might be considered ‘extras’. For example, when it came to resources for meeting their own needs, women reported that having time to be by themselves (50.0%), time to socialize (45.3%), and time to stay in shape and look nice (38.7%) were ‘seldom’ or ‘not at all’ adequate. With regard to ‘extras,’ 89% of women reported insufficient resources for travel and 42.6% lacked sufficient resources for family enter- tainment. In addition, 80% of women reported that having money to save was ‘seldom’ or ‘not at all’ adequate and 29% of women reported inadequate employment.

Changes in Economic Status and Self-Sufficiency Measures over Time

Income The repeated measures ANOVA indicated a signif- icant increase in women’s total income from Wave 1 to

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Wave 3 (F(2, 168) = 3.60, p = .029). Post-hoc paired- samples t tests showed that total income at Wave 1 was significantly lower than total income at Wave 3: Wave 1/ Wave 3: t(84) = −2.40, p = .019. Changes in total monthly income over time did not remain significant after adding the two covariates, and there were no statistically signif- icant results associated with the type or amount of service hours spent on a legal case.

Program Assistance Utilization The repeated measures ANOVA also revealed a significant decrease in the number of program assistance resources used over time (F(2, 168) = 3.31, p = .039). Post-hoc paired-samples t tests showed that program assistance use at Wave 1 was significantly higher than use at each of the subsequent time points: Wave 1/ Wave 2: t(84) = 2.14, p = .036; Wave 1/Wave 3: t(84) = 2.16, p = .033. The decrease in the number of program assistance resources used was maintained after adding two covariates into the model, F(2, 164) = 3.30, p = .039; however, there was no statistically significant difference associated with the types of legal services, F(2, 164) = 1.58, p = .210, or the amount of services, F(2, 164) = .65, p = .525.

Difficulty Living on Current Income Results of the repeated measures ANOVA from Wave 1 to Wave 3, with no co- variates, indicated a decrease in women’s reports of diffi- culty in living on her current income (F(2, 168) = 4.95, p = .008). Post-hoc paired-samples t tests showed that dif- ficulty in living at Wave 1 was significantly higher than difficulty in living at Wave 3: Wave 1/Wave 3: t(84) = 2.96, p = .004, with no significant differences between other points of comparison. Changes in difficulty living on their current income over time did not remain signifi- cant after adding the two covariates and there were no statistically significant results associated with the type or amount of service hours spent on a legal case.

Family Resource Scale The results of a repeated measures ANOVA showed a statistically significant increase in the FRS growth and support subscale across Waves 1, 2, and 3, F(2, 168) = 4.21, p = .016). Post-hoc paired-samples t tests showed that growth and support scores at Wave 1 were sig- nificantly lower than scores at Wave 3: Wave 1/Wave 3: t(84) = −2.50, p = .014. This change was not maintained after covariates were entered into the model, F(2, 164) = 1.64, p = .198, and there were no statistically significant differences between the types of legal services, F(2, 164) = .69, p = .506, or the amount services, F(2, 164) = .17, p = .845. In regard to the necessities and health and physical necessities and shelter subscales, the intra-family support subscale, and the child care subscale, the results showed no statistically significant change in scores from Waves 1 to 3. When examining the total FRS score, the results showed a statistically significant increase from Waves 1 to 3, F(2, 168) = 4.39, p = .014. Post-hoc paired-samples t tests showed that total FRS scores at Wave 1 were significantly lower than total FRS scores at Wave 3: Wave 1/Wave 3: t(84) = −2.79, p = .007. However, after in- cluding covariates, this result was not upheld, F(2, 164) = 1.98, p = .141, and there were no statistically significant dif- ferences associated with the type of legal services, F(2, 164) = 1.28, p = .281, or the amount of legal services, F(2,164) = .26, p = .771.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in measures of economic self-sufficiency among women who experienced IPV and received civil legal services. We looked at both the provision of family law services (divorce, child custody, child support) and CPOs; because after CPOs, family law services represent the largest category of legal services provided by

Table 2 Means and standard deviations for economic self-sufficiency measures by wave

Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Overall F-statistic Overall p-value

Total Monthly Income 1633.62 (1120.34) 1741.31 (965.38) 1952.45* (1143.68) 3.60 .029

Program Assistance Utilization (range = 0–6) 1.13 (1.19) .92 (1.06)* .87 (1.44)* 3.31 .039

Difficulty Living on Current Income (range = 0–5) 3.38 (1.18) 3.16 (1.23) 3.04 (1.40)*** 4.95 .008

Family Resource Scale

Total Score (range = 35–175) 119.18 (21.09) 122.24 (20.85) 125.16 (23.11)*** 4.30 .014

Growth and Support (range = 9–45) 22.27 (6.59) 22.93 (7.47) 24.47 (8.56)* 4.21 .016

Necessities and Health (range = 11–55) 41.29 (8.22) 42.61 (7.94) 43.14 (8.20) 2.90 .058

Physical Necessities and Shelter (range = 9–45) 36.64 (6.42) 38.05 (5.02) 37.28 (6.78) 2.02 .136

Intra-family Support (range = 2–10) 8.34 (2.12) 8.07 (2.18) 8.25 (2.03) .592 .555

Child Care (range = 2–10) 4.98 (2.26) 5.13 (3.78) 5.74 (3.65) 2.51 .085

Overall F-statistic and p-value refer to repeated measures ANOVA with no covariates

Significance levels denote change from Wave 1: * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; *** = p < .001

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legal aid offices to women experiencing IPV (Institute for Law and Justice 2005).

The women’s economic vulnerability was clearly reflected in their financial circumstances at the initial interview. Most women reported low total monthly incomes, found it either ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to live on their current income, and reported less than adequate resources for meeting their own needs or for ‘extras’ for their family. Women also report- ed that they had very little money left over on a monthly basis that could be saved to build assets.

Women’s concrete economic indicators, income and pro- gram assistance use, changed from Wave 1 to Wave 3; perhaps most notably, women’s average monthly income increased by 19.52% between Waves 1 and 3. Although this income in- crease may seem modest, researchers have shown that women’s income declines precipitously after a separation or divorce (Forste and Heaton 2004; Gadalla 2009). In fact, Gadalla (2009) found that women’s median income dropped by 30% in the first year post-dissolution.

Changes in the measures of some of the domains of economic self-sufficiency were mixed. Women’s percep- tions of the difficulty living off their current income de- creased over time but their reports of the adequacy of family resources for physical, health, and housing neces- sities (food, clothing, housing, heat, transportation, phone access, dental and medical care), intra-family support, and child care did not change. This was likely due to the fact that most women reported these resources to be sufficient- ly adequate at Wave 1. Women reported significant in- creases in the adequacy in personal growth and support (time for personal growth and money for extras like fam- ily entertainment or travel) and overall adequacy of family resources as measured by the total FRS. For the positive changes in women’s economic situations over a one-year period of time, however, we found no relation between the type or amount of legal services received and changes in the economic self-sufficiency measures.

Improvements in women’s economic self-sufficiency after receiving civil legal services run counter to previous literature that shows that IPV continues to negatively impact women’s economic well-being after exiting an abusive relationship (Adams et al. 2013; Crowne et al. 2011; Lindhorst et al. 2007). These improvements were seen for women who re- ceived assistance with a CPO or a family law case, despite the fact that the number of hours of representation received for a family law case was more than double that of a CPO case. This may suggest that it is the provisions in the CPO order (a child custody/support order or a temporary possession of the marital home) and not the amount of time spent on the case, that impacts women’s economic self-sufficiency. However, the consistency with which judges order child support when granting custody in a CPO would need to be established in order to examine the accuracy of this suggestion.

Limitations

Limitations of the study methods include sample attrition across waves, possible selection bias in the initial recruitment, the use of self-report measures, and a lack of pre-intervention measures of women’s economic self-sufficiency. In regard to sample attrition, only 75% of the current Wave 1 sample was retained for Wave 2, and the retention rate for Wave 3 was even lower. However, as noted earlier, some women did not have the opportunity to be retained for the full study length because they were recruited towards the end of the study pe- riod. In addition, we found no significant differences between women retained and those who were lost to follow-up for any of the study outcomes. Despite the loss of participants over time, a strength of our study remains its longitudinal design and repeated measures. Cross-sectional studies are ill- equipped to establish temporal ordering among variables of interest and address research questions that rely on data from multiple time points. However, we are not able to draw causal inferences as there may have been unmeasured confounding variables influencing the differences found.

A second limitation that could hinder our ability to generalize our results is selection bias in the initial recruit- ment. ILA uses an income and assets means test for which clients’ household incomes generally must be at or below 187% of the federal poverty guideline to receive services. Due to limited resources, ILA also prioritizes cases where women’s reported IPV poses a serious and imminent risk. Thus, the results of our study may only apply to lower income women experiencing more severe IPV. The wom- en in our sample also only received one of two types of legal services: assistance with a CPO or a family law (divorce, child custody, and/or child support) case. Although these are the two most common legal services requested by women experiencing IPV, they are not the only legal issues that women who experience IPV may have and our results might change if women seeking other types of services, such as representation for an eviction or housing discrimination, an unfair employment termina- tion, or denial of public assistance benefits were included.

A third limitation is the use of self-report measures. Women were the sole respondents regarding their victimiza- tion and economic circumstances. As such, their data may be limited by recall and social desirability. A strength of the study, however, was the array of economic self-sufficiency measures used. In addition to concrete measures of income and program assistance utilization, we measured women’s perceptions of the adequacy of a breadth of resources to meet their family’s needs.

Finally, any conclusions about the association between receipt of civil legal services and changes in women’s eco- nomic self-sufficiency are limited by a lack of pre- intervention (before civil legal services were received)

442 J Fam Viol (2018) 33:435–445

measures of women’s economic status. Without baseline measures, we cannot establish whether women’s economic well-being was changing before receiving services; how- ever, ethical concerns would not have allowed us to delay women’s service receipt to collect such baseline data.

Implications for Practice

The majority of research on legal responses to IPV has focused on criminal justice system responses and the ef- fects of arrest (Bouffard and Muftić 2007; Klein and Tobin 2008), prosecution (Davis et al. 1998), and court- ordered treatment of batterers (Bennett et al. 2007) on women’s safety; thus, ignoring other influential types of legal responses. Since the late 1990s, researchers have examined coordinated community responses (CCRs) to IPV, wherein the ‘community’ entities typically consist of the criminal justice system, social service agencies, and shelters (Malik et al. 2008; Pennington-Zoellner 2009). The role of civil legal services as part of a coordi- nated response to IPV continues to be largely absent from criminal justice and social service research and practice literature; and in fact, many studies of CCRs look almost exclusively at criminal justice responses (e.g., arrest, pros- ecution, court-ordered treatment) (Babcock and Steiner 1999; Murphy et al. 1998; Salazar et al. 2007; Shepard et al. 2002; Syers and Edleson 1992). Even a more recent review of the components of CCRs gives only brief men- tion of CPOs as a criminal justice service for victims of IPV (Shorey et al. 2014). However, examining the needs of women who experienced IPV six months after leaving shelter programs, Allen et al. (2004) found that 59% of these women identified working on legal issues complete- ly unrelated to the prosecution of the perpetrator or obtaining a protection order. Instead these women were seeking divorces, working out child custody, support and visitation issues, or dealing with landlord/tenant or hous- ing matters. As the authors noted, their findings on other needs that IPV victims face is particularly salient given that CCR efforts Balmost always focus on creating re- forms in the criminal justice system^ (p. 1030).

The criminal justice system is critical to fostering bat- terer accountability; yet it is equally imperative to under- stand the continuum of battered women’s self-identified needs and make improvements in practice and policy to increase the accessibility of needed resources. CCRs must more purposefully link with organizations that can en- hance women’s longer-term quality of life and economic self-sufficiency. Findings of this study suggest that civil legal services are a critical component of a community coordinated response to IPV and one that has been under-recognized and under-studied for far too long.

Implications for Future Research

In this study, we examined only two types of civil legal services, family law and CPOs, in a state with a mostly homogenous population. In the future, researchers should examine other types of civil legal representation that may have direct effects on economic self-sufficiency such as employment and housing discrimination, consumer law, tort claims, and administrative cases pertaining to denials of income benefits.

Future studies of civil legal services for women experiencing IPV need to include more diverse samples and even national probability samples that are more rep- resentative of women in other locations. Our study only included low-income women who were receiving legal aid services in a single state. Researchers should also ex- amine the legal needs of women who are not income- eligible for legal aid services to determine if and where they are getting their legal needs met. Researchers should also examine the sources of the women’s income to un- derstand how they are making ends meet. Women relying on child or spousal support from an abusive partner are not able to achieve the same level of economic indepen- dence compared to women who are able to meet their family’s needs through their own earnings.

Finally, randomized comparative studies of the effects of civil legal services on women’s economic self-sufficiency for women who did and did not receive services may not be possible given the ethical concerns of withholding or delaying an intervention to women experiencing imminent effects of IPV. However, comparisons of women who receive represen- tation by an attorney compared to women who seek a CPO or a family law matter through pro se representation could help discern the effects of full legal representation on economic outcomes and researchers could design studies with this in mind. Researchers should also examine the specific economic benefits (amount of child and spousal support, distribution of marital assets, attribution of marital debt) ordered in divorce decrees or in CPOs (child support, temporary possession of the marital home) and how these benefits influence women’s long-term economic self-sufficiency.

Acknowledgments This project was supported by Award No. 2010-WG- BX-0009, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and con- clusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

We would like to thank Shellie Mackel, Dennis Groenenboom, and the AmeriCorps workers at Iowa Legal Aid for their support and contribu- tions to the project. We also thank the research assistants and interviewers who devoted so much time and effort to the project. Finally, we thank the women who participated in the project and shared their experiences. Their strength and courage are truly remarkable and we hope this, and all pub- lications, honors their voices.

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Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

  • Economic Self-Sufficiency among Women Who Experienced Intimate Partner Violence and Received Civil Legal Services
    • Abstract
    • IPV, Material Hardship, and Women’s Decisions to Leave Abusive Relationships
    • Civil Legal Services and Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency
    • Method
      • Data Source
      • Data Collection
      • Sample
      • Attrition Analysis
      • Measures
      • Data Analysis
    • Results
      • Descriptive Statistics for Economic Status and Self-Sufficiency Measures
      • Changes in Economic Status and Self-Sufficiency Measures over Time
    • Discussion
      • Limitations
      • Implications for Practice
      • Implications for Future Research
    • References

Articles/Hasler & Lusardi, 2017, The-Gender-Gap-in-Financial-Literacy-A-Global-Perspective-Report.pdf

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 1www.gflec.org

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective

July 2017

Authors: Andrea Hasler Annamaria Lusardi Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, The George Washington University School of Business

Research support was provided by the Global Thinking Foundation.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 1

Introduction 2

Measuring financial literacy around the world 3

Worldwide financial literacy gender gap 4

Saving, financial fragility, and borrowing among women 7

Case study: Italy 15

Conclusion 16

Appendix

References

Contents

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 2

Introduction

Financial illiteracy is widespread, and individuals lack knowledge of even the most basic economic principles. One striking feature of the empirical data on financial literacy is the large and persistent gender difference (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014).

Because women face unique financial challenges, they need financial knowledge in order to build a financially secure future. Women’s distinct challenges arise from life expectancies that are longer than men’s, lower lifetime income than men, and career interruptions due to child rearing. As women are likely to spend at least part of their retirement in widowhood, they have different savings needs than men. Moreover, women are much less likely to plan and, thus, less likely to be prepared for their retirement than men (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2008). Further, lower financial skills combined with fewer available resources puts women’s financial security after retirement at risk.

Low financial knowledge has substantial consequences because it is linked to several other financial decisions. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to invest in the stock market and pay attention to fees, to borrow at low costs, to accumulate retirement wealth, and to diversify risk (see, e.g., Lusardi and Mitchell, 2008; van Rooij et al., 2011; Lusardi and de Bassa Scheresberg, 2013; Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014; Lusardi and Tufano, 2015). Thus, it is important to know the extent of women’s understanding of basic financial concepts as well as the degree to which financial skills fall short.

Many papers show that women display lower financial literacy and confidence than men, leaving them at a potential disadvantage. Even those for whom financial knowledge is likely to be very important—for example widows or single women—know little about concepts relevant for day-to-day financial decision making. This is in line with the paper by Bucher-Koenen et al. (2016) that investigates gender differences in the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, which finds a persistent gender gap in financial literacy that is independent of socioeconomic background as well as cultural and institutional context.

While existing literature shows strong evidence on the gender gap, the samples are often restricted to one country or a handful of countries (Fonseca et al., 2012; Bucher-Koenen et al., 2016). With data from the 2014 Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey (S&P Global FinLit Survey), we can elevate the existing research on the gender gap to a global level, making this report the first to analyze and discuss the gender gap worldwide. The very comprehensive S&P Global FinLit Survey data set allows us to study differences in the financial literacy rates between men and women around the world.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 3

Measuring financial literacy around the world

The Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey (S&P Global FinLit Survey) delivers the most comprehensive global gauge of financial literacy to date. It builds on early initiatives by the International Network on Financial Education (INFE) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank’s Financial Capability and Household Surveys, the Financial Literacy around the World (FLAT World) project, and numerous national survey initiatives that collect information on financial literacy. More than 150,000 nationally representative and randomly selected adults in more than 140 economies were interviewed.1 By showing where financial skills are strong and where they are lacking, the S&P Global FinLit Survey can help stakeholders design policies and programs to improve the financial well-being of individuals around the world.

Financial literacy was measured using questions assessing basic knowledge of four fundamental concepts in financial decision making: numeracy (interest), compound interest, inflation, and risk diversification. The wording of the questions is as follows (the answer options are in brackets, with the correct answer in bold.)

• Numeracy (Interest) Suppose you need to borrow 100 US dollars. Which is the lower amount to pay back: 105 US dollars or 100 US dollars plus three percent? [105 US dollars; 100 US dollars plus three percent; don’t know; refuse to answer]

• Compound Interest Suppose you put money in the bank for two years and the bank agrees to add 15 percent per year to your account. Will the bank add more money to your account the second year than it did the first year, or will it add the same amount of money both years? [more; the same; don’t know; refuse to answer]

Suppose you had 100 US dollars in a savings account and the bank adds 10 percent per year to the account. How much money would you have in the account after five years if you did not remove any money from the account? [more than 150 dollars; exactly 150 dollars; less than 150 dollars; don’t know; refuse to answer]

• Inflation Suppose over the next 10 years the prices of the things you buy double. If your income also doubles, will you be able to buy less than you can buy today, the same as you can buy today, or more than you can buy today? [less; the same; more; don’t know; refuse to answer]

• Risk Diversification Suppose you have some money. Is it safer to put your money into one business or investment, or to put your money into multiple businesses or investments? [one business or investment; multiple businesses or investments; don’t know; refuse to answer]

A person is defined as financially literate when he or she demonstrates understanding (via correct answers to the questions) of at least three out of the four financial concepts noted above. This definition was chosen because the concepts are basic and this is what would correspond to a passing grade. 1 For more information about this survey, the methodology and some of the main findings, see Klapper, Lusardi, and van Oudheusden (2015).

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 4

Worldwide financial literacy gender gap

In general, financial literacy around the world is rather low. Worldwide, 33% of adults are financially literate, i.e., they demonstrate understanding of at least three out of four concepts. In other words, 77% of the global adult population—roughly 3.5 billion people—most of them in developing economies, lack an understanding of basic financial concepts.

Importantly, the S&P Global FinLit Survey shows lower financial literacy rates among women for the great majority of countries. Figure 1 compares the percentage of women to the percentage of men who are financially literate by country. Each marker represents a different country. If men and women had equal financial skills, the dots would lie on the 45-degree line. As seen in the figure, in most economies around the world, men have a better understanding of basic financial concepts than women.

Figure 1: Financial literacy rates among men and women around the world

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey.

In concrete numbers, worldwide, 35% of men are financially literate compared with 30% of women (Figure 2). Moreover, this gender gap is found in both advanced economies (e.g., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—the so-called G7) as well as emerging economies (e.g., Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa—the so-called BRICS) around the world. As can be seen in Figure 2, the gap is, on average, around 5% across the BRICS, and 8% for the G7 countries. However, when comparing these average numbers, it must be noted that across the G7, a higher fraction of the population answers three out of the four concepts correctly compared to the population of the BRICS. In the G7 countries, on average, 55% of adults are financially literate, whereas in the BRICS, on average, 28% of the adult population is financially literate. Thus, basic financial knowledge and skills differ enormously

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 5

between the G7 and BRICS economies. However, despite these differences, the gender gap in financial literacy persistently occurs across different countries within both advanced and emerging economies.

An important finding emerges when examining the answers respondents provided to the financial literacy questions. Women are disproportionately more likely than men to respond to a question with “do not know.” Strikingly, this finding holds true across countries. Figure 2 shows the percentages of “do not know” responses of men and women globally and for major advanced and emerging economies. For all three breakdowns, the “do not know” responses are higher for women than men. This finding is consistently observed in other studies as well (e.g., Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014).

Figure 2: Financial skills by gender: Percentage of adults with “correct” or “don’t know” answers

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey.

In what follows, we focus on the G20 countries, which comprise a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies. Members of the G20 are 19 individual countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States) along with the European Union. These countries represent about two-thirds of the world’s population and 85% of the global gross domestic product. Thus, focusing on these countries allows us to compare the gender gap in financial literacy among countries whose size and strategic importance gives them a particularly crucial role in the global economy. We can also focus on countries whose economic systems share similarities.

Figure 3 depicts the percentages of financially literate men and women along with the gender gap for the G20 countries. Overall, financial literacy rates tend to be higher in high-income economies such as Canada, Australia, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, we find large variation in rates even among the G20 countries. Further, we see, on one hand, comparable literacy rates for men and women for Japan, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and China. On the other hand, Canada, Australia, Italy, Indonesia, and Brazil are among the countries with the highest gender gaps.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 6

Figure 3: Percentage of financially literate adults among the G20 countries

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey.

In order to explore the connection between a country’s income level and its gender gap, Figure 4 shows the distribution of the gender gap in financial literacy for the World Bank’s four country income classification groups (low, lower middle, upper middle, and high). The boxplots show the median, mean (cross), and the upper and lower quartiles, which represent 50% of all countries of the respective income group. Interestingly, the pattern of gender differences in financial literacy does not change with income level. A similar gender gap is seen in both high- and low-income economies. This important finding reveals that the gender difference is not limited to just a few countries, but exists around the world, in developing as well as advanced economies, and is independent of the country’s income level. Thus, the gender gap in financial literacy is large and persistent across countries, and there is no evidence that income helps explain it. Further, it is important to note that financial literacy rates are overall much lower among low-income countries. This fact points out that women’s financial knowledge is particularly low in those economies.

Figure 4: Boxplots of the gender gap distribution split by country income levels

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and World Bank country classification as of March 2014. Note: For the 2014 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a gross national income per capita, of $1,035 or less in 2012; lower middle-income economies are those with a gross national income per capita between $1,036 and $4,085; upper middle-income economies are those with a gross national income per capita between $4,086 and $12,615; and high-income economies are those with a gross national income per capita of $12,615 or more. https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank- country-and-lending-groups

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 7

Saving, financial fragility, and borrowing among women

In this section we focus on the relationship between financial literacy and saving and borrowing among women, as well as financial fragility across the G20 economies. Further, we compare the financial choices of men and women and relate those to their understanding of financial concepts.

Saving The fraction of people who personally saved or set aside money by using an account at a bank or another type of formal financial institution (formal saving mechanism) over the past 12 months, is highly variable among the G20 countries (Figure 5). Furthermore, formal saving is more prevalent among men than women. Interestingly, the gender gap among the G20 for the use of formal saving mechanisms is the largest in Italy, at 22% (with 23% of women using formal saving vs. 45% of men), followed by France at 12% (46% of women vs. 58% of men), and Saudi Arabia at 11% (9% of women vs. 20% of men).

Figure 5: Percentage of men and women saving at financial institutions

Source: Global Findex Database 2014.

Furthermore, Figure 6 shows that financial literacy among women is positively correlated with formal saving habits. In other words, those with high financial literacy are more likely to save at a financial institution. The same positive relationship is seen for men as well (Figure 7). Both graphs simply show a positive correlation between financial knowledge and formal savings rather than a causal relationship.

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Figure 6: Financial literacy among women and percentage of women saving at financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Figure 7: Financial literacy among men and percentage of men saving at financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Even though we find a positive link between formal saving habits and financial knowledge, many individuals may not be fully benefitting from what their accounts have to offer, as a large fraction of the population lacks financial skills. Figure 8 shows the percentages of adults in each country who are not able to correctly answer the two compound interest questions in the S&P Global FinLit Survey along with the fraction of the population who saves using an account at a bank or other financial institution. Overall, the fraction of people not able to correctly answer the two compound interest questions ranges from 32% in Canada to 69% in Argentina and Japan. Even though in most G20 countries individuals use an account at formal financial institutions, around two-thirds of the population do not grasp compound interest.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 9

Figure 8: Percentage of adults NOT correctly answering the compound interest questions and the fraction of the population saving using an account at formal financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Next, we focus on savings for old age and find that women tend to save less for their retirement than men (Figure 9). The fraction of the population saving for their old age varies greatly across G20 countries. Once again, Italy shows a pronounced gender gap of 11% in retirement savings (with 20% of women saving for retirement vs. 31% of men). Among the G20 economies, this gender difference is greater only in the United Kingdom, with a gap of 15%, where, however, 33% of women and 48% of men save for retirement.

Figure 9: Percentage of men and women saving for old age

Source: Global Findex Database 2014.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 10

Further, we see a strong correlation between financial literacy rates and retirement saving behavior among women (Figure 10) as well as among men (Figure 11).2 This correlation emphasizes the potential effect financial knowledge has on financial behavior and decision making. People with a better understanding of basic financial concepts and life-long consequences of financial decisions are more likely to set aside money for their golden years, a finding that holds true in many empirical studies (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014).

Figure 10: Financial literacy among women and percentage of women saving for old age

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Figure 11: Financial literacy among men and percentage of men saving for old age

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

2 The survey question asks whether respondents have personally saved or set aside any money for old age over the past 12 months.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 11

Financial fragility Financial literacy also strongly correlates with financial fragility (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2017a). Being more financially knowledgeable is associated with a higher probability of being able to handle unexpected financial hardship. The percentage of people age 15 and above who reported that it would not be possible for them to come up with funds to cover an emergency within the following month is the indicator of financial fragility we consider in this report. The emergency amount given on the survey was equal to 1/20 of the gross national income per capita in local currency. A similar measure was discussed in detail in Lusardi, Schneider, and Tufano (2011). As can be seen in Figure 12, a significantly higher percentage of women than men tend to struggle with access to emergency funds. These average percentages range widely across G20 countries, from around 7% in Germany to around 50% in Turkey. The gender differences are highly variable as well, with the largest in Italy (where, on average, 17% more women struggle than men), Turkey (15%), and Canada (10%).

Figure 12: Percentage of men and women unable to come up with emergency funds

Source: Global Findex Database 2014.

Moreover, the S&P Global FinLit Survey data show that the percentage of women who report that they cannot come up with emergency funds is negatively correlated with their financial literacy rates (Figure 13). A similar pattern is seen for men (Figure 14). Thus, the higher the average financial literacy rate among a country’s population, the more prepared the country’s population is, on average, for financial hardship.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 12

Figure 13: Financial literacy among women and percentage of women unable to come up with emergency funds

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Figure 14: Financial literacy among men and percentage of men unable to come up with emergency funds

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Borrowing In addition to examining saving data, we can also examine data about borrowing. As shown in Figure 15, in the G20 economies, women are less likely than men to borrow. Survey respondents were asked whether they have, by themselves or together with someone else, borrowed any money from a bank or other type of formal financial institution within the past 12 months.3 This variable does not include outstanding credit

3 In this study, the past 12 months indicate borrowing in the year 2013.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 13

card balances. Interestingly, the percentage of the population using formal borrowing instruments varies a lot across the G20 countries, from an average of less than 10% in Argentina, India, and Japan to around one- quarter of the population in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Moreover, the gender gap in borrowing from formal financial institutions is found to be rather high—around 10%—in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In all other countries, the average gender gap is around 5%, except for the Russian Federation, which is the only G20 country with more women than men using formal borrowing instruments.

Figure 15: Percentage of men and women borrowing from financial institutions

Source: Global Findex Database 2014.

Figure 16 and Figure 17 show the relationship between financial literacy and borrowing from financial institutions for women and men, respectively. We find a strong and positive correlation between financial literacy rates and use of formal credit, with similar correlations for women and men. It is important to note again that these are analyses of the correlation between financial knowledge and financial decision making rather than of causal relationships.

We still find that understanding of financial concepts related to borrowing is rather low, even in the countries with the highest rates of formal credit use (Figure 18). In the G20 countries in which around one-quarter of the population uses formal borrowing (i.e., Canada, Australia, and the United States), only about 60% of population demonstrates understanding of the workings of interest rates. This implies that there are large segments of the population of these countries who are borrowing without fully understanding the effects that interest rates have on the total amounts owed.

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Figure 16: Financial literacy among women and percentage of women borrowing from financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Figure 17: Financial literacy among men and percentage of men borrowing from financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 15

Figure 18: Percentage of adults NOT correctly answering the interest question

and the fraction of the population borrowing from formal financial institutions

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey and Global Findex Database 2014.

Case study: Italy

Of major advanced economies, Italy has the lowest percentage of financially literate people. Only 37% of Italians are able to correctly answer at least three out of four basic financial concepts. Further, among the G20, Italy has the largest gender gap in financial literacy, at 15%; 45% of Italian men are financially literate, whereas only 30% of women are. This gap is comparably high for Australia (15%) and Canada (17%), but in contrast to Italy, in those countries around 75% of men can correctly answer at least three out of the four concepts compared to around 58% of women. Italy’s gender gap in relation to the country’s financial literacy rate is comparable to countries such as Indonesia and Brazil (Figure 3). Italian women tend to engage less with financial services and institutions than men compared to women in the other major advanced economies (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States). For example, 83% of Italian women have their own or a joint account at a bank, or another type of formal financial institution, whereas the percentage among men stands at 92%. Among the other major advanced economies, 95% to 99% of the population holds an account, on average, and the percentage is similar for men and women. Furthermore, on average, fewer Italian women tend to save for either retirement or unexpected financial hardship than men. This, in combination with low financial literacy, shows the potential vulnerability of women in Italy.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 16

Moreover, the OECD’s 2012 and 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy data confirms the low levels of financial literacy in Italy.4 Further, Italy is the only country which exhibits a difference in financial literacy between boys and girls (Figure 19). Thus, the gender gap in Italy also exists among the very young (15-year-olds). The study by Bottazzi and Lusardi (2016) uses the PISA data to analyze factors that affect boys’ and girls’ financial literacy in Italy. The paper documents the impact of the family, in particular the mother, on the financial knowledge of girls. Thus, given the low levels of financial literacy among Italian adults, with no interventions, gender differences in financial literacy may persist for a long time.

Figure 19: PISA 2015 financial literacy score-point differences between boys and girls

Source: OECD 2015 PISA Financial Literacy Assessment data.

Conclusion

Financial literacy is a skill that is essential if one is to participate in today’s economy. Wide-ranging developments in the financial marketplace have contributed to growing concerns about the level of financial literacy of citizens of many countries.

Through analysis of the S&P Global FinLit Survey, the most comprehensive global data set on financial literacy to date, we find that financial illiteracy is widespread, but it is particularly pronounced among women. Worldwide, just one in three adults show an understanding of basic financial concepts, making it clear that billions of people are unprepared to deal with rapid changes in the financial landscape. This is worrisome in itself. However, further concern is raised with the finding of robust evidence of a gender gap in financial literacy around the world. The gap in financial literacy between men and women exists across countries with different financial market development and institutional setups as well as different social and cultural contexts. Moreover, it is independent of a country’s income level.

4 In 2012, PISA introduced the first optional financial literacy assessment, which measures the proficiency of 15-year-olds in demonstrating and applying financial knowledge and skills. A sample of students were selected from the same schools that completed PISA’s core assess- ments in mathematics, reading, and science.

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The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 17

Furthermore, the gender gap in financial literacy is evident when using a large set of questions that assess understanding of both simple and complex financial concepts among Dutch, American, and German respondents (van Rooij et al., 2011; Bucher-Koenen, 2011; Lusardi and Mitchell, 2017b). Moreover, gender differences are hard to explain. The paper by Bucher-Koenen et al. (2016), for example, concludes that there is no single explanation that can satisfactorily address the differences in financial literacy levels between women and men.

Low levels of financial knowledge have far-reaching consequences, because financial literacy can be linked to important financial decisions. Moreover, women face unique financial challenges due to lower income during their working lives, interrupted employment histories, and longer life expectancies than men. Thus, improving women’s financial literacy is key to promoting their financial security.

Not only do women answer fewer financial literacy questions correctly but they are also more likely to state that they do not know the answer to these questions. Many women recognize their lack of knowledge in financial matters (Bucher-Koenen et al., 2016). This awareness makes them an ideal target for financial education programs. Research has shown that financial education programs seem to be particularly successful for women (Clark et al., 2006).

To build financial knowledge in the population at large and among women, specifically, will require financial education. Financial education in schools can advance financial capability among the young. Making personal finance a required course at colleges and universities would equip the young with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in today’s financial environment. Recent research conducted by Kaiser and Menkoff (2016) shows that financial education has a significant positive impact on financial literacy and financial behavior.

Another possible channel for increasing financial literacy is employer-provided financial education. A study by Lusardi (2004) discusses the impact of interactive seminar-based formats and provides evidence that retirement seminars can foster wealth accumulation and bolster financial security in retirement. Research by Loibl and Hira (2006) shows that employer-provided self-directed learning sources can provide an alternative way for employees to stay current in an environment of constantly changing financial information.

In view of the different financial challenges women need to address, an effective way forward for financial education programs is to target women and men separately and to offer programs that recognize the differences between women and men in terms of financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial needs.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 18

APPENDIX Financial Literacy: An Economy-by-Economy Breakdown

Economy Financially

Literate Adults (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Adults (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Adults (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Adults (%)

Afghanistan 14 Côte d’Ivoire 35 Kyrgyz Republic 19 Saudi Arabia 31

Albania 14 Denmark 71 Latvia 48 Senegal 40

Algeria 33 Dominican Republic

35 Lebanon 44 Serbia 38

Angola 15 Ecuador 30 Lithuania 39 Sierra Leone 21

Argentina 28 Egypt, Arab Rep. 27 Luxembourg 53 Singapore 59

Armenia 18 El Salvador 21 Macedonia, FYR 21 Slovak Republic 48

Australia 64 Estonia 54 Madagascar 38 Slovenia 44

Austria 53 Ethiopia 32 Malawi 35 Somalia 15

Azerbaijan 36 Finland 63 Malaysia 36 South Africa 42

Bahrain 40 France 52 Mali 33 Spain 49

Bangladesh 19 Gabon 35 Malta 44 Sri Lanka 35

Belarus 38 Georgia 30 Mauritania 33 Sudan 21

Belgium 55 Germany 66 Mauritius 39 Sweden 71

Belize 33 Ghana 32 Mexico 32 Switzerland 57

Benin 37 Greece 45 Moldova 27 Taiwan, China 37

Bhutan 54 Guatemala 26 Mongolia 41 Tajikistan 17

Bolivia 24 Guinea 30 Montenegro 48 Tanzania 40

Bosnia and Herzegovina

27 Haiti 18 Myanmar 52 Thailand 27

Botswana 52 Honduras 23 Namibia 27 Togo 38

Brazil 35 Hong Kong SAR, China

43 Nepal 18 Tunisia 45

Bulgaria 35 Hungary 54 Netherlands 66 Turkey 24

Burkina Faso 33 India 24 New Zealand 61 Turkmenistan 41

Burundi 24 Indonesia 32 Nicaragua 20 Uganda 34

Cambodia 18 Iran, Islamic Rep. 20 Niger 31 Ukraine 40

Cameroon 38 Iraq 27 Nigeria 26 United Arab Emirates

38

Canada 68 Ireland 55 Norway 71 United Kingdom 67

Chad 26 Israel 68 Pakistan 26 United States 57

Chile 41 Italy 37 Panama 27 Uruguay 45

China 28 Jamaica 33 Peru 28 Uzbekistan 21

Colombia 32 Japan 43 Philippines 25 Venezuela, RB 25

Congo, Dem. Rep. 32 Jordan 24 Poland 42 Vietnam 24

Congo, Rep. 31 Kazakhstan 40 Portugal 26 West Bank and Gaza 25

Costa Rica 35 Kenya 38 Puerto Rico 32 Yemen, Rep. 13

Croatia 44 Korea, Rep. 33 Romania 22 Zambia 40

Cyprus 35 Kosovo 20 Russian Federation 38 Zimbabwe 41

Czech Republic 58 Kuwait 44 Rwanda 26

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 19

Financial Literacy Among Women: An Economy-by-Economy Breakdown

Economy Financially

Literate Women (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Women (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Women (%)

Economy Financially

Literate Women (%)

Afghanistan 9 Côte d’Ivoire 31 Kyrgyz Republic 18 Saudi Arabia 28

Albania 12 Denmark 67 Latvia 44 Senegal 37

Algeria 28 Dominican Republic

35 Lebanon 39 Serbia 34

Angola 10 Ecuador 29 Lithuania 36 Sierra Leone 18

Argentina 24 Egypt, Arab Rep. 25 Luxembourg 46 Singapore 52

Armenia 16 El Salvador 18 Macedonia, FYR 17 Slovak Republic 47

Australia 56 Estonia 54 Madagascar 34 Slovenia 39

Austria 51 Ethiopia 30 Malawi 33 Somalia 15

Azerbaijan 26 Finland 58 Malaysia 33 South Africa 43

Bahrain 36 France 48 Mali 34 Spain 48

Bangladesh 14 Gabon 34 Malta 40 Sri Lanka 33

Belarus 34 Georgia 25 Mauritania 29 Sudan 20

Belgium 52 Germany 60 Mauritius 38 Sweden 70

Belize 34 Ghana 30 Mexico 34 Switzerland 53

Benin 32 Greece 42 Moldova 25 Taiwan, China 34

Bhutan 55 Guatemala 20 Mongolia 38 Tajikistan 16

Bolivia 21 Guinea 26 Montenegro 48 Tanzania 36

Bosnia and Herzegovina

24 Haiti 19 Myanmar 47 Thailand 26

Botswana 50 Honduras 20 Namibia 24 Togo 34

Brazil 29 Hong Kong SAR, China

37 Nepal 11 Tunisia 38

Bulgaria 31 Hungary 55 Netherlands 58 Turkey 19

Burkina Faso 29 India 20 New Zealand 57 Turkmenistan 42

Burundi 25 Indonesia 25 Nicaragua 16 Uganda 33

Cambodia 16 Iran, Islamic Rep. 18 Niger 27 Ukraine 35

Cameroon 34 Iraq 25 Nigeria 24 United Arab Emirates

41

Canada 60 Ireland 52 Norway 68 United Kingdom 68

Chad 24 Israel 64 Pakistan 21 United States 52

Chile 39 Italy 30 Panama 25 Uruguay 41

China 27 Jamaica 26 Peru 25 Uzbekistan 20

Colombia 29 Japan 44 Philippines 26 Venezuela, RB 21

Congo, Dem. Rep. 28 Jordan 22 Poland 36 Vietnam 21

Congo, Rep. 26 Kazakhstan 40 Portugal 23 West Bank and Gaza 21

Costa Rica 30 Kenya 36 Puerto Rico 28 Yemen, Rep. 8

Croatia 44 Korea, Rep. 30 Romania 22 Zambia 38

Cyprus 31 Kosovo 17 Russian Federation 35 Zimbabwe 36

Czech Republic 53 Kuwait 40 Rwanda 22

Source: S&P Global FinLit Survey.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 20

Survey methodology

Surveys are conducted face-to-face in economies where telephone coverage represents less than 80 percent of the population or is the customary methodology. In most economies the fieldwork is completed in two to four weeks. In economies where face-to-face surveys are conducted, the first stage of sampling is the identification of primary sampling units. These units are stratified by population size, geography, or both, and clustering is achieved through one or more stages of sampling. Where population information is available, sample selection is based on probabilities proportional to population size. Otherwise, simple random sampling is used. Random route procedures are used to select sampled households. Unless an outright refusal occurs, interviewers make up to three attempts to survey the sampled household. To increase the probability of contact and completion, attempts are made at different times of the day and, where possible, on different days. If an interview cannot be obtained at the initial sampled household, a simple substitution method is used. Respondents are randomly selected within the selected households by means of the Kish grid. In economies where cultural restrictions dictate gender matching, respondents are randomly selected through the Kish grid from among all eligible adults of the interviewer’s gender.

In economies where telephone interviewing is employed, random digit dialing or a nationally representative list of phone numbers is used. In most economies where cell phone penetration is high, a dual sampling frame is used. Random selection of respondents is achieved by using either the latest birthday or Kish grid method. At least three attempts are made to reach a person in each household, spread over different days and times of day.

Data weighting is used to ensure a nationally representative sample for each economy. Final weights consist of the base sampling weight, which corrects for unequal probability of selection based on household size, and the post-stratification weight, which corrects for sampling and nonresponse error. Post-stratification weights use economy-level population statistics on gender and age and, where reliable data are available, education or socioeconomic status. More information on the data collection period, number of interviews, approximate design effect, and margin of error, as well as sampling details for each economy, can be found in Demirguc-Kunt et al. (2015).

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 21

References

Bottazzi, Laura, and Annamaria Lusardi. 2016. “Gender Difference in Financial Literacy: Evidence from PISA Data in Italy.” https://institute.eib.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/gender-diff.pdf.

Bucher-Koenen, Tabea. 2011. “Financial Literacy, Riester Pensions, and Other Private Old Age Provision in Germany.” Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, MEA Discussion Paper 250-11 1-35.

Bucher-Koenen, Tabea, Annamaria Lusardi, Rob Alessie, and Maarten Van Rooij. 2016. “How Financially Literate Are Women? An Overview and New Insights.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs 1-29.

Clark, Robert L., Madeleine B. D’Ambrosio, Ann A. McDermed, and Kshama Sawant. 2006. “Retirement Plans and Saving Decisions: The Role of Information and Education.” Journal of Pension Economics and Finance 5 (1): 45-67.

Demirguc-Kunt, Asli, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, and Peter Van Oudheusden. 2015. “The Global Findex Database 2014: Measuring Financial Inclusion around the World.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7255.

Fonseca, Raquel, Kathleen J. Mullen, Gema Zamarro, and Julie Zissimopoulos. 2012. “What Explains the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy? The Role of Household Decision Making.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 46 (1): 90-106.

Kaiser, Tim, and Lukas Menkoff. 2016. “Does Financial Education Impact Financial Behavior, and if So, When?” German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) Discussion Paper 1562.

Klapper, Leora, Annamaria Lusardi, and Peter van Oudheusden. 2015. “Financial Literacy Around the World: Insights from the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey.” http://gflec.org/ wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Finlit_paper_16_F2_singles.pdf.

Loibl, Cäzilia, and Tahira K. Hira. 2006. “A Workplace and Gender-related Perspective on Financial Planning Information Sources and Knowledge Outcomes.” Financial Services Review 15 (1): 21-42.

Lusardi, Annamaria. 2004. “Saving and the Effectiveness of Financial Education.” in Olivia S. Mitchell and Stephen Utkus (eds.), Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioral Finance, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 157-184

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Carlo de Bassa Scheresberg. 2013. “Financial Literacy and High-Cost Borrowing in the United States.” Working Paper 18969, Cambridge, MA: NBER.

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. 2008. “Planning and Financial Literacy: How Do Women Fare?” American Economic Review 98 (2): 413-417.

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. 2014. “The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Economic Literature 52 (1): 5-44.

The Gender Gap in Financial Literacy: A Global Perspective | 22

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. 2017(a). “Women Retirement Security.” Trends and Issues, TIAA Institute, May 2017.

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. 2017(b). “How Ordinary Consumers Make Complex Economic Decisions: Financial Literacy and Retirement Readiness.” forthcoming Quarterly Journal of Finance 7 (3): 1-31.

Lusardi, Annamaria, and Peter Tufano. 2015. “Debt Literacy, Financial Experiences, and Overindebtedness.” Journal of Pension Economics and Finance 14 (4): 332-368.

Lusardi, Annamaria, Daniel Schneider, and Peter Tufano. 2011. “Financially Fragile Households: Evidence and Implications.” Brookings Papers and Economic Activity 83-134.

Van Rooij, Maarten, Annamaria Lusardi, and Rob Alessie. 2011. “Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation.” Journal of Financial Economics (101): 449-472.

Articles/Hendricks, 2019, The role of financial inclusion in driving women s economic empowerment.pdf

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The role of financial inclusion in driving women’s economic empowerment

Sarah Hendriks

To cite this article: Sarah Hendriks (2019) The role of financial inclusion in driving women’s economic empowerment, Development in Practice, 29:8, 1029-1038, DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2019.1660308

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2019.1660308

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The role of financial inclusion in driving women’s economic empowerment Sarah Hendriks

ABSTRACT This article highlights why the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has focused on financial inclusion to advance women’s economic empowerment and drive progress on gender equality. It highlights key lessons from financial inclusion-related projects the foundation has supported within the “Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development (WGCD) Grand Challenge” in 2015. The article also shares the logic and research informing the foundation’s strategy to close the gender gap in financial inclusion – a key pillar of its strategy on women’s economic empowerment – and improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of women around the world.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 10 May 2019 Accepted 22 August 2019

KEYWORDS Gender and diversity; Labour and livelihoods – poverty reduction; Microfinance; Technology – ICT

Introduction

A wide body of research has shown that poverty and inequality are deeply intertwined1. Women and girls still earn less, learn less, own less, and wield much less economic power than their brothers and husbands. This leads to negative consequences that affect women’s health, schooling, job prospects, and even the control women have – or lack – over their own lives and choices.

However, we are witnessing critical momentum to achieve gender equality: 193 nations com- mitted to ending gender inequality by 2030 through the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 5, which is focused on ending gender inequality. Women are also raising their voices to chal- lenge the systems and structures that impede them, building on the earlier milestones of the Con- vention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979, and the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995.

To capitalise on this momentum, we need evidence-based solutions that can catalyse women’s mobility from poverty. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to advancing equality in the world, by investing in research, advocacy and programmes that can dismantle the barriers women and girls face to leading both healthy and productive lives. We believe that the barriers that perpetuate inequality must be removed, so that women and girls have an equal opportunity to earn a fair income, control their own economic resources, and dictate the course of their own lives.

This article highlights why the Gates Foundation has focused on financial inclusion to advance women’s economic empowerment and drive progress on gender equality. Within financial inclusion, we are particularly focused on the potential for digital financial services to link women to markets, raise incomes, reduce poverty and facilitate women’s greater control over their earnings and savings, all critical elements of women’s economic empowerment. This article aims to highlight key lessons from financial inclusion-related projects the foundation has supported within the “Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development (WGCD) Grand Challenge” in 2015. Further- more, it shares the logic and research informing our strategy to close the gender gap in financial

© 2019 Bill and Miranda Gates Foundation. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

CONTACT Sarah Hendriks [email protected]

DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE 2019, VOL. 29, NO. 8, 1029–1038 https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2019.1660308

inclusion – a key pillar of our strategy on women’s economic empowerment – and improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of women around the world.

Why financial inclusion matters for women

Being financially included can have transformative effects for women. When women actively partici- pate in the financial system, they can better manage risk, smooth consumption in the face of shocks, or fund household expenditures like education (Dupas and Robinson 2013). Providing low-income women with the right financial tools to save and borrow money, make and receive payments, and manage risk is important for women’s empowerment, but also for poverty reduction, especially since women disproportionately experience poverty (Holloway, Niazi, and Rouse 2017).

A growing body of rigorous RCTs shows consistently positive impacts for women from interven- tions to increase personal savings (Klapper 2015). Women’s access to individual secure (private) savings accounts can foster economic resilience and increase control over financial resources for women, including those with less household decision-making power (Karlan et al. 2016). For example:

. Financial tools can empower women within households to make decisions and gain greater control over resource allocation (Karlan et al. 2016). Studies have shown that women’s access to individual private savings accounts not only fosters economic resilience by increasing women’s savings, but also enables women to make financial choices, buy more durable goods, and increased women’s bargaining power in the household (Dupas and Robinson 2013). In the Philip- pines, the opening of a goal-based commitment account increased savings by 81% and resulted in greater bargaining power for women within the household, increased expenditure on female- oriented consumer durables, and were particularly attractive to less empowered women (Ashraf et al. 2006).

. Women’s financial inclusion can result in better outcomes for children, household nutrition, and the wider community. Delivering cash transfers targeted to women digitally through mobile money improved dietary diversity compared to traditional cash delivery and girls living in poor households with female pension recipients demonstrated better nutrition than those with just male recipients (Duflo 2003). In Nepal, easily accessible, no-fee savings accounts were offered to female heads of households living in slums and resulted in an uptake of 84% of women opening an account, which boosted spending on education and nutritious foods. Compared to those without accounts, women also had increased health-related expenditures, enabling house- holds to better respond to health emergencies (Prina 2015). Mobile money has the potential to include last-mile populations, expand poor households’ occupational choices and enable women to have greater mobility from poverty. In Kenya, the impact of the introduction of mobile money in moving households out of poverty was particularly pronounced for female- headed households (Suri and Jack 2016).

We are encouraged by the evidence demonstrating that providing low-income women with the right financial tools to save and borrow money, make and receive payments, and manage risk is a critical factor to support women’s empowerment (Holloway, Niazi, and Rouse 2017).

Women and Girls at the Center of Development Grand Challenge

In 2014, Melinda Gates published a commentary in Science that highlighted the need to move beyond targeting women and girls as beneficiaries of development programmes and to recognise their role as agents of change (Gates 2014). She also challenged the Gates Foundation to not use the complexity of resolving gender inequality as an excuse for failing to think and act more intention- ally about putting women and girls at the centre of what we do. The commentary articulated a need for us to get smarter, to be more systematic, and to demonstrate the results that can be achieved

1030 S. HENDRIKS

from taking a gender intentional approach. Evidence shows that gender discrimination and inequal- ity are key factors limiting advances in human health and development outcomes for all – women, men, boys, and girls.

Following this discussion, the Gates Foundation launched a Grand Challenge on Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development. This was an unprecedented effort across the foundation’s programme teams to generate learning and evidence that will benefit the field on how to unlock and drive the empowerment of women and girls. This Grand Challenge linked being more “gender intentional” with better outcomes across development work. It sought to build on existing promising approaches but recognised that we need a lot more out-of-the-box thinking and, certainly, more rigour and creativity. Essentially, it sought to advance new research on questions that needed to be asked, and on solutions that haven’t yet been tried. A focus on rigorous measurement was a cornerstone of these efforts.

The Challenge garnered substantive engagement from expert organisations across the world and resulted in a portfolio of projects with partners, including those which focused on women’s financial inclusion. That is why the bulk of the article in this Development in Practice feature present findings from work funded under the Gates Foundation’s Women and Girls at the Center of Development Grand Challenge, with a focus on research-led projects on financial inclusion. The insights and data from these projects can help us all to better understand the gendered barriers to financial inclusion and identify solutions that support gender equitable economic outcomes at scale.

Reaching last-mile populations through digital financial services

In the first article, Tiwari, Schaub and Sultana focus on women in the arid lands of East Africa. BOMA uses a graduation model intervention that develops livelihoods skills and activities, builds savings and provides sustainable pathways out of extreme poverty. BOMA’s Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) seeks to empower extremely poor pastoral women in northern Kenya, who also rep- resent the last mile of financial inclusion. Qualitative and quantitative analyses suggest that women involved in REAP expanded their savings and expenditures, improved nutrition for themselves and their children, and increased their decision-making power about the use of family and personal income.

However, BOMA’s experience also underlines that low literacy, numeracy, and familiarity with mobile technology can be binding constraints that limit women’s ability to effectively use digital financial products. Evaluation of BOMA’s digital finance platform, M-Chama, revealed that uptake and use patterns were affected by illiteracy and user preferences. While use of M-Pesa for personal transactions between family and friends was high, digital business transactions were uncommon. Users depended on others (family members, project facilitators, community leaders) for support in using the complex M-Chama platform. BOMA also observed that digital savings did not replace savings in the form of cash and livestock, suggesting that women’s preferences for digital financial products may complement, rather than replace, traditional financial practices for ultra- poor women.

The BOMA experiences suggests that women may continue to experience limits to full control over their spending unless basic skills are developed in tandem with financial products that reflect women’s preferences. We know from other research that men and women use different financial pro- ducts to address similar use cases. Addressing these structural barriers through better service design, consumer responsiveness, and complementary programming will be key to ensuring that ultra-poor women and girls from marginalised communities are able to be fully financially included. Further research is warranted to understand the product features that can contribute to changes in margin- alised women’s financial behaviours, and which can increase greater control for women over income and assets. Specifically, there are unanswered research questions, for example, on the product design features that could maximise women’s control and privacy, or the design changes to existing financial products that could increase profitability for women-owned enterprises.

DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE 1031

Similarly, the article by Hudson Matthews elucidates the challenges faced by last mile populations, specifically populations that largely rely on spoken communications. Matthews points to the impor- tance of bringing an intentional focus on such communities who have, to date, been left out of the digital revolution. The paper highlights the benefits of formal financial inclusion and what can be done to modify existing approaches to digital financial services to meet the needs of such last mile populations. As Matthews underscores:

People can “leapfrog” over a cash economy they have not yet really entered, into a digital one. But this will only take place if they feel safe there; the digital economy must communicate in their language – and financial inclusion is on the front lines of this encounter.

This article suggests that human-centred design approaches can be used to improve the relevance and utility of digital technology for non-literate populations.

Increasing usage: tailoring financial products to women’s preferences and needs

The article by Eckhoff, Miruka, Natakunda and Pennotti documents CARE’s implementation experi- ence from two projects that address the social norms that circumscribe women’s use of financial pro- ducts, services, and technologies. The first was the LINK Up project, where CARE worked with leading banks in Kenya and Tanzania to deploy financial products tailored to the needs of informal savings groups and their members. The second is the Digital Sub-Wallets project in Uganda where CARE part- nered with a bank and community-based organisations to develop a tailored digital product to meet the financial needs of women while engaging participating households in dialogue to transform gender norms.

Both projects suggest that the context of social norms that shape women’s lives and responsibil- ities is an important linkage to ensuring that financial products and institutions are beneficial to women. For many women, access to a personal bank account provided the privacy they need to maintain control over their earned and saved income. But it left unchanged women’s concern that they could lose control over their income if their spouses knew about the funds. The CARE article highlights how financial products that enable greater privacy are particularly important for women who, due to unequal gender norms and power relations within a household, may be compelled to keep their income a secret.

These findings reflect other studies on women’s preference for illiquidity as a mechanism to help them shield money from intra-or inter-household demands. Products designed to restrict access and reduce the liquidity of savings can help individuals subject to high social demands save more. Product tests in Malawi (Brune et al. 2015) or Kenya (Dupas and Robinson 2013) suggest that illiquid accounts with significant withdrawal costs or linked to a specific commitment can be effective in encouraging savings for clients facing significant demands on their income from outside the house- hold. In contrast, products without such commitment devices can lead to decreased usage, as the additional liquidity that they provide may reduce women’s control over the account. For example, a study in Kenya found that offering free ATM cards, which increased account accessibility and reduced withdrawal fees, caused individuals with a stronger position in the household (majority men) to significantly increase usage of the accounts while individuals with low household bargaining power (majority female), reduced account usage (Schaner 2016).

Another key lesson from CARE’s research in the Link Up project highlighted that digital chan- nels can be challenging for women involved in savings groups in resource-poor contexts. The authors report that despite awareness of mobile banking and its benefits, many savings groups continued to choose brick and mortar outlets over mobile. There were several reasons for this: fear of making mistakes; perceived high fee rates in the mobile system; insufficient knowledge of how to use mobile banking; frequent network failure or system difficulties with mobile agents; and the preference to use paper receipts for group records. Some of these factors – such as network reliability and product fees – were challenging to overcome. Other

1032 S. HENDRIKS

constraints could be dealt with by better familiarising savings group members to understand how the financial product functioned.

Building on this knowledge, CARE used household dialogue sessions to support the improved use of digital savings and payments mechanisms by women in the project on digital sub-wallets for women in rural Uganda. In a rigorous trial of the intervention, preliminary results suggest that women in households participating in the dialogue sessions have much greater control over their savings and that decision-making is more equitable. “During field visits, participants engaged in the household dialogue sessions in particular are sharing experiences of significant change in the relationships, decision-making processes, and financial health within their homes” (Eckhoff et al. in this issue).

Enhancing women’s access to formal financial services through government-to- people (G2P)

Sabherwal, Trivedi and Sharma focus on how government-to-people (G2)P transfers can increase women’s access to and control over their own wages, in the case of the direct benefit transfers to women working in the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) in India. The project, funded by the foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor team, provides women access to bank accounts and ensures that their payments from the MNREGS workfare programme go directly into those accounts. One goal is to reduce payment delays by providing officials with easily accessible and actionable information. Another is to demonstrate the impact of delivering information on bank transactions via simple and understandable interactive voice response (IVR) calls to account holders. The IVR calls are intended to alert women about funds availability and to enable them to increase their access to and control over the earnings. The article discusses the con- straints that lead to bank account dormancy for women and propose potential interventions to ensure technology, payment systems and service delivery are designed with women’s interests in mind.

Transforming the way women participate in economies

On the heels of these Grand Challenges projects, in 2017 the Gates Foundation began a deep, evi- dence-driven process to develop a strategy dedicated to advancing gender equality outcomes at scale. While this is our first gender equality strategy, we were not starting from scratch. Gender has always been at the heart of our foundation’s work – from maternal and child health to nutrition to family planning. To build on this, we developed a new strategy that articulates how we will system- atically tackle the barriers that women and girls face.

Fundamentally, we believe that taking charge of your economic future is one of the most profound ways to exercise power over your life. That’s why our gender equality strategy is devoted specifically to transforming the way women participate in economies. The strategy was informed by a series of consultations and literature reviews on gender equality and analysis of data from our own investment portfolio. Through this rigorous process, we came to recognise that women’s economic empowerment is a powerful lever for change, which can drive gender equality outcomes and broader intergenerational benefits for women, their children, and households.

Our understanding of women’s economic empowerment was informed by an important and evol- ving body of literature and practitioner learning (Sen 1990; Kabeer 1999; Golla et al. 2011). Building from this, we developed a set of core beliefs that formed the theoretical underpinnings of our strat- egy. We believe that:

. Gender equality and human development are inter-related: Improved gender equality is associated with higher levels of human development and faster economic growth. For example,

DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE 1033

the World Bank estimates that one-third of the decline in poverty and inequality in Latin America during the 1990s and early 2000s was due to increased female labour force partici- pation (World Bank 2012). Women’s economic empowerment is a pre-requisite for inclusive economic growth.

. Poverty and inequality are also inter-related: Women and girls face differential barriers because of the ways that poverty and inequality are deeply inter-twined. This interconnection is evident across multiple levels in terms of: how women in low-income households’ experience poverty; the way that power is brokered in communities; the entrenched biases in systems and structures that can exclude women (e.g. economic, agricultural, financial or market systems).

. Economic growth does not always “lift all boats”: We know that as low-income countries make strides towards greater health and productivity, poor women and girls do not always benefit from the rising tide of human and economic development (Duflo 2012; Kabeer 2016). Economies are not automatically inclusive. When left unchecked, the market forces driving economic growth will not necessarily expand decent economic opportunities for women. We need deliberate tactics to ensure women aren’t left behind relative to their male peers.

. Economic losses are not distributed gender equitably: When poor households must adjust to micro-economic shocks or periods of economic fragility (such as lower household income or diminished purchasing power), it is women and girls who disproportionately absorb the conse- quences in ways that have far-reaching effects on their lives and futures (such as being pulled from school or lowering daily caloric intake). Policies and programmes must anticipate periods of amplified vulnerability that can set back women’s economic progress (Sabarawal, Sinha, and Buvinic 2011). Women and girls often suffer first, worst and recover last from micro- and macro-economic shocks, and have less support to build resilience, smooth household consump- tion, or buffer against risks.

. Women and girls are economic actors: The economic activity of women and girls often goes unrecognised. A growing body of research documents the many ways that women are actively engaged as economic actors across value chains: as producers, consumers, business owners, or community members who influence markets and policy (UNHLP 2016).

. Women’s agency and collective action is as essential as economic advancement: It is not just the objective dimensions of economic empowerment that matter, such as productivity or income. Agency (the capacity to make decisions and take purposeful action) is essential and does not necessarily follow on from increases in income or assets alone. It is critical to ensure that women have the self-reliance to take economic risks, define their economic future, and have sufficient bargaining power in the household. Collective action, the power of women coming together in solidarity to exercise their collective voice, is a powerful tool for social transformation and fundamental enabler of women’s economic rights.

. Systems have entrenched biases that exclude women: Women face barriers to accessing pro- ductive and economic resources because of the entrenched biases in financial, market, agricultural and legal systems. For example, women engage with formal financial institutions less and rep- resent more of the world’s unbanked population. Female entrepreneurs face unique barriers to securing capital or resources, often relegating them to smaller, home-based enterprises in low- growth sectors. Discrimination in law or policy can make it harder for women to own land or prop- erty, sign a contract, open a bank account or formally register a business (Women, Business and the Law Report 2018).

These core beliefs led us to the thesis that guides our strategy on women’s economic empow- erment: women who are economically empowered tend to have greater access to income and assets, better control over their own economic gains, and more equitable decision-making power to translate these gains into social, economic, and health benefits for themselves and their families.

1034 S. HENDRIKS

The foundation’s approach to increase women’s economic empowerment through digital financial services

One of the central levers in our strategy is focused on ensuring women have more access to and use of digital financial services, such as mobile bank accounts and digital payment systems, so that they can make their own decisions about spending, saving, taking financial risks, and building their own financial futures. Explicitly, the core objective of this work is to close the persistent gender gap in financial inclusion, with a focus on low-income women.

The latest World Bank Global Findex data confirmed that while account ownership has increased overall, gender gaps are not narrowing and remain unchanged over the past six years. Although we have seen good progress on financial inclusion, women remain less likely than men to have an account. In developing economies, the gender gap is 9 percentage points on average (67% of men and 59% of women), which has remained virtually unchanged since 2011. This doesn’t mean that women aren’t making gains; we have seen progress in the absolute number of banked women. For example, in a few developing economies such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Argen- tina, women are now more likely than men to have an account.

However, in some countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria, the gender gap in account ownership actually increased over the past three years. Although there were over 1.3 million newly banked women in Pakistan, the gender gap in account ownership increased from 16 to 28 percen- tage points. Similarly, while there was good progress for over 6.7 million newly banked women in Bangladesh, the gender gap increased to 29 percentage points (from a 9-percentage point gap in 2014). Women had made progress during this period, but not as much progress as men. This matters not just for women; the bank ownership rate can bring down the national average signifi- cantly: Pakistan would achieve far more than 21% access nationally if more than 7% of its women were banked.

We believe that mobile money can reduce gender inequality in financial inclusion. We’ve seen that where there is high mobile ownership, such as in sub-Saharan African economics, the gender differ- ences are narrower.. For example, in Kenya, men are 18 percentage points more likely than women to have a traditional bank account – but more women than men have only a mobile money account (World Bank 2018).

Deliberate efforts are required to close the gender gap in digital financial services (DFS)

More deliberate efforts are needed to close the gender gap and realise the potential gains of financial inclusion. As a first pathway to accelerating closure of the gender gap, we see promise in digitising social safety net programmes to increase the value of DFS for women – especially poor women – and to encourage more women into adopting and using DFS. Our hypothesis is that digitising a predict- able income stream for women is a way to rapidly close the gender gap in digital financial inclusion, and a potentially powerful platform to catalyse the economic empowerment of women.

To target and reach low-income women, we have hypothesised digitising already-established Gov- ernment-to-People (G2P) social safety net cash transfer programme as a lever that will increase the value of DFS for poor women – and encourage more women into adopting and using DFS. Interestingly, of the adults in developing economies who received government transfers digitally, 36% opened their first account specifically for that purpose (Klapper and Hess 2016). We have based this hypothesis on country exemplars in Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Mongolia and Iran, where moving routine cash trans- actions into digital accounts has proven to increase female account ownership.

Across these exemplars, G2P payments are an entry point for women to engage in broader financial services. For example, in Mexico, 14% of banked women opened their first account to receive a government transfer payment. In Brazil, 16% of banked women, compared to 7% of banked men, opened their first account to receive an electronic government transfer, and 88% of

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government transfer recipients receive their payment into a digital account (World Bank 2018). This is on par with the share of adults in high-income countries such as Germany. This suggests that G2P social protection payments can be leveraged to have outsized effects on women’s financial inclusion. In Brazil, for example, 20% of women and 10% of men receive government transfer payments. Additionally, for many women in these countries, this digital account is an entry point for them to engage in deeper usage of financial services. Examples include:

. In Brazil: One-third of women who receive government payments into an account also receive wages into an account. In addition, one in five of such recipients also use their account to pay utility bills, a quarter use their accounts to formally borrow, and 12% use their account to formally save.

. In Iran: One quarter of women who receive government payments into an account, the same as the share of men, use a mobile money service. More than 50% of women who receive such digital payments use a debit card, 37% use the internet to make purchases or to pay bills, 20% also use their account to save formally, and 38% use their account to borrow formally (same as the share for men).

. In Mexico: About one in four women who use their accounts to receive government payments, save formally, or borrow formally. An estimated 24% of these women use a debit card, and 23% receive wages using the same account.

Building from these exemplars, and focusing on where there is potential for impact, we are part- nering with governments in three countries to design and digitise social payments to go directly to women’s bank accounts. Specifically, we are working in the context of major social safety net pro- grammes in Pakistan (BISP Programme), Tanzania (PSSNII), and India (NREGA in Bihar).

Conclusion

We have based our approach on a body of evidence that tells us how digital financial services can lead to women’s economic empowerment and have broader, positive effects. In Kenya, mobile money lifted female headed households out of poverty (Suri and Jack 2016). In Niger, funnelling cash transfer payments to mobile accounts helped decrease costs of accessing the money, while improving women’s bargaining power and household consumption outcomes (Aker et al. 2016). In India, channelling workfare payments to women’s own bank accounts (instead of their husbands’ accounts) increased women’s engagement in the labour market (Field et al. 2016). Based on this evi- dence, we have developed an approach known as “D3”: digitising social protection programmes, directing payments into women’s accounts, and designing the programme so that they expand women’s economic opportunities. Specifically, the D3 diagnostic tool enables a more targeted approach to financial inclusion work through criteria that focuses on:

(1) Digitise: reliability, accessibility and accountability of digital payments. (2) Direct: the principle of “one woman, one account” and her control over funds. (3) Design: coverage and targeting, complementary services and mitigating adverse effects.

We believe that this approach can empower millions of women to not just open their own bank accounts, but also to decide how to spend their money and control their financial futures.

These cases suggest that the digitisation of G2P transfer payments can be a powerful accelerant to draw women into DFS, overcoming the supply-and-demand side barriers women face, and helping them to move into account ownership and usage at scale. Yet we know that digitising G2P alone may not be successful if we do not also recognise and address barriers facing women in adoption and usage of DFS (Field et al. 2016). These barriers include low intra-household bargaining power, social norms that dictate women’s earnings are at the command of male family members, and

1036 S. HENDRIKS

gendered mobility restrictions that can reduce women’s ability to access financial services and mobile money agents (Duflo 2012; Doss 2013).

Our review of the literature and of our foundation-wide investments in gender equality under- score that supporting women’s meaningful financial inclusion is a key building block for women’s economic empowerment and inclusive growth. G2P transfers present an important opportunity to include women in financial markets and services and to reach women at scale with direct-to-consu- mer, gender-intentional digital accounts.

By focusing on expanding women’s access to and use of digital financial services, we’re making sure that women have access to and control over their own money, which are critical to women’s economic empowerment and making sure women have the tools and resources to lift themselves – and their communities – out of poverty.

Notes

1. There is a long-standing literature looking at the impacts of various aspects of gender inequality and economic growth. Various studies found negative effects of gender inequality in education on economic growth (e.g. Dollar and Gatti 1999; Klasen 1999; Klasen and Lamanna 2009; Seguino 2010), as well as correlations between gender inequality and income inequality (Gonzales et al. 2015). Further, the World Bank estimates that higher female labour force participation accounted for about 30% of the reductions in poverty and income inequality in Latin America between 2000 and 2010 (World Bank 2012).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

This work was supported by the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [grant number 1135354].

Notes on contributor

Sarah Hendriks was previously the Director of Gender Equality at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

References

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from a Mobile Money Cash Transfer Experiment in Niger.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 65 (1): 1–37. Ashraf, N., D. Karlan, and W. Yin. 2006. “Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the

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Control Boost Female Labor Supply?” Accessed August 21, 2019. https://economics.mit.edu/files/14005. Gates, M. F. 2014. “Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development.” Science 345 (6202): 1273–1275.

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Holloway, K., Z. Niazi, and R. Rouse. 2017. Women’s Economic Empowerment Through Financial Inclusion: A Review of Existing Evidence and Remaining Knowledge Gaps. New Haven, CT: Innovations for Poverty Action.

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Karlan, D., J. Kendall, R. Mann, R. Pande, T. Suri, and J. Zinman. 2016. Research and Impacts of Digital Financial Services (No. w22633). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Suri, T., and W. Jack. 2016. “The Long-run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money.” Science 354 (6317): 1288–1292. UNHLP. 2016. “Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment.”

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2019. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/11867/9780821397701.pdf?sequence=1.

1038 S. HENDRIKS

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Why financial inclusion matters for women
  • Women and Girls at the Center of Development Grand Challenge
  • Reaching last-mile populations through digital financial services
  • Increasing usage: tailoring financial products to women’s preferences and needs
  • Enhancing women’s access to formal financial services through government-to-people (G2P)
  • Transforming the way women participate in economies
  • The foundation’s approach to increase women’s economic empowerment through digital financial services
  • Deliberate efforts are required to close the gender gap in digital financial services (DFS)
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Disclosure statement
  • Notes on contributor
  • References

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Articles/Hoge et al, 2020, Developing and Validating the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517706761

Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2020, Vol. 35(15-16) 3011 –3033

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Article

Developing and Validating the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy

Gretchen L. Hoge, PhD, MSW,1 Amanda M. Stylianou, PhD, LCSW,2 Andrea Hetling, PhD,1 and Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW1

Abstract Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and financial hardship are often intertwined. The dynamics of an abusive relationship may include economic abuse tactics that compromise a survivor’s ability to work, pursue education, have access to financial resources, and establish financial skills, knowledge, and security. An increasingly common goal among programs serving IPV survivors is increasing financial empowerment through financial literacy. However, providing financial education alone may not be enough to improve financial behaviors. Psychological factors also play a role when individuals make financial choices. Economic self-efficacy focuses on the individual’s perceived ability to perform economic or financial tasks, and may be considered a primary influence on one’s ability to improve financial decisions and behaviors. The current study tests the reliability and validity of a Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy with a sample of female survivors of IPV. This study uses a calibration and validation analysis model including full and split- sample exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, assesses for internal consistency, and examines correlation coefficients between economic self- efficacy, economic self-sufficiency, financial strain, and difficulty living with income. Findings indicate that the 10-item, unidimensional Scale of Economic

1Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 2Safe Horizon, New York, NY, USA

Corresponding Author: Gretchen L. Hoge, Center on Violence Against Women & Children, School of Social Work, Rutgers University, 390 George St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Email: [email protected]

706761 JIVXXX10.1177/0886260517706761Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceHoge et al. research-article2017

3012 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

Self-Efficacy demonstrates strong reliability and validity among this sample of IPV survivors. An ability to understand economic self-efficacy could facilitate individualized service approaches and allow practitioners to better support IPV survivors on their journey toward financial empowerment. Given the increase in programs focused on assets, financial empowerment, and economic well-being, the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy has potential as a very timely and relevant tool in the design, implementation, and evaluation of such programs, and specifically for programs created for IPV survivors.

Keywords economic self-efficacy, financial knowledge, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, women, personal finance, financial management

Introduction

Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and financial hardship are often intertwined. The dynamics of an abusive relationship may include economic abuse tactics that compromise a survivor’s ability to work, pursue education, have access to financial resources, and establish financial skills, knowledge, and security (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008). Thus, an increas- ingly common goal among programs serving IPV survivors is increasing financial empowerment through financial literacy.

Financial educators and behavioral economists have recognized the role psychological factors play when individuals make financial choices (The Social Research Centre, 2011) and, hence, have deduced that providing financial education alone may not be enough to improve financial behaviors (Gilovich, Griffin, & Kahneman, 2002; Rothwell, Khan, & Cherney, 2015; Schuchardt et al., 2009; Sherraden, 2013; Thaler & Sunstein, 2008; Zweig, 2007). Self-efficacy, an individual’s confidence in her or his perceived ability to perform a specific task or behavior, is also needed to change one’s behav- ior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). Researchers have found that higher levels of economic self-efficacy (ESE), or the perceived ability to perform economic or financial tasks, have translated into positive financial behavior (Danes, Huddleston-Casas, & Boyce, 1999; Vitt et al., 2000). An understanding of an individual’s sense of ESE can aid educators in strengthening approaches to building financial empowerment.

Although a validated and widely used scale is available to measure gen- eral self-efficacy, there is no comprehensive measure of ESE that has been tested in the field of IPV. Hence, the aim of this research was to test the reli- ability and validity of the Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy, a measure that

Hoge et al. 3013

focuses on perceived confidence in one’s ability to complete specific finan- cial tasks, among a sample of female IPV survivors.

Background

IPV, Economic Self-Efficacy, and Financial Empowerment

An estimated two million women per year are victims of IPV in the United States (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). IPV includes threatened, attempted, or completed physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abusive tactics used by the perpetrator to gain power and control over the survivor. In situa- tions where economic abuse is present, perpetrators use tactics to control a survivor’s access to financial resources, to prevent her from improving her financial situation, and to exploit her financial resources (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2016; Sanders, 2015). Survivors report that financial dependency on an abusive partner is a primary reason they stay in or return to abusive relationships (Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barnett, 2000; Kim & Gray, 2008).

While IPV occurs among all socioeconomic backgrounds, low-income women are more often subject to abuse than middle or upper-income women (Meier, 1997; Tolman & Raphael, 2000). According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 9.7% of women with annual household incomes less than US$25,000 had experienced IPV in the past 12 months compared with 2.8% of women in the highest income category of US$75,000 or more (Breiding, Chen, & Black, 2014). Although women are more likely than men to be victims of IPV, they are also more likely than men to live longer, have shorter work tenures, and to earn less money putting women at higher risk than men for having financial difficulties (Weir & Willis, 2000). In addition, while research documents low levels of financial literacy across the gender divide, financial illiteracy is more prevalent among women than men (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2008).

When applying the concept of ESE and self-efficacy judgments (Bandura, 1977) in the context of IPV, and in particular with low-income women expe- riencing IPV, a survivor’s determination of her capacity to manage financial resources is based on various experiences. This will be affected by whether she has had previous experience in managing household finances or whether she has observed successful financial management by others. Her feelings will also be influenced by whether she has received encouragement from significant others to manage the household’s finances, as well as her somatic experiences while engaging in financial behaviors. It is also important to con- sider how these experiences may vary in different cultural contexts, where

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cultural norms or language proficiency may influence a survivor’s involve- ment in financial management.

In an economically abusive relationship, a survivor’s perception of her ESE may be limited in a number of ways in relation to the influences described above. For example, a survivor is often restricted from accessing financial resources (Brewster, 2003; VonDeLinde, 2002; Wettersten et al., 2004), which limits her experience in performing financial behaviors. The perpetra- tor may also manage finances without input or agreement from the survivor (Anderson et al., 2003; Brewster, 2003), which limits her vicarious experi- ence of financial management behaviors. In addition, the perpetrator may utilize psychological abuse tactics to verbally undermine the survivor’s con- fidence in managing household finances. Finally, a survivor’s somatic expe- riences, including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, may create a negative emotional response to financial discussions or behaviors.

Advocates in the IPV field might increase a survivor’s ESE by providing financial knowledge and experiences in which the survivor can practice engaging in and observing financial behaviors in a supportive environment (Christy-McMullin, 2003; Correia, 2000; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). In doing so, advocates can support survivors in learning financial management skills to empower survivors and increase survivors’ sense of confidence about their ability to manage their own finances (Sanders, 2007). A compre- hensive measure of ESE would serve IPV advocates and others to identify survivors who need support specifically in the area of improving financial knowledge and behavior to move toward financial independence.

Measuring Economic Self-Efficacy

According to social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997), self-efficacy, or an individual’s perceived ability to complete a task, is the prime factor for influ- encing behavior. Self-efficacy has a powerful impact on behavior because self-efficacy is a strong conviction of competence based on the individual’s evaluation of various sources of information about her abilities (Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy literature focuses on two types of self-efficacy: global and task specific. Global self-efficacy is conceptualized as a general sense of self-efficacy that refers to a broad and stable sense of personal competence to deal effectively with a variety of situations (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). In contrast, task specific self-efficacy focuses on a specific behavior and the individual’s sense of competency in carrying out that specific behavior. Bandura (1997) advocates for a behavior-specific approach to the study of self-efficacy, arguing that a measure of general self-efficacy is inadequate for

Hoge et al. 3015

tapping an individual’s efficacy in managing tasks associated with a specific behavior. Therefore, to understand an individual’s perceived competence in managing her financial resources and addressing financial challenges, a mea- sure of ESE must focus specifically on tasks related to financial management behaviors.

Studies on financial literacy and empowerment programs have utilized a number of measures of ESE. These have included combinations of various scales with limited questions (Dietz, Carrozza, & Ritchey, 2003; Dulebohn & Murray, 2007), indexes comprised of limited questions related to financial confidence (Loke, Choi, & Libby, 2015), as well as a single scale including questions related to both general and ESE (Lown, 2011). There have been few studies published specifically on the measurement of ESE. The first study that aimed to create a measure of ESE (Lown, 2011) created and vali- dated a measure of Financial Self-Efficacy (FSE) to help educators and coun- selors better understand, guide, and motivate their students and clients. The developed instrument was based on the 10-item General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES: Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). The GSES was modified by incorpo- rating specific references to financial management in six out of the original 10 statements. The scale was then validated among employees of a large state university as part of a larger study on financial planning. Among this sample, the principal components factor analysis resulted in two distinct factors. The first factor consisted of the six FSE items while the second factor consisted of the four general self-efficacy items. The final scale included the six items from the FSE subscale (e.g. progress toward my financial goals, stick to spending plan, lack confidence in managing finances), and demonstrated strong internal reliability in the study. However, the four items from the GSES that were not modified to include financial specific behavior language were dropped from the scale. This separation of FSE items from general self- efficacy items supported Bandura’s (1997) argument that general self-effi- cacy items do not measure the same construct as behavior-specific items. However, it was undetermined as to whether those four items would have remained in the scale if they had also been modified to target specific finan- cial tasks.

The second study (Weaver, Sanders, Campbell, & Schnabel, 2009) created and validated the Domestic Violence–Financial Issues Scale (DV-FI). The DV-FI is an assessment of the financial issues facing female survivors of IPV. The DV-FI includes a subscale measuring ESE with items related to confi- dence in achieving financial goals (e.g., I am confident I can meet my goals for becoming financially secure, I am confident I can meet my goals for elim- inating credit card debt). Although this scale provides important information on assessing a survivor’s confidence with specific financial domains, such as

3016 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

managing credit and obtaining employment and educational opportunities, it is not a comprehensive measure of ESE. Indeed, in one study with IPV survi- vors from lower socioeconomic status, this subscale poorly captured ESE since survivors reported being “confident in eliminating credit card debt” as they did not have credit cards to incur any debt (Postmus & Plummer, 2010). A comprehensive measure of ESE must be specific enough that it can accu- rately measure the survivor’s confidence in engaging in financial behaviors, but cannot be so specific that the behaviors are not applicable to all IPV sur- vivors. For example, not all survivors are focused on gaining employment or educational opportunities. Similarly, questions cannot be too general that par- ticipants are answering items based on general notions of self-efficacy rather than ESE.

A third study developed and validated a measure of FSE for the purposes of examining gender-related attitudes toward financial management among female entrepreneurs (Amatucci & Crawley, 2011). The authors built their FSE construct by combining items capturing “managing money” in anentre- preneurial self-efficacy scale (Wilson, Kickul & Marlino, 2007) and “imple- menting financial” items from another entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale (McGee, Peterson, Mueller & Sequeira, 2009) (i.e., How would you rate your skills in financial management? How confident do you feel about your skills in financial management? How confident do you feel about your abilities to undertake the successful financial management of your company?) The use of this measure of ESE is limited in scope due to issues of both specificity and generalization in item construction. The third item limits the use of this measure to business owners, while the first and second items are broad in nature and may be interpreted differently by different respondents. In addi- tion, the first item measures perceived skills, whereas the second and third items measure perceived confidence. Furthermore, the sample that was used in creating this measure was comprised of female business owners who were primarily aged above 40 years and mostly had a college degree, with about one-third holding a graduate degree. This is a demographic that may enjoy a more stable financial reality than those starting out financially, or those who experience extreme financial challenges. As such, this measure of ESE does not prove generalizable for broader samples.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a fully modified version of the GSES (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) with a sample of female survivors of IPV. The research questions for this study included the following:

Research Question 1: What are the psychometric properties of the Scale of ESE among a culturally diverse group of female survivors of IPV?

Hoge et al. 3017

Research Question 2: How strongly does the Scale of ESE correlate with other financial measures including economic self-sufficiency, financial strain, and difficulty with income?

Method

This current study is part of a larger study that included longitudinal, random- ized control methods to evaluate the impact of the “Moving Ahead Through Financial Management” economic empowerment program designed for sur- vivors of IPV. The Allstate Foundation in partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) created the curriculum to help survivors identify the signs of economic abuse and its impact in their lives, to increase their financial knowledge and ability to manage their finances, and to aid them in securing the confidence necessary to rebuild their financial foundation (www.clicktoempower.org).

This larger study recruited 457 participants from 14 agencies serving sur- vivors of IPV in seven states across the Northwest, Midwest, and Texas regions of the United States and the territory of Puerto Rico. The agencies were located in urban and suburban locations of varied socioeconomic levels, and served both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking survivors. Staff advertised the study within their agencies and conducted initial eligibility screenings of potential participants prior to scheduling their first interview. A participant needed to be a woman who (a) had experienced some form of IPV in the 12 months leading up to the screening, (b) was 18 years of age or older at the time of the screening, (c) had not attended a financial literacy class in the 2 years prior to the screening, (d) was committed to attend the curriculum group if randomly selected to participate, and (e) was committed to partici- pate in study interviews whether or not they were randomly selected to par- ticipate in the curriculum group. Women who met the eligibility criteria and expressed interest to the advocate in participating in the study completed a contact sheet that requested personal information, including safe phone num- bers and email addresses they identified as safe. Once completed, the contact sheets were collected by the advocates in each domestic violence agency and sent to the research team. One of the research team members then contacted the women to set up the face-to-face interview dates.

Each member of the research team had experience working with IPV survi- vors and was trained on the research protocol. Precautions were taken to ensure that both phone and in-person contact with survivors was conducted in a safe and sensitive manner. The initial pretest interview was conducted in person at the agency from which the participant was recruited, and lasted approximately 1 hr. The survey instrument covered a wide range of measures related to economic

3018 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

and emotional well-being, as well as demographic variables of interest. The sur- vey was read aloud by the researcher and then participant answers were entered directly into an online version of the survey through SNAP©, a web-based sur- vey tool. Paper and pencil surveys were used in situations where Internet access was unavailable, and data were then entered into the web-based format immedi- ately following survey administration. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to all interaction with study participants, and all participants com- pleted the informed consent process prior to participation. Participants received a US$20 VISA gift card for their participation in the pretest survey.

Analytic Sample

This current study uses data from the pretest (Time 1) interviews with the full sample of 457 survivors of IPV. Data from the pretest were selected for this analysis, as this study focuses solely on scale creation and does not examine the impact of the financial empowerment intervention. Little’s Missing Completely at Random (Little, 1988) was run to assess for missing data for each individual item in the Scale of ESE. This test indicated that missing data on these items was missing completely at random, χ2(72) = 74.965, p > .1. Listwise deletion was thus used to remove any case with missing data on items in this scale, resulting in an analytic sample of 447 participants, out of the original 457 sample members.

Table 1 demonstrates the percentages, means and standard deviations of the demographic variables for the total analytic sample of 447, as well as for the randomly split sample halves used in analysis. For the overall sample, mean age was 36 years (SD = 9.14). The sample consisted primarily of women of color with 54.3% of the sample identifying as Latina/Hispanic; 20.2% as Black or African American, non-Hispanic women; 17.5% as White, non-Hispanic women; and 8.0% as “Other.” Approximately half (51.7%) of the respondents were born in the United States. Almost half (48.1%) reported an annual income under US$10,000. Just over 45% of the participants were employed either part or full-time. Just over 20% of the respondents reported currently being involved in an abusive relationship. About 81% of the women reported being financially responsible for children under the age of 18 years. No statistically significant differences were found between the randomly split sample halves on any of these demographic variables.

Measures

The survey instrument was comprised of several validated or revised scales. The survey was available in both English and Spanish. A member of the

Hoge et al. 3019

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Total and Randomly Split Analytic Sample.

Variable

% or M (SD)

Total Analytic Sample (n = 447)

Calibration Sample (n = 230)

Validation Sample (n = 217)

Age, M (SD) 36.3 (9.14) 36.7 (9.29) 35.9 (8.98) Time obtaining services Less than 3 months 48.0 46.6 49.5 3 months-6 months 34.7 36.4 32.9 More than 6 months 17.3 17.0 17.6 Services received (%) Emergency/short-term

housing 14.1 14.3 13.8

Individual counseling 59.1 59.6 58.5 Legal advocacy 28.9 26.5 31.3 Support groups 58.8 55.7 62.2 Services for children 32.0 30.4 33.6 Advocacy/case-

management 26.6 28.7 24.4

Marital status Married/civil union 17.9 19.2 16.6 Separated/divorced 45.3 43.6 47.0 Single 35.9 35.4 36.4 Currently in abusive

relationship 20.1 22.8 17.2

Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 17.5 19.7 15.2 Black or African

American, non-Hispanic 20.2 19.7 20.7

Latina or Hispanic 54.3 52.4 56.2 Other 8.0 8.2 7.9 Born in the United States 51.7 51.8 51.6 Employed (full- or part-

time) 45.1 41.1 49.6

Financially responsible for children

80.7 77.3 84.3

Has health insurance 55.3 55.9 54.6 Receiving social services 71.4 68.7 74.2 Annual income less than

US$10,000 48.1 45.8 50.5

3020 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

research team who was a native Spanish-speaker with English fluency trans- lated the survey from English to Spanish. Various members of the research team who were native English speakers with Spanish fluency then reviewed the Spanish survey for accuracy. Any discrepancies or clarifications in trans- lation were discussed between these members of the research team and a final Spanish version was decided upon for use with Spanish-speaking partici- pants. For this article, the Scale of ESE, the Scale of Economic Self- Sufficiency, the Financial Strain Survey, and an item measuring difficulty living on annual income were examined.

Economic self-efficacy. Based on Bandura’s (1997) recommendation of utiliz- ing task specific measures of self-efficacy, all 10 items of the GSES (Schwar- zer & Jerusalem, 1995) were modified to focus specifically on financial behaviors. Each item was altered to include economic language. For exam- ple, the first item of the GSES states, “I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.” The item was rephrased to measure ESE by changing the item to state, “I can always manage to solve difficult financial problems if I try hard enough.” Response options ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strong agree) on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The authors aimed to revise the GSES to design a comprehensive measure of ESE that would be specific enough to accurately measure a survivor’s confidence in engaging in financial behaviors, but not so specific that the financial behav- iors would not be applicable to all IPV survivors.

The GSES (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) has shown to be a reliable and valid scale when measuring self-efficacy and has been used with many differ- ent sample groups such as teachers and college students (Brafford & Beck, 1991; Gibson & Dembo, 1984). It has also been used in different languages including German, Spanish, and Chinese (Schwarzer, Basler, Kwiatek, Schroder, & Zhang, 2008). Among this sample, the scale demonstrated ade- quate internal reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .88. Table 2 provides means and standard deviations for individual items and the overall scale for the analytic sample.

Economic self-sufficiency. Economic self-sufficiency (Gowdy & Pearlmutter, 1993) was included to measure respondents’ ability to accomplish specific financial tasks in the past month. Participants rated the frequency with which they had accomplished these tasks over the past month by using a 5-point scale with answers ranging from 1 (no, not at all) to 5 (yes, all of the time). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was run with this sample and the num- ber of items was reduced from 15 to 14, including three subscales: Ability to Manage Daily/Immediate Financial Needs (seven questions, α = .80), Ability

Hoge et al. 3021

to Have Discretionary Funds (three questions, α = .74), and Ability to Main- tain Independent Living (four questions, α = .64). This revised scale was renamed Scale of Economic Self-Sufficiency-14 (SESS-14) (Hetling, Hoge & Postmus, 2016).

Financial strain. The Financial Strain Survey (Aldana & Liljenquist, 1998; Hetling, Stylianou & Postmus, 2015) is an18-item scale that measures five areas of financial strain including Poor Financial Education (three items), Poor Relationships (four items), Physical Symptoms (four items), Poor Credit Card Use (three items), and Unable to Meet Financial Obligations (four items). Participants were asked to indicate how often the items applied to them over the past 12 months. Participants indicated such frequency using a 5-point scale with answers ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Items 1, 2, 3, and 15 were recoded as they were negatively worded items. In this sample

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for Scale of Economic Self-Efficacy Items (N = 447).

Item M (SD)

I can solve most financial problems if I invest the necessary effort.

3.67 (.90)

I can always manage to solve difficult financial problems if I try hard enough.

3.51 (1.1)

If I am in financial trouble, I can usually think of something to do.

3.50 (.94)

If I have a financial problem, I can find ways to get what I need.

3.43 (1.05)

When I am confronted with a financial problem, I can usually find several solutions.

3.19 (1.01)

No matter what financial problem comes my way, I’m usually able to handle it.

3.17 (.99)

Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen financial situations.

3.15 (1.07)

I can remain calm when facing financial difficulties because I can rely on my financial abilities.

2.91 (1.08)

I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected financial events.

2.83 (1.05)

It is easy for me to stick to and accomplish my financial goals.

2.77 (1.07)

Note. Scale of 1-5: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, or 5 = strongly agree. Participants were asked, “Please choose the answer that best represents your experience in the last month.”

3022 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

of female survivors of IPV, the overall scale (Financial Strain, α = .84) and most subscales demonstrated high internal reliability (Poor Financial Educa- tion, α = .81, Poor Relationships, α = .80, Physical Symptoms, α = .87, Poor Credit Card Use, α = .54, and Unable to Meet Financial Obligations, α = .82).

Difficulty living on income. To measure the participant’s perceived difficulty living on annual household income, participants were asked, “Over the past 12 months, how difficult was it for you to live on your annual household income?” Response options ranged from 1 (not at all difficult) to 5 (extremely difficult).

Data Analysis

A four-part process was used to explore and confirm the factor structure of the Scale of ESE among survivors of IPV and to test the reliability and con- current validity of the scale.

First, EFA, using Principal Axis Factoring extraction and Direct Oblimin rotation, was used to examine the factor structure of the Scale of ESE for the total analytic sample of 447 participants using SPSS 21.0 data analysis pack- age. Oblique rotation was utilized based on the assumption that the factors would be highly correlated (Worthington & Whittaker, 2006).

Second, the overall sample was randomly split for the purposes of further validation of the factor structure of the Scale of ESE. This random split resulted in a subsample of 230 participants used for the purposes of calibration of the factor structure through repeat EFA, and a subsample of 217 participants used for factor structure validation through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Similar to the EFA run on the total analytic sample, Principal Axis Factoring extraction and Direct Oblimin rotation were used to examine the factor struc- ture of the ESE scale with the calibration sample. CFA was then run on the vali- dation subsample using structural equation modeling in AMOS Graphics.

Third, the internal consistency of the ESE scale was examined. This was assessed by examining the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the overall scale among the total analytic sample (n = 447).

Fourth, concurrent validity was tested for the total analytic sample through correlation analyses between the Scale of ESE, the SESS-14, the Financial Strain Survey, and the item measuring participants’ difficulty with income. These scales and items were chosen based on their conceptual similarity with the Scale of ESE. The correlation between the Scale of ESE and the SESS-14 was hypothesized to be positive, whereas negative correlations were the expected result among the Scale of ESE and the Financial Strain Survey and the item measuring participants’ difficulty with income.

Hoge et al. 3023

Results

Phase 1: EFA With the Overall Sample

The EFA resulted in a one-factor solution, utilizing all of the original 10 items, Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (KMO) = .906; χ2(45) = 859.940, p < .001, which accounted for 49.12% of the total variance. The oblique rotated factor matrix indicated that all items loaded moderate to high, ranging from .577 to .747. Table 3 presents the factor matrix loadings of the items.

Table 3. Factor Matrix Factor Loadings.

Item

Factor Loading

Total Sample (n = 447)

Calibration Subsample (n = 230)

1. I can always manage to solve difficult financial problems if I try hard enough.

.602 .583

2. If I have a financial problem, I can find ways to get what I need.

.577 .590

3. It is easy for me to stick to and accomplish my financial goals.

.591 .584

4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected financial events.

.708 .722

5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen financial situations.

.711 .709

6. I can solve most financial problems if I invest the necessary effort.

.628 .620

7. I can remain calm when facing financial difficulties because I can rely on my financial abilities.

.671 .630

8. When I am confronted with a financial problem, I can usually find several solutions.

.705 .694

9. If I am in financial trouble, I can usually think of something to do.

.639 .626

10. No matter what financial problem comes my way, I’m usually able to handle it.

.747 .708

% of total variance explained 49.12 47.79

3024 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

Phase 2: EFA and CFA With Randomly Split Sample

Calibration: EFA. The EFA of the calibration subsample (n = 230) resulted in a one factor solution in the split-sample calibration analysis, including all of the original 10 items, KMO = .904, χ2(45) = 1778.95, p < .001. This factor structure accounted for 47.79% of the total variance. The oblique rotated fac- tor matrix for this analysis indicated that all items loaded moderate to high, with factor loadings ranging from .583 to .722, similar to the result of the analysis run on the total analytic sample. The factor matrix loadings of indi- vidual items from this analysis are also presented in Table 3.

Validation: CFA. A CFA was run to further validate the factor structure of the Scale of ESE using the validation subsample (n = 217). The unidimensional, 10-item factor structure accepted in the process of calibration through EFA was tested. The initial model showed a modestly good fit to the data, χ2 = 125.203, comparative fit index (CFI) = .902, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .899, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .109, Tucker– Lewis index (TLI) = .874. However, upon review of modification indices, it was found that error terms for Items 1 and 2, Items 4 and 5, and Items 8 and 9 were correlated. It was determined that these error correlations also had substantive validity. As such, post hoc analysis was run to determine whether a model including these error term correlations would result in a statistically significant improvement in model fit. Since these models were nested, Δχ2 was evaluated to determine whether the modified model was a statistically significantly different from the initial model. As Table 4 shows, the one-fac- tor model including modifications based on post hoc analysis provides a sta- tistically significantly improved fit to the data (χ2 = 74.775, CFI = .954, GFI = .938, RMSEA = .079, TLI = .935, Δχ2(3) = 50.428, p < .001).

Phase 3: Reliability

The internal consistency of the Scale of ESE among this sample was assessed by examining the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The overall Scale of ESE demonstrated a good level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s reli- ability coefficient of .88.

Phase 4: Concurrent Validity

Correlations were used to examine the concurrent validity of the Scale of ESE. Table 5 depicts the correlations among the Scale of ESE, the overall scale and three subscales of the SESS-14, the overall scale and five subscales of the Financial Strain Survey, and the item measuring perceived difficulty living on

Hoge et al. 3025

annual income. The Scale of ESE was negatively correlated with the overall Financial Strain Survey and all five of its subscales (Financial Strain, r = −.500, p < .01; Physical Subscale, r = −.370, p < .01; Poor Education Subscale, r = −.376, p < .01; Poor Relationships Subscale, r = −.255, p < .01; Poor Credit Card Use Subscale, r = −.114, p < .05; and Unable to Meet Obligations Subscale, r = −.401, p < .01). The Scale of ESE was also negatively correlated with the diffi- culty with income item (r = −.285, p < .01). The Scale of ESE was positively correlated with the overall SESS-14 scale and all three of its subscales (SESS-14 scale, r = .497, p < .01; Ability to Manage Immediate Financial Needs Subscale, r = .553, p < .01; Ability to Have Discretionary Funds Subscale, r = .392, p < .01; Ability to Maintain Independent Living, r = .224, p < .01).

Discussion

This study indicates that the Scale of ESE is an appropriate tool for under- standing and measuring ESE among IPV survivors. Examination of the Scale of ESE using the full sample EFA, as well as through EFA calibration and

Table 4. Overall Fit Statistics for Economic Self-Efficacy Confirmatory Factor Analyses (N = 217).

Measures of Fit

Models

One-Factor Modified One-Factor

ESE ESE

Discrepancy χ2 125.203 74.775 df 35 32 p value .000 .000 Discrepancy / df 3.577 2.337 GFI .899 .938 AGFI .842 .894 TLI .874 .935 CFI .902 .954 RMSEA (CI) .109 [.089, .130] .079 [.056, .102] ECVI (CI) .765 [.624, .941] .559 [.460, .694] BIC 167.349 198.512 AIC model 165.203 120.775 AIC saturated 110.000 110.000

Note. ESE = Economic Self-Efficacy Scale; GFI = goodness-of-fit index; AGFI = adjusted goodness-of-fit index; TLI = Tucker–Lewis index; CFI = comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CI = confidence interval; ECVI = expected cross- validation index; BIC = Bayesian information criterion; AIC = Akaike information criterion.

3026

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Hoge et al. 3027

CFA validation using randomly split samples produced the same 10-item uni- dimensional scale, indicating strong validity with this sample of IPV survi- vors. Examination of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency indicated strong reliability of this scale. Correlation of the overall ESE scale with other relevant economic concepts also produced results indicating a strong level of concurrent validity for this scale. In examining correlations of conceptually related concepts, results show that ESE is correlated with other key financial variables that may be indicators of one’s ability to move for- ward financially.

Our results are tempered by study limitations related to external validity. First, sampling procedures limit the generalizability of the findings to all IPV survivors. Study participants were currently receiving services from a domes- tic violence agency and self-selected to participate in the research project. These characteristics indicate an ability to seek out resources that may differ from survivors who are not connected to services or from survivors who chose not to participate in the study. Volunteering to participate in the study may also signal that study participants may have a stronger interest in improv- ing financial behaviors in comparison to survivors who were not interested in the study.

Second, descriptive statistics of the sample illustrated that the sample was primarily low-income women of color. Over half the women in the sample (54.3%) identified as Latina or Hispanic, and over 20.2% identified as Black or African American. In addition, close to half of the participants were for- eign-born (48.3%). On one hand, this suggests that the concepts being stud- ied may have cultural relevance for diverse groups. On the other hand, although these demographics are reflective of domestic violence agency cli- ents, further research is needed to test the measure among more diverse sociodemographic samples. Given the number of participants who identified as Latina or foreign-born, level of acculturation or cultural factors such as English language literacy, cultural beliefs and practices regarding gender and finances, or previous access to and use of financial institutions in one’s coun- try of origin could also have had an impact on ESE. However, it should also be taken into consideration that there might be notable differences in these areas among the cultural groups classified as Latina or Hispanic. Furthermore, almost half (48.1%) of study participants reported earning less than US$10,000 annually, and 71.4% reported receiving some form of social ser- vices. Although, this may indicate relevance of these financial concepts for those experiencing financial hardship, it does limit the ability to generalize to varied financial backgrounds. Further research is needed to test the reliability and validity of the Scale of ESE with different ethnic, socioeconomic, and community samples of IPV survivors, as well as with non-IPV samples, and

3028 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

those with greater resources to better understand how the scale functions in diverse populations. Since the current study used data from the pretest period of the longitudinal study, further testing of the scale across later time periods is needed to confirm the reliability and validity of the scale over time.

Conclusion and Use of Scale

Despite study limitations and the need for further research, the strong validity of the Scale of ESE in our study suggests that it should be used in practice set- tings to understand ESE. For practitioners working with IPV survivors, an ability to understand ESE could facilitate more individualized approaches to financial empowerment. This might involve financial counseling or specific activities aimed at increasing confidence in managing finances and other financial tasks. Practitioners might also facilitate discussion of any psycho- logical distress that a survivor may have experienced related to finances that could have affected their confidence in this area. By incorporating an under- standing of ESE along with a measure of financial literacy or knowledge, practitioners and advocates would be in a better position to gauge a survivor’s capacity for financial management and support them on their journey toward financial empowerment. Moreover, given the increase in programs focused on assets, financial empowerment, and financial well-being for other popula- tions, the Scale of ESE has potential as a very timely and relevant tool in the design and implementation of financial literacy programs in general, particu- larly those developed for women.

The study findings also support the use of the Scale of ESE for research and evaluation concerning policy and programming aimed at improving micro-level financial outcomes. Evaluations of new and existing programs could use the Scale of ESE to measure impact. In both the research and policy communities, we see an increased focus on behavioral change and a growing understanding that behavioral change is affected by more than just knowl- edge. Future evaluations need validated measures on individual outcomes beyond the acquisition of new financial knowledge. The Scale of ESE pro- vides a robust measure of one critical aspect of improving financial behav- iors: a task specific measure of self-efficacy. Thus, by including the Scale of ESE in future evaluations and research, we expand our understanding of pro- grams’ ability to instill new knowledge on related topics, as well as increase ESE and potentially change financial behaviors.

Authors’ Note

Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily repre- sent the official position or policies of The Allstate Foundation.

Hoge et al. 3029

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of all the survivors, agencies, advocates, and members of the research team who made this study possible.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by The Allstate Foundation, Economics Against Abuse Program.

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Author Biographies

Gretchen L. Hoge, PhD, MSW, is a research consultant for the Center on Violence Against Women and Children in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on the experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence across cultures and in the context of immigration. Her recent focus has been on immi- grant survivors’ experiences in pursuing economic self-sufficiency after leaving an abusive relationship.

Amanda M. Stylianou, PhD, LCSW, focuses her career on improving services at the intersection of trauma, health, and poverty. In her role as senior director of Research and Program Development at Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading victim services agency, she works with her team to ensure the organization is providing the most effective and efficient services to clients throughout the New York City. Her current research focuses on understanding the needs of victims/survivors of domes- tic violence and human trafficking and on understanding and evaluating practices in the field.

Andrea Hetling (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park) is an associate profes- sor and chancellor scholar at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on the implementation and effi- cacy of U.S. social policies that target disadvantaged or marginalized groups. Her projects focus on families and women living in poverty and on survivors of intimate

Hoge et al. 3033

partner violence. She is a Research Academy member of the National Association of Welfare and Research Statistics and a Research Affiliate of the National Poverty Center.

Judy L. Postmus is an associate professor at the School of Social Work, Rutgers University. Her research is on physical, sexual, and economic victimization experi- ences of women with her most recent attention given to understanding how an eco- nomic empowerment curriculum improves fiscal and mental health functioning of battered women. She is also the director of the Center on Violence Against Women & Children. She has given many local, national, and international presentations on the impact of policies and interventions on survivors of violence. Her work is strongly influenced from her 20 years as a practitioner and administrator.

Articles/Klein et al, 2021 housing interventions for IPV survivors - a review.pdf

Review Manuscript

Housing Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: A Systematic Review

L. B. Klein1 , Brittney R. Chesworth1, Julia R. Howland-Myers1, Cynthia Fraga Rizo1, and Rebecca J. Macy1

Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors are much more likely to experience housing insecurity or homelessness than those who have not experienced IPV. However, little comprehensive research has evaluated the effectiveness of interventions used to address IPV survivors’ housing insecurity. To address this knowledge gap, our team conducted a systematic review guided by three questions: (a) What are current interventions for addressing IPV survivors’ housing needs? (b) What are the methodological strengths and limitations of the research evaluating those interventions? (c) How effective are the identified interventions? We identified potentially relevant peer-reviewed and gray literature using variations of predetermined search terms and four search methods. Twelve articles met inclusion criteria. Accordingly, this study showed that there is an overall dearth of research concerning interventions that address IPV survivors’ housing insecurity and needs. Shelter is the most commonly assessed and available housing intervention for IPV survivors, but only limited empirical evaluation is available of shelter effectiveness. In addition, findings indicate both traditional shelter services and innovative interventions (e.g., rapid rehousing, flexible funding) would benefit from rigorous evaluation including examining survivor and situation characteristics contributing to housing strategy effectiveness.

Keywords domestic violence, homelessness, housing services, evaluation

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an urgent public health crisis,

with approximately 37% of women and 31% of men in the United States experiencing sexual or physical violence and/or

stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime (Smith

et al., 2017). Other common forms of IPV include psychologi-

cal abuse and economic abuse (Smith et al., 2017). Of partic-

ular concern, across 16 states in 2010, reports of homicide

victims showed that 7% of male homicide victims and 46% of female homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner

(Parks, Johnson, McDaniel, & Gladden, 2014). The time during

which survivors are actively leaving their abusive partners is

often an especially dangerous period, so ensuring safe transi-

tions for survivors is critical (Campbell, Glass, Sharps,

Laughon, & Bloom, 2007). A contributing factor to IPV homi-

cide might be the lack of housing services for survivors, which

often forces survivors to return to their abuser or to turn to

options that offer little, if any, safety (Menard, 2001; Stevenson

& Wolfers, 2006). Research also finds that the need for safe

housing is one of the most urgent concerns among IPV survi-

vors who are planning to leave an abusive relationship (Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Despite the fact that

many IPV survivors may need housing, especially during times

of transition, little comprehensive guidance summarizing the

state of the research in this area exists. Thus, to better

understand the state of the evidence on housing interventions

for IPV survivors, this study systematically reviews and

synthesizes the existing literature evaluating IPV housing

interventions.

IPV and Housing

IPV survivors are much more likely to experience housing

insecurity or homelessness than those who have not experi-

enced IPV (Dichter, Wagner, Borrero, Broyles, & Montgom-

ery, 2017; Pavao, Alvarez, Baumrind, Induni, & Kimerling,

2007). Housing insecurity has been defined as having difficulty

maintaining a residential dwelling due to ongoing issues such

as difficulty paying mortgages or rent, evictions, frequent relo-

cations, or living in overcrowded spaces with family or friends

(Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2013; Pavao et al., 2007).

Housing insecurity is distinct from homelessness because an

1 School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel

Hill, NC, USA

Corresponding Author:

L. B. Klein, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,

325 Pittsboro Street CB #3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.

Email: [email protected]

TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 2021, Vol. 22(2) 249-264 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1524838019836284 journals.sagepub.com/home/tva

individual experiencing housing insecurity might have a

current place to live while experiencing multiple problems

related to a lack of permanent or adequate housing (Rollins

et al., 2012). One study found that women who experienced

IPV in the last year were 4 times more likely to report housing

insecurity than women who had not experienced IPV (Pavao

et al., 2007). A study that followed mothers experiencing IPV

over a 2-year period found that 36% had experienced housing insecurity and 11% reported homelessness during that time period (Gilroy, McFarlane, Maddoux, & Sullivan, 2016).

Contributing Factors

Research has pointed to several reasons why survivors of IPV

commonly experience housing insecurity and homelessness.

Foremost, IPV survivors often struggle with their economic

well-being (Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Sanders, 2015). Survivors

might have such struggles because their partners provided eco-

nomically or employed economic abuse tactics, resulting in

inconsistent work experience and/or constraints to their job

training and educational opportunities (Sanders, 2015). In turn,

obtaining stable, living-wage employment can be a challenge.

Job instability has been found to play a mediating role on the

relationship between IPV and housing instability and home-

lessness, lasting for several years after the cessation of IPV

(A. E. Adams, Tolman, Bybee, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2012;

Zink & Sill, 2004).

Violent partners may keep survivors away from economic

resources and/or interfere with their educations, careers, and

work as part of a larger pattern of abuse. Economic abuse is a

type of IPV commonly used by perpetrators and has been

defined as any attempt to control or sabotage financial

resources of an intimate partner as a way to ensure financial

dependency (Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim,

2012). Economic abuse tactics commonly used by perpetrators

include stealing survivors’ money, sabotaging their employ-

ment or housing contracts, and destroying their credit (A. E.

Adams et al., 2012; Hahn & Postmus, 2014). Consequently,

survivors may not have the financial resources to establish their

own independent housing (Galano, Hunter, Howell, Miller, &

Graham-Bermann, 2013) and may be unable to secure housing

contracts because they appear unreliable due to multiple moves

or perpetrators’ efforts to sabotage references or get them

evicted (Baker, Billhardt, Warren, Rollins, & Glass, 2010;

Martin & Stern, 2005). Survivors may also experience unem-

ployment or job instability as a result of the physical and men-

tal health trauma they have endured (e.g., injuries, mental

health issues, substance misuse, and disconnection from social

networks; A. E. Adams et al., 2012; Bonomi, Anderson, Rivara,

& Thompson, 2009).

In addition to economic abuse and the consequences of IPV

for individual survivors, the economic and social conditions of

the local communities in which survivors live may play a role

on their need for housing. For example, when communities lack

affordable housing options and living-wage employment

opportunities, survivors may be faced with choosing between

staying with the abuser and facing homelessness (Little, 2015).

Housing, Safety, and Well-Being

Survivors’ housing insecurity and homelessness can have det-

rimental consequences on their well-being. Survivors often

stay with perpetrators because they do not have other options

for a place to live (Anderson et al., 2003). When survivors

decide to leave or end a violent relationship, their housing

circumstances become critically important because separation

from the abusive partner can trigger severe violence including

intimate partner homicide (Campbell et al., 2007). Thus, survi-

vors who face housing insecurity and homelessness may be

especially vulnerable to retaliation from the former partner.

Accordingly, housing plays a critical role in ensuring the safety

of survivors and their children.

In addition to the negative impact of housing insecurity on

survivor safety, homelessness and housing insecurity can put

survivors and their children at elevated risk of mental health

problems including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

depression, and anxiety (Baker et al., 2010; Gilroy et al.,

2016; Rollins et al., 2012). Survivors and their children who

are able to access housing after the abuse report marked

improvements in their mental health and sense of safety and

stability (Bomsta & Sullivan, 2018). For all these reasons, it is

critical that survivors have appropriate and effective housing

interventions available in their communities.

Housing Interventions

IPV survivors who have little financial or social support often

rely on IPV housing services for shelter, safety, and healing

(Galano et al., 2013; Grossman & Lundy, 2011). Typical hous-

ing interventions may include crisis or emergency shelter ser-

vices, transitional supportive housing (TSH), and permanent

supportive housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD, 2018) defines crisis or emergency

shelter services as temporary or transitional shelter for the

homeless in general or for specific populations. Notably, crisis

or emergency shelters vary tremendously in the type of housing

they offer (e.g., communal living space, individual bedrooms,

independent living; shelter can range from secure facilities with

hidden locations to housing survivors in local motels) and in

the approaches shelter staff use to meet survivors’ housing-

related and other needs (Sullivan, 2010). Despite such varia-

tion, this study uses the term shelter broadly to mean any crisis

housing that is focused on providing safety and a temporary

home to IPV survivors and their children. Other forms of hous-

ing beyond shelter include TSH and permanent supportive

housing. TSH refers to housing with a time limit up to 2 years

that aims to facilitate movement of homeless individuals to

permanent housing (HUD, 2018). Permanent supportive hous-

ing refers to affordable housing in which survivors and their

families can remain long term (HUD, 2018).

250 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 22(2)

Approaches such as flexible funding, Housing First, and

rapid-rehousing models are relatively new interventions to

address IPV survivors’ housing needs. With flexible funding,

service providers use dedicated program funds to provide sur-

vivors with a limited amount of financial resources to prevent

homelessness or the loss of housing by paying overdue rent,

paying for car repairs so survivors can travel to their

employment, or paying utility deposits (Sullivan, Bomsta, &

Hacskaylo, 2016). The Housing First model has also been

adapted for IPV survivors. A Housing First approach involves

helping survivors obtain stable housing as a first step toward

providing support for other issues related to IPV (Padgett,

Henwood, & Tsemberis, 2016; Sullivan & Olsen, 2016).

Informed by the Housing First model, rapid rehousing aims to

help survivors quickly exit emergency shelters or homelessness

and secure permanent housing. Rapid-rehousing models often

prioritize survivors’ housing security by also providing suppor-

tive “wraparound” services to help address survivors’ needs in

comprehensive ways (Culhane & Metraux, 2008; Levitt et al.,

2013). Ideally, rapid rehousing entails a tailored package of

services including housing identification, rent and move-in assis-

tance, and case management and ongoing support.

Emergency Shelter

Typically, emergency shelter services are time limited, with the

average length of stay ranging between 30 and 60 days

(National Network to End Domestic Violence [NNEDV],

2016). The limit on length of stay can pose a problem for IPV

survivors because it can often take 10 months or longer to

secure stable housing (NNEDV, 2016). To help survivors with

the transition from emergency shelters to stable housing, some

shelters offer supportive housing options such as transitional

housing, short-term rental assistance, and permanent suppor-

tive housing (NNEDV, 2016). When supportive housing

options are offered after emergency shelter, these options can

serve as a bridge between crisis or emergency shelter and per-

manent housing (NNEDV, 2016).

On a single day in 2016, the NNEDV collected census data on

92% of all domestic violence services provided across the nation. These data revealed that in one 24-hr period, 25,912

survivors and their children received emergency shelter services

and another 15,283 survivors and their children received transi-

tional housing services (NNEDV, 2016). Although nearly

42,000 survivors received housing services on this 1 day, the

data also showed an additional 12,000 requests for domestic

violence services had to be denied because of a lack of resources.

Of these denied service requests, 23% were for transitional hous- ing services and 43% were for emergency shelter (NNEDV, 2016). Given such findings, an urgent need clearly exists for

housing services that meet the unique needs of IPV survivors.

Current Study

To the best of our knowledge, no prior research has system-

atically examined housing interventions for IPV survivors.

Thus, to address this important knowledge gap and to under-

stand the current evidence regarding programs and practices

addressing the housing needs of IPV survivors, we conducted a

systematic and comprehensive review of the available research

focused on housing-related IPV programs and services, here-

after collectively referred to as interventions. Such a review is

timely given the widespread use of various housing interven-

tions, such as emergency shelters, as well as the emergence of

newer housing interventions, such as rapid rehousing. Our

review was guided by the following questions: (a) What are

current interventions discussed in the empirical literature for

addressing housing needs of IPV survivors? (b) What are the

methodological strengths and limitations of the research eval-

uating these housing interventions? and (c) How effective are

the identified interventions at addressing the needs of IPV

survivors?

Method

This review was developed using preferred reporting items for

systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA)-P

for systematic reviews (Moher et al., 2015). Figure 1 contains

a PRISMA flow diagram depicting the various steps in this

study’s review process. The main goal of the review was to

investigate the state of the evidence regarding interventions

currently used to address IPV survivors’ housing needs. Our

research team used four methods to identify relevant empirical

articles: (a) database searches of peer-reviewed literature,

(b) Internet searches for gray literature, (c) hand searches of

relevant journals, and (d) reference harvesting. We first con-

ducted a systematic search of eight electronic databases: Psy-

cINFO, PubMed, Social Work Abstracts, Social Services

Abstracts, Web of Science, Applied Social Sciences Index

and Abstracts, Campbell Collaboration, and Cochrane

Library. These searches used variations of the following key

words (which we determined in consultation with a social sci-

ence librarian): intimate partner violence OR IPV OR DV

OR domestic violence OR partner abuse OR dating violence

OR partner violence OR inter* violence OR spous* abuse OR

intimate partner abuse OR battered women AND housing OR

shelter OR hotel OR residen* OR flexible fund* AND evaluat*

OR research OR test* OR investigat*. This search yielded

2,964 articles.

Articles were included in our review based on predeter-

mined criteria assessed by two members of our research team.

Articles had to (a) be empirical in their focus and analyze

quantitative or qualitative data, regardless of methodology;

(b) report on research that took place in the United States given

the country’s unique social service context; and (c) examine

housing services for IPV survivors and their children as either

an intervention or outcome (i.e., proximal or distal). Needs

assessments and nonempirical articles (e.g., discussions of

theory and “think pieces”) were excluded, as were studies of

IPV-related services that did not specifically evaluate housing

interventions or outcomes. We did not exclude articles based

on publication date.

Klein et al. 251

Because research on IPV services is not always published in

peer-reviewed journals, we also searched for IPV housing-

related evaluations using both a Google Search and a review

of national IPV organizations’ websites (i.e., NNEDV, VAW-

net.org, and the National Resource Center on Domestic Vio-

lence). This approach yielded an additional 18 documents for

review. In addition, we hand searched four journals that fre-

quently publish articles relevant to IPV housing: Journal of

Family Violence; Journal of Interpersonal Violence; Trauma,

Violence, and Abuse; and Violence Against Women. This

method identified three additional articles for review. Last,

we systematically reviewed the references of all articles that

met our study’s inclusion criteria to identify any relevant cited

articles that had not been identified in our searches. This

method yielded an additional six articles. Overall, these three

search methods (Internet search, hand search, and reference

harvesting) identified 27 articles for review.

As depicted in Figure 1, the four complementary search

methods yielded 2,991 articles. After removing duplicates,

we were left with 1,735 potentially relevant articles. Two mem-

bers of the research team independently reviewed the titles and

abstracts of these articles to determine eligibility for inclusion.

Based on the title and abstract review, the two reviewers agreed

to advance 52 articles for full-text review, which included some

articles on which the reviewers disagreed regarding eligibility.

The same two reviewers then reviewed the full text of the

52 articles and determined that 12 articles met all criteria for

inclusion. Articles were excluded for three main reasons:

(a) housing was not an outcome or intervention examined by

the study (n ¼ 26), (b) the study did not take place in the United States (n ¼ 9), or (c) the study did not focus on evaluating housing services in the context of IPV (n ¼ 5).

For the next step in the review process, three members of the

research team used an abstraction spreadsheet developed and

piloted by the entire team to systematically extract data from

the 12 studies included in this review. The spreadsheet captured

areas relevant to the research questions guiding this review,

including study design, theories and models, study objectives

and research questions, measures, data collection procedures,

analysis design, intervention names and descriptions, out-

comes, findings related to housing interventions and outcomes,

implications, strengths, and limitations. To ensure consistency

across the article reviews and abstractions, the three team mem-

bers worked together to extract data for two articles before

beginning independent extraction. In addition, over the course

of the extraction process, an additional five articles were

Records iden�fied through database searches

(n = 2,964) Id

en �fi

ca �o

n Addi�onal records iden�fied through other sources

(n = 27)

Records excluded (n = 1,683)

Full-text ar�cles assessed for eligibility

(n = 52)

Studies included in qualita�ve synthesis

(n = 12)

Sc re

en in

g In

cl ud

ed El

ig ib

ili ty

Records a�er duplicates removed (n = 1,735)

Records for �tle/abstract screen

(n = 1,735)

Full-text ar�cles excluded, with reasons, (n = 40): (Housing not an outcome or interven�on [n = 26]; Non-U.S. sample [n = 9]: Not IPV housing [n = 5])

Figure 1. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis flow diagram.

252 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 22(2)

double extracted as a means of checking for continued consis-

tency. All instances of double extraction produced consistent

findings.

Results

The 12 reviewed articles were heterogeneous in their methods,

samples, and findings. Table 1 provides key information for

each of the reviewed studies on the types of housing interven-

tions evaluated, study characteristics (e.g., sample size, sample

characteristics, research design), and relevant findings.

Interventions for Addressing Survivors’ Housing Needs

The 12 articles examined various interventions for addressing

the housing needs of IPV survivors, including shelter, shelter

with additional on-site services, home security measures, tran-

sitional housing, rapid rehousing, and flexible funding. Shelter

was the most commonly examined service for addressing sur-

vivor’s housing needs and examined in half of the 12 studies

(Aguirre, 1985; Bennett, Riger, Schewe, Howard, & Wasco,

2004; Berk, Newton, & Berk, 1986; Grossman, Lundy, George,

& Crabtree-Nelson, 2010; Perez, Johnson, Johnson, & Walter,

2012; Sullivan & Virden, 2017). Shelter with additional in-

shelter services was the main intervention evaluated in two

other studies: Of these, one study evaluated shelter with an

additional mental health intervention (Johnson, Johnson, Perez,

Palmieri, & Zlotnick, 2016) and the other study examined

shelter with an on-site clinic (D’Amico & Nelson, 2008). An

additional study examined multiple protective interventions

used by survivors, including housing-related interventions of

shelter and home security measures (Messing, O’Sullivan,

Cavanaugh, Webster, & Campbell, 2016). TSH (Cain, Melbin,

& Sullivan, 2003), rapid rehousing (Levitt et al., 2013), and

flexible funding (Sullivan et al., 2016) were each appraised by

one study.

Study Characteristics

Sample sizes and characteristics. The sample sizes of the reviewed studies ranged from 15 to 819 participants, with

an average sample of 329 participants. Most of the studies

(n ¼ 8) had samples of more than 100 participants. The manu- scripts reviewed revealed varying amounts of information on

sample characteristics, with one study providing no informa-

tion on sample characteristics (Aguirre, 1985). The 11

remaining studies provided some information on sample char-

acteristics, including that at least 95% of the participants in each of these 11 studies were women. In addition, seven stud-

ies included information on participants’ age, most often pro-

viding a mean or median between 30 and 40 years (Bennett

et al., 2004; Berk et al., 1986; D’Amico & Nelson, 2008;

Johnson et al., 2016; Perez et al., 2012; Sullivan et al.,

2016; Sullivan & Virden, 2017).

Eight studies provided information on participant race/eth-

nicity, with three studies reporting a predominantly White

sample (Bennett et al., 2004; Berk et al., 1986; Sullivan &

Virden, 2017), three indicating a predominantly African Amer-

ican or Black sample (Grossman et al., 2010; Johnson et al.,

2016; Sullivan et al., 2016), and two studies indicating a pre-

dominantly Hispanic sample (Messing et al., 2016; Perez et al.,

2012). Only one study described sexual orientation of partici-

pants and indicated the majority of the sample was heterosex-

ual (90.3%; Perez et al., 2012). Five studies reported the percentage of participants who had children (Berk et al.,

1986; Cain et al., 2003; D’Amico & Nelson, 2008; Johnson

et al., 2016; Messing et al., 2016). Among these studies, most

participants had children, and all participants (N ¼ 55) in the Cain, Melbin, and Sullivan’s (2003) study had children. Four

studies described participant marital status, which varied across

studies and included participants who were single, married to,

or cohabiting with their abuser, and those who were remarried

(Grossman et al., 2010; Johnson et al., 2016; Messing et al.,

2016; Perez et al., 2012). Six studies included information on

the level of education participants had attained, which varied

significantly but often exceeded high school completion (Berk

et al., 1986; Grossman et al., 2010; Levitt et al., 2013; Messing

et al., 2016; Perez et al., 2012; Sullivan & Virden, 2017).

Four studies included information regarding the socioeco-

nomic status of participants. Berk and colleagues (1986) indi-

cated that over 50% of their sample was employed, while Messing and colleagues (2016) indicated 47.6% of their sample was employed. Cain and colleagues’ study (2003) recruited

only participants with dependent children who are eligible for

temporary assistance for needy families (TANF). Grossman

and colleagues (2010) mentioned that 24.8% of their sample received their income from public assistance. Full sample char-

acteristics are provided in Table 1.

Participant recruitment. Six of the studies recruited participants directly from shelters or transitional housing (Aguirre, 1985;

Cain et al., 2003; D’Amico & Nelson, 2008; Grossman et al.,

2010; Johnson et al., 2016; Perez et al., 2012). Three studies

were secondary analyses of existing state or multistate data

consisting of service-seeking survivors of IPV (Bennett et al.,

2004; Messing et al., 2016; Sullivan & Virden, 2017). One

study identified participants through either their interactions

with a shelter or with a prosecutor (Berk et al., 1986). Two

of the studies recruited participants who were seeking non-

IPV-specific housing services including flexible funding or

housing through the Department of Homeless Services (Levitt

et al., 2013; Sullivan et al., 2016). Because most of these stud-

ies involved service-receiving or service-seeking survivors,

information about their IPV experiences was rarely reported

beyond an assertion that they were seeking help after experien-

cing IPV. Johnson and colleagues (2016) reported that, in the

past month, 46.7% of their treatment and 50% of their control groups had experienced psychological abuse, 36.7% in both treatment and control had experienced physical abuse, and no

treatment participants and 7% of control participants had expe- rienced sexual abuse. Messing and colleagues (2016) indicated

that 64% of their sample had experienced threats, 57% had

Klein et al. 253

T a b

le 1 .

S tu

d y

C h ar

ac te

ri st

ic s,

R e le

va n t

F in

d in

gs , an

d O

u tc

o m

e s.

A u th

o r

(Y e ar

)

S am

p le

R e se

ar ch

D e si

gn

F in

d in

gs N

C h ar

ac te

ri st

ic s

In te

rv e n ti o n

E va

lu at

e d

D e si

gn M

e th

o d

O u tc

o m

e C

at e go

ry

A gu

ir re

(1 9 8 5 )

3 1 2

N o n e

p ro

vi d e d

S h e lt e r

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

C ro

ss -s

e ct

io n al

N o

co m

p ar

is o n

gr o u p

S u rv

e ys

R e la

ti o n sh

ip T

h e

gr e at

e r

th e

n u m

b e r

o f d e ci

si o n s

su rv

iv o rs

m ad

e in

sh e lt e r,

th e

m o re

th e y

te n d e d

to se

p ar

at e

fr o m

ab u se

r. S u rv

iv o rs

w h o

sa id

sh e lt e r

w as

ve ry

u se

fu l h ad

a h ig

h e r

te n d e n cy

to re

tu rn

to ab

u se

r. B e n n e tt

, R

ig e r,

S ch

e w

e ,

H o w

ar d , an

d W

as co

(2 0 0 4 )

6 3 8

M e d ia

n ag

e 3 3

ye ar

s: W

h it e

6 4 .4

% ,

H is

p an

ic 5 .4

% , B la

ck 2 5 .7

% ,

W o m

e n

9 8 %

S h e lt e r

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

L o n gi

tu d in

al (2

ti m

e p o in

ts )

S u rv

e ys

M e n ta

l h e al

th C

o u n se

lin g

O u tc

o m

e s

In d e x

af te

r- se

rv ic

e sc

o re

w as

si gn

if ic

an tl y

gr e at

e r

th an

b e fo

re -s

e rv

ic e

sc o re

.

B e rk

, N

e w

to n ,

an d

B e rk

(1 9 8 6 )

2 4 3

M aj

o ri

ty W

h it e

sa m

p le

, so

m e

H is

p an

ic <

2 4

ye ar

s ¼

2 5 %

, >

3 5

ye ar

s ¼

2 5 %

L iv

e d

w it h

ab u se

r 9 6 %

H ad

ch ild

re n

6 3 %

E m

p lo

ye d �

5 0 %

O n

av e ra

ge , h ad

so m

e e d u ca

ti o n

b e yo

n d

h ig

h sc

h o o l

S h e lt e r

Q u as

i- e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

L o n gi

tu d in

al (2

ti m

e p o in

ts )

N o

co m

p ar

is o n

gr o u p

In te

rv ie

w s

R e vi

ct im

iz at

io n

S u rv

iv o rs

w h o

e x h ib

it e d

h e lp

-s e e k in

g b e h av

io r

sa w

si gn

if ic

an t

re d u ct

io n

in lik

e lih

o o d

o f n e w

vi o le

n ce

af te

r sh

e lt e r.

S h e lt e r

h ad

n o

o r

n e ga

ti ve

im p ac

t fo

r th

o se

w h o

d id

n o t

e n ga

ge in

h e lp

- se

e k in

g b e h av

io r.

C ai

n , M

e lb

in ,

an d

S u lli

va n

(2 0 0 3 )

5 5

L im

it e d

d e m

o gr

ap h ic

s re

p o rt

e d .

A ll

w o m

e n

1 2

in e m

e rg

e n cy

sh e lt e r,

2 0

in tr

an si

ti o n al

su p p o rt

iv e

h o u si

n g

(T S H

), 4

in T

S H

in p as

t, 1 9

d ir

e ct

se rv

ic e

st af

f A

ll h ad

d e p e n d e n t

ch ild

re n

an d

w e re

e lig

ib le

fo r

T A

N F

T S H

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u al

it at

iv e

C ro

ss -s

e ct

io n al

In te

rv ie

w s

H o u si

n g

st ab

ili ty

, re

la ti o n sh

ip

T S H

co n tr

ib u te

d to

su rv

iv o r

sa fe

ty b e ca

u se

su rv

iv o rs

in d ic

at e d

th e y

w o u ld

h av

e lik

e ly

go n e

b ac

k to

th e ir

as sa

ila n ts

o r

b e e n

h o m

e le

ss w

it h o u t

T S H

.

D ’A

m ic

o an

d N

e ls

o n

(2 0 0 8 )

1 5

3 ch

ild re

n : ag

e s

1 , 9 , an

d 1 4

ye ar

s 1 2

w o m

e n : ag

e s

2 1 – 5 2

ye ar

s S h e lt e r

w it h

o n -s

it e

cl in

ic N

o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u al

it at

iv e

L o n gi

tu d in

al (4

ti m

e p o in

ts )

S e co

n d ar

y d at

a an

al ys

is -M

e d ic

al re

co rd

d at

a

S e rv

ic e s

O n -s

it e

cl in

ic se

rv ic

e s

in cr

e as

e d

p o st

sh e lt e r

u se

o f m

e d ic

al an

d m

e n ta

l h e al

th se

rv ic

e s.

G ro

ss m

an ,

L u n d y,

G e o rg

e , an

d C

ra b tr

e e -

N e ls

o n

(2 0 1 0 )

8 1 9

W h it e

3 8 .2

% , A

fr ic

an A

m e ri

ca n

4 4 .6

% , H

is p an

ic 1 0 .7

% In

co m

e fr

o m

p u b lic

as si

st an

ce 2 4 .8

% E m

p lo

ym e n t

in co

m e : 2 7 .1

% S in

gl e

5 1 .5

% , m

ar ri

e d

3 4 .2

% L e ss

th an

h ig

h sc

h o o l 2 3 %

, so

m e

co lle

ge o r

m o re

6 7 .9

% N

o n -E

n gl

is h

sp e ak

e r

5 .6

% P re

gn an

t 1 1 .3

% S p e ci

al n e e d s

1 1 .7

%

S h e lt e r

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

L o n gi

tu d in

al (7

ye ar

s o f

se rv

ic e

d e liv

e ry

)

S e co

n d ar

y d at

a an

al ys

is -I

n fo

rm at

io n

n e tw

o rk

d at

a

S e rv

ic e s

S u rv

iv o rs

in sh

e lt e r

w e re

m o re

lik e ly

to re

ce iv

e n o n h o u si

n g-

re la

te d

se rv

ic e s

th an

su rv

iv o rs

w h o

d id

n o t

u se

sh e lt e r

se rv

ic e s.

(c o n ti n u ed

)

254

T a b

le 1 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

A u th

o r

(Y e ar

)

S am

p le

R e se

ar ch

D e si

gn

F in

d in

gs N

C h ar

ac te

ri st

ic s

In te

rv e n ti o n

E va

lu at

e d

D e si

gn M

e th

o d

O u tc

o m

e C

at e go

ry

Jo h n so

n ,

Jo h n so

n ,

P e re

z, P al

m ie

ri , an

d Z

lo tn

ic k

(2 0 1 6 )

6 0

M e an

ag e

3 3 .3

ye ar

s A

fr ic

an A

m e ri

ca n

5 6 .7

% , W

h it e

4 3 .3

% , H

is p an

ic 6 .7

% H

ad ch

ild re

n 9 8 .3

% L iv

in g

w it h /m

ar ri

e d

to ab

u se

r 9 3 .3

%

S h e lt e r

w it h

H e lp

in g

to O

ve rc

o m

e P T

S D

th ro

u gh

E m

p o w

e rm

e n t

(H O

P E )

ve rs

u s

st an

d ar

d sh

e lt e r

se rv

ic e s

R C

T Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

C o m

p ar

is o n

gr o u p

L o n gi

tu d in

al (4

ti m

e p o in

ts )

S u rv

e ys

M e n ta

l H

e al

th A

t 6 -m

o n th

fo llo

w -u

p , H

O P E

p ar

ti ci

p an

ts w

e re

si gn

if ic

an tl y

le ss

lik e ly

to m

e e t

P T

S D

cr it e ri

a th

an th

o se

w h o

re ce

iv e d

sh e lt e r-

o n ly

se rv

ic e s.

L e vi

tt e t

al .

(2 0 1 3 )

3 3 0

R e ce

n t

e n tr

y to

sh e lt e r

(< 1 8 0

d ay

s) 4 9 %

O ld

e r

e n tr

y 5 1 %

L e ss

th an

H S

3 6 .6

% , H

S 1 6 .7

% S o m

e co

lle ge

/m o re

4 6 .7

%

H o m

e to

S ta

y ra

p id

re h o u si

n g

ve rs

u s

st an

d ar

d sh

e lt e r

se rv

ic e s

M o d if ie

d R

C T

Q u an

ti ta

ti ve

C o m

p ar

is o n

gr o u p

C ro

ss -s

e ct

io n al

S e co

n d ar

y d at

a an

al ys

is -D

e p ar

tm e n t

o f

H u m

an S e rv

ic e s

d at

a

H o u si

n g

st ab

ili ty

C o m

p ar

e d

w it h

st an

d ar

d sh

e lt e r

se rv

ic e s,

H o m

e to

S ta

y d e m

o n st

ra te

d si

gn if ic

an tl y

lo w

e r

ti m

e to

e x it

fr o m

sh e lt e r,

lo w

e r

to ta

l d ay

s sp

e n t

in sh

e lt e r,

h ig

h e r

ti m

e b e fo

re re

tu rn

to sh

e lt e r,

an d

h ig

h e r

e x it

w it h

h o u si

n g

su b si

d ie

s. M

e ss

in g,

O ’S

u lli

va n ,

C av

an au

gh ,

W e b st

e r,

an d

C am

p b e ll

(2 0 1 6 )

7 5 5

M e an

ag e

3 1 .5

ye ar

s L at

in a

5 7 .6

% , A

fr ic

an A

m e ri

ca n

2 6 .2

% H

ad ch

ild w

it h

ab u se

r 7 6 %

S in

gl e

4 9 .3

% E m

p lo

ye d

4 7 .6

% H

S o r

m o re

6 7 .2

8 %

S h e lt e r

an d

se cu

ri ty

/s af

e ty

m e as

u re

s N

o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

L o n gi

tu d in

al (2

ti m

e p o in

ts )

S e co

n d ar

y d at

a an

al ys

is -R

A V

E d at

a

R e vi

ct im

iz at

io n

A t

8 -m

o n th

fo llo

w -u

p , w

o m

e n

w h o

u se

d sh

e lt e r

w e re

8 8 %

le ss

lik e ly

to e x p e ri

e n ce

m o d e ra

te IP

V an

d 6 4 %

le ss

lik e ly

to e x p e ri

e n ce

se ve

re IP

V th

an w

o m

e n

w h o

d id

n o t

go to

sh e lt e r.

P e re

z, Jo

h n so

n ,

Jo h n so

n , an

d W

al te

r (2

0 1 2 )

1 0 3

M e an

ag e

3 5 .5

ye ar

s B la

ck 5 2 .4

% , W

h it e

3 5 .9

% , H

is p an

ic 8 .7

% , H

e te

ro se

x u al

9 0 .3

% L e ss

th an

H S

2 1 .4

% G

re at

e r

th an

H S

7 8 .6

% R

e ce

iv e

p u b lic

as si

st an

ce 7 8 .6

% E m

p lo

ye d

6 6 %

L iv

e d

w it h

ab u se

r 7 8 .6

%

S h e lt e r

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

L o n gi

tu d in

al (3

ti m

e p o in

ts )

In te

rv ie

w s

R e vi

ct im

iz at

io n

L e n gt

h o f sh

e lt e r

st ay

w as

in ve

rs e ly

re la

te d

to re

vi ct

im iz

at io

n .

S u lli

va n , B o m

st a,

an d

H ac

sk ay

lo (2

0 1 6 )

5 3

M e an

ag e

3 4 .8

ye ar

s (r

an ge

2 1 – 5 7

ye ar

s) W

o m

e n

9 6 %

, A

fr ic

an A

m e ri

ca n , A

fr ic

an d e sc

e n t,

o r

m u lt ir

ac ia

l ¼

9 3 %

N o

o th

e r

in fo

rm at

io n

re p o rt

e d

o n

ra ce

H ad

ch ild

re n

8 4 %

F le

x ib

le fu

n d in

g N

o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u al

it at

iv e

L o n gi

tu d in

al (3

ti m

e p o in

ts )

N o

co m

p ar

is o n

gr o u p

S e m

is tr

u ct

u re

d in

te rv

ie w

s H

o u si

n g

st ab

ili ty

A t

6 -m

o n th

fo llo

w -u

p , 9 4 %

o f

p ar

ti ci

p an

ts w

e re

h o u se

d . (c o n ti n u ed

)

255

T a b

le 1 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

A u th

o r

(Y e ar

)

S am

p le

R e se

ar ch

D e si

gn

F in

d in

gs N

C h ar

ac te

ri st

ic s

In te

rv e n ti o n

E va

lu at

e d

D e si

gn M

e th

o d

O u tc

o m

e C

at e go

ry

S u lli

va n

an d

V ir

d e n

(2 0 1 7 )

5 6 5

A ge

: <

2 5

ye ar

s ¼

2 1 %

, 2 5 – 4 9 ¼

6 9 %

, >

5 0 ¼

9 %

W o m

e n : 5 6 3

M e n : 2

W h it e

6 1 %

, A

fr ic

an A

m e ri

ca n /B

la ck

1 2 %

, H

is p an

ic /L

at in

a 1 0 %

, N

at iv

e A

m e ri

ca n

4 %

, A

si an

/P ac

if ic

Is la

n d e r

2 %

, M

u lt ir

ac ia

l 4 %

, O

th e r

7 %

L e ss

th an

H S

2 9 %

,H S

d ip

lo m

a/ G

E D

2 8 %

S o m

e co

lle ge

3 0 %

,c o lle

ge o r

h ig

h e r

1 3 %

S h e lt e r

N o n e x p e ri

m e n ta

l Q

u an

ti ta

ti ve

, L o n gi

tu d in

al (2

ti m

e p o in

ts )

S e co

n d ar

y d at

a an

al ys

is -S

h e lt e r

d at

a fr

o m

e ig

h t

st at

e s

S e rv

ic e s

M o st

o f th

e va

ri an

ce in

o u tc

o m

e s

p re

d ic

te d

b y

th e

ty p e

o f h e lp

su rv

iv o rs

re ce

iv e d

fr o m

th e

p ro

gr am

. P re

vi o u s

sh e lt e r

st ay

o r

le n gt

h o f st

ay w

as n o t

a si

gn if ic

an t

p re

d ic

to r.

N o te

. T

A N

F ¼

te m

p o ra

ry as

si st

an ce

fo r

n e e d y

fa m

ili e s;

H S ¼

h ig

h sc

h o o l;

R C

T ¼

ra n d o m

iz e d

co n tr

o lle

d tr

ia l;

IP V ¼

in ti m

at e

p ar

tn e r

vi o le

n ce

; R

A V

E ¼

R is

k A

ss e ss

m e n t

V al

id at

io n

S tu

d y;

P T

S D ¼

p o st

- tr

au m

at ic

st re

ss d is

o rd

e r;

G E D ¼

G e n e ra

l E d u ca

ti o n al

D e ve

lo p m

e n t.

256

experienced stalking, 84% had experienced moderate physical IPV (e.g., hitting, punching, kicking), and 61% had experi- enced severe physical IPV (e.g., choking, life-threatening

injuries).

Research design. The reviewed evaluations used a wide variety of research designs. Nine of the studies were nonexperimental,

and three used experimental or quasi-experimental designs.

Specifically, one used a quasi-experimental design (Berk

et al., 1986) group, one used a modified randomized control

trial (RCT) design (Levitt et al., 2013), and one used a RCT

design (Johnson et al., 2016). Both the modified RCT and the

RCT studies included comparison groups whereas the quasi-

experimental study did not use a comparison group.

Nine studies used quantitative methods, and three were qua-

litative. None of the studies used a mixed-methods approach.

Eight studies analyzed primary data collected through inter-

views (n ¼ 5) or surveys (n ¼ 3). The three qualitative studies collected data through interviews. Four studies used cross-

sectional data, and nine studies were longitudinal, with data

collection conducted at a range between 2 and 7 time points.

See Table 1 for further details of the study designs.

Outcomes of interest. The studies measured myriad outcomes of housing interventions. The most salient outcomes explored by

the studies can be divided into five main categories: (a) revic-

timization (n ¼ 3), (b) housing stability (n ¼ 3), (c) services (n ¼ 3), (d) relationship (n ¼ 2), and (e) mental health (n ¼ 2). Specific outcomes related to revictimization included number

of instances of abuse, experiences of abuse, and abuse severity.

Housing stability outcomes encompassed current housing sta-

tus and days in shelter. Outcomes related to services included

the likelihood the survivor would seek additional services and

perception of the helpfulness of services. Relationship-related

outcomes comprised current relationship status, times partici-

pant returned to the abusive relationship, and whether the sur-

vivor had left the abusive relationship. Last, mental health

outcomes under study in the reviewed articles included symp-

toms of PTSD and scores obtained using the Counseling Out-

comes Index (Bennett et al., 2004).

Key Findings

Revictimization. Three studies examined the relationship between shelter services and a survivor’s likelihood of experi-

encing revictimization. Berk and colleagues (1986) examined

the impact of shelter on revictimization but specified that some

survivors demonstrated help-seeking behavior (i.e., outreach to

formal or informal support systems), whereas others did not.

The survivors who exhibited help-seeking behavior reported a

considerable reduction in victimization after shelter, whereas

survivors who did not exhibit help-seeking behavior experi-

enced increased or preshelter levels of victimization after leav-

ing shelter. Messing and colleagues (2016) conducted a

secondary analysis of data from the Risk Assessment Valida-

tion Study to investigate the impact of various interventions,

including shelter, on the severity of IPV as reported by survi-

vors at follow-up. These researchers found at about 8-month

postintervention that, as compared with IPV survivors who did

not go to a shelter, women who had used shelter services were

88% less likely to report having experienced moderate IPV and 64% less likely to report having experienced severe IPV after leaving the shelter at about 8-month postintervention. Messing

and colleagues’ (2016) findings were consistent with those of

Perez and colleagues (2012), who examined the impact of the

length of shelter stay on revictimization and found the longer a

survivor stayed in shelter, the less likely it was that the survivor

experienced revictimization at 3 or 6 months postshelter fol-

low-up.

Housing stability. Only three of the housing intervention studies specifically examined housing-related outcomes. Sullivan and

colleagues (2016) investigated the use of flexible funding in

helping survivors gain housing stability. At the 6-month

follow-up after disbursement of funds, Sullivan et al. found

that 94% of participants were housed. Levitt and colleagues (2013) found that as compared with survivors using standard

shelter services, survivor participants in the Home to Stay

rapid-rehousing program demonstrated significantly lower

time to exit from shelter, longer time before return to shelter,

a greater likelihood of exiting shelter with housing subsidies,

and lower total days spent in shelter. In Cain et al.’s (2003)

interviews with survivors, those who had lived in TSH indi-

cated that if this housing program had not been available, then

they would have been homeless.

Services. Three studies examined how housing interventions affected use of and satisfaction with additional services (e.g.,

medical care, legal support such as obtaining orders of protec-

tion, and job skills training). D’Amico and Nelson’s (2008)

secondary data analysis of medical records found that when

survivors had access to clinic services provide on-site in the

shelter, they were more likely to use medical and mental health

services after they left shelter. In a secondary data analysis of

service use among survivors in Illinois, Grossman and col-

leagues (2010) discovered that survivors in shelter were more

likely to receive nonhousing services than survivors who had

not used shelter services. Sullivan and Virden (2017) examined

data from shelters in eight states and found that the types of

support survivors received (i.e., safety, information, self-care

and connections, community resources, and services for chil-

dren) predicted several service-related outcomes (i.e., percep-

tion of shelter helpfulness, sense of power, and hopefulness).

At Time 1, survivors specified which kinds of help they needed

from a list of 37 options within five categories. Survivors who

had received this help by time of shelter exit (Time 2) were

more likely to perceive the shelter as helpful, indicate a sense

of personal power, and endorse feeling hopeful about the

future. All three of these studies suggest the potential for a

robust link between shelter services for survivors and other

services that may help ensure survivors’ safety and well-

being. However, Sullivan and Virden (2017) reported that

Klein et al. 257

length of shelter stay (i.e., how long a participant resided in

shelter) was not a significant predictor of service outcomes

(e.g., overall helpfulness of shelter, survivor hopefulness, and

survivor sense of power), indicating that interventions that aim

to connect survivors with information and supportive commu-

nity services might not necessarily need to take place in shelter

and/or occur over a long duration to be helpful.

Relationship. Two of the studies investigated how housing inter- ventions affected survivors’ relationships including their rela-

tionship status after the intervention and whether the survivors

left their abusive partners. Aguirre (1985) examined survivors’

decision-making during shelter stays and their satisfaction with

shelter services. The more decisions (e.g., obtaining a restrain-

ing order, filing criminal charges, or beginning divorce pro-

ceedings) a survivor made while in shelter, the more likely the

survivor was to separate from the abusive partner. However,

survivors who reported that they found shelter services very

useful had a higher tendency to eventually return to their abu-

sive partners. While Aguirre (1985) mentions that this finding

indicates that shelters do not focus on family separation but on

survivor self-determined decision-making, our review team

found no apparent interpretation of this finding included in the

article. Cain and colleagues (2013) found TSH likely increased

survivor safety by providing a safe housing alternative for sur-

vivors who indicated that, without the program, they would

have returned to their abusive partner.

Mental health. Two studies measured the effects of housing interventions on mental health outcomes of IPV survivors.

Bennett and colleagues (2004) found that survivors’ postshelter

Counseling Outcomes Index scores were significantly higher

than their scores before receiving shelter-based counseling.

The Counseling Outcomes Index is a reliable scale developed

by Bennett and colleagues (2004) to assess eight areas of well-

being targeted in IPV counseling: support, self-efficacy, cop-

ing, goal setting, information, nonjudgment, safety planning,

personal is political, and respect. Johnson and colleagues

(2016) examined the impact of shelter combined with a group

program called Helping to Overcome PTSD through Empow-

erment (HOPE). At the 6-month postintervention follow-up,

HOPE participants were significantly less likely to meet the

diagnostic criteria for PTSD than those who received shelter-

only services (i.e., usual services).

Discussion

Our goal in conducting this review was to assess and evaluate

the current state of the evidence regarding interventions for

addressing survivors’ housing needs. Specifically, we sought

to determine (a) the interventions from published literature that

are currently available to address IPV survivors’ housing

needs, (b) the strengths and limitations of these interventions,

and (c) the effectiveness of these interventions in meeting the

housing needs of survivors. Given the critical role that housing

plays in the safety and recovery of survivors coupled with the

limited availability of these housing options, it is important to

understand the evidence regarding interventions used to

address the housing-related needs of IPV survivors.

We identified 12 articles that met our inclusion criteria.

Although only a small number of articles met our inclusion

criteria, given the immense public health consequences of IPV

and the widespread use of housing interventions to address

IPV, this review addressed a critical need to provide a timely

inventory of the current evaluation literature. Notably, the

reviewed studies had heterogeneous intervention approaches,

samples, outcomes, and study methods. Critical findings are

summarized in Table 2.

Current Interventions

Remarkably, we located only 12 articles that evaluated housing

interventions for IPV survivors. This review also determined

considerable heterogeneity across the 12 in terms of interven-

tion approaches. Most of the studies investigated traditional

IPV shelter services, with a couple assessing traditional shelter

services that offered additional on-site resources such as clinic

services. We found only single studies that examined nonshel-

ter housing interventions such as TSH, security measures, and

flexible funding. The overall findings from these studies sug-

gest that rapid rehousing and flexible funding appear to be

promising practices for increasing housing stability of IPV

survivors. However, these interventions and studies need to

be replicated and findings further evaluated. Moreover, future

research is now needed to determine the situational and survi-

vor characteristics that promote optimal effectiveness of each

housing strategy.

Strengths and Limitations of Methods to Evaluate Housing Interventions

This review also determined considerable heterogeneity across

the 12 studies in terms of study foci, designs, and outcomes.

Assessing the overall strengths and limitations of the rigor

among housing interventions studies is challenging given such

diversity. Thus, it is premature to make firm statements

Table 2. Strategies for Addressing IPV Survivor Housing Needs: Crit- ical Findings.

� Shelter is the most commonly assessed and available housing intervention for IPV survivors, but only limited empirical evaluation is available of shelter effectiveness.

� Shelter services would benefit from evaluation studies using rigorous methods including studies that explore specific components that lead to positive outcomes for survivors.

� Rapid rehousing and flexible funding appear to be promising practices for increasing survivor housing stability. However, more evaluation is needed of these approaches including research to determine the situational and survivor characteristics that enable optimal effectiveness of each strategy.

Note. IPV ¼ intimate partner violence; PTSD ¼ post-traumatic stress disorder.

258 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 22(2)

concerning, on the whole, the robustness of housing interven-

tion research for IPV survivors.

In addition, as mentioned in several of the reviewed studies,

IPV interventions, including housing interventions, often cen-

ter on the self-determination of IPV survivors. Thus, the suc-

cess or failure of a housing strategy would need to be assessed

based on each survivor’s self-determined goals and ideas of

safety. This emphasis on self-determination is critical to taking

a trauma-informed approach in developing and delivering

housing interventions. Nonetheless, a focus on survivors’

self-determination may mean that research designs in this area

require varied study methods and outcomes to account for

diversity among survivors’ circumstances, needs, and service

preferences (Sullivan, 2018).

Effectiveness of Current Housing Interventions

As noted above, the study designs and the outcomes used in the

reviewed studies were heterogeneous, making it difficult to

synthesize study findings and/or determine overall housing

strategy effectiveness. Even though shelter is the most com-

monly assessed and available housing intervention for IPV

survivors, this review showed limited empirical evaluation is

available concerning the effectiveness of shelter as a housing

strategy. Given that only three studies used experimental or

quasi-experimental designs (Berk et al., 1986; Johnson et al.,

2016; Levitt et al., 2013), the robustness of the findings from

most of the studies are uncertain. Moreover, the fact that sev-

eral studies evaluated the impact of various housing interven-

tions on mental health, revictimization, service utilization, and

relationship-related outcomes is a reminder of the multidimen-

sional nature of services that many current housing interven-

tions, especially traditional shelter services, are tasked with

providing. Therefore, shelter services would benefit from addi-

tional evaluation using rigorous methods, including studies

investigating how specific program components may be asso-

ciated with positive outcomes for survivors.

Implications

In developing the implications for policy and practice, we

sought to closely tie our recommendations to the study’s find-

ings. Accordingly, we caution readers that given the small

number of studies and their heterogeneity, these implications

for practice and policy should be considered formative and

preliminary. Table 2 also provide a summary of the findings

of this systematic review and the implications.

Implications for practice. Although small, the existing body of evidence suggests that an IPV survivor’s use of shelter services

(i.e., staying in a safe IPV-focused shelter) can reduce revicti-

mization and PTSD, improve housing stability, and enhance

access to services. Studies in this review found that survivors

who engage in help-seeking behavior and autonomous

decision-making during their shelter stay experienced less

revictimization and were more likely to separate from their

abusers. Accordingly, survivors might benefit when service

providers foster survivors’ self-determination and self-

efficacy over their own service goals and needs. Nonetheless,

future research should investigate what elements of shelter

programs contribute to these outcomes and how specific survi-

vor characteristics might influence this process.

Further, helping survivors to achieve housing and economic

independence involves more than merely providing shelter.

Such independence also includes helping survivors to obtain

affordable housing, employment, and transportation. Survivors

also need options to address housing insecurity beyond emer-

gency shelter. Enhancing survivors’ choices and options as

they seek greater housing security may be key to empowering

survivors after experiencing IPV (Goodman, Smyth, & Ban-

yard, 2010; Goodman et al., 2016). Albeit limited, research

concerning interventions that aim to improve economic

empowerment, economic self-sufficiency, and economic self-

efficacy among IPV survivors using a financial literacy curri-

culum (e.g., mortgages, savings accounts, bonds, stocks and

mutual funds, compound interest, credit and debt, and retire-

ment planning) have had promising results (Postmus, Plummer,

McMahon, & Zurlo, 2013; Sanders, 2014; Sanders & Schnabel,

2006). Other housing-based services may be salient to IPV

survivors’ empowerment given the evidence showing that med-

ical and mental health services provided to survivors while in

shelter can lead to greater engagement with medical and mental

health services once they leave shelter (D’Amico & Nelson,

2008).

Implications for policy. To foster housing security for IPV survi- vors, policy makers should support innovative initiatives for

organizations that serve survivors. For example, innovative use

of resources, through flexible funding programs, could enable

organizations to provide services that can help survivors

achieve and maintain housing stability. Flexible funding pro-

grams could help survivors meet concrete needs such as furni-

ture or rent deposits, making achieving independence more

feasible initially, and ultimately being more supportive of

long-term survivor housing stability and fiscal autonomy. We

also recommend that policy makers support other innovative

initiatives for IPV survivors, such as rapid rehousing.

Given the importance of federal, state, and community pol-

icies for affordable housing, job opportunities, and living-wage

employment, we call on researchers to work with policy mak-

ers to investigate how housing and economic policies might

influence the housing and well-being of IPV survivors and their

children. In other words, individual-level intervention

approaches do not address larger economic, housing, and struc-

tural issues. For survivors living in communities in which they

do not have access to affordable housing and living-wage

employment opportunities, we speculate that policy interven-

tion may be even more critical than individual-level ones for

helping survivors with securing housing. In particular, policies

tied to issues of IPV (e.g., the Violence Against Women Act)

may be important avenues for creating such benefits. None-

theless, with little available evidence about such policy

Klein et al. 259

impacts, we underscore our call for research on these important

issues.

Implications for research. The studies discussed in this review provide insight into a variety of different interventions and

housing-related or other outcomes. Still, very few studies have

focused specifically on housing-related outcomes, as indicated

by the inclusion of only 12 articles for this review, only 3 of

which focused on housing outcomes. The overall dearth of

intervention studies focused on survivor housing is striking

given the prevalence of IPV, the critical need for safe, secure

housing among IPV survivors, and the considerable number of

IPV programs that include housing as a program component.

Consequently, we call for increased efforts toward rigorous

evaluation of housing interventions to determine which

approaches are most effective in meeting the complex housing

needs of IPV survivors and their families.

Specifically, research is needed on promising but undere-

valuated practices that promote housing stability outside of

shelter such as flexible funding and rapid rehousing. Additional

and rigorous research is needed (e.g., stronger design features,

advanced statistical methods) to examine the impact of housing

interventions. For instance, longitudinal research is needed to

evaluate long-term effects of housing interventions using meth-

ods such as growth curve modeling that can illuminate

between-person differences in within-person change. We also

underscore our recommendation for policy research here.

For future studies, we encourage IPV researchers to use

experimental or quasi-experimental designs along with robust

statistical methods to enable rigorous evaluation of the housing

program effects. Articles that report effect sizes from housing

interventions studies would be particularly valuable. Valid and

reliable instruments are also needed to measure the effective-

ness of housing interventions and should include outcomes

related to housing permanency, revictimization, interpersonal

connections, financial stability, and mental health symptoms of

survivors and their children. For example, Hoge, Stylianou,

Hetling, and Postmus’s (2017) Scale of Economic Self-

Efficacy could be integrated into housing strategy provision

and follow-up to gauge the impact of these interventions on

survivor economic empowerment. Data concerning the type

and severity of abuse that survivors experience would also help

provide insight as to which types of housing interventions may

benefit survivors with varying experiences of abuse.

Because shelter is such a common housing strategy,

increased evaluation research is needed to provide guidance

on what key ingredients (e.g., location, services, protocols,

screening processes, personnel) constitute effective and quality

shelter services. Researchers should also present the real-world

impacts of their studies, so that key community stakeholders

and practitioners can have a roadmap to operationalize study

implications. Given the high cost of providing shelter services,

financial and feasibility studies of these services are needed.

Further research on the synergy between multiple housing

interventions (e.g., flexible funding, emergency housing, and

security measures) can help communities develop comprehen-

sive approaches to addressing survivor housing needs.

The current research also provides limited information on

the relevance of housing interventions for IPV survivors from

diverse backgrounds. Notably, 4 of the 12 studies we reviewed

did not include information on participant race or ethnicity, and

only 4 studies provided information on participant socioeco-

nomic status. Although anyone can experience IPV victimiza-

tion, research shows that groups of people who have been

disadvantaged and excluded from economic and social oppor-

tunities, such as American Indians, immigrants, people with

disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people

(LGBT), people of color, and those with fewer socioeconomic

resources, as a few examples, have even higher rates of IPV

victimization (Black et al., 2011; Breiding & Armour, 2015;

Halpern, Spriggs, Martin, & Kupper, 2009; Walters, Chen, &

Breiding, 2013). Research also shows that members of disad-

vantaged groups, for example, survivors of color, experience

additional discriminations in their attempts to secure housing

after leaving an abusive relationship and that those living in

poverty may find it especially challenging to secure and sustain

housing (Baker et al., 2010; Phinney, Danziger, Pollack, &

Seefeldt, 2007; Wilson & Laughon, 2015). For all these rea-

sons, we call for research examining the dynamic intersections

of disability, ethnicity and race, immigration, LGBT, poverty,

housing instability, and IPV, especially given at least one

recent study found that race and ethnicity did not predict hous-

ing instability (E. N. Adams et al., 2018). Future research cen-

tering the effectiveness of housing interventions for

disadvantaged groups and actively engaging diverse survivors

in research will provide better information for enhancing and

tailoring such services. Examining and comparing housing

interventions for IPV survivors globally could also provide

novel and replicable models.

Strengths and Limitations of This Review

This review has several limitations that should be taken into

consideration. Although IPV is a pervasive public health prob-

lem for which housing interventions, particularly shelter, are

often provided as a potential solution, only 12 articles met our

inclusion criteria for this review. The dearth of evaluation lit-

erature suggests shelters are using many housing interventions

that have not been formally researched or for which research

findings were not publicly disseminated. Consequently, our

review is representative of only those aspects of shelter that

are specifically housing related and subsequently disseminated.

To continue to provide updated information on the effective-

ness of housing interventions and to maximize the likelihood of

locating hard-to-find articles, future researchers could replicate

the methods in this study, including searches of research data-

bases and websites for gray literature, key words used, and

hand searches.

Moreover, all studies included in this review were con-

ducted in the United States and published in English. We

focused our review on U.S.-based studies given the unique

260 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 22(2)

complexities of the U.S. housing and social service delivery

systems. It is likely that additional studies exist that were con-

ducted outside the United States that would provide insight into

housing-related outcomes for IPV survivors. Although such an

investigation was beyond the scope of this study, we call for

future research to investigate housing programs for IPV survi-

vors and their children globally. In addition, relevant studies

might have been published since July 2017 that were not

included in this review.

We also acknowledge that there is much to learn from the

broader housing intervention literature. However, an investiga-

tion of the housing literature was not the aim of the current

study because we specifically sought to focus on IPV services

for survivors. Thus, we excluded studies that did not specifi-

cally look at housing interventions used with IPV survivors.

Future reviews could take a more general approach and synthe-

size the results from studies for all housing intervention

literature.

Despite these limitations, this review also has several

strengths. First, this review closely adhered to PRISMA guide-

lines and used rigorous methods to identify studies. We

obtained feedback on search strings from a social sciences

librarian prior to conducting our searches. In addition, two

reviewers participated in the title, abstract, and full-text review

to determine eligibility of studies. We used multiple sources to

identify relevant articles, including reference harvesting, Goo-

gle Searches, and searches on national IPV organization web-

sites. Several reviewers independently abstracted data and met

regularly to resolve any discrepancies in abstractions. In addi-

tion to the use of rigorous methods, this review offers a unique

contribution to the IPV literature. To our knowledge, no review

to date has examined housing-related outcomes of IPV housing

interventions, which is a critical issue relevant to the safety and

recovery of survivors. Thus, this review provides a valuable

contribution to the field of IPV research by synthesizing the

current state of the literature on housing-related outcomes for

IPV survivors, by ascertaining promising practices and by iden-

tifying opportunities for future research.

Conclusion

Although most research on IPV survivor housing needs has

focused on emergency shelter, more research is needed to

determine how to best address both survivors’ short- and longer

term housing needs. We call for future research on shelter.

Given the high costs of emergency shelter service delivery,

we also call for research on housing interventions broadly,

including novel practices for IPV survivors and their children,

as well as policy initiatives. Likewise, IPV survivors need a

variety of services, and therefore, it is vital to ensure that hous-

ing alternatives do not eliminate the crisis, life-saving services

often provided through emergency shelter. Increased research

on a diversity of housing interventions will enable communities

to develop and implement a range of practices, policies, and

programs that best meet their community and survivors’ needs.

Implications for Practice

� Shelter might reduce victimization and PTSD, improve housing stability, and enhance access to services, but it is

unclear how shelter services achieve these outcomes or

which specific survivor shelter services might be most

beneficial to survivor outcomes.

� Comprehensive services are needed to address survivors’ individualized, self-determined goals.

� Economic independence encompasses more than shelter services and includes affordable housing, employment,

and transportation.

Implications for Policy

� To develop innovative strategies that foster survivor housing security, policy makers should support rapid-

rehousing initiatives and flexible funding programs for

organizations that serve survivors.

� Given the importance of federal, state, and community policies for affordable housing, job opportunities, and

living-wage employment, we call on researchers to work

with policy makers to investigate how housing and eco-

nomic policies might influence the housing and well-

being of IPV survivors and their children.

Implications for Research.

� More research is needed on promising but underevalu- ated practices that promote housing stability outside of

shelter such as flexible funding and rapid rehousing.

� More research is needed on long-term effects of housing interventions.

� Studies that evaluate specific shelter components and effects of housing strategies on diverse populations of

survivors are needed to better understand how individual

characteristics influence the effectiveness of housing

programs.

� Studies that incorporate comparison groups of IPV sur- vivors who do not receive housing interventions are

needed to better evaluate program effects of IPV housing

interventions.

� When possible, future research should report effect sizes and other indicators of potential “real-world” impact to

help practice and policy decision-making.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Jennifer O’Brien, Austyn Holleman,

and Addie Humphrey for their contributions to this research and Diane

Wyant for her comments on a draft of this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Klein et al. 261

Funding

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest

with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this

article: This project is generously supported by a gift from Mrs. Mar-

ilyn Jacobs Preyer and Mr. Rich Preyer.

ORCID iD

L. B. Klein https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3346-9548

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Author Biographies

L. B. Klein, MSW, MPA, is a doctoral student and an adjunct faculty

member at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and a fellow with the Prevention Innovations

Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Her research

focuses on preventing and responding to gender-based violence and

promoting equity with interests in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,

and queer communities, implementation science, and community par-

ticipatory action research.

Brittney R. Chesworth, MSW, LCSW, is a doctoral student at the

School of Social Work, UNC-CH, where her research focuses on

developing effective treatments for intimate partner violence (IPV)

perpetrators. She is also a licensed clinical social worker with expe-

rience as a child abuse investigator, medical social worker, and coun-

selor for youth and IPV survivors.

Julia R. Howland-Myers, MSW, is a social worker who holds a

master’s of social work and bachelor’s degree in dramatic arts with

minors in creative writing and Arabic from UNC-CH.

Cynthia Fraga Rizo, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor at the

School of Social Work, UNC-CH. She has worked on a number of

projects investigating gender-based violence including IPV, human

trafficking, and sexual assault. She is currently working on a project

to develop school-based sex trafficking content for students as well as

protocols to identify and connect at-risk youth and victims to commu-

nity services.

Rebecca J. Macy, PhD, MSW, is the L. Richardson Preyer Distin-

guished Chair for Strengthening Families at the School of Social

Work, UNC-CH. She has 15 years’ experience conducting

community-based studies that focus on IPV, sexual violence, and

human trafficking. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed

articles, book chapters, and invited commentaries on these topics.

264 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 22(2)

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Articles/Kulkarni et al, 2022, Improving Safe Housing Access for Domestic Violence Survivors Through Systems Change.pdf

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Housing Policy Debate

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rhpd20

Improving Safe Housing Access for Domestic Violence Survivors Through Systems Change

Shanti Joy Kulkarni, Suzanne Marcus, Cristina Cortes, Carielle Escalante, Leila Wood & Rachel Fusco

To cite this article: Shanti Joy Kulkarni, Suzanne Marcus, Cristina Cortes, Carielle Escalante, Leila Wood & Rachel Fusco (2021): Improving Safe Housing Access for Domestic Violence Survivors Through Systems Change, Housing Policy Debate, DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2021.1947865

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1947865

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Published online: 09 Sep 2021.

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Improving Safe Housing Access for Domestic Violence Survivors Through Systems Change Shanti Joy Kulkarnia, Suzanne Marcusb, Cristina Cortesc, Carielle Escalanted, Leila Wood e and Rachel Fuscof

aSchool of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA; bNational Alliance for Safe Housing, Washington, DC, USA; cLos Angeles Homeless Services Agency, CA, USA; dRainbow Services, Los Angeles, CA, USA; eThe University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Health Professions, USA; fUniversity of Georgia School of Social Work, Athens, USA

ABSTRACT Domestic violence (DV) survivors often encounter serious barriers navigat- ing between housing and homelessness (H/H), coordinated entry (CE), and DV service systems to access safe housing. This study examined an innova- tive program that deployed DV coordinators as systems change agents liaising between H/H services, DV programs, and CES to increase survivors’ safe housing access. Five listening sessions were conducted using a semi- structured interview guide to explore key stakeholders’ perspectives about the potential impact of he DV coordinator program. Transcripts were thematically coded and then member checked. Primary themes included: (a) training, consultation, and brokering relationships to advance systems reforms; (b) adapting to community contexts; and (c) bringing survivors’ voices to funders and policymakers. Cross-sector training was an important program outcome. However, meaningful systems changes were not likely to occur through training activities alone. Community partners benefited from responsive real-time consultation, as well as coaching and support to address survivors’ needs in a trauma-informed manner. Relationship build- ing and networking encouraged cross-sector collaborations and creative pragmatic solutions to complicated survivor needs. Findings underscored the complementary nature of direct service and systems advocacy and the importance of having service providers, like DV housing navigators working parallel with DV systems change advocates.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 21 January 2021 Accepted 22 June 2021

KEYWORDS Domestic violence; safe housing; systems advocacy

Background

Domestic violence (DV) rates in the United States are alarming, with an estimated 1 in 4 women and 1 and 7 men experiencing severe physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime (Breiding, Chen, & Black, 2014). Economic abuse and other forms of coercive control frequently accompany physical violence in ways that heighten vulnerability to homelessness and housing insecurity (Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). Economic abuse encompasses the many strategies that abusers use to undermine survivors’ resource acquisition and stability (Adams & Beeble, 2019). Economic abuse tactics may include behaviors that make it difficult for survivors to hold jobs (e.g., workplace harassment, withholding childcare or transportation), pay bills, and establish good credit (Sanders, 2015). Domestic violence may also result in damage to rental units or police calls to respond to violent incidents. As a result, survivors are more likely to experience

CONTACT Shanti Joy Kulkarni [email protected]

HOUSING POLICY DEBATE https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1947865

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

eviction, lose security deposits, and incur additional fees, which in turn creates future housing barriers (Baker, Billhardt, Warren, Rollins, & Glass, 2010).

Individuals experiencing homelessness also report higher rates of DV than the general population, and in fact DV precipitates homelessness for many women (Jasinski, Wesely, Mustaine, & Wright, 2005). Despite compelling evidence about the deeply intertwined nature of DV and homelessness, service delivery systems for DV and homelessness and housing (H/H) have traditionally operated distinctly from one another (Baker et al., 2010). Consequently, DV survivors who seek services from DV system are not always able to access housing resources, and survivors who seek services from the homelessness system may not receive needed support with regard to safety concerns or trauma symptoms (Wilson, Fauci, & Goodman, 2015). System change reforms are needed within both DV and H/H systems, as well as at the interfaces between the system. In this study, we examined an innovative program that deployed DV Coordinators as systems change agents liaising between H/H services, DV programs, and coordinated entry (CE) systems to increase DV survivors’ access to safe housing.

Importance of Safe Housing for Survivors

Safe affordable housing is important for survivors and their children to achieve healing and economic self-sufficiency (Clough, Draughon, Njie-Carr, Rollins, & Glass, 2014.). A recent study of low- income DV survivors found that housing insecurity exacerbated DV-related health and mental health consequences, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse (Daoud et al., 2016). Housing instability, more than DV severity and drug and alcohol use, predicts PTSD and depression and decreased quality of life for survivors (Rollins et al., 2012). These survivors reported a myriad of stressors, including financial difficulties, parenting challenges, and on-going safety concerns. Similarly, a study that followed DV survivors over a 2-year period found stable housing to be a protective factor associated with better maternal health and child well-being outcomes (Gilroy, McFarlane, Maddoux, & Sullivan, 2016). Conversely, severity of PTSD symptoms, younger age, and lower income have been found to be associated with increased risk for housing instability among female-identified DV survivors (Adams et al., 2018). Survivors face overwhelming bureaucracy, a lack of available and safe units, and in some cases, re-victimization from service providers when trying to access housing after DV (Clough et al., 2014).

Long-term housing is a critical need for DV survivors as they seek stability following abuse. Most DV shelters have limited capacity that seldom meets community demands. These shelters typically provide time-limited (30–60 days) emergency shelter for those survivors fleeing the most severe danger (Baker et al., 2010). The lack of DV shelter beds may force survivors to seek shelter in the homeless system or resort to living in their cars, on the streets, or remaining with their abusers (Gezinski & Gonzalez-Pons, 2019). In addition, most survivors struggle to find longer-term safe affordable housing when they exit emergency housing and are again faced with limited options (Baker et al., 2010). A recent study of 347 survivors exiting DV shelter found those who had more advocacy and counseling sessions, and received more housing information, were less likely to exit into general homelessness system (Stylianou & Pich, 2019).

Beyond shelter, there are innovative and evidence-based housing relief and homelessness pre- vention approaches for survivors of DV that span site-based transitional housing to direct cash relief, or flexible funding. DV housing beyond shelter includes voucher-based rapid rehousing and project based and scattered site transitional housing, though most of these programs have yet to be rigorously evaluated (Klein, Chesworth, Howland-Myers, Rizo, & Macy, 2019). Domestic violence transitional housing (DVTH) is a time limited program approach for those needing additional supportive services (Clark, Wood, & Sullivan, 2018). Low-barrier housing interventions, such as DV Housing First, are also showing promising results toward increasing stability, safety, and well-being for DV survivors and their families (Mbilinyi, 2015; Sullivan & Olsen, 2016). DV Housing First adopts the homelessness service delivery approach of offering housing first (often through vouchers similar to rapid rehousing) in order to establish family stability and then offering an array of wrap-around

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voluntary services to ensure that other needs are met. Homeless prevention strategies, where survivors can maintain safety in their current housing when provided with key supports, are also emerging. For example, direct cash assistance through the use of flexible funding was found to be successful in preventing homelessness in 94% of the pilot group of 55 participants (Sullivan, Bomsta, & Hacskaylo, 2019).

Bridging Separate DV and Homelessness Service Delivery Systems

Homeless services vary widely by community in terms of the range of housing resources offered (Padgett, Henwood, & Tsemberis, 2016). Historically these services have been provided by a spectrum of programs with various criteria, population focus, and service philosophies. As a result, access to homelessness services was often unequal especially for the most vulnerable populations (Balagot, Lemus, Hartrick, Kohler, & Lindsay, 2019). Several policy projections in both the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH) have increased housing protections for DV survivors, including prohibitions on DV-related evictions, confidentiality protections, creation of new confidentiality policies, and bolster voucher and transitional programming (Keefe & Hahn, 2021). Over the past two decades, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has forwarded guidelines designed to improve access and integrate community response across homelessness service pro- grams. In 2018, HUD enacted the Coordinated Entry (CE) system as an additional funding require- ment (Housing and Urban Development, 2017). The purpose of CES is to create a “consistent, standardized, and efficient intake and referral process for individuals and households who are experiencing homelessness” (U.S. Department of 2015). CES are thus becoming the centralized access points where homeless individuals and families are seeking housing resources in most communities.

CE utilizes the federally mandated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) database as a means to streamline access to housing resources, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. HMIS databases include identifying information, which due to their public nature poses potential safety risks for DV survivors (Kofman & Marcus, 2018). In fact, DV service providers are prohibited from entering personally identifying DV survivor data by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), and McKinney-Vento Act. Unfortunately, these legislated protections can also undermine DV survivors’ access to needed housing resources without thoughtful planning and coordination (Kofman & Marcus, 2018).

DV shelter services have not traditionally been funded by HUD, often exist outside the CE, and have different philosophical roots and priorities compared with H/H programs. DV emergency shelters were historically designed to address the needs of survivors fleeing severe violence and more recently have begun to focus on longer term needs (Stylianou & Pich, 2019). DV service providers offer expertise in safety planning, managing trauma symptoms, and domestic violence advocacy. DV programs have only recently begun to develop knowledge about housing resources and systems. Survivors often face specific housing barriers associated with their DV experiences and require support as they transition toward longer term housing (Clark et al., 2018; Stylianou & Pich, 2019).

Emerging innovation from the field can advance our knowledge and increase DV survivors’ access to safe housing and trauma-informed care regardless of their pathways into services. In particular, the 2017 National Safe Housing Needs Assessment recommended colocation arrangements between DV and H/H program staff to better assist survivors with their housing needs (Kofman & Marcus, 2018). The report noted that although these arrangements were still fairly rare, programs that did engage in colocation overwhelmingly rated these services as being helpful for survivors in addition to cross-sector training on DV, H/H, and CES. Since the publication of the report, more communities have begun to implement colocation models as a means to bridge DV and H/H services

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for survivors. The primary aim of this study was to assess key stakeholders’ perceptions about the potential impact of an innovative colocation program on DV, H/H, and CE services and systems coordination in a major U.S. city.

Method

Program Description

This study explored key stakeholder perceptions about the potential impact of the Los Angeles DV Regional Coordinator co-location pilot program. This program was launched as “an ongoing initia- tive to identify, align, and implement solutions for preventing and ending homelessness for survivors of teen domestic violence, domestic violence (DV), sexual assault, and human trafficking”1 (LAHSA, 2018, p. 1). In 2016, the Los Angeles Domestic Violence & Homeless Services Coalition was formed by leadership from both the DV and H/H service organizations (https://downtownwomenscenter.org/ dvhsc/). The coalition was established to improve DV survivors’ access to housing and supportive services through a more integrated, trauma-informed system of care. Contemporaneously, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a spending plan for “Measure H” funds (revenue from local sales tax increase dedicated to combatting homelessness) that included the creation of eight new DV Coordinator staff positions focused solely on system change efforts to enhance coordination between H/H, Coordinated Entry (CE) system, and DV/Sexual Assault (SA)/Human Trafficking (HT) system service providers. Each of the eight DV Coordinators was assigned to serve a distinct geographic region and function as primary liaison between DV/SA/HT agencies with the goal of improving survivors’ access to violence-specific and H/H resources (see Figure 1). Coordinators also identified opportunities to make the CES process more trauma-informed. Funding was awarded to H/H organizations through block grants (that included funding to create and operate a CES access center for families, interim and permanent housing resources, matching, and coordination among other homeless service providers), however, it was up to the discretion of the H/H organization to either keep the coordinator position in-house, or subcontract it out to a DV partner. Although not all regional service planning areas (SPAs) subcontracted the positions out, some did work with their DV providers to identify candidates. These implementation differences were largely due to service delivery context within each SPA. Some SPAs already had strong relationships between H/H and DV agencies, which allowed for those Coordinators to begin co-location sooner than others. Some Coordinators were tasked to identify potential partners and begin to build those relationships, which often delayed the Coordinator’s ability to colocate. In other areas, some H/H agencies indicated they did not need for the Coordinator to be physically onsite, but would prefer to reach out to the coordinator as needed.

At the time of data collection, DV Coordinators had been assigned to seven of eight distinct geographic service areas in the county. Each geographic area was served by a centralized CES access point for individuals, families, and transition-aged adults. Though engaged in similar activities, each Coordinator functioned differently within their specific county service area. For example, some DV Coordinators were employed by DV organizations whereas others were employed by H/H organiza- tions. Some Coordinators spent most of their time working from one location, although others moved between multiple locations throughout the week. DV Coordinators varied with regard to their previous social service experience and educations (e.g., social work, paralegal); however, all possessed significant DV knowledge and subscribed to survivor-centered, trauma-informed service philosophies of care typically used in DV services (Kulkarni, 2019). As a group, the DV coordinators represented similar racial and ethnic diversity to the communities they served. DV Coordinators offered cross-sector training, service provider consultation, and policy advocacy to advance systems improvements within and between DV, H/H and CES (See Figure 1).

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Study Design

A mixed method approach was selected in response to the main research question: What were key stakeholders’ perceptions about the potential impact of the DV Coordinator program on DV, H/H, and CES? Mixed methods were utilized in two phases (Creswell & Clark, 2017). First a preliminary survey allowed researchers to understand how community partners viewed and interacted with the DV Coordinator program. Then researchers followed up with listening sessions with key stakeholders to understand these interactions and their potential impact in greater detail. Using multiple methods (surveys, listening sessions) allowed researchers to better understand service provider context through the perspectives of community partner using surveys and regional site based listening sessions; while simultaneously examining the more central experiences of DV regional Coordinators in separate listening sessions. Initial community partner survey data informed on-site qualitative data collection, specifically around listening session interview questions and prompts. Although study findings largely rely upon qualitative listening session data, survey data provided useful program description information and allowed for some degree of triangulation for aspects of the qualitative data analysis.

Data Collection and Analysis

Community Partner Web Survey Prior to site visits, a brief web survey was disseminated by DV Coordinators to the community partners and organizations who they worked with across H/H, CE, and DV systems. The survey invitations were broadly distributed by members of DVHS coalition and DV Coordinators to a convenience sample of their colleagues within the local DV and H/H service systems (as part of a broader evaluation). Fifty-four total responses were received; however, only data from the 28 respondents who reported working directly with DV Coordinators were analyzed for this study. The survey included questions about the perception of DV within the homeless popula- tion, training needs, and experiences working with the DV regional Coordinators and DVHS coalition.

Fifty-four survey responses were received between 11/29 and 12/30/19. Of these responses, 28 community partners reported working directly with DV regional Coordinators. Almost two-thirds of this subsample (64%/ n = 18) worked in the H/H system and 14% (4) worked in the DV service system, with 21% (6) of responses unknown. Survey participants were asked to rate the frequency of their interactions with DV Coordinators (very often, often, sometimes, rarely, or never) and their level of knowledge since working with the DV Coordinator (much more knowledgeable, somewhat more knowledgeable, slightly more knowledgeable, or the same knowledge). Group differences were examined using chi square analysis to assess for potential differences related to the level of community partner engagement with the DV Coordinator program.

Listening Sessions. Qualitative data was gathered during five listening sessions. Semistructured interview guides included questions about DV Coordinator roles/activities, program successes/chal- lenges, and examples of impact. Three site-based community partner listening sessions (n = 43) were conducted in culturally and geographically unique regions. These groups were attended by represen- tatives of DV, H/H, and CE service sectors who worked closely with the DV Coordinators assigned to their geographic region. These listening session participants included DV advocates and shelter staff, H/H case managers, and CE assessors and housing matchers. Two separate (initial and follow-up) listening sessions were conducted with DV Coordinators (n = 6). Two research team members conducted the listening sessions on-site over a two-day period. This study was approved by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte institutional review committee and all participants provided informed consent.

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Listening sessions were digitally recorded and professionally transcribed then checked for accu- racy. A modified constructivist grounded theory method was utilized in order identify themes about program processes and impact (Charmaz, 2014). Transcripts were reviewed by both facilitators who agreed on preliminary thematic codes related to program implementation and impact. The primary author used NVivo software to code all transcripts line by line. Initial thematic findings were summarized and presented to DV Coordinators and other key informants during a virtual listening session for additional feedback and member checking. Feedback from the member check session was incorporated into findings and increased rigor and allowed for deeper interpretation of the data. Selected survey data findings also allowed for data triangulation. Pseudonyms were utilized to de- identify transcripts and some participant quotes were edited for clarity.

Findings

Three overarching themes were identified in the analysis: 1) DV, H/H, and CES improvements were achieved through education and relationships; 2) DV Coordinators interfaced with community partners in ways that were responsive to unique needs, contexts of their regions, and their understanding of systems advocacy; and 3) DV Coordinator program strengthened survivor-centered advocacy with funders and policy makers. Each theme is explored in greater detail with illustrative quotes and supporting examples below.

Theme 1: DV, H/H, and CES Improvements Were Achieved Through Education and Relationships

DV Coordinators emphasized the importance of their roles as systems change agents rather than direct service providers. All DV Coordinators provided training, consultation, and brokering relation- ships to facilitate safe housing for DV survivors. These efforts appeared to result in DV, H/H, and CES improvements resulting from three reinforcing activities: 1) educating and correcting service provi- ders’ misperceptions; 2) enhancing DV, H/H, and CES coordination; and 3) changing DV, H/H, and CE service providers’ practices.

Educating Service Providers Community partner survey responses indicated the most valuable DV coordinator trainings were those that focused on building service providers’ knowledge and skills in helping survivors to access safe housing. Specifically, many community partners valued learning more about the CES. As one respondent noted: “I think the most effective trainings have been ones that can help the community and direct line staff at local levels understand the purpose and benefits of CES in context with the work being done at the county level.” Training formats ranged from large group to small group and even one-on-one sessions. Some trainings were attended by representatives from multiple systems while other trainings were program specific. Ongoing training was necessary due to frequent staff turnover within all systems.

A majority of DV Coordinator time was spent providing consultation with service providers around specific concerns and cases. While training provided foundational knowledge and skills, consultation helped service providers actually apply this knowledge in their work. One community partner described how challenging it was to appreciate the “nuances” of DV relationships like “emotional or financial abuse” after only introductory training. Similarly, a DV Coordinator elaborated on how consultation was needed to ensure that initial training was successful.

There are enough resources out there where if somebody were looking, you can find books and articles to get the DV 101 (but) there’s a layer of interpretation that’s also needed–what does that look like in action if somebody walks into your homeless services agency and discloses that they had experienced this. (Lin, DV Coordinator)

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The importance of consultation in increasing service provider knowledge was also evident in community partner survey results. The vast majority of community partners (91%) who consulted with their DV Coordinator often or very often reported being much more knowledgeable about DV. In contrast, only 53% of community partners who rarely or never consulted with DV Coordinators reported the same level of knowledge (Chi-square statistic = 4.414; p value = .036).

Enhancing System Coordination DV Coordinators helped to advance systems coordination to improve survivor access and care. Though service providers were equipped with increased knowledge about the practical and philo- sophical differences between DV, H/H, and C/E systems, they still faced challenges navigating disconnected systems to address survivors’ housing needs. For example, the lack of centralized access for DV services was frequent challenge for survivors seeking housing. According to one H/H community partner (Dave), DV services were “not uniform at all, it makes it extremely difficult to refer, connect, collaborate, because they’re not, they don’t function the same way across the board. That’s challenging.” Because DV organizations varied greatly in terms of their entrance criteria and processes, community partners often had misconceptions, such as a housing navigator incorrectly stating “all DV shelters require the police report or the DV restraining order.” The DV Coordinator working with the navigator highlighted the importance of:

clarifying just how the process works, so it’s not everyone feeling, they’re just screaming into the void of “why can’t they just do that?” It’s “Let me explain a little bit about what the procedure is and maybe why they’re asking some really odd questions.” Because DV shelters, again, it’s all about confidentiality. You want to make sure that this is a safe area so that’s why we’re asking all kinds of questions about where the abusive partner lives, works, and goes to hang out, or has friends and what is their commute? What kind of work do they do? Are they in an office, are they driving all over the place? We’re asking you about custody issues because is this the kind of person who will try to get the survivor busted for child kidnapping? Are there custody claims before you . . . Things that you need to be resolved before you cross county lines. And without that context, “Why are you asking all these invasive questions? I just want to know if you have shelter.” Lin, DV Coordinator)

Thus, DV survivors seeking emergency shelter might have to share the details of their story over multiple intakes with different DV shelters, which was a process that could be retraumatizing as well as discouraging. Some community partners noted philosophical differences among DV service providers did not always align with the espoused Housing First philosophy adopted by most H/H service providers. While Housing First programs are intentionally designed to be low barrier, DV emergency shelter tend to be smaller in size (as compared with the homeless shelter system) with beds reserved for survivors in the most lethal situations. According to one community partner, coordinating across systems required understanding and overcoming philosophical tensions, parti- cularly around issues of access and safety.

We still have our kinks to work out in terms of service philosophies; it’s just a little bit different. It’s DV nudging us over to this side, it is homeless services nudging them over to this side so we can figure out where our equal footing is. Mary, H/H community partner

DV Coordinators leveraged their community partner relationships to facilitate direct service provider linkages across programs and systems. One DV Coordinator defined this work as “network weaving”

I don’t want to just be the hub of all connections . . . maybe it needs to be me first because I am attending these other meetings in the community. Okay, let’s talk about DV services in general. Let’s talk about my agency services in particular, how you might refer somebody to us. Also, I want you to meet my buddy. Here’s somebody from our direct services team who would be available if you were to call our hotline, if you want to come to our community center . . . Let me know how we can support you, how we might be able to be a resource, but also I’m connecting people to each other: ‘You mentioned this, here’s another agency that provides a resource that might be helpful.’ or ‘You two are working on a lot of the same things. That’s really exciting and I want you to know about each other.’ Lin, DV Coordinator

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According to one DV Coordinator (Brittany), one of the “most valuable things” in her position was the ability to consult with other Coordinators to bounce off solutions with each other and offer support when facing challenges. DV Coordinators noted that having one supervisor over the entire program allowed them to address identified problems at a broader systems level without focusing on individual organizations’ practices.

Changing Service Providers’ Practices DV Coordinators described their efforts as supporting DV, H/H and CE service providers in shifting to new practice changes that better supported survivors’ access to safe housing.

It’s just teaching them (DV and H/H service providers) how to advocate and letting them know, I can follow up if something doesn’t pan out, if there’s no timely response, but that’s not something that I (do). You still have to continuously share the information because I’m not meeting with the participants . . . just teaching (community partners) how to navigate the system. (Kari, DV Coordinator)

DV Coordinators were able to improve survivors’ confidentiality and safety within HMIS using training and consultation to change H/H and CE service providers’ practices. One DV Coordinator described how her consultation with service providers increased the likelihood that DV survivors were able to make informed choices about having their data entered into HMIS.

People are not properly educating survivors on the amount of information that’s going to be entered on there and the risks that they’re actually taking and that they won’t be denied services because they’re not signing that consent form. It’s a lot of education. Sometimes DV isn’t disclosed at front, it’s disclosed afterwards and (housing navigators) will come to me and ask, ‘Well my client just disclosed that they’re a domestic violence survivor and we’re looking for those resources.’ One of the first things that I ask, ‘Did you ask them if they still want to be on clarity HMIS?’ And a lot of the times it’s, ‘No.’ And I’m, ‘Okay, well that should be your very first question, and you need to let them know that once they are housed, their address is going to be there and that all of these agencies will have access to their address.’ Maura, DV Coordinator

Another DV Coordinator developed a more trauma-informed pathway for survivors entering the regional CES to which she was assigned. The Coordinator facilitated training for several local direct service DV advocates to administer the Vulnerability Index—Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) for survivors seeking housing within that family CES. The VI-SPDAT score is used to prioritize the most vulnerable homeless individuals and families for housing. Those with higher scores are ranked as in greater need for immediate housing. The DV Coordinator observed that CE assessors with heavy caseloads were rarely able to spend the amount of time required to conduct a trauma-informed assessment with DV survivors. As a result, survivors often ended up with lower scores when their assessment interviews were rushed and therefore not prioritized for certain housing resources. When DV advocates completed the assessments, survivors appeared to receive more accurate prioritization scores.

Historically, survivors don’t score very well so we tried the system . . . where maybe once every so often if other (DV) agencies in the area gathered enough people that they thought would score relatively high, that she (trained DV advocate) would go in and do the VISPDAT for them. And then we would send it the VI-SPDAT, along with the referral to the authority at our family system. And so that way they would already have that information. So that was something that our county service area agreed to do, and our family CES agreed to do. Kari, DV Coordinator

Theme 2: DV Coordinators Interfaced With Community Partners in Ways That Were Responsive to Unique Needs, Contexts of Their Regions, and Their Understanding of Systems Advocacy

DV Coordinators often needed specific cultural competencies to respond to the unique demographic variations across their regional service areas (particularly in terms of racial-ethnic background, language, age, and rurality). The local service delivery landscape and the adequacy of local resources

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also differed by county service area. For example, some service areas had a primary DV organization while others had many smaller or culturally-specific DV organizations serving the same geographic area. Some regions utilized a “one-stop” shop service model where different nonprofits were co- located at a common site. Co-located sites were often highly collaborative with their site-based partners and less collaborative with organizations that fell outside of the formal collaboration.

Some regional service areas reported positive cross-sector collaborations between DV and H/H service providers prior to the DV Coordinator program implementation, while others did not. Though some level of collaboration existed in all regions, collaborative arrangements varied greatly—from mandated standing committees and task forces to informal working relationships to collocated service models. When collaborations existed, Coordinators built upon these foundations. For exam- ple, one region had a dedicated DV housing navigator contracted from a DV organization partner who was already co-located at the family CE site several days during the week. The DV housing navigator provided direct services to survivors within the H/H system, such as case management, consultation, and resources. This arrangement allowed the DV Coordinator to focus efforts more purposefully on identifying emerging issues and challenges for survivors seeking housing resources. The DV Coordinator (Kari) described her relationship with the DV housing navigator in the following manner: “the co-located navigator is great because she does direct service . . . we check in regularly about, ‘hey, what are the . . . problems that you’re seeing?’ she gives me regular updates.”

Because the system change agent role was unique within DV, H/H, and CES, DV Coordinators had to continuously and deliberately clarify their roles even when working with the organizations that employed them. Communication was bi-directional as DV Coordinators brought important informa- tion about advocacy priorities, policy updates, and funding opportunities back to their community partners. This information allowed programs to be more engaged and ideally increase resources available to meet survivors’ needs. For example, a DV Coordinator (Laura) who was hired from a direct service position frequently found herself “getting pulled back” into her previous duties, “especially since they didn’t hire to replace my old position.” Another region’s DV Coordinator faced similar barriers that prevented her from focusing on systems advocacy work. A community partner from that region (James) noted the DV Coordinator tended to engage in direct service activities with survivors rather than “creating that education throughout the community.” The DV Coordinator (Jane) believed that community partners continued to seek her out because: “I’m known within my agency very well, and people have come to depend on coming to (me) for help, whatever the case may be.”

Theme 3: The DV Coordinator Program Strengthened Survivor-Centered Advocacy With Funders and Policy Makers

Coordinators reported spending the least amount of time providing direct services for survivors; however, stated in the listening sessions that engaging in some direct services activities was very helpful in keeping them abreast of survivors’ evolving needs. The Coordinators had a unique vantage point for understanding survivors’ successes and challenges in accessing safe housing across all three systems. According to one DV Coordinator (Jane): providing direct services to survivors is “not the bulk of my time, but I still want to stay involved because that’s how you can also keep that finger on the pulse.” Because the DV Coordinators worked collaboratively with each other, they were able to provide support, share learning, creatively problem-solve, and more broadly understand the com- monalities and diverse experiences of survivors across communities. DV Coordinators utilized their team members’ unique strengths and perspectives to be more effective on behalf of survivors. As one DV Coordinator who was newer to the policy aspect of her position noted:

. . . it was also helpful to have this group of other Coordinators because (they) are pros when it comes to policy advocacy . . . hearing about what’s happening in other parts of the County. And we had different areas that we were maybe more focused on as a nature of what our agencies were doing . . . so it was very informative just in hearing updates on what’s happening out there. Lin, DV Coordinator

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DV Coordinators have been able influence policy at multiple levels. The program was able to implement new program practice policies that better supported DV survivors, such as the previously described trauma-informed prioritization process where DV advocates were trained to administer the VI-SPDAT. Coordinators were also able to persuade a privately funded DV shelter to remove the requirement that survivors have a restraining order to be served. This policy change would increase DV shelter access for survivors seeking services through H/H systems who are less likely to have restraining orders. DV Coordinators also serve as members of local policy making bodies, including the CE Policy Council, where they highlight the unique experiences of DV survivors, and a regional DV service provider policy group, where they represent the experiences of survivors who are homeless.

Importantly DV Coordinators represented survivors’ experiences and needs in new arenas.

Our directors are saying they would like us to do a lot of policy work, because there’s really not a voice from survivors at these meetings. Right? So, completely honest, I felt very alone . . . it was really nice to have this group when I started to see them at more meetings it was not just me, it was just okay, we have more of a consensus. Letting people know, ‘okay, so now we have these meetings. I can’t make it, can you make it?’ We want somebody from the community able to make it so that we can have a voice there. I think it’s really lifted up survivor voice in that sense whether it comes to funding, whether it comes to policymaking, how procedures are being set up, when we have that, I think it’s important. Kari, DV Coordinator

The DV Coordinator program also highlighted survivors’ voices within their training offerings to help service providers understand the impact of systems on individuals. DV Coordinators noted the impact that hearing more directly from survivors as cotrainers or through survivor videos or direct quotes that the coordinators used had on trainees. Coordinators felt that survivors’ voices served to authenticate the training information that were being communicated. According to one DV Coordinator (Kari), survivors appreciated sharing their stories in a way that could be used to change services and found this less re-traumatizing than sharing their stories for more general educational purposes.

Discussion/Implications

Study findings can guide the other communities to strengthen their own cross-sector collaboration efforts. The primary potential outcomes of the DV Coordinator program, as identified through mixed methods data collection, were education, culturally and locally specific knowledge, and bring survivor-centered perspectives to local policy and practices. Results suggest the DV Coordinator program holds promise in reducing silos between DV and homelessness services and addressing survivor needs more readily through policy change and by “weaving a network” of trauma-informed services. Cross-sector training leading to systems change was an important outcome of the program. H/H and CE service providers benefited from increased knowledge of DV relationship dynamics, safety planning, trauma-informed practices, and DV services. Likewise, DV service providers appre- ciated increasing their understanding of H/H and CE policies, programs, and processes. However, the DV Coordinator program suggests that meaningful systems changes were not likely to occur through training activities alone. Even with increased knowledge, service providers benefited from additional coaching and support to address survivors’ needs in a trauma-informed manner. Though training was an important first step, institutionalizing new practices seemed to require responsive real-time consultation that the DV Coordinators were able to provide. The relationships DV Coordinators facilitated through training, consultation, and “network weaving” also seemed to encourage more robust cross-sector collaborations. These relationships proved especially valuable as Coordinators and their community partners sought creative and pragmatic solutions to the complicated needs of survivors seeking safe housing. Although not stated explicitly, trusting relationships between those working in DV, H/H, and CES seem to strengthen over time and experiences of working together. System advocacy was central for the DV Coordinator in their individual roles and as a program. DV advocacy has historically valued systems change work as an essential advocacy activity, which aims

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to “improve institutional responses (policies, rules, and laws) that determine how services are provided and how resources are distributed” (Sullivan & Goodman, 2019, p. 3).

As systems change agents, DV Coordinators integrated themselves into the unique service contexts of the geographic regions they served. Coordinators utilized specific relational skills, advocacy strategies, and content expertise in all their activities. Importantly, it was valuable for system change agents, such as the DV Coordinators, to represent the cultural/racial diversity of the populations they served or at least to be able to effectively access the cultural knowledge needed to understand diverse survivors’ needs. Organizations seeking to replicate this model should take into account relational skills and cultural responsiveness when making hiring decisions for similar posi- tions (Sullivan & Goodman, 2019). Given that DV Coordinators must work so closely with partner organizations, it may be useful to involve key partners in the planning and implementation of these programs (Kulkarni, 2019).

Although DV Coordinators performed some level of direct service, their success in changing systems relied on protecting their primary role as being focused on higher level systems reforms. DV Coordinators had a much more difficult time maintaining a system focus when staffing and resource allocation was strained, especially with regard to DV services. In situations where community partner DV advocates were not able to directly assist with survivors who were identified in H/H or CES, Coordinators were often pressured to fill direct service gaps. Alternately, when community partner DV organizations were able to provide direct support for survivors seeking housing, Coordinators were able to focus on systems-level rather than individual solutions. These findings underscore the complementary nature of direct service and systems advocacy and the importance of having service providers, such as DV housing navigators working parallel with DV systems change advocates. These findings highlight the importance of insuring that DV, H/H, and CES are adequately resourced to meet clients’ needs (Sullivan, 2018). DV Coordinators played a unique role as systems change agents when freed from the obligations of direct client services.

DV Coordinators spent much of their time listening to DV, H/H, and CES service providers discuss challenges, successes, and insights into the safe housing barriers that survivors encounter. Therefore, Coordinators brought unique multi-layered perspectives to safe housing issues that were also deeply rooted in survivors’ lived experiences. Coordinators shared their nuanced understanding by citing specific examples of survivors’ experiences in ways that positively influenced policy makers and funders. Survivors’ voices were also highlighted in the trainings that DV Coordinators provided as another means to ensure that their efforts were survivor-centered. As a field, DV services historically and currently seek to center services more closely to survivors’ needs (Goodman & Epstein, 2008; Kulkarni, 2019). The DV Coordinator model has created a useful conduit to allow survivors’ experi- ences to meaningfully influence policy at multiple levels.

Nationally, the current housing policy context is a driving impetus for improved cross-sector collaboration to better meet the housing needs of survivors of violence. For example, HUD -funded CES are mandated to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that people fleeing violence have safe and confidential access to the CE process, as well as to victim services (Housing and Urban Development, 2015). HUD has also been requiring increased DV program participation in community wide housing continuum of care programs. In 2018, HUD earmarked $50 million for DV Rapid Rehousing funding (National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2020). At the same time, DV service programs are searching for new responses to address survivors’ housing needs in the face of sharp declines in affordable housing options throughout the country (particularly in rapidly gentrifying communities) that limit survivors’ long-term safe housing choices and tax the limits of emergency shelter programs designed to be temporary. As DV program services evolve to support promising new models such as DV Housing First and RRH, they are engaging with new community partners and stakeholders. Early evaluations suggest that systems-based advocacy and capacity building, includ- ing work with landlords and other social service agencies, was essential to DV housing first program success and survivor stability (Thomas, Ward-Lasher, Kappas, & Messing, 2021). Within this landscape,

12 S. J. KULKARNI ET AL.

the DV Coordinator program offers important lessons about an innovative, cross-sector systems change model.

Limitations

Findings should be considered in light of some limitations. This study involved a small sample in one pilot program in a large U.S. city. Therefore, the findings are situated within that context and may not be generalizable to other geographic settings. Although facilitators made efforts to solicit varying opinions within the listening sessions, it is possible that not all perspectives were shared during group discussions. Additional research is needed to establish specific program impacts. However, despite these limitations, it is hoped that these findings offer guidance and inspiration for commu- nities embarking upon DV and H/H systems change initiatives.

Conclusion

DV survivors experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable in our society. Unfortunately, too often survivors face barriers in accessing safe housing and trauma-informed services within DV, H/H, and CE service systems (Cronley, 2020; Kofman & Marcus, 2018). The DV Coordinator program offers a unique systems advocacy model that demonstrates potential to improve services, strengthen cross-sector collaborations, and advance survivor-centered policies within and across systems.

Note

1. Although the program broadly addressed the needs of survivors of many forms of violence, DV service needs and delivery system were by far the largest. Therefore the program was not exclusively focused on the DV service delivery system, however, DV was often the predominant focus.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

This work was supported by the Blue Shield of California Foundation [RP-2004-14549]; Conrad N. Hilton Foundation [25762].

Notes on Contributors

Shanti Joy Kulkarni, PhD MSW, (she/her) is professor at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on the impact of trauma, violence, and abuse upon vulnerable populations and seeks to positively influence practitioner behavior, service delivery systems, and policy in ways that best promote survivor and community health, well-being, and empowerment.

Suzanne Marcus, MS, (she/her) is the Director of Partnerships and Community Engagement at the National Alliance for Safe Housing where she provides training and technical assistance to local providers and all levels of government to develop programs and policies that promote racially equitable, safe housing solutions for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). Ms. Marcus has more than two decades of experience working at the intersection of GBV, housing and homelessness, including directing a transitional housing program for survivors in New York City, and co-founding the largest safe housing program in Washington, DC.

Cristina Cortes (she/her) is currently Manager of Domestic Violence System’s Alignment with Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Her primary focus is to ensure that survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault, are able to safely access mainstream homeless services, though community education and partnership-

HOUSING POLICY DEBATE 13

building. She is an active participant of various leadership bodies, including the Domestic Violence-Homeless Services Coalition, and the Office of Violence Prevention.

Carielle Escalante (she/her) has worked in the domestic violence field for more than 5 years. Currently she works for Rainbow Services, Ltd., an agency that provides shelter and supportive services for individuals experiencing DV. In her current role, Ms. Escalante works toward building and strengthening relationships between victim service providers and homeless service providers. Prior to this role Ms. Escalante worked as a paralegal, a role in which she provided much needed legal services for survivors to be able to access the protections that the judicial system has to offer.

Leila Wood, PhD, MSSW (she/her) is associate professor and the Director of Evaluation at the Center for Violence Prevention Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Dr. Wood’s program of research focuses on community-based intimate partner violence and sexual assault intervention and prevention efforts.

Rachel Fusco, PhD, MSSW (she/her) is associate professor and Georgia Athletic Association Chair in Health and Well- being in the University of Georgia School of Social Work. Dr. Fusco's research focuses on families experiencing child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and substance use disorders.

ORCID

Leila Wood http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5095-2577

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HOUSING POLICY DEBATE 15

  • Abstract
  • Background
    • Importance of Safe Housing for Survivors
    • Bridging Separate DV and Homelessness Service Delivery Systems
  • Method
    • Program Description
    • Study Design
    • Data Collection and Analysis
      • Community Partner Web Survey
        • Listening Sessions
  • Findings
    • Theme 1: DV, H/H, and CES Improvements Were Achieved Through Education and Relationships
      • Educating Service Providers
      • Enhancing System Coordination
      • Changing Service Providers’ Practices
    • Theme 2: DV Coordinators Interfaced With Community Partners in Ways That Were Responsive to Unique Needs, Contexts of Their Regions, and Their Understanding of Systems Advocacy
    • Theme 3: The DV Coordinator Program Strengthened Survivor-Centered Advocacy With Funders and Policy Makers
  • Discussion/Implications
    • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • Note
  • Disclosure Statement
  • Funding
  • Notes on Contributors
  • ORCID
  • References

Articles/Lyons-Brewer2021_Article_ExperiencesOfIntimatePartnerVi.pdf

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence during Lockdown and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Minna Lyons1 & Gayle Brewer1

Accepted: 17 February 2021 # The Author(s) 2021

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that there is an increase in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during times of crisis (e.g., financial, environmental, or socio-political situations). The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented global health and financial tragedy, but research is yet to establish exactly how the situation may impact on IPV. The present study investigates victims’ experience of IPV during lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic. We report a qualitative thematic analysis of 50 discussion forum posts written by victims of IPV. Of these, 48 forum posts were written by female victims of male perpetrated violence. All forum posts were obtained from the popular online platform, Reddit. We identified four themes associated with IPV victims’ experiences during lockdown and the global pandemic: (i) Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser, (ii) Service Disruption, (iii) Preparation to Leave, and (iv) Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on those living with IPV, often increasing the severity of IPV experienced. The experiences of those affected by IPV during this period inform interventions and the guidance and support provided to IPV victims during times of crisis.

Keywords COVID-19 . Domestic violence . Intimate partner violence . Online forum . Partner abuse . Pandemic

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is likely to have severe negative consequences for victims of intimate partner violence (IPV; Boserup et al. 2020; Bradbury-Jones and Isham 2020; Peterman et al. 2020; Usher et al. 2020). IPV consists of a wide range of behaviours between current or former romantic partners, encompassing sexual, psychological, physical, and financial abuse of differ- ing degrees (Peterman et al. 2020). Although male perpetrator-female victim is the most common pattern, female perpetrators and male victims are not unusual (Hines and Douglas 2009). In addition, IPV occurs in same-sex relation- ships at a prevalence comparable to heterosexual relationships (Rollè et al. 2018). Research has linked times of uncertainty (e.g., natural disasters, civil unrest, virus outbreaks, economic insecurity) to increased violence within families, including abuse directed towards romantic partners (see Peterman et al. 2020 for a review). Indeed, there are already anecdotal accounts reporting a pandemic-related escalation of violence

against women and girls in several regions of the world (Peterman et al. 2020). In order to develop effective strategies for intervention and prevention, it is essential to gain knowl- edge of the dynamics that underlie the exacerbated incidences of partner violence during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are several potential direct and indirect mechanisms influencing the increase of IPV perpetration during the virus outbreak (Peterman et al. 2020). First, the pandemic has in- creased rates of unemployment to unprecedented levels (Kawohl and Nordt 2020), pushing many households into poverty. IPV has well-recorded links with financial stressors (e.g., Lucero et al. 2016; Schwab-Reese et al. 2016), and could have complicated interactions with factors such as emascula- tion and alcohol use (Peralta et al. 2010). In addition, financial hardship may result in a reduced likelihood of the victim leav- ing the abuser. Financial abuse could, in fact, be one of the many strategies for the perpetrators to prevent their victim from escaping (Eriksson and Ulmestig 2017). In effect, finan- cial hardship can increase stress and put more strain on rela- tionships, as well as reduce opportunities for the victim to leave.

Second, social isolation measures related to the pandemic leave many victims without social contacts, housebound with

* Gayle Brewer [email protected]

1 Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK

Journal of Family Violence https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00260-x

the perpetrator. Social isolation has been associated with in- creased risk of IPV in some contexts (e.g., in migrant women; Kim 2019; in rural areas; Lanier and Maume 2009), and po- tentially prevents the victim from seeking help from others (van Gelder et al. 2020). Indeed, isolating victims from their social support network is a common strategy employed by perpetrators to control their victims. Thus, increased contact with the perpetrator, coupled with reduced social contacts with others, are likely to put many already vulnerable victims into even more precarious situations.

Third, the services that might normally be available to IPV victims may simply not be there, or function at a reduced capacity during a pandemic. Health care providers and emer- gency personnel are often the first point of contact for IPV victims, and play a major role in screening for IPV, identifying it, and encouraging disclosure (Bradley et al. 2020). Because of limited access to health care during the pandemic, many incidences of IPV may not be identified. In addition, police intervention is often the first response to IPV (Cheng and Lo 2019). Due to social restrictions and police engagement in new roles such as coordination and enforcement of local lock- downs, victims and bystanders (e.g., neighbours) may be less likely to contact the police during incidence of physical vio- lence. It is possible that the pandemic leaves many victims unnoticed, without the help of authorities and health care providers.

Fourth, the pandemic may be a tool for the abusers to exert their power further. Some of the well-recorded IPV tactics include coercive control, which has been defined as “a strate- gic course of oppressive conduct that is typically characterized by frequent, but low-level physical abuse and sexual coercion in combination with tactics to intimidate, degrade, isolate, and control victims” (Stark 2013, p. 18). The abusers may use the social isolation measures during the pandemic as an excuse for further controlling and isolating the victims. Coercive control has been identified as one of the important predictors of femicide (Campbell et al. 2003), highlighting the concern about murder victims as “collateral damage” of the pandemic. The pandemic could even escalate the journey of the perpe- trator from coercive control to murder (see Monckton Smith 2019).

The aim of the present study is to qualitatively understand the experiences of IPV victims during the pandemic. We are utilising online discussion forums, a data source that has be- come a popular tool in both qualitative (e.g., Newberry 2017) and quantitative (e.g., Lyons et al. 2018; Lyons et al. 2020) psychological research. Online communities can provide a constructive forum for advice, support, and social contact in those who experience IPV (Hurley et al. 2007; Lindgren 2014; Newberry 2017). IPV victimisation is often related to shame, self-blame, and social stigma (Eckstein 2016; Lim et al. 2015), which may make it harder in terms of seeking support face-to- face (Overstreet and Quinn 2013). The online environment

facilitates interacting and sharing stories with others using an anonymous username, reducing stigma relating to disclosure and providing a degree of safeguarding. The personal stories of IPV victims will be important for understanding the com- plicated issues that the global health crisis may impose on vulnerable people.

Method

Selection of Forum Posts

In this research, we utilised the highly popular social network- ing discussion forum platform, Reddit. This platform has more than 10,000 user-generated “subreddits”, online com- munities that are unified by common interests (Widman 2020). The veil of anonymity and shared experiences make it easier for the users to openly talk about stigmatising issues that may be more difficult to discuss face-to-face. Hence Reddit has been successfully used to research sensitive topics such as pro-eating disorders (Sowles et al. 2018), incel com- munities (Maxwell et al. 2020), and mental illness (De Choudhury and De 2014). Reddit has also been used by vic- tims of IPV and sexual violence as a supportive environment in which experiences can be shared and acknowledged (O’Neill 2018; Schrading et al. 2015). Indeed, the use of these online communities may be empowering and reduce social isolation (van Uden-Kraan et al. 2009). Therefore, Reddit has the potential to provide an insight into user experiences in a manner unprompted by researcher priorities or assumptions.

For the present study, we searched Reddit for IPV related subreddits by using the search words “domestic violence, domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, abu- sive relationships, partner abuse”. We identified three relevant sites, each with a large number of users (at the point of data collection, 10,100, 12,300, and 27,100). We selected posts that were submitted between 1st March and 10th May 2020, a period in which a substantial proportion of the global population had ex- perienced or were anticipating lockdown.

Upon entering each subreddit site, we searched for relevant posts using the words “COVID, corona, virus, and pandemic”. We went through the list of threads under each search word, selecting posts (and responses to the posts) that filled the in- clusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were the following: (i) the posts had to discuss PERSONAL experiences during the pandemic. Posts that were discussing the experiences of some- one else, giving advice without sharing their experiences, or did not mention COVID-19 at all were excluded. (ii) the posts had to discuss experiences of IPV victimisation (not other types of domestic violence or perpetration of IPV), with the abuse present prior to the pandemic.

J Fam Viol

We recorded posts by the usernames, analysing each username as one unit. We also searched for other posts by the username by clicking their name. If the person had written about IPV experiences during COVID-19 in other subreddits, those posts were also collected. The username, link to the post, perpetrator-victim relationship (i.e., male-female, female- male, male-male, female-female), and country of origin of the posts (wherever this was possible) were recorded.

Ethical Issues

As the posts in the subreddits were publicly available, our Institutional Review Board for research involving human par- ticipants, did not require formal review and approval. However, when designing and conducting the study and reporting our findings we consulted relevant ethical guide- lines, previously published discussion forum research, and available guides to discussion forum research (e.g., Smedley and Coulson 2021). In particular, we considered the public or private nature of the information shared, the potential for ben- efit or harm, and the feasibility of seeking informed consent when determining the appropriateness of the research (Eysenbach and Till 2001; Roberts 2015).

We analysed posts available to the general public without registration or log in and adopted a number of measures in accordance with professional body guidelines (e.g., British Psychological Society 2017) in order to protect the anonymity of the forum users. We are not revealing their online usernames, have slightly altered the wording of the quotes in this report, and include brief quotations rather than lengthy forum posts. To further address this issue, we entered each quote into both Google (the most widely used search engine) and Reddit (the discussion forum platform used to obtain posts), and this did not lead to the original posts. We are not reporting the name of the subreddits used in the study either. Altogether, we collected 50 posts written by victims of IPV on the forums identified as relevant for the topic. We finished data collection after all the relevant posts were found. Most (48) were female victims reporting abuse from a male perpe- trator. Although in most cases, it was not possible to trace the country of origin, 22 posts were from the US, two from the UK, one from Canada, one from Australia, and one from Cambodia.

Data Analysis

Two researchers independently analysed the datafile using inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006). This analytical method has been used previously in the context of discussion forum posts on IPV (e.g., Newberry 2017), and was deemed as the most appropriate for understanding per- sonal stories within the context of the pandemic. The re- searchers read the forum posts several times, and established

initial codes independent from each other, utilising separate word files as an audit trail. The researchers then discussed the codes, removed any duplicates, amalgamated similar codes, and investigated any discrepancies between the coders.

After agreement on the coding system, we then organised the codes into broader themes in order to establish a prelimi- nary thematic framework. For example, the limited shelter access, contacting law enforcement, and disruption to counselling codes later contributed to the Service Disruption theme. This was done by carefully examining any similarities and differences between codes and critically appraising the relationships between the codes. The final themes were agreed by both researchers after checking analytical interpretations for any discrepancies and it was clear that data saturation had been reached after analysis of the 50 discussion forum posts. We applied Leininger’s (1994) six criteria (credibility, confirmability, meaning in context, recurrent patterning, satu- ration, and transferability) when assessing the trustworthiness of our findings. These criteria are specifically intended for use with qualitative data and are consistent with the assumptions and goals of the qualitative paradigm.

Credibility. The researchers discussed their interpreta- tions of the findings extensively, acknowledging their potential biases, and trying to adopt the perspective of the informants. We recognise that credibility is some- what limited by the lack of participant involvement in the interpretation of the findings. However, we note that the data were posts created by users, unprompted by researcher priorities or assumptions and therefore may have greater credibility than other approaches. Confirmability. At times, it would have been beneficial to obtain clarification for some of the posts, which was not possible due to the nature of the study. However, the discussion forum posts are thought to be true, hon- est reflection of personal experience. Meaning-in-con- text. We recognize that the interpretations of the data are compatible only within the specific context ad- dressed (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recurrent Patterning. The texts within the posts were often in similar sequences, telling similar kind of stories (e.g., pan- demic stressors increasing abuse, with victims preparing to leave). We felt that the data did include recurring experiences across multiple posters. Saturation. Although other similar studies have used larger number of posts (e.g., O’Neill 2018), our data collection was limited by the number of avail- able posts that fit the exclusion criteria. However, both re- searchers agreed that when reaching the 50 posts, data satura- tion was reached, and no new codes/themes were emerging at this point. Transferability. The themes can be partially trans- ferred to reflect the experiences of people in other circum- stances in the pandemic. However, it is important to note that the aim of our study is not to produce findings that may be generalized to other (i.e., non-pandemic) contexts, it is to

J Fam Viol

understand the experiences of those affected by IPV during the pandemic in order to inform interventions and the guid- ance and support provided to IPV victims.

Results

We identified a number of themes relating to experiences of IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forum posts typically also contained non-COVID-19 information (e.g., describing the abuse, providing relationship history). These themes are not reported here if they did not directly relate to experiencing IPV in the context of the pandemic. However, it is worth noting that the posts described a deep history of IPV prior to the pandemic. Therefore, the posts relate to a continuation or escalation (none described a reduction) of abuse rather than abuse initiated after the start of the pandemic and findings cannot inform our understanding of the experiences of those who first became victims of IPV during the pandemic. The four themes extracted from the data were (i) Use of COVID- 19 by the Abuser, (ii) Service Disruption, (iii) Preparation to Leave, and (iv) Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress.

Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser

Perpetrators frequently capitalized on the pandemic and incor- porated it into the abuse. For example, “He’s using it as an excuse to try to throw me out of the house” (female victim, country not disclosed). Abusers also threatened victims or punished ‘unacceptable’ behaviour during the pandemic such as leaving the house during lockdown. As described on one forum post “She says she will “kill me” for putting people at risk” (male victim, U.S.A.). Similarly, another woman stated “He yelled at me after I went for a walk, he says I am selfish and “retarded”, he’s doing it to try to control me” (female victim, country not disclosed). In some instances, perpetrators made false claims to control a partner’s movements, such as “He called the airline and said I had tested positive so that they wouldn’t let me on the plane” (female victim, U.S.A.). Some posts also described perpetrators threatening to purchase a weapon, both in countries where gun ownership is legal and illegal. Potential social unrest during the pandemic was often provided as the reason for acquiring the weapon. For example, “He says he is going to buy a gun as people go crazy during the pandemic and might rob him…he is using it as an excuse to get a gun” (female victim, Australia).

Service Disruption

COVID-19 caused considerable disruption to available ser- vices, including specialist domestic violence services (such as shelters) and associated support (e.g., counselling). Forum posts often commented that “The DV shelters are all full!”

(female victim, country not disclosed), “Shelters are at capac- ity…everything is in lockdown because of COVID” (female victim, U.K.), and “The shelter won’t take or release people during COVID” (female victim, U.S.A). Support services of- ten became unavailable, exacerbating the impact of the IPV. For example, “He was seeing a counsellor to help him with his anger but he had to stop due to COVID-19” (female victim, country not disclosed) and “I normally see an onsite therapist at work without him knowing but I can’t do that now” (female victim, country not disclosed). Disruption to legal proceedings often increased anxiety and the risks posed to IPV victims. For example, “My abuser is going to be released from jail because prisoners and guards have tested positive… I’m shocked and very scared… I worry for my safety and the safety of my children” (female victim, U.K.). Similarly, court cases were delayed “The court case is pending but I don’t know when it will happen now because of COVID” (female victim, U.S.A.). Regular services that support victims leaving their abuser (e.g., transportation) have also been affected. As stated by one woman, “There are hardly any flights and then I would have to quarantine for two weeks” (female victim, Cambodia).

Preparation to Leave

Many victims reported that they were ready to leave their abusive partner and that the pandemic had interrupted their attempt to leave. For example, “I should have moved by now…The pandemic put everything on hold” (female victim, Australia) and “I was hoping to leave before the pandemic hit, now I am stuck here” (female victim, U.S.A.). Other individ- uals were using the lockdown to prepare to leave. For exam- ple, “I have been contacting houses to move into” (female victim, Australia) and “I’m using time to make an escape plan, I’m trying to find a way out” (female victim, U.S.A.). One victim explained “I’m using quarantine to make a plan to get out of this situation. I’ve made a secret email and packed a bag” (female victim, U.S.A.). Financial resources were partic- ularly important. For example, victims reported “I am waiting for the payment, so I can grab the kids and leave” (female victim, U.S.A.). Highlighting the importance of the approach adopted by each country one victim stated “I need money to escape…In Australia we receive a payment due to COVID… I’m using this to escape him…As soon as I get a payment I’m using it for a deposit and leaving” (female victim, Australia).

Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress

A range of factors increased the prevalence and intensity of the abuse or the victim’s IPV related distress. These could be identified as financial stress, increased time together, in- creased alcohol/drug use, pre-existing health issues of the vic- tim or the abuser, and the presence of vulnerable others (e.g., children or pets). For example, alcohol use featured in many

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posts, “It gets worse when he drinks and he does this a lot” (female victim, Canada). Those living with their abuser (either permanently or because they self-isolated together on a tem- porary basis) were particularly distressed. In some cases, there was evidence of coercive control by the abuser, for example, “I can’t cope living with a monster anymore, everything is controlled by him. I can’t be confined to a house all day with my abuser” (female victim, Australia). The increased time spent together because of quarantine and social isolation rules seemed to be particularly challenging for many, resulting in the victim feeling like a prisoner, “I’m stuck with him in a house now, can’t do anything, and feeling paralyzed. In the past few weeks I have had suicidal thoughts every day” (fe- male victim, country not disclosed). Similarly, another stated “Quarantine sucks, no escape from each other when we are upset. He gaslights me all the time… I don’t know where to go from here” (female victim, country not disclosed). The pres- ence of vulnerable others also added to the victims’ distress. Many of the victims were quarantined in the house with chil- dren or pets. For example, one female victim voiced her con- cerns over harming her child saying “Being stuck with him is so hard. He hasn’t hurt our child before but I am afraid it might happen soon. I’ve been trying to keep my son out of harms way” (female victim, U.S.A.).

They often displayed desperation “I’m going to end up killing myself during isolation…I can’t deal with it anymore. How do I avoid him in the same house” (female victim, Australia). Financial issues (including job loss) were also im- portant. These included the perpetrator having fewer financial resources and becoming more stressed, unpredictable, and abusive and the victim having fewer financial resources and therefore becoming more financially dependent on the abusive partner. For example, “I can’t afford to move out because there is less work” (female victim, Cambodia), “He has been out of work and his behaviour has escalated” (female victim, U.S.A.), and “I lost my job due to COVID. I’m living off his income and unemployment” (female victim, country not disclosed). Distress was exacerbated by isolation from the wider social support network though people were often wor- ried that visiting family or friends could increase the risk of COVID-19. For example, “My mom and dad are at risk and live with someone with cancer. I wouldn’t want to risk their lives” (female victim, U.S.A).

Discussion

The current study investigated victims’ experiences of IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative data gath- ered from Reddit discussion forums indicate that in relation- ships where there is a history of abuse, IPV has often been exacerbated by stressors related to the pandemic. No victims reported that the frequency or severity of abuse had declined

during this period. Many of the concerns identified by the victims in our sample related to the issues that Peterman et al. (2020) raised in relation to IPV during the pandemic (e.g., economic uncertainty, quarantine and social isolation, reduced support service availability, inability to escape the abuse, and virus-specific sources of violence). Below, we will discuss each of the four themes extracted from our data.

Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser

Many of the victims described how perpetrators were using the pandemic as an excuse for escalating abuse, especially increased surveillance of their partner and coercive control. Lockdown and quarantine rules typically resulted in abusers spending more time with the victim and increased opportuni- ties for monitoring and control of their behaviour. For exam- ple, where lockdown required victims to work from home, abusers were able to observe interactions with colleagues. The increase in coercive control is particularly worrying as this has been identified as one of the risk factors for serious abuse, including femicide (Myhill and Hohl 2019). It is, there- fore, important that victims of IPV are supported to recognise and respond to different forms of partner violence and indica- tors that the abuse is escalating. Abusers also used the pan- demic to restrict their partner’s movements and contact with the outside world. Social isolation escalates the risk of vio- lence and contributes to victim distress (Jose and Novaco 2016). Where restricted travel and social distancing regula- tions are introduced, additional measures are required to re- duce isolation in order to lower the risk of family violence (Campbell 2020). Further, it is essential that local and national policy restricting travel or introducing social distancing also communicates exceptions to these rules, such as when a vic- tim moves from one household to another to protect their safety.

Some of the victims were concerned about their abuser’s intentions to purchase a weapon, with abusers typically adopting the need for self-protection during the pandemic as an excuse for gun ownership. Indeed, gun ownership has in- creased in the U.S.A. since the start of the pandemic and gun related injuries or fatalities have increased in many regions (Hatchimonji et al. 2020; Sutherland et al. 2020). The owner- ship of a weapon has been identified as an important fatality risk indicator by female victims (Johnson et al. 2020), sug- gesting that many abuse victims are, for good reasons, fearing for their lives during the pandemic. Of course, the presence of a weapon not only impacts on the likelihood of homicide; it may also impact on the abuser’s ability to control their victim, victim distress and anxiety, and suicide rates (Lynch and Logan 2018; Mannix et al. 2020; Sorenson and Schut 2018). Therefore, law enforcement and those regulating weapon ownership must acknowledge and address the increased risk to IPV victims during times of crisis.

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Service Disruption

This theme centred on the disruption of services available to victims (e.g., shelters) and perpetrators (e.g., counselling). Victims who seek but do not receive external support are less likely to leave their abusive partner (Koepsell et al. 2006). Hence, pandemic-related disruptions to support services place the victims of IPV in a precarious position, reducing practical support and preventing the escape to shelters and/or family that live further away. Those supporting victims of IPV must ensure that support services are available remotely (e.g., on- line) and consider how this support can be safely accessed when victims are in quarantine with their abuser. Additional facilities (e.g., shelter accommodation) are also required to address demand during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ndedi 2020) and public pressure may be required to ensure that these facilities are available. Furthermore, termination of help (e.g., counselling) to the abuser may decrease their ability to cope with the pandemic-related stressors, leading to escalated IPV. Remote counselling available to perpetrators and victims would, therefore, also be beneficial (Mazza et al. 2020).

Services that are not primarily targeted at IPV victims or perpetrators have also been disrupted. For example, during lockdown, victims may have reduced contact with health care providers or law enforcement who often encourage victims to leave abusive partners (Morse et al. 2012) and it is important that opportunities to report partner abuse or seek advice are maintained. Alternative forms of reporting may be introduced, but the availability of these must be widely disseminated to victims through large-scale national campaigns. In the present study, victims also reported disruption to court activities and early release of prisoners due to COVID-19; this is particular- ly concerning as delayed prosecution and early release in- crease the risk of abuse from the violent partner. Further, in addition to their primary safeguarding function, court offers important opportunities to support the well-being of partner violence victims (Cerulli et al. 2011). It is, therefore, essential that disruption to judicial activities resulting in delayed pros- ecution, early offender release, or reduced victim support, is combined with measures that address the impact of this dis- ruption on victims (i.e., increased risk and distress).

Preparation to Leave

For some victims, COVID-19 (and associated lockdown mea- sures) interrupted plans to leave their abusive partner. Others reflected on their relationship during this time (or perhaps were aware of the escalation of abuse during the pandemic) and decided to leave when possible. It is difficult to determine why some victims had reached the decision to leave prior to the pandemic and others were prompted to leave by COVID- 19 and further research in this area is required. It is likely, however, that a range of individual, relational, and situational

factors impacted on this process. Victims who used the pan- demic period to prepare for their escape, engaged in a range of preparatory activities such as creating secure emails, organising belongings, and locating alternative accommoda- tion. These activities encouraged hope that it would be possi- ble to safely leave the relationship and optimism about the future. Indeed, victims are more likely to terminate an abusive relationship if they believe they have a degree of control over this (Byrne and Arias 2004).

These plans are particularly important where access to for- mal (e.g., shelters) and informal (e.g., family) support is lim- ited. There is, however, little information available to victims relating to how to prepare to safely leave an abusive relation- ship (e.g., locating proof of identity which may be required to obtain benefits) and additional guidance should be provided. Online resources (e.g., those available on discussion forums used by IPV victims) may be particularly beneficial. Of course, for many victims, lockdown with their abuser makes such planning difficult or increases the risk of detection and victim safeguarding remains the priority. It is important to note that those who had access to increased funds as a conse- quence of the pandemic (i.e., Government funding) were par- ticularly positive about their ability to leave the abusive part- ner. It is, therefore, essential that IPV victims are provided with the resources (including financial resources) necessary to leave the abusive partner. Greater public recognition of this issue may be required to ensure that funding is in place to support victims.

Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress

Forum posts identified a range of factors that increased the intensity and prevalence of the IPV or exacerbated victim distress. In particular, financial pressures that increased perpe- trator stress (and abusive or controlling behaviour) or victim dependence on the abusive partner were commonly discussed. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an extensive impact on the global economy (e.g., wide-scale redundancy) with many countries likely to enter recession (Coibion et al. 2020; Fernandes 2020). It is, therefore, important to recognise the consequences of the pandemic related economic crisis for wider societal issues. Of course, the impact of financial re- source availability extends beyond the incidence of IPV and the victim’s ability to leave. For example, for those who have left their abusive partner, the availability of resources also has an important impact on subsequent health (Ford-Gilboe et al. 2009) suggesting longer-term consequences of these econom- ic issues.

Other issues believed to increase the abuse or victim dis- tress included the use of alcohol and drugs. The relationship between substance use and IPV is well-established (e.g., Caetano et al. 2001) and there are concerns that alcohol use has increased during lockdown (Clay and Parker 2020).

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Hence, public health measures to reduce substance use as a coping mechanism during pandemics or other national crises may help to lower IPV levels. Victims isolating with their abuser are at particular risk during the pandemic (Klostermann et al. 2020) and those with vulnerable others present in the household may be particularly concerned. Indeed, the presence of vulnerable others such as children or pets appears to influence both the incidence of abuse and the decision to enter a shelter (Hardesty et al. 2013). During the pandemic, children are at increased risk of exposure to vio- lence or becoming victims themselves (Humphreys et al. 2020). It is important therefore, to ensure children exposed to violence during COVID-19 are supported (Ragavan et al. 2020). This may incorporate a range of measures including access to counselling and school based support.

Limitations

The present study investigated the experiences of IPV victims during lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, using online forum discussion posts. Though these provide an important insight into those issues of most concern to victims, un- prompted by the priorities or assumptions of the researchers, it is not possible to determine whether these posts are repre- sentative of IPV victim experiences. For example, Reddit users tend to be younger and more educated than the general population (Pew Research Center 2016). In addition, though we made note of the country of origin where listed, we have little demographic detail for the individuals posting online. In both research and practice there has little consideration of IPV experiences in racial and ethnic minorities (Lee et al. 2002). Therefore, whilst it is particularly important to investigate the experiences from those in minority groups as ethnicity may be related to COVID-19 incidence or outcomes (Pareek et al. 2020), our research cannot inform this issue. Finally, the pres- ent study did not specifically target the female victims of male perpetrators. The majority of the posts selected were, howev- er, written by the female victims of male perpetrators. It is important to recognise that those in same-sex relationships are also at risk of IPV (Messinger 2011) as are men in rela- tionships with female perpetrators (Carmo et al. 2011). Future studies should specifically consider these groups.

Impact and Conclusions

The present research represents one of the first studies to gain knowledge of the dynamics that influence the increased inci- dence of partner violence during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated experiences of IPV via a qualita- tive thematic analysis of Reddit discussion forum posts, an approach which provides an insight into user experiences un- prompted by researcher priorities or assumptions. Four themes emerged. These were Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser,

Service Disruption, Preparation to Leave, and Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress. These findings inform interven- tions and the guidance provided to those affected by IPV. In particular, we advocate supporting victims to recognise and respond to different forms of partner violence and indicators that the abuse is escalating, and ensuring that victims are aware of exceptions to social distancing policy that allows movement to protect personal safety. Large scale national campaigns to disseminate this information and information advising victims how to safely leave an abusive relationship are recommended. It is also essential that law enforcement are aware of the increased risk to IPV victims during times of crisis and that specialist services (e.g., counselling and shel- ters) are protected.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adap- tation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, pro- vide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdic- tional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

J Fam Viol

  • Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence during Lockdown and the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Abstract
    • Method
      • Selection of Forum Posts
      • Ethical Issues
      • Data Analysis
    • Results
      • Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser
      • Service Disruption
      • Preparation to Leave
      • Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress
    • Discussion
      • Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser
      • Service Disruption
      • Preparation to Leave
      • Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress
      • Limitations
      • Impact and Conclusions
    • References

Articles/Peled & Krigel, 2016, path to economic independence among IPV survivors - review and call for action.pdf

Aggression and Violent Behavior 31 (2016) 127–135

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Aggression and Violent Behavior

The path to economic independence among survivors of intimate partner violence: A critical review of the literature and courses for action

Einat Peled a,⁎, Karni Krigel b a School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel b Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

⁎ Corresponding author at: Bob Shapell School of Socia E-mail address: [email protected] (E. Peled).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.08.005 1359-1789/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history: Received 29 December 2015 Received in revised form 28 June 2016 Accepted 29 August 2016 Available online 14 September 2016

Public policy encourages women, including survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), to develop economic in- dependence. However, a critical review of the literature in this field reveals that IPV survivors face unique obsta- cles in doing so: active and violent intervention by the perpetrator; damage to the survivor's health due to prolonged subjection to violence; and structural obstacles. A background of gendered violence, low socioeco- nomic status, and belonging to a marginalized ethnic or racial group, may further intersect with the direct and indirect influences of that violence, resulting in even greater obstacles to the development of economic indepen- dence. The article concludes with a discussion of how existing intervention programs for developing economic independence among survivors of IPV meet those obstacles, and a framework for intervention in this domain.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Economic independence Intimate partner violence Economic empowerment Economic abuse

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 2. Key terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

2.1. Economic dependence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 3. Causes of economic dependence and obstacles to achieving economic independence among IPV survivors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

3.1. Violent and intentional intervention by the male partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 3.1.1. Intentional harm by the violent partner is designed to sabotage the woman's efforts and chances of integrating in the workforce,

or of receiving academic or professional training, and to disrupt her personal development and efforts to achieve economic independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

3.1.2. Economic control and exploitation by the violent partner occurs when he sabotages the victim's development toward economic independence by hampering her efforts to become knowledgeable in financial matters, to access funds, or to manage them (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

3.1.3. Family, social, and community isolation of women by their violent partners is another factor hampering their economic and occupational development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

3.2. Health impairments due to subjection to violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 3.3. Structural obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

3.3.1. Policy and law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 3.3.2. Public services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 3.3.3. Labor market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

4. Marginalization, oppression and inequality, and economic dependence of IPV survivors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 4.1. Lifetime gendered violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 4.2. Socioeconomic status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 4.3. Race and ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

5. Intervention to foster economic independence of IPV survivors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 5.1. Programs for fostering economic independence among IPV survivors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

5.1.1. “Moving ahead through financial management” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 5.1.2. “Realizing your economic action plan” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

5.2. Intervention framework for helping IPV survivors develop economic independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

l Work, Ramat Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.

128 E. Peled, K. Krigel / Aggression and Violent Behavior 31 (2016) 127–135

5.2.1. The material/economic domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.2.2. The structural/social domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.2.3. The emotional domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 5.2.4. The educational/occupational domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

6. Summary and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

1. Introduction

Recent years have witnessed a growing emphasis in public discourse on the need for citizens to assume personal responsibility for their ac- tive participation in the labor market and economic independence (Lewis, 2002; Skevik, 2005). This political climate, coupled with nega- tive attitudes toward those who rely on welfare payments for subsis- tence, has led to a flourishing of economic empowerment programs and business entrepreneurship initiatives. These programs have been addressed mostly at women of low-income families, who are recipients of welfare and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). This trend ap- pears to be an outcome of wide-ranging neoliberal policies aimed at re- ducing the overall provision of public services by the state and transferring this responsibility to private and market forces. These poli- cies have been criticized for ignoring the needs and experiences of women who find themselves at the intersection of class, gender and ethnic/racist barriers (Brush, 2011).

Researchers and IPV advocates have noted the unique difficulties posed by these policies for survivors of violence who seek to develop economic independence (Scott, London, & Myers, 2002). They have also raised awareness of economic violence as a form of IPV, along- side physical, emotional and verbal abuse (Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2016). This heightened awareness of the plight of IPV survivors has led to the development of unique community-based programs aiming at helping them overcome barriers to economic independence.

This article critically reviews the growing body of literature in this domain, with a particular focus on the unique obstacles and opportuni- ties facing IPV survivors in their bid to become economically indepen- dent. While IPV may take different forms, including same-sex and female-to-male violence, this article focuses on the bulk of the literature in this domain which relates to abusive and coercive behavior by men toward their female partner, in the form of threats or actual use of phys- ical violence; sexual violence; verbal and emotional abuse; stalking; or economic abuse (Hahn & Postmus, 2014). The article begins by defining the key terms in this field, followed by a review of the main causes of the economic dependency of IPV survivors on others—namely, violence by their intimate partner, health impairments, and structural barriers. We then review the literature on the associations between economic in/de- pendence of IPV survivors and bases of oppression and inequality due to gendered violence, social class and racial/ethnic characteristics. After an examination of existing intervention programs that have been tailored to promote economic independence among IPV survivors in the United States, and the extent to which these have addressed the barriers con- ceptualized in this article, we conclude with a proposal for an interven- tion framework to facilitate this end.

2. Key terms

Several key terms are used in the growing literature on the economic aspects of male-to-female IPV, in an effort to understand and conceptu- alize the phenomenon (e.g., Crawne et al., 2011; Sanders, 2015; Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon, 2013). Chief among these are: eco- nomic dependence, economic abuse, economic empowerment, financial ca- pability and economic independence. Familiarity with these terms is

necessary before proceeding with the review of the research in this field.

2.1. Economic dependence

A common definition of economic dependence in the context of IPV survivors is the woman's reliance on her partner for economic support, with the partner controlling the couple's or family's financial resources, irrespective of whether he is the chief financial provider or merely con- trolling the resources provided by the woman, through violence or the threat of violence (Alvi & Selbee, 1997; Bornstein, 2006; Scott et al., 2002).

Economic abuse is defined as tactics employed by an abusive partner in a bid to control his partner's ability to acquire and preserve economic assets. These include behaviors such as economic control, economic ex- ploitation and sabotaging the woman's employment (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012; Postmus et al., 2016; Sanders, 2015).

Economic empowerment is a process whereby the woman acquires knowledge, skills and motivation to achieve economic control, power and wellbeing, and a say in the financial decisions affecting her life (Hahn & Postmus, 2014). It includes economic self- efficacy—the woman's inner belief in her ability to achieve financial resources, opportunities and security. This is achieved, in part, through financial literacy—namely, the knowledge and skills to identify economic opportunities, to discuss money matters and economic issues, to draw up financial plans for one's future, and to respond knowledgeably to life events that affect daily economic decisions (Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, & Zurlo, 2013).

Financial capability is a broad concept that encompasses the woman's financial literacy and financial skills, as well as access to economic services and resources—all of which are necessary to allow IPV survivors to act in their own best financial interests (Johnson & Sherraden, 2007; Sanders, 2013; Sanders, 2014; Sherraden, 2013). This concept goes beyond an individual focus on the woman and her economic behavior, by taking into account her life circumstances; her social and family background; and her exclu- sion from financial management, resources and financial institutions during her life.

Economic independence is defined as a wide-ranging set of skills re- lated to the management of economic tasks (Postmus et al., 2013). Other researchers define it as the ability to achieve sustainable employ- ment that is sufficiently well-paying to pull oneself out of poverty (Alfred, 2005). Pyles (2006) suggests that any operative tackling of the issue of economic independence must include the following ele- ments: autonomy and self-determination; financial security and re- sponsibility; individual and family wellbeing; and basic assets for living in the community. Scott et al. (2002) criticize the prevailing defi- nition of economic independence in the welfare system in the United States, which may also include situations where the woman relies on her male partner's income instead of on public support. An alternative definition put forward by women participants in the study by Scott, London, and Gross (2007) is the ability to provide for oneself without having to rely on anyone else—i.e., independence from the welfare es- tablishment as well as from one's male partner.

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3. Causes of economic dependence and obstacles to achieving eco- nomic independence among IPV survivors

Economic dependence on a male provider or on welfare was found to be comparatively common among IPV survivors, and appears to be uniquely related to the violent relationships they are in (Bornstein, 2006; Scott et al., 2002). The dynamics behind economic dependence among IPV survivors that places obstacles to their achieving economic independence may be grouped into four main categories: 1. Violent and intentional intervention by the male partner; 2. Health impair- ments due to subjection to violence; 3. Structural obstacles; and 4. Mar- ginalization, oppression and inequality.

3.1. Violent and intentional intervention by the male partner

Violent partners act in an abusive and deliberate manner to prevent their partner from achieving personal and occupational development, and to increase the partner's economic dependence on them. To this end, they use intentional harm; economic control and exploitation; and isolation from family, society and community.

3.1.1. Intentional harm by the violent partner is designed to sabotage the woman's efforts and chances of integrating in the workforce, or of receiving academic or professional training, and to disrupt her personal development and efforts to achieve economic independence

IPV survivors have reported that their partner's violence was clearly aimed at disrupting their work, or even preventing it (Alexander, 2011), because it intensified when they began to work (Brush, 2003), and was a major impediment to their job performance and ability to remain in the job (Logan, Shannon, Cole, & Swanberg, 2007; Moe & Bell, 2004). Swanberg and Logan (2005) have also suggested that such job interfer- ence tactics be regarded as a distinct form of IPV. As reported by IPV sur- vivors, these tactics include turning off the woman's alarm clock to ensure that she is late to the job interview; embarrassing her by cutting her hair, extinguishing a cigarette on her face, knocking out her teeth or inflicting other visible disfigurements through beatings; removing es- sential clothing items for work (such as uniform, winter coat, interview clothes), or car keys; and harassing her at work (Raphael, 1996, 1999). This violence undermines the woman's employment stability, wages and promotion prospects, and her long-term personal and occupational development (Logan et al., 2007). Indeed, it has been found that the ad- verse economic effects of IPV can persist for three to six years after the abusive relationship has ended (Adams, Tolman, Bybee, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2013; Crawne et al., 2011; Schrag, 2015).

In addition, research findings indicate that abusive men intentional- ly act to prevent their partner from engaging in occupational training or education, to ensure her continued dependence on them and to prevent her economic and personal development (for examples, see: Brush, 2000; Pyles & Banerjee, 2010; Sanders, 2015).

3.1.2. Economic control and exploitation by the violent partner occurs when he sabotages the victim's development toward economic independence by hampering her efforts to become knowledgeable in financial matters, to ac- cess funds, or to manage them (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012)

For example, a study of 120 IPV survivors who had attended a course on financial literacy found that nearly all (94%) had been subject to such economic control by their partner, and that this was a predictive factor of their economic dependence (Postmus et al., 2013). In a study by Pyles and Banerjee (2010), participants reported various ways, both direct and indirect, in which their abusive partners exerted economic control and exploitation over them—such as controlling the purse strings; delib- erately creating debts; demanding that the woman borrow money; sex- ual exploitation in return for money; refusing to work themselves; forcing the woman to work outside the home (in the official or unofficial economy) or to solicit others for financial support; and taking control of her earning.

3.1.3. Family, social, and community isolation of women by their violent partners is another factor hampering their economic and occupational development

It occurs when the abuser severs social or family ties, or denies social and community support (Kelly, Sharp, & Klein, 2014). Indeed, studies have found that lack of social networks and community support is asso- ciated with difficulties in developing a career among IPV survivors (Kelly et al., 2014; Lindhorst, Oxford, & Gillmore, 2007). Access to com- munity, professional, and social support networks (be it formal or infor- mal) helps IPV survivors to expose the violence and to seek help, to reduce the stress arising from the violence or their dependence on wel- fare, to search for work, and to develop a professional career (Collins, 2011; Chronister, Linville, & Kaag, 2008; Staggs, Long, Mason, Krishnan, & Riger, 2007; Sylaska & Edwards, 2014).

3.2. Health impairments due to subjection to violence

Although the associations between IPV and psychological and phys- ical health impairment of various kinds have been repeatedly demon- strated (see for example, Dutton et al., 2006; Gobin, Iverson, Mitchell, Vaughn, & Resick, 2013; Perez & Johnson, 2008), less attention has been given to the question of how the impairment to survivors' health due to IPV affects their integration in the workforce and their quest for economic independence. A wide-ranging review of mental health prob- lems among women with a history of IPV reveals that they are three to five times more at risk of suffering depression, suicidal tendencies, post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addictions, than women who are not victims of IPV (Dutton et al., 2006). PTSD, in particular, is very com- mon among IPV survivors (Gobin et al., 2013), however, it is also asso- ciated with a wide range of other health problems, such as digestive disorders, sleep disorders, heart disease, migraines, and chronic back pains due to the psychological damage caused, all of which may persist long after the violence has ceased (Scott-Storey, 2011).

Most of the studies into the associations between the health reper- cussions of violence and occupation and economic independence have focused on the mental domain, and the picture that emerges is mixed. For example, three studies that looked at the mediating effect of psycho- logical distress on the links between violence and employment found no such association (Crawne et al., 2011; Lindhorst, Casey, & Meyers, 2010; Tolman & Wang, 2005). Conversely, other studies found that the higher the post-traumatic stress experienced by IPV survivors, the fewer hours they worked in the week (Meisel, Chandler, & Rienzi, 2003), and that their psychological abuse at the hands of their intimate partners increased the incidence of low self-esteem and depression among them, which in turn diminished their chances of integrating in the workplace and achieving occupational development (Moe & Bell, 2004). In addition, among women who had been subject to consider- able violence in their adolescence, an association was found between their psychological and physical symptoms, and their reported prob- lems of productivity, low satisfaction with work, and fatigue (Banyard, Potter, & Turner, 2011).

Recent research on the influence of economic abuse on the mental health of IPV survivors and their financial situation found that economic abuse increases the risk of future financial hardships even four years after the abusive relationship has ended, and that this association is par- tially mediated by depression and other mental issues (Schrag, 2015).

One key explanation for the adverse effect of health problems on survivors' occupational development and economic independence is that the mental harm that they incur drains them of the psychological energy needed to find a job, keep it, and advance in the workplace (Davis, 1999; DeRiviere, 2008). However, in her study, Brush (2003) found that IPV survivors who have experienced post-traumatic stress reported that although their work outside the home led to increased levels of IPV, the work itself provided them with temporary relief from the post-traumatic symptoms. Accordingly, she concluded that, on

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balance, employment outside the home can improve the mental health of IPV survivors.

3.3. Structural obstacles

The adoption of neoliberal policy in the United States and other Western countries has resulted in the withdrawal of the state from con- cern with the personal and economic security of IPV survivors, and they were left to deal with the market forces on their own (Brush, 2011; Scott et al., 2002; Websdale & Johnson, 2007). While relatively little has been written about direct and indirect structural obstacles faced by IPV survi- vors in their attempt to develop economic independence, the existing literature mentions obstacles related to policy and law, public services and current trends in the labor market.

3.3.1. Policy and law The neoliberal public policy prevailing today in most Western coun-

tries is based on the “Adult Worker” model, which assumes that both the man/husband/father and the woman/wife/mother must be active in the labor market and develop economic independence (Lewis, 2002). In the United States, for example, this policy is applied through strict federal legislation (PRWORA1 and FVO2), which sets a time limit on financial aid for welfare recipients, including those who are IPV sur- vivors. While not all IPV survivors are welfare recipients, research has shown that after a domestic violence incident, many women turn to public welfare services for help, perhaps for the first time in their life (Brandwein, 1999). However, despite the FVO law, the PRWORA wel- fare reform has limited the ability of IPV survivors in the United States to receive financial aid. For example, Adams et al. (2013), monitored 503 IPV survivors in Michigan who had appealed for help from social services, and found that while in 1997 they had all received some help, in 2003 the majority (88%) received no public support, and 54% of them reported economic hardship.

Welfare to Work (WTW) is another neoliberal policy implemented in the United States and other Western countries. Its objective is to engage women who are welfare recipients, including IPV survivors, in gainful employment in the labor market (Brush, 2011; Winter, 2015). Research has found that while these programs achieve their macro-level objec- tives (i.e. reduction in the number of welfare cases and in financial aid), they have not resulted in greater economic independence for the IPV survivors (Davis, 1999). On the contrary, research suggests that these programs have exposed women to further violence by their part- ner, and have entrenched their economic dependence on him (Scott et al., 2002). For example, Winter (2015) found that a mandated participa- tion of Australian IPV survivors in the WTW program resulted in a finan- cial disadvantage to the participants who found themselves deskilling. Similar findings were reported by researchers in the United States (Brush, 2011; Websdale & Johnson, 2007).

In addition, studies suggest that custody, protection and family laws fail to provide IPV survivors with the conditions they need to advance their economic independence. For example, many women in Winter's (2015) study mentioned the ineffectiveness of restraining orders to pro- tect themselves from further violence and harassment by the abuser, and their inability to protect themselves by relocating away from their

1 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which was passed in Congress in 1996, ended sixty years of federal entitlement to income assistance for poor mothers and children. It was designed to move welfare recipients into the paid labor market by restricting lifetime cash benefits to five years (or less), mandating work requirements after two years (or less), strengthening measures for establishing pa- ternity and enforcing child support, and rewarding states that reduced out-of-wedlock births without increasing abortion (see Brandwein, 1999; Brush, 2003).

2 The FVO was enacted as an amendment of the PRWORA to address IPV issues among welfare recipients. It aims to promote safety and self-sufficiency by helping women re- ceive proper IPV services and access economic resources, such as public benefits and em- ployment. However, the optional nature of the FVO has resulted in inconsistent implementation among states and counties (Brandwein, 1999; Brush, 2011; Hahn & Postmus, 2014).

children's abusive father, due to family law. Thus, the women suggested that legal services prioritized the father's contact with their child over considerations of their own safety and that of the child.

3.3.2. Public services Researchers have concluded that the privatization of social services

and cutbacks in state funding – and the consequent transfer of the bur- den of childcare, transportation, housing and professional training from public services to individuals and market forces – has undermined the ability of IPV survivors to develop economic independence, and indeed has increased their economic dependence on their violent partners (Brush, 2011; Scott et al., 2002). For example, the growing shortage in both housing and in protection solutions for IPV survivors (e.g., shelter, transitional housing (means that they must uproot themselves and move to a distant shelter or hiding place. In some cases, this departure must be effected in a hurry, resulting in the woman leaving behind all her belongings and economic assets (Davis, 1999). Such frequent moves also result in frequent job turnover and economic instability, making it more difficult for the women to forge social ties, receive com- munity support, or integrate into the workplace in the new and unfa- miliar environment (Moe & Bell, 2004). Indeed there is evidence that due to structural housing problems in the United States and the short- age of affordable public housing, IPV survivors sometimes return to their abusive partners after leaving the shelter (Websdale & Johnson, 2007). This difficulty was more pronounced among survivors in remote rural areas, where the provision of public services and access to them is even more restricted (Websdale & Johnson, 2007).

Furthermore, it was found that front-line workers in public welfare offices often act arbitrarily, and held stereotypical views as to why the applicants were appealing for their help. For example, in their study, Lindhorst et al. (2010) found that nearly half the welfare caseworkers offered no helpful strategies whatsoever—instead, they ignored disclo- sures of abuse, tried to talk clients out of accessing FVO services, or re- ferred them to other workers without further engagement. A similar trend was found in a study conducted in England: women who present- ed themselves as homeless to local authority housing departments re- ported that housing officers were unsympathetic and seemed “uninterested” in their histories of domestic violence—or failed to un- derstand, and/or assumed that the women were lying. Thus, partici- pants reported having to spend their energies on “fighting the [social services] system” that is often unsupportive or even hinders their reha- bilitation (Kelly et al., 2014).

3.3.3. Labor market Beyond the unique obstacles posed by being in a violent relationship,

the realities of the labor market appear to discourage women who are welfare recipients and IPV survivors from developing economic inde- pendence through gainful employment. Employment patterns of women in general are consistently and significantly characterized by part-time job, temporary work, work in small organizations, low job se- curity, low pay, few social benefits, little or no union protection, and limited access to in-house professional training, compared with that of men (See Brady & Kall, 2008; Grimshaw & Rubery, 2007; Vosko, MacDonald, & Campbell, 2009). These findings have led researchers to discuss the gendered nature of the growing phenomenon of in-work poverty (Pena-Casas & Ghailani, 2011). Indeed, researchers who have examined the job quality of IPV survivors after attending WTW pro- grams note that most of these women engage in unstable employment, with low pay and without promotion prospects, which does not free them from dependence on their partner or on welfare (Brush, 2011; Websdale & Johnson, 2007; Winter, 2015). One explanation offered is that the labor market is tailored to cater to white males who are abso- lutely dedicated to their work and free of family or other obligations, thereby entrenching inequality regimes based on gender, class and race (Acker, 2006).

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The insensitivity of employers to the unique needs of IPV survivors may be seen as an extension of this more general state of affairs. For ex- ample, studies have found employers lay off women who do not show up for work—even when this is due to their search for a shelter follow- ing a domestic violence incident, or need to attend court hearings or to meet other related bureaucratic obligations (Moe & Bell, 2004). Despite evidence of the high economic costs incurred by organizations due to IPV (Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005), managers still view it as the vic- tims' personal problem, rather than a social issue that requires the de- velopment of formal organizational policies to provide assistance to the survivors (Swanberg, Ojha, & Macke, 2012). Thus, despite a growing awareness of the importance of workplace support for IPV survivors (Collins, 2011), current trends in labor market, work conditions and em- ployers perspectives appear to place additional barriers to economic in- dependence among IPV survivors.

4. Marginalization, oppression and inequality, and economic depen- dence of IPV survivors

Multi-dimensional marginalization due to the intersection of various forms of oppression and inequality may pose a further significant obsta- cle in the efforts of IPV survivors to achieve economic independence (Bogard, 2007; Josephson, 2007; Richie, 2007). Specifically, it has been suggested that the personal and professional development, occupation- al characteristics, and degree of economic independence of IPV survi- vors are all affected by a lifetime of gendered violence, and by their socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity.

4.1. Lifetime gendered violence

Feminist scholars argue that the high incidence of violence against girls and women is a reflection of a culturally ingrained gender inequal- ity, and that men use such violence to preserve their social status (Almeida & Lockard, 2007; Websdale & Johnson, 2007). Indeed, many studies have found that many IPV survivors have experienced gendered violence throughout their lives. Women who are subjected to violence in their childhood are at a higher risk of being in an abusive relationship in adulthood, and a higher proportion of IPV survivors report having a background of violence in their childhood, compared with other women (Bensley, Eenwyk, & Simmons, 2003; Coid et al., 2001; Desai, Arias, Thompson, & Basile, 2002; Gobin et al., 2013; McKinney, Caetano, Ramisetty-Mikler, & Nelson, 2009). These cumulative experi- ences adversely affect the women's mental and physical health, ambi- tions and life path, and consequently their economic and employment prospects (Lindhorst et al., 2007; Scott-Storey, 2011).

Being subjected to violence in childhood in one's family of origin may result in long-term psychological harm and severe post-traumatic disorders, that compound the post-traumatic effects of IPV in adulthood (Gobin et al., 2013; Perez & Johnson, 2008). This psychological harm has been found to disrupt victims' ability to seek help and make efficient use of readily accessible resources, which is essential to escaping the vio- lence and to achieving personal and occupational development (Perez & Johnson, 2008). Some studies have found that being subjected to vio- lence in childhood is predictive of the victims' unemployment and low employability in the future (Lindhorst et al., 2007). It has also been found to be associated with dropping out from school, increased depen- dence on welfare, and lower income in adulthood (Fergusson, McLeod, & Horwood, 2013). A study by Coid et al. (2001) found that IPV survi- vors with a background of violence in childhood reported higher levels of unemployment and residential instability, and lower socioeconomic status, than IPV survivors who had not been subjected to violence in childhood. Thus, early experience of gender violence may adversely af- fect IPV survivors throughout their lives, and make it more difficult for them to acquire education, work and occupational stability, thereby in- creasing their economic dependence on their violent partners.

4.2. Socioeconomic status

In recent years there has been a growing body of knowledge linking poverty with IPV (e.g., Brush, 2004; Goodman, Smyth, Borges, & Singer, 2009; Josephson, 2007; Pyles, 2006). Women from low-income families who live in poor neighborhoods and on welfare support appear to be more likely to fall victim to IPV (Bassuk, Dawson, & Huntington, 2006). For example, an extensive study of 19,000 women in several states in the United States found that women earning less than $25,000 a year are twice as likely to be victims of IPV than women in higher income brackets (Goodman et al., 2009). Other studies found that IPV survivors of low socioeconomic background suffer more vio- lence at home, and are less likely to experience physical and economic security, throughout their lives (Browne & Bassuk, 1997; Weis, Fine, Proweller, Bertram, & Marusza, 2007). Similarly, it has been found that they are more likely to work in menial work such as housekeeping, find it harder to integrate in more financially rewarding work in the public sphere, and are therefore less likely to reduce their economic de- pendence on their abusive partner (Weis et al., 2007).

As previously noted, gender and social class inequality, and the collapse of the welfare state in Western countries, have adversely affected IPV survivors, particularly those of low socioeconomic back- grounds (Weis et al., 2007). Even if such women do manage to join the workforce, their low pay is likely to perpetuate their economic dependence. Many studies have found that a large proportion of IPV survivors are employed, but earn comparatively little, and work in part-time jobs (not of their volition)—which further entrenches their financial hardship (Brush, 2004; Meisel et al., 2003; Moe & Bell, 2004; Staggs & Riger, 2005; Tolman & Wang, 2005). A low socio- economic background (of one's family of origin or in adulthood) appears to increase a woman's risk of falling into a dual trap of violence and poverty (Brush, 2004), and reduces her chances to develop economic independence.

4.3. Race and ethnicity

Over the years, there has been a growing recognition of the role played by racial or ethnic origin in the prevalence of women's subjection to IPV (Richie, 2007). Researchers in the field have noted the effect of racial or ethnic origin on the prevalence, charac- teristics and intensity of such violence (Hampton, Carrillo, & Kin, 2007), as well as on the structural and institutional difficulties of escaping it (Coker, 2007), and its attendant social stereotypes (Weis et al., 2007). Specifically, it has been found that among single-parent women, women of ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer from IPV, poverty and a lack of safety and security nets (Browne & Bassuk, 1997), and are less likely to break free of IPV and to achieve security (Richie, 1996). American researchers have suggested that one of the possible reasons for this is institutionalized racial discrimination in the legal system and social services (Bogard, 2007; Brush, 2011). In addition, they found that Afro-American IPV survivors encounter discriminatory attitudes from employers in their efforts to develop economic independence (Danziger et al., 2000).

In summary, studies have shown that backgrounds of gendered vio- lence, low socioeconomic status and belonging to a racial or ethnic mi- nority, intersect with direct and indirect effects of violence, and heighten the difficulties faced by IPV survivors in their efforts to acquire professional training, find and retain suitable employment, reduce their economic dependence, and to achieve economic independence. There- fore, it is important to continue to examine the personal and economic development of IPV survivors who find themselves at the intersections of socially marginalized situations (Thomas & Hall, 2008; Websdale & Johnson, 2007), in order to understand how to help them develop eco- nomic independence, despite the difficulties and obstacles that they face.

4 http://socialwork.rutgers.edu/Libraries/VAWC/allstate_executive_summary_1.sflb. ashx.

5 IDAs are savings accounts designed to help low-income people build assets and

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5. Intervention to foster economic independence of IPV survivors

In the final part of this paper, we critically review intervention pro- grams for fostering economic independence among IPV survivors, and the responses they provided to the unique needs and barriers that IPV survivors experience. This is followed by a proposed framework for in- tervention in this domain.

5.1. Programs for fostering economic independence among IPV survivors

Two dynamics appear to have led to the establishment of communi- ty-based programs for the development of economic independence of IPV survivors. Neoliberal WTW programs, as we have noted, have been found to be ineffective in helping IPV survivors to develop eco- nomic independence, and keep these women dangerously dependent on their violent partner and in poverty (Scott et al., 2002; Winter, 2015). Additionally, the development of many of these programs has coincided with a growing recognition of the economic abuse and the economic impact of other forms of IPV on survivors (Postmus et al., 2016). New programmatic efforts have been designed to give women more access to knowledge, skills and institutional structures and re- sources that may support economic independence (Sanders, 2013; Sanders, 2014). Most of these programs are local and are not document- ed in academic research, and therefore beyond the scope of this article. In our literature review, we found description and evaluation data for only two pioneering US-based programs designed specifically for IPV survivors: Moving Ahead Through Financial Management (Postmus et al., 2012) and Realizing Your Economic Action Plan (Sanders, 2014).

5.1.1. “Moving ahead through financial management” The purpose of this program is to improve the economic function of

IPV survivors, and to provide them with supportive tools to increase their economic independence (Postmus et al., 2012). The program was conducted at organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, and its evaluation monitored 120 graduates of the program approxi- mately a year after it ended, at 15 shelters for IPV survivors throughout the United States. The study centered on the following sought out- comes: understanding financial principles; building a financial base; un- derstanding economic abuse and power relations; creating the long- term conditions for economic success; and adopting sound financial strategies. It found a significant increase in economic proficiency, eco- nomic empowerment, and economic independence among the partici- pants (Postmus et al., 2012). Specifically, it found that after the program, 88% of its graduates were able to identify economic abuse and violence; 88% were able to formulate personal economic goals; 76% were able to draw up a budget for themselves for the first time; 71% had begun to pay off debts; 64% were able to examine their credit history; and 22% had started a savings account for retirement (Hahn & Postmus, 2014).

We have examined the extent to which existing programs address the unique obstacles to economic independence faced by IPV survivors—namely, violent and intentional intervention by the male partner; health impairments due to subjection to violence; structural obstacles; and marginalization, oppression and inequality. An analysis of the program's curriculum3 and operating principles suggests that it focuses on addressing the obstacles arising from the partner's violent behavior. For example, the program instructs the participants on how to plan the financial aspects of the separation or divorce process; how to get access to financial resources; how to open a separate bank ac- count and transfer money and savings into it, while protecting oneself against future economic actions by their abusive partner. There appears to be no specific reference to barriers related to mental or physical health impairments, but these may have been addressed as part of the

3 http://www.clicktoempower.org/newsroom/moving-ahead-curriculum.

emotional therapeutic intervention provided to the women at the shel- ter where the program was implemented. There is a partial reference to structural obstacles: participants are instructed, among other things, on how to use protective orders to increase their financial security; on measures to reduce the impact of the partner in the labor market and in the workplace; on the legal proceedings for divorce; and on access to government and private funding for the purpose of acquiring an ed- ucation. Conspicuous by its absence is a reference to barriers resulting from marginalization, oppression and inequality. This shortfall has also been noted by the program's facilitators, as reported in the internal evaluation report of the program.4

5.1.2. “Realizing your economic action plan” This program was founded by 13 domestic violence services and 3

homeless services in a collaborative effort to develop unique financial and economic services for low-income domestic violence survivors in the St. Louis, MO, region. It emphasizes long-term economic develop- ment and security for low-income women, using strategies to address basic financial skills, empowerment and the ability to plan safely for the future. Services include a 12-hour financial education and credit counseling program, an Individual Development Account (IDA) for women,5 and one-on-one ongoing economic advocacy and support ser- vices (Sanders, 2014). Program evaluation examined the economic ed- ucation component (Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007) and the IDA component (Sanders, 2014).

The financial education program covers topics such as: money and power; drawing up a financial plan for dealing with the cost of living; establishing a good credit record; basic familiarity and understanding of investments and banking; and economic oppression and violence. The program is addressed at low-income IPV survivors, instructing them in their first economic steps, and providing them with personal as- sistance on completion. Participants also receive information on childcare assistance, funding for housing, and loans.6 An evaluation study of its effectiveness looked at 32 participants and a control group of 35 women residents at the shelter who did not take part in the pro- gram. It found that economic self-efficacy among the participants was significantly higher than among the women in the control group (Sanders et al., 2007).

IDA programs provide institutional structure and financial incen- tives to promote saving on the part of account holders by providing matched funds from public or private sources. These savings can then be used for asset development, including homeownership, postsecond- ary or career-enhancing education, and microenterprise development (Sanders, 2014). The evaluation of this specialized pioneering IDA pro- gram gauged whether low-income IPV survivors managed to save and to acquire assets when they had been provided with the IDA's institu- tional support. It comprises 125 IPV survivors that participated in the IDA program after completing the financial education component. Over- all, the findings demonstrate that low-income women who are survi- vors of IPV can successfully save and acquire assets when they have access to institutional support and resources. However, African-Ameri- can women had a lower incidence of reaching their savings goal or mak- ing a matched-funding purchase, and had less savings, compared with white women and Latina women. The study also found that women with more education and income had greater savings on average, achieved their savings goals more frequently, and received at least one incidence of matched funding (Sanders, 2014).

An analysis of this two-component program in light of the obstacles faced by survivors of IPV suggests that it addresses barriers stemming from the behavior of the abusive partner and aims to tackle social and

achieve greater long-term financial security. 6 http://www.row-stl.org/reap-curriculum-2.

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structural barriers. However, its response to obstacles to economic inde- pendence of IPV survivors arising from health impairments, life-long gender-based violence and racial background is unclear. In addition, one must consider that IPV survivors who complete only the financial education component of the program remain with little support in achieving economic independence in the face of structural barriers and obstacles arising from marginalization, oppression and inequality.

In conclusion, notwithstanding the pioneering contribution of the reviewed programs to fostering economic independence among IPV survivors and to raising public and academic awareness of the subject, there is still a need for a broader and more inclusive intervention frame- work to address the various barriers faced by these women. In the final part of this article, we propose a broad intervention framework for facil- itating the economic independence of IPV survivors, based on the reviewed and analyzed literature. This intervention framework may be used by practitioners, as well as a conceptual basis for further re- search in this domain.

5.2. Intervention framework for helping IPV survivors develop economic independence

The proposed inclusive intervention framework is designed to help IPV survivors to develop economic independence, by challenging the unique barriers they face, based on existing intervention knowledge in this domain, as specified above. It offers principles for action in four key areas: material/economic, structural/social, emotional and educa- tional/occupational. While the scope of this article precludes an in- depth exploration of each of these aspects, we believe that a compre- hensive conceptualization of multilevel intervention strategies in this domain is necessary to provide an adequate social response to women who are IPV survivors.

5.2.1. The material/economic domain As previously noted, IPV survivors suffer from both economic abuse

and tactical job interference by their abusive partners. Hence, any pro- gram in this domain should facilitate the development of economic em- powerment. Such programs should include the acquisition of basic financial knowledge and skills (e.g., opening and managing a bank ac- count, planning a family budget, understanding a paycheck), and more advanced ones (e.g., dealing with debt, retirement savings, under- standing credit programs, obtaining financial resources). In addition to financial education, programs should also help women develop long- term economic efficacy and well-being, by providing instruction on how to gain access to material resources, acquire and retain property as- sets, and saving for the long term (see Sanders, 2013, 2014). At present, provision of this crucial material and long-term support to IPV survivors appears to be very limited.

IPV survivors who opt to leave their abusive partner face tremen- dous economic difficulties (Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). Intervention with women in this situation should provide them and their children with the immediate requisite material needs. While there are provisions for many of these needs at community shelters and in the two programs reviewed, their scope and coverage should be expanded so that they are an integral part of the service packages provided to each IPV survivor who chooses to leave their abusive partner. Furthermore, the interven- tion must also be designed to take into account material responses dur- ing the periods of professional training and initial integration into work (Brandwein, 1999; Brush, 2011; Davis, 1999). Lacking the extra money needed for transportation and babysitting for children may hinder the integration of IPV survivors into a workplace or an educational program, and consequently the development of their economic independence, as well.

5.2.2. The structural/social domain As suggested, intervention with IPV survivors must go beyond the

personal, the familial and the cultural, to address the contribution of

structural factors to women's economic dependence. While the reviewed programs have provided important responses to certain struc- tural barriers, there is, as yet, no comprehensive, wide-ranging structur- al response to help IPV survivors develop economic independence. Such intervention should include the following principles of action: (a) rais- ing awareness of the phenomenon of economic abuse in the general population, especially among social workers and social services who are not always aware of its existence or of possible responses to it (Lindhorst et al., 2010), such as local community initiatives; (b) tailor- ing programs to the unique cultural characteristics of women of margin- alized populations, in terms of language, customs, nationality, etc. (Haj- Yahia & Sadan, 2008); (c) lobbying politicians and decision-makers to promote legislation in the field—such as changes in family law which currently poses a barrier to economic advancement of women (Winter, 2015); toughening punishment of abusive men and strength- ening and maintaining protection orders (Brush, 2011); (d) developing inter-disciplinary partnerships and involving community officials such as those of social services, higher education, and professional and occu- pational training, as an integral part of intervention programs, to im- prove the accessibility of such institutions to IPV survivors (Pyles, 2006; Websdale & Johnson, 2007); and working with enterprise-level employers to help IPV survivors integrate in the workplace, while work- ing to eliminating prejudices about them; (e) promoting organizational recognition of the violence perpetrated against women by their part- ners and make it an integral part of Human Resources training (Collins, 2011), as has been done with the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace; and (f) advancing legislation and raising of public awareness, to prevent sanctions against or dismissal of women who are absent from work while they seek refuge in a shelter or as a result of partner violence at work.

5.2.3. The emotional domain Actions to promote economic independence cannot be separated

from the attendant emotional aspects of violence and its consequences, therefore every plan must adequately address the participants' emo- tional needs. Indeed, emotional treatment – be it individual or group- based – has been found to make a major contribution to fostering em- ployment among IPV survivors who seek help in shelters (Websdale & Johnson, 2007). While the literature in this field highlights the toll of emotional and mental consequences of the violence on developing eco- nomic independence, existing programs do not provide a comprehen- sive response to this barrier. However, the programs do address the development of the participants' economic efficacy, which may also in- creases their self-confidence and self-esteem (Sanders, 2013). Future interventions aimed at promoting the economic empowerment and in- dependence of IPV survivors must account for and respond to the men- tal and emotional damage of IPV through: (a) emotional treatment—with particular focus on the post-traumatic effects and other mental distress that the woman may experience (Gobin et al., 2013) due to the IPV and life-time gender-based violence; (b) support groups of women of similar backgrounds of IPV (Websdale & Johnson, 2007); and (c) supportive intervention for the woman's children that addresses her needs as a mother (Dutton et al., 2006; Peled, Davidson-Arad, & Perel, 2010), in recognition of the substantial de- mands that childcare makes of a mother, which make it difficult for her to focus on pursuing her economic independence.

5.2.4. The educational/occupational domain While past interventions designed to promote employment of IPV

survivors in the United States have not proven successful (Brush, 2011; Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Lindhorst et al., 2010; Winter, 2015), it is widely believed that employment and professional education are the key components of programs aimed at promoting economic inde- pendence among IPV survivors (Pyles, 2006; Thomas & Hall, 2008). As previously noted, existing programs include certain interventions de- signed to meet educational and occupational goals (Postmus et al.,

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2012; Sanders et al., 2007). To these we would add the following princi- ples of action: (a) participation in the program should be voluntary, with no economic sanctions placed on survivors, in view of the pres- sures and the volatility surrounding their lives (Winter, 2015); b) em- phasis should be placed on quality of the job, with regard to wages, long-term job security, social benefits and working conditions (Osterman, 2013), to avoid the common channeling of women to deskilling, low-wage jobs, with low job stability; (c) offer participants long-term vocational assistance in navigating their way within shifting labor markets and occupational trends; (d) provide adequate profes- sional training to suit the skills and qualifications of the IPV survivor, and subsidized (or fully funded), including attendant expenses; (e) offer participants personal mentoring in their search for work and in the early stages of their integration into the workforce, and/or individu- al coaching and guidance in the first years thereafter, to ensure that they remain in their job and advance in it (Stylianou et al., 2013); and (f) sup- port the development of nontraditional occupations and business entre- preneurship, to help the women combine financially rewarding work with flexibility in working hours, childcare and housekeeping (Pyles, 2006).

6. Summary and conclusions

This article sought to stimulate the awareness of the academic and professional community of the complex and close links between women's experience of IPV and their difficulties in developing a path to economic independence. As noted, the literature on the treatment, support and rehabilitation of IPV survivors has mainly focused on the crisis and the emotional consequences of the violence and its legal as- pects. Too little has been written about how to promote the long-term financial security of these women (Hahn & Postmus, 2014). However, in recent years the literature on the economic aspects of IPV has ex- panded. This article provides an extensive review of the literature in the field, and conceptualizes the main obstacles impeding IPV survivors to develop economic independence. These barriers encompass and ad- versely affect IPV survivors through the various micro-, meso-, exo- and macro-ecological systems surrounding them. Identifying these multi-level barriers, coupled with a critical review of two existing inter- vention programs in this domain, lays the ground for a conceptualiza- tion of a comprehensive framework for intervening with IPV survivors to promote their economic independence. We hope that this tentative framework, with its outline of the principles of action in four key areas of intervention, will serve to instigate further and more exhaustive de- velopment, practice, and research in this domain, and advance the cre- ation of long-term financial security for IPV survivors.

This critical literature review has several limitations. First, it has fo- cused on violence against women by their intimate partners. Violent re- lationships of this sort are distinct in that they are protracted, involve the dynamics of an intimate couple, and the persistent control and op- pression of the woman by the man in a manner that ensures that the woman remains emotionally and economically dependent on him. Omitted from this review is literature on the economic ramifications of women's subjection to other types of violence (such as rape, incest, and sexual harassment at work)—or by a woman partner. As noted above, women may be subjected to several kinds of violence at once, and such compounded exposure may affect their economic dependence and ability to develop economic independence in other ways. Therefore, further critical literature reviews are needed to examine the economic repercussions of other common forms of violence that women are sub- jected to, and to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the combined ef- fects of several kinds of gender violence. In addition, most of the literature we have reviewed is based on studies conducted in the United States. There is a need for studies that analyze and gauge the effect of the particular structural and social obstacles in various other countries and cultures on the economic dependency and independence of IPV survi- vors. Finally, future studies should examine how various types of gender

violence structure the development of paths to economic dependence and independence.

Acknowledgments

We thank Women's Spirit for funding an earlier draft of this article.

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  • The path to economic independence among survivors of intimate partner violence: A critical review of the literature and cou...
    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. Key terms
      • 2.1. Economic dependence
    • 3. Causes of economic dependence and obstacles to achieving economic independence among IPV survivors
      • 3.1. Violent and intentional intervention by the male partner
        • 3.1.1. Intentional harm by the violent partner is designed to sabotage the�woman's efforts and chances of integrating in th...
        • 3.1.2. Economic control and exploitation by the violent partner occurs when he sabotages the victim's development toward ec...
        • 3.1.3. Family, social, and community isolation of women by their violent partners is another factor hampering their economi...
      • 3.2. Health impairments due to subjection to violence
      • 3.3. Structural obstacles
        • 3.3.1. Policy and law
        • 3.3.2. Public services
        • 3.3.3. Labor market
    • 4. Marginalization, oppression and inequality, and economic dependence of IPV survivors
      • 4.1. Lifetime gendered violence
      • 4.2. Socioeconomic status
      • 4.3. Race and ethnicity
    • 5. Intervention to foster economic independence of IPV survivors
      • 5.1. Programs for fostering economic independence among IPV survivors
        • 5.1.1. “Moving ahead through financial management”
        • 5.1.2. “Realizing your economic action plan”
      • 5.2. Intervention framework for helping IPV survivors develop economic independence
        • 5.2.1. The material/economic domain
        • 5.2.2. The structural/social domain
        • 5.2.3. The emotional domain
        • 5.2.4. The educational/occupational domain
    • 6. Summary and conclusions
    • Acknowledgments
    • References

Articles/Postmes article.pdf

Review Manuscript

Economic Abuse as an Invisible Form of Domestic Violence: A Multicountry Review

Judy L. Postmus1, Gretchen L. Hoge2, Jan Breckenridge3, Nicola Sharp-Jeffs4, and Donna Chung5

Abstract The predominant perception of intimate partner violence (IPV) as constituting physical violence can still dominate, particularly in research and media reports, despite research documenting multiple forms of IPV including sexual violence occurring between intimate partners and various forms of psychological and emotional abuse. One frequently hidden or “invisible” form of abuse perpetrated within intimate partner relationships is economic abuse, also referred to as financial abuse in much of the liter- ature. While the links between gendered economic insecurity and economic abuse are emerging, there remains a lack of consistency about definitions within the United States and globally, as there is no agreed upon index with which to measure economic abuse. As such, the purpose of this article is to review and analyze the global literature focused on either economic or financial abuse to determine how it is defined and what measures are used to capture its prevalence and impact. The 46 peer- reviewed articles that met all inclusion criteria for analysis came from a range of countries across six continents. Our review found that there is growing clarity and consistency of terminologies being used in these articles and found some consistency in the use of validated measures. Since this research is in its “infancy,” we need to have stronger collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology. Part of that collaborative effort is to consider how language and cultural differences may play a part in our understanding of economic abuse.

Keywords anything related to domestic violence, domestic violence, battered women

Introduction

The fact that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant

social concern affecting a substantial number of women and

children is now undeniable, making it a gendered problem. In

most international jurisdictions, the importance of understand-

ing the needs of and responding to IPV victims is clearly under-

stood. Establishing the prevalence of all forms of violence

against women (VAW) has been a priority since the Conven-

tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women, 1

adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General

Assembly (Articles 12 and 19). Most recently, the 2011 Coun-

cil of Europe Convention on preventing and combating VAW

and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, 2

further details the importance of research intended to move

beyond prevalence in order to better understand the dynamics

of VAW in Europe (including IPV; Article 11). As a direct

result of the number of international conventions and treaties,

research on VAW, including IPV has been prioritized in many

jurisdictions ensuring a growing global evidence base.

Despite prioritizing research in this area, the predominant

focus of international and national studies to date has been on

establishing the prevalence of physical violence and/or threat.

While surely unintended, the seriousness of the effects of IPV

is most often assessed by the extent and nature of any physical

injury. This perception of IPV as primarily constituting phys-

ical violence still dominates, particularly in media reports of

IPV, regardless of reports from practitioners and victims sub-

stantiating multiple forms of abuse. Such forms include sexual

violence and various forms of psychological and emotional

abuse. In an effort to better understand the dynamics of these

latter two manifestations of IPV, many researchers argue that

1 Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of Social Work,

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 2 Department of Social Work, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL, USA

3 School of Social Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

4 Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University,

London, United Kingdom 5 School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth,

Australia

Corresponding Author:

Judy L. Postmus, Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of

Social Work, Rutgers University, 390 George Street, Suite 408, New Bruns-

wick, NJ 08901, USA.

Email: [email protected]

TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 2020, Vol. 21(2) 261-283 ª The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1524838018764160 journals.sagepub.com/home/tva

the context in which violence and abuse occur in intimate

partnerships—frequently referred to as contexts of “coercive

control” (Stark, 2007), is critical. This is where abusers use a

variety of tactics to maintain control over their partners by

forcing physical, emotional, and financial dependency and pro-

ducing a continual fear which prevents women from challen-

ging their actions. Women forced into such dependency are at

greater risk, according to the marital dependency theory (Vyas

& Watts, 2008) and the interdependence theory (Rusbult &

Van Lange, 2003), of being trapped in the relationship. This

explains why women report that economic concerns are one of

their top reasons why leaving the abuser is so difficult (Sanders

& Schnabel, 2006; Strube, 1988). It is precisely the relational

and gendered context of IPV that makes these tactics hard to

detect because the “means and effects . . . are easily confused with the range of sacrifices women are expected to make in

their roles as homemakers, parents and sexual partners” (Stark,

2007, p. 230).

One frequently hidden or “invisible” form of abuse perpe-

trated within intimate partner relationships is economic or

financial abuse. Practitioners and emerging qualitative research

have for some time recognized that IPV contributes to

“poverty, financial risk and financial insecurity for women,

sometimes long after the relationship has ended” (Braaf &

Barrett Meyering, 2010, p. 5). From this perspective, economic

insecurity is framed as a likely consequence of IPV for women

leaving a violent relationship at the time of separation and in its

aftermath. Although identified early on by practitioners in the

IPV field as a fundamental underpinning of coercive control,

only relatively recently has economic abuse been conceptua-

lized as separate from emotional and psychological abuse—

albeit with some overlap (Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon,

2013). Corrie and McGuire (2013) suggest that we are yet to

fully establish the prevalence of economic abuse, in part,

because victims may have difficulty distinguishing economi-

cally abusive patterns from the economic insecurity they expe-

rience as women.

Economic insecurity is, without doubt, a gendered issue

with factors such as the gendered nature of care, the under-

valuing of women’s paid and unpaid work, and workforce dis-

crimination all contributing to women consistently

experiencing poorer social and economic outcomes throughout

their life course. Given that existing prevalence data provide

evidence of gender asymmetry in victimization and perpetra-

tion of IPV, it is not a surprise that economic abuse is com-

pounded by the context of women’s economic insecurity more

generally. It is also possible that victims do not always under-

stand the ongoing consequences and extent of the damage

caused by economic abuse prior to leaving the relationship and

so may fail to recognize economic abuse as a form of IPV

during the relationship.

While the links between gendered economic insecurity and

economic abuse are emergent at best (Corrie, 2016), there

remains a lack of consistency about definitions within the

United States and globally, as there is no agreed index with

which to measure economic abuse, underscoring the purpose of

this article. As with all measures of social concerns, definitions

do matter and it is here that the research can lack precision. The

choice of different terms defined in slightly different ways, and

the interchange of terms at other times has had the unintended

effect of diluting the evidence base. The lack of definitional

clarity also means it is difficult to measure whether service and

policy responses are dealing appropriately with the issue, if at

all. As such, the purpose of this article is to determine how the

peer-reviewed global literature defines and measures economic

or financial abuse to then highlight implications based on an

analysis of the literature. The questions framing this study

include (1) how do researchers define economic/financial

abuse? and (2) how do researchers measure economic/financial

abuse?

Existing Definitions of Economic Abuse and Financial Abuse

Economic abuse has been defined as a deliberate pattern of

control in which individuals interfere with their partner’s abil-

ity to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources (Adams,

Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMa-

hon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). Academics have sought to cate-

gorize the different forms that economic abuse can take. For

instance, Postmus, Plummer, and Stylianou (2016) suggest that

economic abuse involves behaviors that control, exploit, or

sabotage an individual’s economic resources including

employment.

Economic abuse and financial abuse are frequently used

interchangeably in the literature (Sharp-Jeffs, 2015b). Alterna-

tively, abuse may be described as affecting the economic or

financial security of victims of IPV or causing economic or

financial insecurity. Sharp-Jeffs (2015a) adapted the definition

of economic abuse, proposing to use the term “financial abuse”

instead of economic abuse. The distinction made here between

economic and financial abuse is that financial abuse is part of

economic abuse and involves similar behaviors; however,

financial abuse focuses specifically on individual money and

finances and not economic resources (e.g., transportation, a

place to live, employment, and education; Sharp-Jeffs,

2015a). Yount, Krause, and VanderEnde (2016) recently used

the term “economic coercion” to describe the same economic

abusive behaviors identified by others (Adams et al., 2008;

Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2016) in which an abuser

attempts to control the partner’s ability to acquire, use, and

maintain resources.

It is important to note that much of the available literature

describes a range of controlling behaviors or tactics which may

keep victims of IPV financially dependent and socially iso-

lated, often, in place of a definition. Some of the tactics of

economic abuse include reduced access to savings and assets

(Braaf & Barrett Meyering, 2010), deliberately causing hous-

ing insecurity by damaging property or not making rent or

mortgage payments (Valentine & Breckenridge, 2016), and

malicious interference with workforce and educational partic-

ipation (Breckenridge, Walden, & Flax, 2014).

262 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

Measuring Economic Abuse

The measures used in studies on IPV may include items that ask

about forms of economic or financial abuse; however, without

identifying such abuse as a focus of the work, they fail to

reliably capture the scope, complexity, or magnitude of the

abuse. For example, Outlaw (2009) included one question

about economic abuse as part of the National Violence Against

Women Survey and then concluded that economic abuse was a

rare phenomenon, occurring less than physical abuse.

Other studies have included more than one question on

economic abuse but again, fail to identify the term as a focus

of the work. Instead, the questions are frequently integrated

into emotional or psychological abuse scales or subscales. For

example, the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Shepard &

Campbell, 1992) has two subscales—Physical and Psycholo-

gical—in which a few questions on economic abuse are part

of the Psychological Abuse subscale. Similarly, the Index of

Spouse Abuse Hudson & McIntosh, 1981) had physical and

Non-Physical Abuse subscales in which the Non-Physical

Abuse subscale included two questions on economic abuse;

however, the term was never mentioned in the reporting of

the results. The Psychological Maltreatment of Women

Inventory (PMWI; Tolman, 1989) has five questions on

economic abuse as part of the long form; however, the short

form only retained one question.

Other researchers included questions on economic abuse

without recognizing they had done so. For example, Lloyd

(1997) used an expanded version of the Conflict Tactics Scale

to include questions around work sabotage efforts, which is a

form of economic abuse. Although not naming economic

abuse, the qualitative portion of this study provided illustra-

tions of what could be understood as employment sabotage,

economic exploitation, and economic control. Similarly,

Tolman and Wang (2005) focused on employment sabotage

efforts that abusers use against victims in their literature

review; unfortunately, they failed to mention or include ques-

tions on economic or financial abuse in their measure of abuse.

Finally, Weaver, Sanders, Campbell, and Schnabel (2009)

created the Domestic Violence–Related Financial Issues Scale

(DV-FI) that included a subscale on economic abuse as part of

their evaluation of a financial literacy program. This subscale

only included five questions, of which three focused on credit

card debt and credit rating and failed to capture a wider view of

the phenomenon.

Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, and Greeson (2008) created the

first Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) from several sources

such as existing research and from interviews with advocates

and IPV survivors. The researchers started with a 120-item

scale covering several concepts of economic abuse including

preventing women’s resource acquisition, preventing women’s

use of resources, and exploiting women’s resources. After fur-

ther testing, the final scale included 28 questions and two sub-

scales including economic exploitation and economic control.

Postmus et al. (2016) further tested the SEA and reduced the

items to 12 questions, naming it the SEA-12. From their

analyses, they found three conceptual categories of economic

abuse—economic control, economic exploitation, and employ-

ment sabotage. Further testing of the SEA-12 with a new sam-

ple of survivors found that the SEA-12 was a reliable and valid

measure of economic abuse and that such abuse is distinctly

different from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse (Stylianou

et al., 2013). Additionally, the testing found that the three

constructs were also uniquely different from each other and

from other forms of abuse.

While it is clear from a preliminary review of the literature

that economic abuse may be reported by victims of IPV,

research to date subsumes economic abuse into the categories

of emotional or psychological abuse, fails to report the findings

as economic abuse, or does not report the results of the limited

number of survey questions at all. Additionally, the recent

publications of a scale for economic abuse has had limited

testing with varied samples of survivors; they were also only

tested with samples in the United States. Hence, the measure-

ment of economic abuse in IPV is limited. Additionally, there

have been no studies which have attempted to systematically

review the ways in which it has been measured internationally.

Method

The purpose of this study was to provide greater clarity on how

the peer-reviewed global literature defines and measures eco-

nomic or financial abuse and then to provide implications

based on an analysis of this literature. The questions framing

this study include (1) how do researchers define economic/

financial abuse? and (2) how do researchers measure eco-

nomic/financial abuse?

Search Strategy

We conducted a comprehensive review between April 2016 and

May 2017 of main databases in the following fields: social work,

sociology, psychology, public policy, gender and women’s stud-

ies, criminal justice, and economics. Databases searched

included: Social Work Abstracts (EBSCO), Social Services

Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, PAIS Inter-

national, PsychiatryOnline, PsychINFO (including PsychARTI-

CLES), Sociological Abstracts, ProQuest Sociology, PubMed,

Business Source Premier, Econlit, Worldwide Political Science

Abstracts, Academic Search Premier, GenderWatch, Women’s

Studies International, and Criminal Justice Abstracts. Search

terms included: (1) “financial abuse,” (2) “economic abuse,”

(3) “economic security AND abuse,” and (4) a combination of

all three (“financial abuse” OR “economic abuse” OR

“economic security AND abuse”). Search terms, when entered

as a string, used “OR” between individual search terms to mini-

mize overlap in search results while still ensuring that all rele-

vant articles would be captured for each string term. There was

no limit on the year in which the article could be published. Due

to the large number of results in each search, the search was

limited to peer-reviewed, scholarly literature. Articles were lim-

ited to those published in the English language.

Postmus et al. 263

Inclusion Criteria

The database search resulted in 274 articles that addressed

financial or economic abuse in the context of IPV, elder abuse,

system-related abuse, abuse and disability, and child abuse.

This was narrowed to 80 articles that specifically related to

IPV or VAW. Although we recognize that IPV is a gendered

problem with most victims identified as female, to be exhaus-

tive in our search for research on economic abuse, we included

any studies in peer-reviewed journals regardless of the gender

of the perpetrator or the victim.

An analysis of the 80 articles was first done to identify

whether economic or financial abuse was mentioned as a main

focus (n ¼ 33) of the article (i.e., economic abuse was a vari- able in the analyses and the article included an in-depth dis-

cussion of these results) or as a semifocus (n ¼ 47) of the article (i.e., economic abuse was a variable but was not the specific

focus of the article). Upon further analysis, three articles were

removed due to publication in nonacademic sources and one

article was removed as it was a research proposal, narrowing

the articles for consideration to 76 articles. Reference lists of

key authors, identified based on our familiarity with their work,

and articles examining the measurement of economic abuse,

were then reviewed to determine whether any additional arti-

cles should be included. This resulted in the addition of one

article for analysis for a total of 77 articles.

Decisions about the inclusion of articles in analysis at this

stage involved two steps of evaluation, which resulted in the

removal of eight articles, leaving 69 articles. Articles were

then further excluded from analysis if they did not clearly

define economic/financial abuse and provide additional

examples of tactics. For example, articles were excluded from

analysis if their focus was on a general IPV measure and

included items that would be categorized as economic/finan-

cial abuse by experts in this area but did not name them or

categorize them as such (n ¼ 2). Additionally, articles where the multidimensional construct was called something other

than economic/financial abuse (i.e., economic coercion,

financial coercive control) were also excluded (n ¼ 2). This left 65 articles remaining for consideration. Finally, all eight

conceptual articles and 11 qualitative only studies were

removed. These articles, while providing interesting informa-

tion and theories about economic abuse, did not define or test

this form of abuse which is the key focus on this study. In the

end, this left the analysis to focus on 46 articles examining

economic abuse in a quantitative (n ¼ 42) or mixed methods (n ¼ 4) capacity.

Data Extraction and Analysis

An in-depth analysis of the full length of each article was

conducted to gather relevant data. These data included the type

of research conducted (i.e., quantitative, mixed method), sam-

ple characteristics, the country where the research took place,

the study setting, how authors referred to the construct (i.e.,

economic abuse/financial abuse/something else), how authors

defined economic/financial abuse and the specific tactics

included in the introduction and background sections of their

manuscripts, the characteristics of tools used to measure eco-

nomic abuse presented in the methods and results sections of

each manuscript, and the manner in which economic abuse

was used in the research conducted (i.e., independent/predic-

tor variable, dependent/outcome variable, measurement

development). The data were then analyzed through constant

comparison methods to extract answers to our questions guid-

ing this study. To complement this inductive analysis

approach, we also used a deductive or a priori approach to

understanding how economic or financial abuse was defined.

This a priori approach was based on the knowledge of the

theoretical and measurement development literature on eco-

nomic or financial abuse in which we used the three constructs

of economic control, economic exploitation, and employment

sabotage. These inductive and deductive approaches to the

analysis allowed us to acknowledge our own biases around

constructs related to economic abuse while also allowing for

the possibility of additional constructs to derive from the

literature.

Results

The 46 peer-reviewed articles that met all inclusion criteria for

analysis came from a range of countries across six continents.

The majority of articles (17) came from research conducted in

the United States. Four articles came from South Africa. Three

articles came from research in Canada or Palestine. Two arti-

cles came from the UK, Ivory Coast, and the Philippines. One

article from each of the following countries was also included:

Australia, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nigeria,

South Korea, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. One

article was derived from a multicountry study conducted in

Asia and the Pacific.

Overall, 18 studies examined economic abuse with vic-

tims. Thirteen of the studies included samples of female vic-

tims who were recruited using various methods from

community settings, domestic violence agencies and shelters,

health-care settings, or an Individual Development Account

savings program for IPV victims. One study focused on gay

and bisexual male victims from HIV agencies serving men of

color. One study included a random sample of both male and

female victims from a nationally representative survey. One

study compared the experiences of a sample of female perpe-

trators of abuse (as victims) in an offenders’ program with a

sample of female victims in a shelter setting. Two studies

compared the experiences (as victims and perpetrators of

abuse) of convenience samples of female survivors staying

in women’s shelters, male and female college students, and

male prisoners.

There were 26 studies that recruited participants from the

general population of women and/or men. This included 20

studies that examined the construct with a general sample of

women. These women were recruited from the community

using various methods, from health-care settings, from

264 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

microfinance programs, or by using a random sample of

women from nonrepresentative samples or from nationally or

geographically representative samples. One study examined

the construct with a sample of men (as potential perpetrators)

that was representative of each of nine site samples across

multiple countries. Five studies examined the construct with

both men and women using a convenience sample from the

community, or using a random sample obtained from a nation-

ally representative survey, from a military management sys-

tem, or from a college campus.

Overall, two studies examined the concept with service provi-

ders. One of these studies included a sample of lawyers and advo-

cates working in the field. The other study surveyed medical

students who would potentially treat patients who had experi-

enced IPV. Please refer to Table 1 for a description of the articles.

How Economic/Financial Abuse Is Defined

Table 2 provides information on how economic abuse was

defined and measured in the 46 articles. Each citation includes

a brief description and whether: (1) economic abuse was

clearly defined or not, (2) economic abusive tactics were

included or not, and (3) which constructs were captured in the

definition/tactics.

Overall, 20 articles included a clear definition of economic/

financial abuse and/or listed more than one tactic used by per-

petrators to illustrate the construct in the introduction or back-

ground section of the manuscript. Upon analysis, these tactics

were thematically captured under the three constructs identi-

fied in theoretical and measurement development literature

including economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage. Of the 20 articles with a clear definition

and/or description of abusive tactics, 14 articles covered tactics

that could fall under all three constructs of economic abuse.

Three articles included tactics that would fall under the cate-

gories of economic control and economic exploitation. Two

articles included tactics that only covered economic control.

One article included tactics that are categorized as economic

control and employment sabotage. The remaining 26 articles

contained no clear definition of economic abuse or tactics used.

Overall, the construct of economic control received the most

attention in definitions, as every article with a clear definition

either named the construct or included tactics that illustrate this

construct in its definition of economic abuse (n ¼ 20). Such economic control tactics included: restricting access to

finances, refusing to contribute financially for necessities or

other items, restricting access to financial information or invol-

vement with financial decision-making, and controlling the

household spending. This was followed by economic exploita-

tion (n ¼ 17) and employment sabotage (n ¼ 15). Economic exploitation included tactics such as misusing family finances;

damaging property; stealing property, money, or identities;

going into debt through coercion or in secret; kicking the victim

out of the living situation; using wealth as a weapon or as a

threat; selling necessary household or personal items; restrict-

ing access to health care or insurance; and denying or

restricting access to transportation. Employment sabotage tac-

tics included anything related to interfering with or preventing

a partner from work.

How Economic/Financial Abuse Is Measured

Researchers used a variety of measures to capture the construct

of economic/financial abuse in their studies. A total of 44

Table 1. Description of Articles.

Country of Origin

United States 17 South Africa 4 Canada and Palestine 3 Each UK, Ivory Coast, and Philippines 2 Each Australia, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nigeria, South Korea, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey,

and Zimbabwe

1 Each

Multicountry (Asia and the Pacific) 1 Sample

Victims—female 13 Victims—gay and bisexual male victims 1 Victims—male and female 1 Victims and perpetrators—female and male 3 General sample of women from the community 20 General sample of men from the community 1 General sample of women and men from the community 5 Service providers (lawyers, advocates, or medical

students) 2

Definitions of economic and financial abuse Included a clear definition 20 Named or described all three constructs (i.e., economic

control, economic exploitation, and employment sabotage)

14

Named or described two of the three constructs 4 Named or described one of the three constructs

(i.e., economic control) 2

How economic or financial abuse is measured Used a validated tool to measure economic abuse (SEA or

the SEA-12) 4

Used a validated tool (SEA-12) alongside a general IPV measurement tool (ABI)

1

Used general IPV measurement tools that included economic abuse items (i.e., ABI, CCB, DV-FI, CTS, Abuse Assessment Screen Questionnaire, CBS)

9

Used series of items about economic abuse, ranging from 1 to 5 questions

Used one question 5 Used two questions 9 Used three questions 6 Used four questions 4 Used five questions 1 Did not use questions but described characteristics of

economic abuse 3

Presented an unclear picture of how economic abuse was measured

4

Note. n ¼ 46. ABI ¼ Abusive Behavior Inventory; CCB ¼ Checklist of Con- trolling Behaviors; DV-FI ¼ Domestic Violence–Related Financial Issues Scale; CBS ¼ Controlling Behaviors Scale; SEA ¼ Scale of Economic Abuse; SEA-12 ¼ Scale of Economic Abuse-12; CTS ¼ Conflict Tactics Scale.

Postmus et al. 265

T a b

le 2 .

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d an

d D

e fi n e d

in th

e G

lo b al

P e e r-

R e vi

e w

e d

L it e ra

tu re

.

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

A d am

s, A

. E .,

B e e b le

, M

. L .,

an d

G re

go ry

, K

. A

. (2

0 1 5 )

U n it e d

S ta

te s

D V

an d

se x u al

as sa

u lt

ag e n cy

9 3

F e m

al e

IP V

V ic

ti m

s C

o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(A d am

s e t

al .,

2 0 0 8 )

2 8 -i te

m , va

lid at

e d

m e as

u re

o f e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e , ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(4 ).

T w

o su

b sc

al e s

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(f in

an ci

al w

ay s

ab u se

rs ta

k e

ad va

n ta

ge o f su

rv iv

o rs

’) an

d e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

(a b u se

rs ’ e ff o rt

s to

d ic

ta te

w o m

e n ’s

ac ce

ss to

an d

u se

o f m

o n e y)

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(E S

it e m

s ca

p tu

re d

u n d e r

E C

su b sc

al e )

S e t

o f ta

ct ic

s u se

d to

o b ta

in p o w

e r

an d

co n tr

o l in

an ab

u si

ve re

la ti o n sh

ip , in

vo lv

in g

co n tr

o lli

n g

a w

o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

an d

m ai

n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th u s

th re

at e n in

g h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty an

d p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -

su ff ic

ie n cy

. T

ac ti cs

in cl

u d e d : re

gu la

ti o n

o f ac

ce ss

to m

o n e y

an d

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , st

e al

in g

m o n e y,

re fu

si n g

to w

o rk

, ge

n e ra

ti n g

d e b t

in th

e ir

p ar

tn e r’

s n am

e , b la

m in

g w

o m

an fo

r sp

e n d in

g m

o n e y

o n

fa m

ily n e e d s,

co n tr

o lli

n g

h e r

e ar

n in

gs ,

w as

ti n g

m o n e y,

d ir

e ct

an d

in d ir

e ct

in te

rf e re

n ce

w it h

e m

p lo

ym e n t,

an d

co e rc

e d

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

A d am

s, A

. E .,

S u lli

va n , C

. M

., B

yb e e ,

D .,

an d

G re

e so

n , M

. R

. (2

0 0 8 )

U n it e d

S ta

te s

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 0 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

, 2 8 -i te

m m

e as

u re

o f

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

T h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ),

an d

al so

in cl

u d in

g n o t

a p p lic

a b le

(8 )

an d

p re

fe r

n o t

to a n sw

er (9

). T

w o

su b sc

al e s

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

an d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(E S

it e m

s ca

p tu

re d

u n d e r

E C

su b sc

al e )

P ar

t o f th

e p at

te rn

o f b e h av

io rs

u se

d b y

b at

te re

rs to

m ai

n ta

in p o w

e r

an d

co n tr

o l o ve

r th

e ir

p ar

tn e rs

. T

h is

in vo

lv e s

b e h av

io rs

th at

co n tr

o l a

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th u s

th re

at e n in

g h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty an

d p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

A n ta

i, D

., A

n ta

i, J. , an

d A

n th

o n y,

D . S .

(2 0 1 4 )

P h ili

p p in

e s

H o u se

h o ld

s 8 ,4

7 8

W o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. R

e sp

o n se

o p ti o n s

in cl

u d e d : n o , o ft

e n , so

m e ti m

e s,

n o t

at al

l, an

d ye

s. N

o an

d n o t

at al

l w

e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to n o , an

d al

l o th

e r

an sw

e rs

w e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to ye

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d is

al lo

w e d

re sp

o n d e n t

to e n ga

ge in

le gi

ti m

at e

w o rk

, (2

) co

n tr

o lle

d re

sp o n d e n t’ s

m o n e y

o r

fo rc

e d

h e r

to w

o rk

, (3

) d e st

ro ye

d p e rs

o n al

p ro

p e rt

y/ p e t

o r

th re

at e n e d

to h ar

m p e t,

an d

(4 )

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n t

h ad

e ve

r lo

st th

e ir

jo b /s

o u rc

e o f in

co m

e b e ca

u se

o f th

e ir

h u sb

an d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rm

o f D

V an

d fa

m ily

vi o le

n ce

in vo

lv in

g b e h av

io rs

th at

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

a p e rs

o n

fi n an

ci al

ly ,

u n d e rm

in in

g e ff o rt

s to

b e co

m e

fi n an

ci al

ly in

d e p e n d e n t.

B e h av

io rs

th at

co n tr

o l th

e ab

ili ty

to ac

q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s.

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d : p re

ve n t

fr o m

o b ta

in in

g/ m

ai n ta

in in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t

o u ts

id e

th e

h o m

e , ca

u se

h e r

to lo

se h e r

jo b

o r

m is

s w

o rk

,s h o w

u p

at w

o rk

p la

ce , h ar

as s

h e r

at w

o rk

, h ar

as s

co w

o rk

e rs

— w

it h

m o ti ve

to in

te rf

e re

w it h

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e re

so u rc

e s

b y

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

fr o m

m ai

n ta

in in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t,

m o n it o ri

n g

h o w

e x is

ti n g

re so

u rc

e s

ar e

u se

d , st

ri ct

ly lim

it in

g ac

ce ss

to h o u se

h o ld

re so

u rc

e s,

d e n yi

n g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

fo r

e ss

e n ti al

s h id

in g

jo in

tl y

e ar

n e d

m o n e y,

d e n yi

n g

ac ce

ss to

b an

k ac

co u n ts

, w

it h h o ld

in g

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , d e st

ro yi

n g

p ro

p e rt

y, tu

rn in

g o ff

u ti lit

ie s,

cr e d it

ca rd

d e b t,

re fu

si n g

to m

ak e

p ay

m e n ts

o n

b ill

s 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

266

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

A n ta

i, D

., O

k e ,A

., B

ra it h w

ai te

,P .,

an d

L o p e z,

G . B

. (2

0 1 4 )

P h ili

p p in

e s

H o u se

h o ld

s 8 ,4

7 8

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , cl

u st

e re

d , p ro

b ab

ili ty

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. R

e sp

o n se

o p ti o n s

in cl

u d e d : n o , o ft

e n , so

m e ti m

e s,

n o t

at al

l, an

d ye

s. N

o an

d n o t at

al l w

e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to n o , an

d al

l o th

e r

an sw

e rs

w e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to ye

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d is

al lo

w e d

re sp

o n d e n t

to e n ga

ge in

le gi

ti m

at e

w o rk

, (2

) co

n tr

o lle

d re

sp o n d e n t’ s

m o n e y

o r

fo rc

e d

h e r

to w

o rk

, (3

) d e st

ro ye

d p e rs

o n al

p ro

p e rt

y/ p e t

o r

th re

at e n e d

to h ar

m p e t,

an d

(4 )

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n t

h ad

e ve

r lo

st th

e ir

jo b /s

o u rc

e o f in

co m

e b e ca

u se

o f th

e ir

h u sb

an d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

C o n tr

o l o f a

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

an d

m ai

n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th re

at e n in

g e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty , p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

, an

d e co

n o m

ic in

d e p e n d e n ce

. C

o e rc

iv e

b e h av

io r

m ak

in g

vi ct

im e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

p ar

tn e r

an d

in cr

e as

in g

ri sk

o f co

n ti n u e d

ab u se

. T

ac ti cs

in cl

u d e d : ta

k e

co n tr

o l o f re

so u rc

e s

b y

p re

ve n ti n g

e m

p lo

ym e n t

o u ts

id e

h o m

e , ca

u se

jo b

ab se

n ce

o r

lo ss

b y

sh o w

in g

u p

at w

o rk

,p re

ve n t u se

o f e x is

ti n g

re so

u rc

e s

b y

co n tr

o lli

n g

d is

tr ib

u ti o n

an d

u se

,d e n y

ac ce

ss to

jo in

t b an

k ac

co u n ts

o r

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , e x p lo

it a

w o m

an ’s

re so

u rc

e s

b y

st e al

in g

m o n e y,

cr e at

in g

co st

s, ge

n e ra

ti n g

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

A w

w ad

,J .,

G h az

e e ri

,G ,N

as sa

r, A

.H .,

B az

i, T

., an

d F ak

ih , A

. (2

0 1 4 )

L e b an

o n

H e al

th cl

in ic

9 1

W o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

: “D

o e s

yo u r

p ar

tn e r

co n tr

o l h o m

e e x p e n d it u re

d e n yi

n g

yo u

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y?

” C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F al

b , K

. L .,

A n n an

, J. , K

p e b o , D

., C

o le

, H

., W

ill ie

, T

., X

u an

, Z

., R

aj , A

., an

d G

u p ta

, J.

(2 0 1 5 )

Iv o ry

C o as

t R

u ra

l vi

lla ge

s 6 8 2

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

w /o

m ic

ro fi n an

ce e x p e ri

e n ce

C o m

m u n it y

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. If

p ar

ti ci

p an

t re

sp o n d e d

“y e s”

to an

y it e m

, th

e y

w e re

co d e d

as e x p e ri

e n ci

n g

th at

fo rm

o f vi

o le

n ce

.I te

m s

in cl

u d e d :

(1 ) as

k e d

th e

w o m

an if

h e r

p ar

tn e r

re fu

se d

to gi

ve h e r

m o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

n e ce

ss it ie

s e ve

n if

th e re

w as

m o n e y

av ai

la b le

, (2

) to

o k

m o n e y

ag ai

n st

h e r

w ill

, an

d (3

) o b lig

e d

h e r

to gi

ve h im

al l o r

p ar

t o f

th e

m o n e y

sh e

e ar

n e d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F aw

o le

, O

. I. , va

n W

yk , J. , an

d A

d e jim

i, A

. (2

0 1 3 )

N ig

e ri

a M

e d ic

al sc

h o o l se

tt in

g 1 0 9

M e d ic

al st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

N o

in fo

rm at

io n

o n

sp e ci

fi c

m e as

u re

o r

se m

is tr

u ct

u re

d in

te rv

ie w

q u e st

io n s

as k e d

to ca

p tu

re an

d th

e n

q u an

ti fy

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

U n cl

e ar

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F u lu

, E .,

Je w

k e s,

R .,

R o se

lli , T

., an

d G

ar ci

a- M

o re

n o , C

. (2

0 1 3 )

M u lt ic

o u n tr

y— A

si a

an d

P ac

if ic

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 0 ,1

7 8

M e n

C lu

st e r

sa m

p le

re p re

se n ta

ti ve

o f

e ac

h o f n in

e si

te s

(m u lt ic

o u n tr

y)

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. M

e as

u re

d as

p ar

t o f

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

p e rp

e tr

at io

n u si

n g

an e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

su b sc

al e . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ro

h ib

it e d

a p ar

tn e r

fr o m

ge tt

in g

a jo

b , go

in g

to w

o rk

, tr

ad in

g, o r

e ar

n in

g m

o n e y,

(2 )

ta k e n

a p ar

tn e r’

s e ar

n in

gs ag

ai n st

h e r

w ill

, (3

) th

ro w

n a

p ar

tn e r

o u t

o f th

e h o u se

, an

d (4

) k e p t

m o n e y

fr o m

yo u r

e ar

n in

gs fo

r al

co h o l,

to b ac

co , o r

o th

e r

th in

gs fo

r yo

u rs

e lf

w h e n

yo u

k n e w

yo u r

p ar

tn e r

w as

fi n d in

g it

h ar

d to

af fo

rd th

e h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

267

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

G af

fo o r,

Z .,

W an

d , H

., S tr

e e t,

R . A

., A

b b ai

, N

., an

d R

am je

e , G

. (2

0 1 6 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

P u b lic

sp ac

e s

(h e al

th cl

in ic

s, m

al ls

, ch

u rc

h e s,

ta x is

ta n d s,

co m

m u n it y

ve n u e s)

1 ,4

5 6

S e x u al

ly ac

ti ve

, H

IV -n

e ga

ti ve

w o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

: “S

o m

e ti m

e s

in re

la ti o n sh

ip s

w o m

e n

ar e

ab u se

d b y

th e ir

p ar

tn e rs

. T

h e

ab u se

ca n

b e

p h ys

ic al

, lik

e h it ti n g

o r

sl ap

p in

g, e m

o ti o n al

lik e

ye lli

n g,

n am

e -c

al lin

g o r

th re

at e n in

g th

e ch

ild re

n , o r

e co

n o m

ic lik

e ta

k in

g aw

ay o r

n o t

gi vi

n g

m o n e y.

W e

w o u ld

lik e

to k n o w

if an

y o f

th e se

th in

gs ar

e h ap

p e n in

g to

th e

w o m

e n

w e

sp e ak

to .”

R e sp

o n se

w as

ca te

go ri

ze d

in to

e co

n o m

ic , e m

o ti o n al

, an

d /o

r p h ys

ic al

ab u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G ra

h am

-K e va

n , N

., an

d A

rc h e r,

J. (2

0 0 8 )

U K

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

4 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o lle

ge se

tt in

g 1 1 3

C o lle

ge st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

P ri

so n

1 0 8

M al

e p ri

so n e rs

A ll

co n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

s

F o u r

it e m

s fr

o m

th e

C o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io r

S ca

le (C

B S ; G

ra h am

-K e va

n &

A rc

h e r,

2 0 0 3 )

b u t

d id

n o t

sp e ci

fy it e m

d e ta

ils . F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

a lw

a ys

(4 )

to in

d ic

at e

if an

d h o w

o ft

e n

an y

o f th

e b e h av

io rs

lis te

d w

e re

u se

d to

in fl u e n ce

th e ir

p ar

tn e rs

.

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

in th

is ar

ti cl

e (E

C an

d E S

ca p tu

re d

in C

B S

(G ra

h am

-K e va

n &

A rc

h e r,

2 0 0 3 )

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G ra

h am

-K e va

n , N

., an

d A

rc h e r,

J. (2

0 0 3 )

U K

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

4 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o lle

ge se

tt in

g 1 1 3

C o lle

ge st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

P ri

so n

1 0 8

M al

e p ri

so n e rs

A ll

co n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

s

F iv

e it e m

s fr

o m

th e

C o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

S ca

le (C

B S )

d e ve

lo p e d

fo r

th is

p ar

ti cu

la r

st u d y.

R e sp

o n d e n ts

in d ic

at e d

w h e th

e r

th e y

h ad

u se

d an

y o f th

e b e h av

io rs

lis te

d , an

d th

e n

w h e th

e r

th e ir

p ar

tn e r

h ad

u se

d an

y. F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

a lw

a ys

(4 )

to in

d ic

at e

th e

o cc

u rr

e n ce

an d

fr e q u e n cy

o f co

n tr

o lli

n g

ac ts

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

d is

ap p ro

ve o f th

e o th

e r

w o rk

in g

o r

st u d yi

n g?

(2 ) if

ye s,

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

tr y

to p re

ve n t

o r

m ak

e d if fi cu

lt th

e o th

e r

w o rk

in g

o r

st u d yi

n g?

(3 )

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

fe e l it

w as

n e ce

ss ar

y to

h av

e co

n tr

o l o f th

e o th

e r’

s m

o n e y

(e .g

., w

ag e , b e n e fi t)

? (4

) if

ye s,

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

gi ve

th e

o th

e r

an al

lo w

an ce

/r e q u ir

e o th

e r

to as

k fo

r m

o n e y?

(5 )

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

h av

e k n o w

le d ge

o f th

e fa

m ily

in co

m e ?

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G u p ta

, J. , F al

b , K

. L .,

L e h m

an n , H

., K

p e b o , D

., X

u an

, Z

., H

o ss

ai n , M

., Z

im m

e rm

an , C

., W

at ts

, C

., an

d A

n n an

, J.

(2 0 1 3 )

Iv o ry

C o as

t R

u ra

l vi

lla ge

s 9 3 4

W o m

e n

w it h

p ar

tn e rs

P u rp

o si

ve sa

m p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. D

ic h o to

m iz

e d

to b in

ar y

su m

m ar

y sc

o re

, “y

e s”

to an

y o r

“n o ”

to al

l o ve

r p as

t ye

ar . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) ta

k e n

m o n e y

ag ai

n st

h e r

w ill

, (2

) re

fu se

d m

o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

n e ce

ss it ie

s, an

d (3

) o b lig

e d

th e

w o m

an to

gi ve

h im

al l o r

p ar

t o f th

e m

o n e y

sh e

e ar

n e d

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

268

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (1

9 9 9 )

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 2 ,4

1 0

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n .

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (2

0 0 0 a)

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,3

3 4

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (2

0 0 0 b )

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 2 ,4

1 0

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H ar

n e d , M

. S . (2

0 0 1 )

U S A

C am

p u s

se tt

in g

8 7 4

F e m

al e

an d

m al

e co

lle ge

st u d e n ts

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

A B

I- 1 2

(S h e p ar

d &

C am

p b e ll,

1 9 9 2 )

U n sp

e ci

fi e d

it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d , 1 2 -i te

m p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l ab

u se

su b sc

al e

o f a

ge n e ra

l ab

u se

m e as

u re

. E x am

p le

s re

fe re

n ce

d in

cl u d e d : (1

) re

st ri

ct io

n o f fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s

an d

(2 )

h as

a d at

in g

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

h av

in g

m o n e y

fo r

yo u r

o w

n u se

? C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

269

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

H u an

g, C

-C .,

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

V ik

se , J.

H .,

an d

W an

g, L -R

. (2

0 1 3 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,1

0 7

m o th

e rs

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. M

e as

u re

d (n

e ve

r, so

m e ti m

e s,

o r

o ft

e n ) o ve

r p as

t 1 2

m o n th

s. C

o d e d

“y e s”

if a

w o m

an h ad

e x p e ri

e n ce

d e it h e r

o f th

e tw

o ab

u se

it e m

s “o

ft e n ”

o r

“s o m

e ti m

e s.

” C

o d e d

“n o ”

if a

w o m

an re

p o rt

e d

“n e ve

r” fo

r b o th

it e m

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h e

tr ie

d to

p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l an

d (2

) h e

w it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y,

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

D e fi n e d

as in

cl u d in

g “e

m p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge ,

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n .”

D e fi n e d

as d is

ti n ct

fr o m

n o rm

al p at

te rn

s o f

fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g in

re la

ti o n sh

ip s

d u e

to n at

u re

o f co

n tr

o l in

vo lv

e d . O

n e

p ar

tn e r

d o e s

n o t

al lo

w th

e o th

e r

an y

sa y

in fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s,

co n tr

o ls

h e r

w o rk

ac ti vi

ti e s

an d

u se

o f in

co m

e ,

ru in

s cr

e d it

as m

e an

s to

in cr

e as

e fi n an

ci al

d e p e n d e n ce

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

H u an

g, C

-C .,

V ik

se , J.

H .,

L u , S .,

an d

Y i,

S . (2

0 1 5 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,4

1 0

M o th

e rs

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. F re

q u e n cy

th at

fa th

e r

h ad

co m

m it te

d th

e se

ty p e s

o f b e h av

io rs

m e as

u re

d (n

e ve

r, so

m e ti m

e s,

o r

o ft

e n ) o ve

r p as

t 1 2

m o n th

s. C

o d e d

“y e s”

if a

w o m

an h ad

e x p e ri

e n ce

d e it h e r

o f

th e

tw o

ab u se

it e m

s “o

ft e n ”

o r

“s o m

e ti m

e s.

” C

o d e d

“n o ”

if a

w o m

an re

p o rt

e d

“n e ve

r” fo

r b o th

it e m

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h e

tr ie

d to

p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l an

d (2

) h e

w it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y,

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Je w

k e s,

R .,

P e n n -K

e k an

a, L .,

L e vi

n , J. ,

R at

sa k a,

M .,

an d

S ch

ri e b e r,

M .

(2 0 0 0 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,3

0 6

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , m

u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

, m

e as

u re

d as

p ar

t o f

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

in p as

t ye

ar . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d fr

o m

w o rk

in g,

(2 )

p ar

tn e r

h as

n o t

p ro

vi d e d

m o n e y

to ru

n th

e h o m

e o r

lo o k

af te

r ch

ild re

n b u t

h as

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs , an

d (3

) e vi

ct io

n fr

o m

h o m

e .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Je w

k e s,

R . K

., L e vi

n , J.

B .,

an d

P e n n -

K e k an

a, L . A

. (2

0 0 3 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,1

6 4

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , m

u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h av

in g

n o t

b e e n

gi ve

n m

o n e y

to ru

n th

e h o m

e w

h e n

h e r

p ar

tn e r

h ad

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs an

d (2

) h av

in g

h e r

e ar

n in

gs ta

k e n

b y

h e r

p ar

tn e r

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Jo yn

e r,

K .,

an d

M as

h , R

. J.

(2 0 1 1 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

R u ra

l h e al

th cl

in ic

s 1 6 8

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

fr o m

p u rp

o se

fu lly

se le

ct e d

si te

s

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) w

it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y,

(2 )

co n tr

o lli

n g

d e ci

si o n s,

o r

(3 )

ta k in

g m

o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

m e n ti o n

o f ta

ct ic

s 3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

K ap

ig a,

S .,

H ar

ve y,

S .,

M u h am

m ad

, A

. K

., S to

ck l,

H .,

M sh

an a,

G .,

H as

h im

, R

., H

an se

n , C

., L e e s,

S .,

an d

W at

ts ,

C . (2

0 1 7 )

T an

za n ia

M ic

ro fi n an

ce /l o an

gr o u p s

1 ,0

4 9

W o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. S e ve

ri ty

d e te

rm in

e d

b as

e d

o n

n u m

b e r

o f “y

e s”

an sw

e rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d :(

1 ) re

fu se

s to

gi ve

yo u

e n o u gh

m o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s, e ve

n w

h e n

h e

h as

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs , (2

) ta

k e s

m o n e y

th at

yo u

h av

e e ar

n e d

aw ay

fr o m

yo u , an

d (3

) m

ak e s

im p o rt

an t

fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s

w it h o u t

co n su

lt in

g yo

u C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

m e n ti o n

o f ta

ct ic

s 3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

270

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

K u ti n , J. , R

u ss

e ll,

R .,

an d

R e id

, M

. (2

0 1 7 )

A u st

ra lia

C o m

m u n it y

1 3 ,3

0 7

W o m

e n

an d

3 ,7

4 3

M e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

F iv

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. L if e ti m

e ab

u se

m e as

u re

d w

it h

d ic

h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

h e r/

h is

m o n e y,

(2 )

p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

fr o m

w o rk

in g

o r

e ar

n in

g m

o n e y

o r

st u d yi

n g,

(3 )

p ar

tn e r

d e p ri

ve d

yo u

o f b as

ic n e e d s

(e .g

., fo

o d , sh

e lt e r,

sl e e p , as

si st

iv e

ai d s)

, (4

) P ar

tn e r

d am

ag e d , d e st

ro ye

d o r

st o le

an y

o f yo

u r

p ro

p e rt

y, an

d (5

) p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

fr o m

u si

n g

th e

te le

p h o n e , In

te rn

e t

o r

fa m

ily ca

r. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rm

o f IP

V in

vo lv

in g

b e h av

io rs

ai m

e d

at m

an ip

u la

ti n g

a p e rs

o n ’s

ac ce

ss to

fi n an

ce s,

as se

ts ,

an d

d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g to

fo st

e r

d e p e n d e n ce

an d

co n tr

o l.

E co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l,

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n , an

d e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge id

e n ti fi e d

as th

re e

d im

e n si

o n s

co m

p ri

si n g

th e

o ve

ra ll

co n st

ru ct

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

m e n ti o n e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

L e h m

an n , P .,

S im

m o n s,

C . A

., an

d P ill

ai , V

. K

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

S h e lt e r

se tt

in g

2 ,1

3 5

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

C h e ck

lis t

o f C

o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

(C C

B )

to o l u se

d to

as se

ss fo

r co

e rc

iv e

co n tr

o l in

vi o le

n t

re la

ti o n sh

ip s

d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

S e ve

n -i te

m su

b sc

al e

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e re

sp o n se

st yl

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r (1

) to

ve ry

fr e q u e n tl y

(5 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

n o t

al lo

w m

e e q u al

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily m

o n e y;

(2 )

to ld

m e

o r

ac te

d as

if it

w as

h is

m o n e y,

h is

h o u se

, h is

ca r,

an d

so o n , (3

) th

re at

e n e d

to w

it h h o ld

m o n e y

fr o m

m e , (4

) m

ad e

m e

as k

fo r

m o n e y

fo r

b as

ic n e ce

ss it ie

s; (5

) u se

d m

y fe

ar o f n o t

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

to co

n tr

o l

m y

b e h av

io r,

(6 ) m

ad e

m e

ac co

u n t fo

r th

e m

o n e y

I sp

e n t,

an d

(7 )

tr ie

d to

k e e p

m e

d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

fo r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

R e fe

rs to

“w it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y”

as ro

u ti n e

b ar

ri e r

u se

d to

e n tr

ap , is

o la

te , an

d co

n tr

o l a

su rv

iv o r.

E co

n o m

ic co

e rc

io n

an d

th re

at s

to w

it h h o ld

fi n an

ci al

m e an

s fo

r fo

o d

o r

h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

re fe

re n ce

d 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

L it tw

in , A

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

P e rs

o n al

co n ta

ct s/

D V

e -m

ai l lis

ts /

co al

it io

n s

5 5

D V

la w

ye rs

/a d vo

ca te

s S n o w

b al

l sa

m p le

R e vi

se d

C o n fl ic

t T

ac ti cs

S ca

le (M

u rr

ay S tr

au s

e t

al .,

1 9 9 6 ).

T w

o it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d

m e as

u re

o f ab

u se

ad d re

ss in

g e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) va

n d al

iz e

yo u r

p ro

p e rt

y o r

d e st

ro y

so m

e th

in g

yo u

lo ve

d , ca

u si

n g

yo u

to b e

fr ig

h te

n e d

o r

fe ar

b o d ily

h ar

m an

d (2

) st

an d

o u ts

id e

yo u r

h o m

e , sc

h o o l,

o r

w o rk

p la

ce C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E E

E S

F in

an ci

al co

n tr

o l,

e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , co

n tr

o l

o ve

r fa

m ily

fi n an

ce s,

re st

ri ct

e d

ac ce

ss to

k n o w

le d ge

ab o u t

fi n an

ce s.

T ac

ti cs

u se

d as

fo u n d at

io n

th at

al lo

w s

fo r

co e rc

e d

d e b t

to o cc

u r,

w h e re

vi ct

im h as

d e cr

e as

e d

ab ili

ty to

p re

ve n t

tr an

sa ct

io n s

to w

h ic

h sh

e d o e s

n o t

co n se

n t.

T h is

in cl

u d e s

cr e d it

fr au

d an

d th

e ft

as w

e ll

as in

ti m

id at

io n /t

h re

at s/

vi o le

n ce

th at

k e e p

vi ct

im fr

o m

co n fr

o n ti n g

ab u se

r w

it h

is su

e s

o f cr

e d it

fr au

d o r

o th

e r

fo rm

s o f co

e rc

e d

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

271

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

M e rr

ill , G

. S .,

an d

W o lf e , V

. (2

0 0 0 )

U S A

D V

an d

H IV

ag e n ci

e s

se rv

in g

m e n

o f

co lo

r 5 2

ga y/

b is

e x u al

m al

e IP

V vi

ct im

s C

o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. N

o t

al l

it e m

s d e ta

ile d . T

h o se

d e sc

ri b e d

ar e

as fo

llo w

s: (1

) d am

ag in

g p ro

p e rt

y w

h ic

h b e lo

n ge

d to

re sp

o n d e n t,

(2 )

h ar

as si

n g

re sp

o n d e n t

at w

o rk

o r

sc h o o l,

(3 )

ca u si

n g

re sp

o n d e n t

to m

is s

w o rk

o r

sc h o o l,

(4 )

ca lli

n g

an d

vi si

ti n g

re sp

o n d e n t

at w

o rk

o r

sc h o o l

e x ce

ss iv

e ly

, (5

) m

ak in

g re

sp o n d e n t

fe e l h e

w as

e n ti tl e d

to re

sp o n d e n ts

’ fi n an

ci al

su p p o rt

, (6

) re

fu si

n g

to co

n tr

ib u te

to h is

p o rt

io n

o f e x p e n se

s, an

d (7

) si

gn if ic

an tl y

in te

rr u p ti n g

w o rk

, e d u ca

ti o n

an d /o

r ca

re e r

d e ve

lo p m

e n t

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rc

in g

e co

n o m

ic d e p e n d e n ce

, p re

ve n ti n g

th e

vi ct

im fr

o m

ac ce

ss in

g fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s,

d e st

ro yi

n g

p ro

p e rt

y, re

st ri

ct in

g p ar

tn e rs

fr o m

at te

n d in

g sc

h o o l,

w o rk

in g,

ac ce

ss in

g an

y so

u rc

e o f

in d e p e n d e n t

in co

m e , d am

ag in

g o r

st e al

in g

p ro

p e rt

y, u si

n g

su p e ri

o r

w e al

th as

a w

e ap

o n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

N ag

as sa

r, R

. P .,

R aw

lin s,

J. M

., S am

p so

n , N

. R

., Z

ac k e ra

li, J. ,

C h an

k ad

ya l,

K .,

R am

as ir

, C

., an

d B

o o d ra

m , R

. (2

0 1 0 )

T ri

n id

ad H

o u se

h o ld

s 2 9 0

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

N o

m e as

u re

m e n t

in fo

rm at

io n

in cl

u d e d

1 )

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

2 )

N o t

va lid

at e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

T h e

w it h h o ld

in g

o r

d e p ri

va ti o n

o f fu

n d s

fo r

e ss

e n ti al

n e e d s,

ga m

b lin

g aw

ay th

e h o u se

k e e p in

g m

o n e y,

p u rp

o se

ly b u ild

in g

d e b ts

an d

se lli

n g

o f n e ce

ss ar

y h o u se

h o ld

it e m

s. 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

O u tl aw

, M

. (2

0 0 9 )

U S A

P h o n e

su rv

e y

1 1 ,2

9 1

W o m

e n

an d

m e n

w it h

p ar

tn e rs

S u b sa

m p le

o f n at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

.D ic

h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

as to

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n ts

’c u rr

e n t p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n ts

h im

/h e r

fr o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n w

h e n

s/ h e

as k s.

Q u e st

io n

o n

su rv

e y

ab o u t

p ro

h ib

it in

g w

o rk

o u ts

id e

th e

h o m

e w

as n o t

in cl

u d e d

in an

al ys

is as

au th

o r

st at

e s

th is

co u ld

b e

re p re

se n ta

ti ve

o f e it h e r

e co

n o m

ic o r

so ci

al ab

u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

Im p o se

d e co

n o m

ic d e p e n d e n ce

o f th

e ab

u se

d b y

th e

ab u se

r, p o ss

ib le

o u tr

ig h t

st e al

in g

b y

ab u se

r. A

b u se

r d e ci

d e s

w h e n

an d

if su

rv iv

o r

ge ts

m o n e y

e ve

n if

sh e

e ar

n s

it an

d h o w

m u ch

sh e

ge ts

. In

ad e q u at

e am

o u n t

o f m

o n e y

gi ve

n , su

rv iv

o r

h as

to as

k fo

r m

o re

, st

e al

o r

b o rr

o w

fr o m

o th

e rs

to m

e e t

b as

ic n e e d s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

P o o le

, C

., an

d R

ie ts

ch lin

, J.

(2 0 1 2 )

C an

ad a

P h o n e

su rv

e y

U n sp

e ci

fi e d

n u m

b e r

o f fe

m al

e an

d m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

o ve

r ag

e 6 0

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

d am

ag e s

o r

d e st

ro ys

yo u r

p o ss

e ss

io n s

o r

p ro

p e rt

y, an

d (2

) p re

ve n ts

yo u

fr o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

th e

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n if

yo u

as k .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

H u an

g, C

.C .,

S ty

lia n o u ,

A . M

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,3

0 5

M o th

e rs

in vo

lv e d

w it h

fa th

e rs

o f th

e ir

ch ild

re n

1 -y

e ar

p o st

b as

e lin

e S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o r.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) H

e w

it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y,

an d

(2 ) H

e tr

ie d

to p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l.

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

In cl

u d e s

e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l,

an d

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

272

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

P lu

m m

e r,

S .,

M cM

ah o n ,

S .,

M u rs

h id

, N

. S .,

an d

K im

, M

-S .

(2 0 1 2 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 2 0

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

-1 2

(S E A

-1 2 ; P o st

m u s

e t

al .,

2 0 1 6 ).

V al

id at

e d

re vi

si o n

o f th

e S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(S E A

;A d am

s e t al

., 2 0 0 8 ).

F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

- ty

p e

sc al

e ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ).

T w

e lv

e it e m

s co

m p ri

si n g

th re

e fa

ct o rs

n am

e d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l(

5 it e m

s) ,e

m p lo

ym e n t sa

b o ta

ge (4

it e m

s) , an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s) C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

D e fi n e d

as e ff o rt

s o f ab

u se

r to

m ak

e p ar

tn e r

e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t,

co n tr

o lin

g h e r

ab ili

ty to

b e co

m e

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n t,

ac co

m p lis

h e d

b y

m ai

n ta

in in

g co

m p le

te co

n tr

o l o ve

r m

o n e y

an d

o th

e r

e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s

b y

m ak

in g

al l fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s,

re d u ci

n g

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in m

o n e y,

an d /o

r b y

fo rc

in g

h e r

to re

ly o n

ab u se

r fo

r al

l o f fi n an

ci al

n e e d s.

T ac

ti cs

id e n ti fi e d

in cl

u d e

fo rm

s o f e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , co

e rc

e d

d e b t,

in st

it u ti o n al

b ar

ri e rs

to re

in fo

rc e

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e x p lo

it at

io n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

P lu

m m

e r,

S . B

., an

d S ty

lia n o u , A

. M

. (2

0 1 6 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 2 0

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

-1 2

(S E A

-1 2 ) d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

R e vi

si o n

o f th

e S ca

le o f

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(S E A

; A

d am

s e t

al .,

2 0 0 8 ).

F iv

e -

p o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ).

E x p lo

ra to

ry fa

ct o r

an al

ys is

re su

lt e d

in th

e 2 8 -i te

m S E A

b e in

g re

d u ce

d to

1 2

it e m

s co

m p ri

si n g

th re

e fa

ct o rs

n am

e d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

(5 it e m

s) , e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge (4

it e m

s) , an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s) C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

S tr

at e gi

e s

in cl

u d in

g e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n ,

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge th

at h in

d e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

an d

d am

ag e

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -e

ff ic

ac y.

T ac

ti cs

p re

ve n ti n g

w o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e ac

q u is

it io

n , p re

ve n ti n g

w o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e u se

, an

d e x p lo

it in

g w

o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

R ab

b an

i, F .,

Q u re

sh i,

F .,

an d

R iz

vi , N

. (2

0 0 8 )

P ak

is ta

n C

o m

m u n it y-

b as

e d

h e al

th an

d d e ve

lo p m

e n t

p ro

gr am

1 0 8

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

N o

in fo

rm at

io n

o n

sp e ci

fi c

m e as

u re

o r

se m

is tr

u ct

u re

d in

te rv

ie w

q u e st

io n s

u se

d . In

re su

lt s,

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

is re

fe rr

e d

to as

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l in

cl u d in

g: w

it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y

fr o m

vi ct

im ,r

e fu

si n g

to m

e e t h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s, st

e al

in g

va lu

ab le

as se

ts su

ch as

p e rs

o n al

je w

e lr

y, la

n d , an

d so

o n . U

n cl

e ar

w h e th

e r

th e se

w e re

p re

d e te

rm in

e d

ca te

go ri

e s

o r

if th

e y

w e re

q u al

it at

iv e

re sp

o n se

s th

at w

e re

q u an

ti fi e d

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

R o m

an s,

S . F o rt

e , T

., C

o h e n , M

. M

., D

u M

o n t,

J. , an

d H

ym an

, I.

(2 0 0 7 )

C an

ad a

P h o n e

su rv

e y

1 7 ,0

0 5

w o m

e n

an d

m e n

w it h

cu rr

e n t

o r

e x -p

ar tn

e r

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. D

ic h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

M e as

u re

d u si

n g

th e

fo llo

w in

g it e m

: “H

as yo

u r

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

th e

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n if

yo u

as k e d ?”

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

S ah

ra ia

n , A

., G

h an

iz ad

e h , A

., H

as h e m

i, S . H

., M

o h am

m ad

i, M

. R

., an

d A

h m

ad za

d e h , L . (2

0 1 5 )

Ir an

P sy

ch ia

tr ic

in p at

ie n t

p ro

gr am

2 0 9

w o m

e n

m ar

ri e d

to p sy

ch ia

tr ic

p at

ie n ts

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

st yl

e sc

al e , ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r to

al w

ay s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) n o t

gi vi

n g

m o n e y

fo r

th e

e x p e n se

s to

th e

w if e , (2

) co

n st

an t

co n tr

o l o ve

r h e r

e x p e n se

s, (3

) n o t

te lli

n g

h e r

ab o u t

h is

in co

m e , an

d 4 )

o p p o si

n g

to h e r

h av

in g

a jo

b C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

273

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

S an

d e rs

, C

. K

. (2

0 1 4 )

U S A

M at

ch e d

sa vi

n gs

p ro

gr am

fo r

IP V

su rv

iv o rs

1 2 5

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. M

e th

o d s

st at

e th

at “h

is to

ry o f e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

” w

as ga

th e re

d fr

o m

sh e lt e r

in ta

k e . N

o fu

rt h e r

d e ta

ils o n

m e as

u re

m e n t

o f co

n st

ru ct

o r

q u e st

io n s

u se

d C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

V ar

ie ty

o f ta

ct ic

s th

at n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

w o m

e n

fi n an

ci al

ly an

d u n d e rm

in e

e ff o rt

s to

b e co

m e

fi n an

ci al

ly in

d e p e n d e n t,

in cl

u d in

g b e h av

io rs

th at

re st

ri ct

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

p u rs

u e

e d u ca

ti o n

o r

ga in

o r

m ai

n ta

in e m

p lo

ym e n t.

A b u se

r al

so re

st ri

ct s,

m o n it o rs

, o r

co m

p le

te ly

co n tr

o ls

ac ce

ss to

fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

S e le

k , S .,

V u ra

l, M

., an

d C

ak m

ak , I.

(2 0 1 2 )

T u rk

e y

U n iv

e rs

it y

te ac

h in

g h o sp

it al

se tt

in g

9 6

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

e m

p lo

ye d

as n u rs

e s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

M o d if ie

d A

b u se

A ss

e ss

m e n t

S cr

e e n

Q u e st

io n n ai

re .

N o

sp e ci

fi c

d e ta

ils p ro

vi d e d

re ga

rd in

g m

e as

u re

m e n t

q u e st

io n s

in sc

re e n in

g to

o l re

la te

d to

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

D e sc

ri b e d

as “p

re ve

n ti o n

o f w

o rk

in g,

m ak

in g

m o n e y,

b u yi

n g,

se lli

n g

o r

se iz

u re

o f re

ve n u e s

o f so

m e o n e .”

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

S im

m o n s,

C . A

., L e h m

an n , P .,

an d

C o lli

e r-

T e n is

o n , S . (2

0 0 8 )

U S A

O ff e n d e rs

p ro

gr am

7 7

fe m

al e

IP V

p e rp

e tr

at o rs

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

2 ,1

3 5

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S e ve

n it e m

s fr

o m

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

su b sc

al e

in C

h e ck

lis t

o f C

o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

(C C

B ;

L e h m

an n , 1 9 9 8 ).

V al

id at

e d

8 4 -i te

m m

e as

u re

u se

d to

as se

ss fo

r co

e rc

iv e

co n tr

o l in

vi o le

n t

re la

ti o n sh

ip s.

F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

st yl

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r (1

) to

ve ry

fr e q u e n tl y

(5 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

n o t

al lo

w m

e e q u al

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily m

o n e y,

(2 )

to ld

m e

o r

ac te

d as

if it

w as

h is

m o n e y,

h is

h o u se

, h is

ca r,

an d

so o n , (3

) th

re at

e n e d

to w

it h h o ld

m o n e y

fr o m

m e , (4

) m

ad e

m e

as k

fo r

m o n e y

fo r

b as

ic n e ce

ss it ie

s, (5

) u se

d m

y fe

ar o f n o t

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

to co

n tr

o l

m y

b e h av

io r,

(6 ) m

ad e

m e

ac co

u n t fo

r th

e m

o n e y

I sp

e n t,

an d

(7 )

tr ie

d to

k e e p

m e

d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

fo r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 .

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 .

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 .

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

S to

ck l,

H .,

an d

P e n h al

e , B

. (2

0 1 5 )

G e rm

an y

C o m

m u n it y

re gi

st ra

ti o n

lis ts

1 0 ,2

6 3

w o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d

3 3 -q

u e st

io n

to o l th

at al

so ad

d re

ss e d

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

an d

co n tr

o lli

n g

b e h av

io r.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

co n tr

o ls

e x ac

tl y

h o w

m u ch

m o n e y

I sp

e n d

o n

w h at

, (2

) m

ak e s

m e

fe e l th

at I am

fi n an

ci al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

, an

d (3

) d o e s

n o t

le t

m e

d e ci

d e

ab o u t

m o n e y

o r

th in

gs I w

an t

to b u y

b y

m ys

e lf

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

274

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

S ty

lia n o u , A

. M

., P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

an d

M cM

ah o n , S . (2

0 1 3 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

4 5 7

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S E A

-1 2

(P o st

m u s,

P lu

m m

e r,

& S ty

lia n o u , 2 0 1 6 )

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h re

e su

b sc

al e s

n am

e d

E co

n o m

ic C

o n tr

o l (5

it e m

s— m

o n it o ri

n g/

re st

ri ct

in g

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

fr e e ly

u se

re so

u rc

e s)

, E m

p lo

ym e n t

S ab

o ta

ge (4

it e m

s— b lo

ck in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t

o r

re st

ri ct

in g

ab ili

ty to

o b ta

in re

so u rc

e s

vi a

e m

p lo

ym e n t)

, an

d E co

n o m

ic E x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s— d e p le

ti o n

o f fu

n d s

an d /o

r cr

e at

io n

o f d e b t

o r

ru in

in g

o f cr

e d it )

T w

o e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

q u e st

io n s

fr o m

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l ab

u se

su b sc

al e

o f va

lid at

e d

A b u si

ve B

e h av

io r

In d e x

(A B

I; S h e p ar

d &

C am

p b e ll,

1 9 9 2 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

h av

in g

m o n e y

fo r

yo u r

o w

n u se

an d

(2 )

p u t

yo u

o n

an al

lo w

an ce

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

U si

n g

m e an

s to

co n tr

o l su

rv iv

o r

th at

h in

d e r

h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

an d

d am

ag e

h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -e

ff ic

ac y.

D e sc

ri p ti o n

in cl

u d e s

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

fr o m

w o rk

in g,

h ar

as si

n g

h e r

at w

o rk

,r u in

in g

h e r

cr e d it

sc o re

,d e m

an d in

g th

at sh

e ac

co u n t

fo r

al l e x p e n se

s, m

ak in

g u n ila

te ra

l d e ci

si o n s.

T h e se

ac ti o n s

re su

lt in

w o m

e n

b e co

m in

g e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

p ar

tn e r

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

U m

, M

. Y

., K

im , H

. J. , an

d P al

in k as

, L .

A . (2

0 1 6 )

S o u th

K o re

a H

o u se

h o ld

s 1 8 0

e ve

r- m

ar ri

e d

re fu

ge e

w o m

e n

S n o w

b al

l sa

m p le

T h re

e it e m

s in

a va

lid at

e d , M

o d if ie

d C

o n fl ic

t T

ac ti cs

S ca

le . D

ic h o to

m iz

e d

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) m

y p ar

tn e r

d e p ri

ve d

m e

o f

m o n e y

to b u y

n e ce

ss it ie

s, (2

) m

y p ar

tn e r

d is

p o se

d o f p ro

p e rt

y w

it h o u t

m y

co n se

n t,

an d

(3 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

to o k

fu ll

co n tr

o l o f in

co m

e an

d e x p e n se

s C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

V o th

S ch

ra g,

R . J.

(2 0 1 5 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,7

7 7

m o th

e rs

w h o

w e re

al so

IP V

vi ct

im s

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o r.

M e as

u re

d d ic

h o to

m o u sl

y, w

it h

“s o m

e ti m

e s”

an d

“o ft

e n ”

as “y

e s.

” It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) H

o w

o ft

e n

d id

/d o e s

p ar

tn e r

tr y

to k e e p

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

o r

sc h o o l?

an d

(2 )

H o w

o ft

e n

d id

/d o e s

p ar

tn e r

w it h h o ld

m o n e y,

m ak

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y

o r

ta k e

yo u r

m o n e y?

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

T ac

ti cs

u se

d to

cr e at

e b ar

ri e rs

to e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty in

cl u d in

g d e st

ro yi

n g

cr e d it , st

e al

in g

fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s,

lim it in

g p ar

ti ci

p at

io n

in e co

n o m

ic d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g. A

d d it io

n al

ta ct

ic s

d e sc

ri b e d

in cl

u d e

sa b o ta

gi n g

e m

p lo

ym e n t;

m ak

in g

e co

n o m

ic th

re at

s; lim

it in

g, d e st

ro yi

n g,

an d

co n tr

o lli

n g

w o m

an ’s

ac ce

ss to

e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s;

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

p ar

ti ci

p at

io n

in e co

n o m

ic lif

e an

d d e ci

si o n s

o f th

e fa

m ily

; d e lib

e ra

te sa

b o ta

gi n g

o f

re so

u rc

e s;

d e st

ro yi

n g

cr e d it ; p re

ve n ti n g

ab ili

ty to

o b ta

in an

d m

ai n ta

in e m

p lo

ym e n t

o r

cr e d e n ti al

s, an

d st

e al

in g

m o n e y

o r

p ro

p e rt

y 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

W at

ts , C

., K

e o gh

, E .,

N d lo

vu , M

., an

d K

w ar

am b a,

R . (1

9 9 8 )

Z im

b ab

w e

H o u se

h o ld

s 9 6 6

w o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. D

e sc

ri b e d

o n

q u e st

io n n ai

re as

“b e in

g p re

ve n te

d fr

o m

go in

g to

w o rk

, th

ro w

n o u t

o f th

e h o m

e , n o t

gi ve

n av

ai la

b le

su p p o rt

m o n e y.

” N

o cl

e ar

in fo

rm at

io n

ab o u t

sp e ci

fi c

it e m

s u se

d to

m e as

u re

co n st

ru ct

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

275

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

W e av

e r,

T .,

S an

d e rs

,C .K

., C

am p b e ll,

C . L .,

an d

S ch

n ab

e l,

M . (2

0 0 9 )

U S A

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

1 1 3

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

D o m

e st

ic V

io le

n ce

– R

e la

te d

F in

an ci

al Is

su e s

S ca

le (D

V -F

I) d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

su b sc

al e

in cl

u d e d

th e

fo llo

w in

g it e m

s: (1

) cr

e d it

ca rd

d e b t

h as

p la

ye d

a ro

le in

m y

p re

vi o u s

e x p e ri

e n ce

s o f p ar

tn e r

vi o le

n ce

, (2

) m

y p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d m

e fr

o m

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y,

(3 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

e d

m y

cr e d it

ra ti n g,

(4 ) m

y p ar

tn e r

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

e d

m y

cr e d it

ca rd

d e b t,

(5 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d m

e fr

o m

o b ta

in in

g n e ce

ss ar

y sk

ill s

o r

e d u ca

ti o n

to o b ta

in ad

e q u at

e e m

p lo

ym e n t

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

T ac

ti cs

th at

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

w o m

e n

fi n an

ci al

ly an

d u n d e rm

in e

th e ir

e ff o rt

s to

b e co

m e

e co

n o m

ic al

ly in

d e p e n d e n t.

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d : re

st ri

ct in

g ac

ce ss

to m

o n e y,

co n tr

o lli

n g

o r

lim it in

g ab

ili ty

to p u rs

u e

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276

articles used quantitative measures to examine the construct of

economic abuse, while two articles using mixed methods did

not use a specific quantitative measure and presented descrip-

tive statistics based on quantified qualitative data. Of the arti-

cles that used a specific measure to capture economic abuse,

most used measures that covered all three constructs (n ¼ 17). This was followed by articles using measures covering both

economic control and economic exploitation (n ¼ 14), and then by articles using measures that only captured economic control

(n ¼ 6). Three articles used measures capturing both economic control and employment sabotage. One article used a measure

capturing economic exploitation and employment sabotage.

Three articles did not provide specific measurement informa-

tion. Overall, economic control received the most attention

across measures used in articles (n ¼ 40). This was followed by economic exploitation (n ¼ 32) and then employment sabo- tage (n ¼ 21).

Researchers quantified economic abuse in the following

ways: used a specific validated tool, included economic abuse

items within a broader IPV measurement tool, or identified

economic abuse through a number of questions not in any

measurement tool. Five articles used validated tools that spe-

cifically measured the construct of economic abuse. Two of

these articles used the SEA, which captures and explicitly

names the constructs of economic control and economic

exploitation. Two of these articles used the SEA-12, a revised

version of the SEA, which captures and names as such the

constructs of economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage.

A number of articles used general IPV measurement tools

that also included items that capture the construct of economic

abuse. In each case, these items were representative of a com-

bination of economic control, economic exploitation, and/or

employment sabotage but were not named as such. One of these

articles used the ABI Psychological Abuse subscale-12, in

which economic abuse was a subscale of psychological abuse,

capturing the construct of economic control. The Checklist of

Controlling Behaviors was used in two articles and included an

economic abuse subscale capturing economic control and eco-

nomic exploitation. The DV-FI was used in one article and

included a subscale for economic abuse that captured all three

constructs. Two articles used different revised versions of the

Conflict Tactics Scale, one covering the constructs of eco-

nomic control and economic exploitation, and the other cover-

ing the constructs of economic exploitation and employment

sabotage. One article used a modified form of the Abuse

Assessment Screen Questionnaire but did not provide detail

about the question(s) that addressed economic abuse. Two arti-

cles used the Controlling Behaviors Scale including items that

captured the constructs of economic control and employment

sabotage.

Some articles did not use specific tools to measure economic

abuse but instead included a series of items chosen by the

researchers to represent the construct. Five articles used only

1 item to measure economic abuse. The item in each of these

five articles captured economic control. Nine articles used a

series of 2 items to measure the overall construct. Five of these

articles used items that captured economic control and eco-

nomic exploitation. Four of these articles included items that

captured economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage. Six articles used a series of 3 items in

their measurement of economic abuse. One article captured

only economic control. Four articles included items that

addressed economic control and economic exploitation. One

article captured economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage in its 3-item measure. Four articles used

a series of 4 items to measure economic abuse, with one of

these articles focusing on economic control and employment

sabotage, and the other three focusing on economic control,

economic exploitation, and employment sabotage. One article

used a series of 5 items to measure the overall construct. This

measure included items that captured economic control, eco-

nomic exploitation, and employment sabotage.

Three articles did not state the individual items used in their

measure of economic abuse, but one article described charac-

teristics of the measure that captured economic control and

economic exploitation in the findings. The other two articles

captured the constructs of economic control, economic exploi-

tation, and employment sabotage. Four articles presented an

unclear picture of how economic abuse was measured. Two

of these articles stated that they used quantitative tools to mea-

sure economic abuse but provided no specific information on

the items or tools used. The other two articles presenting an

unclear picture used mixed methods in data collection and

analysis and provided descriptive statistics on quantified qua-

litative data; however, they did not provide details on any

specific quantitative measure used in data collection.

Discussion

This global review of the literature provides answers to our

research questions as to how researchers define and measure

economic or financial abuse when examining IPV. The review

resulted in a large number of peer-reviewed articles coming

from countries representing almost all of the continents

(excluding Antarctica). However, the number of articles iden-

tified (n ¼ 46) is considerably small in comparison to the number of articles that would likely be identified in a global

review focused on physical or sexual violence.

Our review suggests there is growing clarity and consistency

of terminologies being used in these articles, as well as evi-

dence that economic abuse can be conceptualized as a separate

category from emotional abuse. However, further clarity is

needed as to whether economic abuse and financial abuse are

the same phenomenon and are therefore interchangeable or if

they are different but related concepts in the context of IPV.

Most of the articles focused on the same aspects of economic

abuse including economic exploitation, economic control, and

employment sabotage. Yet it is reasonable to question whether

there are other aspects of economic or financial abuse that are

yet to be included in measures of these forms of abuse. Indeed,

further research is needed that is guided by the marital

Postmus et al. 277

dependence theory (Vyas & Watts, 2008) and the interdepen-

dence theory (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003) which suggest that

a survivor’s increased financial dependence on an partner

increases her risk for experiencing abuse. Thus, to better under-

stand how and to what extent survivors’ increased access to

economic resources might lead to increased independence from

abusive relationships, we might also need to learn about the

modes of financial entrapment that are used to restrict eco-

nomic resources beyond those included as part of any measure-

ment used. The limited number of specific questions addressing

economic or financial abuse included in large-scale surveys

may well influence our understanding of perpetrator strategies

simply because we ask respondents to identify a limited range

of abusive behaviors.

Additionally, our analysis identified studies that primarily,

but not exclusively, focused on females as victims of economic

abuse. A few studies included heterosexual, gay, and bisexual

male victims from different settings including college cam-

puses, prisons, general communities, HIV agencies, and

domestic violence agencies. More research is needed to deter-

mine whether economic abuse, like other forms of IPV, is a

gendered phenomenon as well as to determine the prevalence

of economic abuse with a wide range of samples that include

both genders and different sexual orientations as victims and

perpetrators.

Our review also identified some consistency in the use of

validated measures including the SEA with 28 items or the

shortened SEA-12 version with 12 items (see Appendix A for

these two measures). Although used more frequently in studies

in the United States, questions remain as to the use of these

scales in other countries or in other languages. It is also of

interest as to whether other distinct questions measuring eco-

nomic or financial abuse would be more culturally relevant in

Hong Kong, for example, than those found to measure the

construct in the United States. It is clear that gender does matter

when considering cultural differences in the definition and

manifestation of economic abuse. For example, in a Chinese

population study of sociodemographic factors in domestic vio-

lence, Cao, Yang, Wang, and Zhang (2014) stressed the impor-

tance of cultural context, pointing to the sharp division of

gender roles and responsibility for financial matters being the

province of male family members based on Confucian philo-

sophy. Hence, this cultural context fundamentally contributes

to gender inequality and particular behavioral forms of IPV.

Further testing is needed to determine the impact of cultural

and linguistic nuances, particularly in the administration of

surveys where there is no opportunity to clarify or reframe a

question. For example, the SEA-12 is currently being adminis-

tered in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand to

test its cultural utility.

Additionally, conceptual clarity is needed when considering

use of the terms financial and economic abuse with other spe-

cific population groups such as older people. We purposefully

removed articles about economic exploitation or abuse among

the elderly in nonintimate relationships since such abuse is not

entirely the same as IPV. Conceptually, it is important to

distinguish between IPV with older couples and elder abuse

where the perpetrator is not the survivor’s partner. This is

pertinent as some research has suggested that the “patterning”

of abuse may change over the length of the relationship, with

physical abuse decreasing and emotional, financial, and sexual

abuse increasing with age over time (Bows, 2015). Such abuse

by an intimate partner would be a fundamentally different phe-

nomenon to abuse occurring in older age from a family member

or caregiver. Further exploration is needed to better understand

the intersection between economic abuse that is perpetrated

within an intimate relationship and age, as well as potential

differences when perpetrated by extended family members and

caregivers.

This review, while thorough in its efforts to unearth as many

articles as possible, was narrowly focused on the measurement

of economic and financial abuse. This review may also not

have found all articles due to differences in terminology. Addi-

tionally, this review only captured English language articles;

there may be research on economic or financial abuse pub-

lished in other languages (e.g., Spanish or Mandarin). We only

included peer-reviewed articles with full or partial quantitative

focus; additional work is needed to examine the gray literature,

conceptual articles, and qualitative articles. Australia is an

example of a country where the work on economic abuse and

economic security is primarily funded by government and sub-

sequently appears in the gray literature as opposed to peer-

reviewed publications.

Finally, it would be useful to establish at what point and in

which contexts the gendered division of the management of

financial resources and economic opportunities in intimate

relationships actually becomes financial control and abuse.

There is literature (mostly in the financial realm) about the

difference between financial management (i.e., paying bills and

managing households) and financial control (i.e., making deci-

sions around how money is spent). However, less is known

about this difference in the context of IPV, or in varied cultural

contexts where gender role expectations may directly influence

what is understood as economic or financial abuse, or not.

Implications

This review of the peer-reviewed literature provides a frame-

work that IPV researchers should consider when studying,

naming, and measuring economic or financial abuse. Since this

research is in its “infancy,” there are some key strategies for

developing knowledge and evidence in the future. The emer-

ging framework presented includes three main categories of

tactics; in furthering research in this area, it is worth consider-

ing whether there are tactics of economic abuse that we have

yet to identify. For example, the development of digital tech-

nologies has increased the types of surveillance tactics that

perpetrators now employ as part of their coercive control; there

may be economic abuse tactics that are yet to be identified as

such. To strengthen the research, we need to have stronger

collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology.

Part of that collaborative effort is to consider how language and

278 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

cultural differences may play a part in our understanding of

economic or financial abuse. There is also a need to collect

prevalence data and to study the impact of economic abuse in

the short term AND long term for victims. Research is also

needed to better understand how perpetrators use economic

or financial abuse as part of their overall strategy to control

partners (Table 3)

Additionally, there is a need to focus on economic or finan-

cial abuse in practice settings. Such focus should include

ensuring that practitioners have the relevant knowledge and

skills for assessing and responding to economic abuse, devel-

oping and testing interventions that address economic or

financial abuse, and improving survivors’ economic security.

There is evidence suggesting that women may not always iden-

tify their experiences of financial control and abuse or distin-

guish these from their experience of gendered financial

management. Hence, it is crucial that advocates are clear of these

distinctions and work with women to make transparent the per-

petrator’s use of strategies and tactics of economic and financial

abuse. Several studies exist that evaluate economic empower-

ment programs or financial literacy programs (Postmus, Hetling,

& Hoge, 2015; Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007); however,

these studies are limited to the United States and are limited in

their scope of program materials. Further research is needed to

determine whether improving ones financial knowledge

decreases the impact of experiencing economic or financial

abuse as it does on improving survivors’ access to resources,

economic self-efficacy, or economic self-sufficiency.

Finally, economic abuse can cause severe material depriva-

tion for women and can prevent them from becoming econom-

ically secure and independent (Corrie, 2016). Economic abuse

most often results in a lack of financial resources making it

difficult to leave a violent relationship and providing the impetus

for some women to feel they have no choice but to return to that

relationship (McLaren, 2013). The theories of marital depen-

dency and interdependence (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003; Vyas

& Watts, 2008) could provide greater understanding into how

economic abuse is used by abusers to trap their partners in the

relationship. As with all manifestations of IPV, economic abuse

affects women from all socioeconomic groups and geographic

locations. However, there is no doubt that intersections of

vulnerability include disability, older people, indigeneity, and

certain cultural, racial, or ethnic backgrounds.

Appendix A

The Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) and the SEA-12

Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA).

Adams, A. E., Sullivan, C. M., Bybee, D., & Greeson, M. R.

(2008). Development of the scale of economic abuse.

Violence Against Women, 14, 563–588.

I’m going to go through a list of things some individuals do

to hurt their partner or ex-partner financially. Could you tell

me, to the best of your recollection, how frequently your part-

ner or ex-partner has done any of the following things in the last

12 months. Your answer can range from 1 to 5. 1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ hardly ever, 3 ¼ sometimes, 4 ¼ Often, 5 ¼ Quite often.

Scale of Economic Abuse-12 (SEA-12).

Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S. B., & Stylianou, A. M. (2016).

Measuring economic abuse in the lives of survivors:

Revising the scale of economic abuse. Violence Against

Women, 22, 692–703.

I’m going to go through a list of things some individuals do

to hurt their partner or ex-partner financially. Could you tell

Table 3. Implications.

For research Further clarity and refinement is needed to determine whether economic abuse and financial abuse are the same phenomenon and therefore are interchangeable or if they are different but related concepts in the context of IPV

Further testing of measurements are needed to determine if all aspects of economic or financial abuse are included in current measures

Further testing of the SEA or the SEA-12 is needed to determine if relevant for use in other countries and cultural contexts

Further clarity is needed to determine the impact that gender and gender roles around financial management play in our understanding of economic abuse

Greater clarity is needed when considering use of the terms financial and economic abuse with other specific population groups such as older people

Need stronger collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology

Need prevalence data Need to determine the patterns of impact of

economic abuse in the short term and long term for victims

Need to better understand how perpetrators use economic or financial abuse as part of their overall strategy to control partners during the relationship and after separation

For practice Greater focus on economic abuse and its continuing consequences for victims

Greater awareness of economic abuse is needed as victims may not always identify their experiences of financial control and abuse

Interventions are needed to address economic abuse and improve economic security

Practitioners and advocates in specialist IPV and mainstream human services should have knowledge and skills to assess and respond to economic abuse

Financial institutions and other relevant organizations be encouraged to continue to develop policies and practices that take account of women’s circumstances of economic abuse when they are seeking credit or paying for debts incurred

Jurisdictions should include economic or financial abuse in the legal definitions of IPV

Postmus et al. 279

me, to the best of your recollection, how frequently your

partner or ex-partner has done any of the following things

in the last 12 months. Your answer can range from 1 to 5.

1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ hardly ever, 3 ¼ sometimes, 4 ¼ often, 5 ¼ quite often.

Authors’ Note

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs is now affiliated to Surviving Economic Abuse in

London, UK.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The work

for this manuscript was funded by the Rutgers University, Rutgers

Global.

Notes

1. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women does not explicitly mention violence against

women (VAW) but general recommendations 12 and 19 that clar-

ify the convention includes VAW and makes detailed recommen-

dations to state parties.

2. The convention on preventing and combating VAW and domestic

violence (later known as the Istanbul Convention) was adopted by

the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on April 7, 2011.

Following its 10th ratification by Andorra on April 22, 2014, it

entered into force on August 1, 2014. Retrieved September 11,

2016, from https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchSer

vices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId¼090000168046031c

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Author Biographies

Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, is a professor at the School of Social

Work, Rutgers University. Her research is on physical, sexual, and

economic victimization experiences of women with her most recent

attention given to developing a violence against women research con-

sortium, funded by the National Institute of Justice (2016-MU-CX-

K011). She is also the director of the Center on Violence Against

Women & Children. She has given many local, national, and interna-

tional presentations on the impact of policies and interventions for

survivors of violence. Her work is strongly influenced from her 20

years as a practitioner and administrator.

Gretchen L. Hoge, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor of social

work at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL and a faculty affiliate at

the Center on Violence Against Women & Children at Rutgers Uni-

versity. Her research explores the experiences of immigrant survivors

of intimate partner violence in varied cultural contexts, as well as the

evaluation of policies and programs addressing gender-based violence

and the development of healthy relationships. She has experience

working in the areas of community outreach and education, policy

practice, and direct practice with survivors of intimate partner vio-

lence and their children.

Jan Breckenridge, PhD, is the deputy head of school (research) in the

School of Social Sciences at UNSW Sydney, Australia. She was

instrumental in the establishment of the gendered violence research

network (GVRN) at UNSW, is the co-convenor of the GVRN. She has

a commitment to action and other participatory strategies of research

engagement and has undertaken extensive work and research in the

areas of trauma, domestic and sexual violence and child abuse, and

gender justice. Her research provides a focus for her commitment to

developing evidence-informed practice in these areas.

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, PhD, is the founder and director of surviving

economic abuse, a nonprofit organization in the UK whose mission

is to raise awareness of economic abuse and build the capacity of those

who come into contact with victims and survivors to respond. She has

been working in the violence against women and girls sector since

2006. In 2016, she was made a winston churchill fellow and travelled

to the U.S. and Australia to explore innovative responses to economic

abuse.

Donna Chung, PhD, is a professor of social work and social policy at

Curtin University in Perth, Australia. She has been involved in social

work education and social research for over 20 years undertaking

various teaching, research and management roles within higher

education. Her research interests are primarily the areas of male vio-

lence against women, homelessness, gender and sexuality and social

policy. She has worked on various research projects in these areas and

provides advice and consultancy to governments on policies and pro-

grams in these areas.

Postmus et al. 283

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Articles/Postmes strengths appraoch article.pdf

Affilia Summer 2000Postmus

Analysis of the Family Violence Option: A Strengths Perspective

Judy L. Postmus

The Family Violence Option (FVO) provides exemptions from Tem- porary Assistance to Needy Families requirements to victims of domestic violence. This article examines the link between domestic violence and welfare and analyzes the FVO using the strengths per- spective. This perspective identifies women’s strengths and needs and the barriers they must overcome to become self-sufficient.

This article explores how domestic violence is linked to welfare and describes the Family Violence Option (FVO) (also known as the Wellstone-Murray Family Violence Amendment of 1996). It then analyzes the FVO using the strengths perspective (Kennedy-Chapin, 1995) to identify women’s strengths and needs and the barriers they must overcome to become self- sufficient. The article concludes with implications for social work practice and future research.

BACKGROUND

Each year, approximately 4 million women are victims of domestic violence by their boyfriends or husbands, and about 1 in 4 women is likely to be abused by a partner in her lifetime (Dwyer, Smokowski, Bricout, & Wodarski, 1995). Domestic vio- lence has been defined as a pattern of behavior in a relationship

AFFILIA, Vol. 15 No. 2, Summer 2000 244-258 © 2000 Sage Publications, Inc.

244

by which the batterer attempts to control his victim through a variety of tactics (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin, 1997; Bice- house & Hawker, 1995; Geffner, 1997; Register, 1993; Tieszen- Gary, 1991; Worrell & Remer, 1992). These tactics may include fear and intimidation, physical and/or sexual abuse, psycho- logical and emotional abuse, destruction of property and pets, isolation and imprisonment, economic abuse, and rigid expec- tations of sex roles (Register, 1993; Shepard, 1991; Tolman, 1992; Worrell & Remer, 1992).

During the 1960s and 1970s, the feminist movement exposed the issue of domestic violence through education and advocacy efforts that emphasized that battered women are not responsi- ble for the controlling behavior of their partners (Pagelow, 1992). Advocates for victims also worked diligently to develop and implement laws at the state and federal levels that held abusers accountable for their behavior.

Even with the increased services for victims and greater pub- lic awareness of the problem, few studies have identified what victims need to become self-sufficient (Tutty, 1996). Shube and Barbour (1984) found that women stay in abusive relationships because of economic hardship, love, children, their partners’ promises to change, fear, emotional dependence, or because they have nowhere else to go. Tutty (1996) concluded that women who choose to become self-sufficient face challenging problems with housing, employment, child care, and social support.

At the time that welfare reform was drafted, victim advo- cates and researchers were just beginning to study the relation- ship between welfare and domestic violence (Howell, 1997). Most earlier studies had relied on estimates of the extent of the problem from those who were working in the field (Raphael & Tolman, 1997). But with more public awareness of the problem and hence more accurate and greater reporting of cases, recent studies have demonstrated that victims include women of all ethnic backgrounds, family histories, educational levels, and socioeconomic levels; thus, victims are placed on the “deserv- ing” list of those who need and are entitled to assistance. With the prevailing public perception of welfare recipients as

Postmus 245

undeserving, advocates were hesitant to demonstrate a link between domestic violence and the receipt of welfare (Brand- wein, 1999). However, with the changes in welfare policies and the fear that abused women would be further victimized, advo- cates began to encourage research to demonstrate a link between welfare and violence.

Data from four studies revealed that 15% to 32% of the women on welfare experience domestic violence and that an additional 60% were abused in the past (Raphael & Tolman, 1997). Although each study used a different methodology, including surveys of welfare participants in neighborhoods, housing projects, or welfare offices, all the studies found con- sistent rates of prevalence of violence in the lives of welfare participants.

With welfare reform, battered women may have a difficult time meeting the stringent requirements of obtaining jobs and cooperating with child support enforcement personnel because of the ongoing abuse perpetrated by their partners. An abuser may sabotage a woman’s efforts to find a job or attend a job training or educational program in a number of ways, such as turning off her alarm clock so she will be late for work, cut- ting off her hair to cause her great embarrassment, inflicting visible injuries or creating conflicts before crucial events, and hiding or destroying her books, homework, or clothing (Raphael, 1996). After the woman finds work, her abuser may continue to sabotage her efforts by disrupting her transporta- tion or child care arrangements or harassing her at work (Ken- ney & Brown, 1996; Raphael, 1996; Shepard & Pence, 1988).

As a result of these ongoing, demeaning sabotage efforts, it is no wonder that battered women on welfare have a difficult time obtaining and keeping jobs. Over time, battered women demonstrate the effects of abuse through decreased self-esteem and confidence and the inability to focus on short-term or long-term goals (Kenney & Brown, 1996). Victims also suffer long-term physical effects, such as memory, vision, or hearing problems that inevitably lead them to drop out of job training or educational programs (Kenney & Brown, 1996; Raphael & Tolman, 1997). Other physical and emotional effects include

246 Affilia Summer 2000

depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, mental health problems, substance abuse, and physical disorders (Bar- nett et al., 1997; Browne, 1993; Carlson, 1991; Walker, 1993). If a woman is able to muster enough strength and financial resources to leave her abuser, she faces a possible escalation of violence (Tifft, 1993), stalking or harassment, and threats of her children being kidnapped or killed (Kenney & Brown, 1996).

In addition to flexibility with work requirements, battered women on welfare need flexibility with the requirement to cooperate with child support enforcement. Davies (1997a) identified several reasons why victims may be reluctant or refuse to give information about their children’s fathers. First, because battered women and their children often hide from their abusive partners for life-and-death reasons, providing information about them to the state may allow the abusers to gain the necessary information to locate their former victims and follow through on their threats to hurt or kill them and/or their children if the women try to collect child support. Second, the victims may be fearful that their abusers will attempt to gain custody of or kidnap the children. Third, if the fathers of their children are not the women’s current, abusive partners, the women may be afraid that their current partners will become jealous and more violent if the women identify the real fathers, who may want to be more involved with the children.

FAMILY VIOLENCE OPTION

With the growing evidence linking domestic violence and wel- fare, advocates insisted that battered women should be exempt from TANF’s stringent requirements. Senators Paul Wellstone (Democrat, MN) and Patti Murray (Democrat, WA) recognized the link and sponsored the FVO amendment (P. L. 104-193) to TANF, which was passed in 1996 (Brandwein, 1999). Given each state’s flexibility in determining its welfare policies and procedures, each state has the authority to determine whether to accept or modify the FVO, create a unique plan to meet the needs of domestic violence victims on welfare, or to reject any

Postmus 247

plan to waive requirements. As of May 1, 1999, 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had officially made the FVO part of their plans; 5 states had indicated their intention to adopt the FVO; 7 states had not adopted the FVO but had taken domestic violence into account in their plans; and 2 states had no plans to adopt the FVO or take domestic violence into con- sideration (Raphael & Haennicke, 1999).

The purpose of the FVO is to ensure that each state will screen and identify victims of domestic violence, maintaining their confidentiality, and then refer the victims to counseling and supportive services. At this time, TANF requirements (time limits, work requirements, residency requirements, fam- ily cap provisions, and/or cooperation with child support enforcement) can be waived because of current or past domes- tic violence. The intent of waiving some or all the requirements is to make it easier for current victims to escape domestic vio- lence, to avoid punishing women who have been victimized, and to avoid penalizing those who are at a further risk of domestic violence (P. L. 104-193, Sec. 402[a][7][iii]). The FVO defines victims as “battered or subject to extreme cruelty” (P. L. 104-193, Sec. 408[a][7][C][iii]), including real or threatened physical acts that may result in physical injury, sexual abuse, mental abuse, or neglect or deprivation of medical care.

THE STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE

For centuries, women have been oppressed and abused not only by their partners but by society through laws and policies that have been enacted to “protect women.” Despite these laws and policies, women have demonstrated strengths that have boosted them out of abuse and poverty and into safety and self-sufficiency for themselves and their children. Thus, strate- gies must be devised to build on these strengths and resilience as women continue to struggle for survival (Davis, 1994).

Traditionally, social welfare policy analysis begins by focus- ing on the problems of the poor and impoverished—a focus that has led society to blame the poor for being poor and punish

248 Affilia Summer 2000

the poor if they do not stop being poor. This attitude is clearly evident in TANF’s emphasis on personal responsibility and work requirements. With this attitude, battered women who seek welfare may be held responsible for stopping the violence in their lives (Davies, 1997b).

In contrast, the strengths perspective “is rooted in the belief that people can continue to grow and change and should have equal access to resources” (Kennedy-Chapin, 1995, p. 507). Rather than focus on the problems of poor battered women, it identifies women’s strengths and needs and the barriers they must overcome to become self-sufficient. The following sec- tions describe the key steps in analyzing the FVO from the strengths perspective.

Identifying Strengths

The first step is to identify strengths at the individual, welfare system, and community levels. Beginning with the individual, a better term to use to describe women who experience domes- tic violence is survivors, rather than victims. To survive domestic violence, a woman must have coping patterns that keep her and her children alive. Although these coping patterns may sometimes be perceived by society to be maladaptive, the woman still survived the insidious and ongoing pattern of abuse.

At the welfare level, frontline workers also have strengths, which enhance the effectiveness of the FVO. In Hagen and Owens-Manley’s (in press) qualitative study of the attitudes and perceptions of frontline workers, the workers expressed concern for the safety of women and their children and wanted to help those women who wanted to receive help.

Strengths can also be identified at the community level. Many communities have services to assist survivors of domes- tic violence in seeking safety from their abusive partners, and most communities have advocates of survivors who educate the public that domestic violence is a public, not a private, issue. Some communities have established coalitions of advo- cates and professionals from a variety of fields, such as health

Postmus 249

care, criminal justice, law enforcement, and community social services. These coalitions strive to make professionals who encounter survivors aware of and understand the issues related to domestic violence. At the state level, most states have been willing to adopt the FVO or some form of exemptions for survivors on welfare and to provide the necessary exemptions and referrals to help these women remain safe and self- sufficient.

Understanding Survivors’ Basic Needs

The second step is to identify and understand the basic needs of the population affected by the FVO. The primary need is for women to be aware of the domestic violence they have experi- enced and realize that they have survived it. Most survivors are so isolated that they often need supportive interventions to understand how domestic violence is affecting them. Welfare workers and professionals who come in contact with potential survivors may be the ones through whom these women can receive assistance. Once their consciousness is raised, survivors on welfare must become aware that the FVO exists and can help them.

With this new awareness of the dynamics of domestic vio- lence and the availability of the FVO, the survivor ’s basic need is empowerment. These survivors need the freedom and power to be able to make choices about their safety, sufficiency, and future. For survivors on welfare to achieve empowerment, safety, resources, and flexibility with TANF requirements must be provided.

Safety. The primary purpose of the FVO is to identify and screen welfare participants for domestic violence, but how are these women identified and screened? A survivor needs a non- judgmental, sensitive worker with whom she can openly and confidentially communicate deeply sensitive issues in a safe environment (Brandwein, 1999). She also needs to be believed once she divulges the abuse, and she needs to know that if cor- roborating evidence (a restraining order, medical reports, or

250 Affilia Summer 2000

police reports) is not available, her personal affidavit of her abuse is sufficient to qualify for exemptions.

Surveys of welfare offices have indicated that only a few women admit to having been abused when they apply for or receive TANF (Raphael & Haennicke, 1998). Some survivors do not report the abuse because they think they may be blamed or stigmatized for it. Others are afraid that acknowledging the abuse may trigger more violence from their partners if the information is not kept confidential. Others fear that welfare workers and helping professionals cannot provide nonjudg- mental services in a sensitive manner. Still others are afraid they will be denied benefits because of the presence of their partners or that their children may be taken from them because they are unable to protect their children from the violence (Howell, 1997; Raphael & Haennicke, 1998). To overcome these fears, survivors must be given the opportunity to learn about domestic violence and the FVO in a safe environment with non- judgmental workers.

Resources. Once a survivor feels safe to share her personal horrors and pain, she will need resources to achieve economic and emotional independence from both her abuser and the sys- tem. These resources may include temporary shelter for her and her children if she decides she is in danger if she remains at home, cash assistance, affordable housing after she leaves the temporary shelter, employment, and child care. Because eco- nomic abuse is one way that batterers control and intimidate their partners, survivors seldom have access to finances, even if they are employed and contribute to or support their families. Furthermore, survivors on welfare often have men in the pic- ture who control the families’ finances. Survivors often rely on additional funds from their partners because of insufficient cash assistance from TANF, and abusers may rely on the women’s TANF checks for their survival (Kenney & Brown, 1996). Despite economic abuse and insufficient TANF benefits, welfare and the FVO still provide the economic lifeline for sur- vivors in their attempts to escape abuse (Brandwein, 1999).

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Flexibility. Flexibility in complying with the stringent requirements of TANF is a crucial need for survivors on wel- fare. Survivors need flexibility with time limits to heal from the immediate and long-term effects of the abuse they endured and extra time and help to find and maintain jobs because it is diffi- cult for them to obtain employment (Raphael, 1995). They also need flexibility in cooperating with child support enforcement because of the danger they may face if they disclose informa- tion about their partners. With the flexibility provided by the FVO, protection from current and potential future abuse, and resources that afford the opportunity to become self-sufficient, empowerment becomes a reality for survivors.

Identifying Barriers to Self-Sufficiency

The third step is to identify the barriers to self-sufficiency at the individual, family, welfare system, and community levels. At the individual level, survivors may suffer long-term effects of abuse, including physical, emotional, psychological, and social problems. They may get caught in a vicious cycle of leaving and returning to their partners that often frustrates the profession- als who work with them and causes the professionals to become cynical and hence not to believe women’s stories of abuse (Davis & Carlson, 1981).

Barriers also occur at the family level. Partners continue to abuse and sabotage survivors’ efforts to become self-sufficient and may escalate their abuse to severe physical violence to maintain control. Children are often harmed emotionally as well as physically and may even blame their mothers for caus- ing the abuse or for breaking up their families. Furthermore, survivors typically become isolated from extended family members who may not know the abuse is occurring or may not understand why the women stay.

The welfare system and its workers also create barriers that interfere with the effectiveness of the FVO. Each state has had the enormous challenge of developing new welfare policies and procedures, including the FVO. With so many changes tak- ing place, both state administrators and especially frontline

252 Affilia Summer 2000

workers may be confused because of the lack of clear guidelines for providing services. In the past, welfare workers gathered the necessary information and determined applicants’ eligibil- ity (Hagen, 1987). Now workers may be expected to provide services, such as sensitive screening for domestic violence, and to perform case management activities without adequate edu- cation or training (Hagen & Wang, 1993).

Even if the procedures are clear, frontline workers are responsible for identifying women as survivors and then believing their stories. They have a great deal of discretion in deciding who qualifies for the FVO; many workers base their decisions on their experiences with welfare participants, the severity of the abuse, or whether children are involved (Hagen & Owens-Manley, in press). Others deny benefits because of their beliefs about women in abusive relationships or because they are skeptical of domestic violence reports, believing that women claim abuse to manipulate the system and remain on welfare (Hagen & Owens-Manley, in press). If their reports of abuse are not believed, survivors may choose to stay in their relationships rather than face welfare workers’ negative judg- ments of them (Davis & Carlson, 1981).

At the community level, although most communities have services for survivors, many service providers struggle with inadequate funding to meet the survivors’ extensive needs. Whereas some communities are struggling to provide basic ser- vices, others provide little or no services. In addition, some must grapple with professionals in all areas who blame the women for being abused.

Designing Creative Programs

The final step is to design creative programs at the individual, welfare system, and community levels to implement the FVO in the most effective manner.

Individual level. At the individual level, the first step in developing such programs is encouraging survivors to identify their strengths and needs and the barriers to fulfilling their

Postmus 253

needs. Such discussions can be held in groups in which the women share their experiences and come up with creative strategies for creating safe, nonjudgmental environments that may encourage other survivors to report their abuse. The groups, facilitated by social workers or advocates, may also identify tactics to meet the members’ employment needs, such as education and job training programs, and ways to thwart the abusers’ attempts to sabotage their efforts. Such groups are also an important step toward empowerment. Not only can the women express their thoughts and feelings about welfare poli- cies and the services they receive, but they can learn from, empower, and support each other and may eventually become a powerful force for influencing the development and imple- mentation of policies in the future.

Welfare-system level. At the welfare-system level, advocates can hold discussions with frontline workers whose opinions and ideas are usually not sought and who are required to enforce the mandates that come from above. Yet, these frontline workers often have keen insights into program designs that can be effective not only in improving their jobs but also in provid- ing needed services in a sensitive and humane fashion.

In addition, programs need to be devised to provide compre- hensive training for frontline workers in domestic violence (including the cycle of violence, why women stay in abusive relationships and why men batter, and planning to ensure women’s safety) and enable workers to understand domestic violence and be comfortable with the difficult issues. Workers should also be trained in procedures for screening potential survivors, referring survivors for services, and providing waiv- ers. Because of the intensity of the subject and the amount of training needed, some states are developing specialized domestic violence units or creating liaisons with highly trained and sensitive professionals who are capable of implementing the FVO (Raphael & Haennicke, 1998).

Furthermore, advocates should solicit ideas from adminis- trators and supervisors of local welfare offices, who can offer insights into the administrative realities of TANF, and help

254 Affilia Summer 2000

them provide clear, concise instructions that support the front- line workers in their jobs. Ideally, discussions should also be held among frontline workers, supervisors, and administra- tors; however, the infrastructure to encourage open communi- cation must be in place for workers to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with upper-level staff.

Some states have developed creative measures to assist in the implementation of the FVO (Raphael & Haennicke, 1998). In New England, states are joining together to develop uniform verification standards so that if one state verifies the existence of domestic violence, the survivor does not have to prove the abuse again in another state. Other states are developing men- toring projects and working in collaboration with on-site pro- viders of services for victims of domestic violence to provide comprehensive screening, referrals, and services (Pollack & Davis, 1997).

Community level. Finally, advocates must solicit ideas for creative program strategies from people in the community and professionals who work with survivors and welfare partici- pants. Through discussions with a broad range of advocates, professionals, representatives of corporations, and concerned citizens, formal and informal resources can be identified to meet the needs of survivors who are on welfare and provide support to welfare offices. These resources can include educa- tional and training programs for survivors and workers and employment opportunities for survivors.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

Analyzing the FVO using the strengths perspective encourages social workers, advocates, and policy makers to rethink how policy is formulated, implemented, and evaluated. For social workers, the challenge is to focus on the strengths instead of the pathologies of survivors by developing partnerships with them. These partnerships can help social workers gain a greater understanding of domestic violence and welfare and can

Postmus 255

empower both individual survivors and social workers. Social workers must then link individual survivors with each other and other advocates to raise their consciousness as a group so they can become effective advocates for change in policies and procedures to provide effective and sensitive services to survi- vors on welfare.

In addition, research on the FVO using the strengths per- spective is needed in every state that adopts some form of the FVO to evaluate the delivery and outcomes of services and to keep track of the number of women who claim FVO waivers because of current or past abuse. Continued research is needed as well to evaluate TANF and demonstrate the links between welfare and domestic violence and the impact of TANF on women. Furthermore, studies are needed to gain a clearer understanding of the process by which women choose to leave their abusive partners and become self-sufficient and to under- stand why men batter women and the factors and resources that men need to stop their abuse. Finally, research is needed to evaluate the short-term and long-term impacts of TANF and the FVO on children.

The strengths-perspective research designs must include the perceptions and ideas of those affected most by the FVO and TANF, namely, welfare participants and frontline workers as well as welfare administrators and members of the community. Thus, analyses of the FVO using the strengths perspective can result in creative program designs to meet the needs not only of welfare participants, but of welfare workers and communities. In addition, through the collaboration of everyone involved— from policy analysts to researchers to helping professionals to the participants themselves—women can become empowered to achieve self-sufficiency and to provide safety for themselves and their children.

REFERENCES

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Bicehouse, T., & Hawker, L. (1995). Domestic violence: Myths and safety issues. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 13, 83-92.

Brandwein, R. A. (1999). Battered women, children and welfare reform: The ties that bind. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Browne, A. (1993). Violence against women by male partners: Prevalence, outcomes, and policy implications. American Psychologist, 48, 1077-1087.

Carlson, B. E. (1991). Domestic violence. In A. Gitterman (Ed.), Handbook of social work practice with vulnerable populations (pp. 471-502). New York: Columbia University Press.

Davies, J. (1997a). The new welfare law: Child support enforcement (Welfare and Domestic Violence Series No. 3). Harrisburg, PA: National Resource Cen- ter on Domestic Violence.

Davies, J. (1997b). The new welfare law: State implementation and use of the Family Violence Option (Welfare and Domestic Violence Series, No. 2). Harrisburg, PA: National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

Davis, L. V. (1994). Why we still need a woman’s agenda for social work. In L. V. Davis (Ed.), Building on women’s strengths: A social work agenda for the twenty-first century (pp. 1-25). New York: Haworth Press.

Davis, L., & Carlson, B. (1981). Attitudes of service providers toward domes- tic violence. Social Work, 26, 34-39.

Dwyer, D., Smokowski, P., Bricout, J., & Wodarski, J. (1995). Domestic vio- lence research: Theoretical and practice implications for social work. Clini- cal Social Work Journal, 23, 185-197.

Geffner, R. (1997). Family violence: Current issues, interventions, and research. In R. Geffner, S. B. Sorenson, & P. K. Lundberg-Love (Eds.), Vio- lence and sexual abuse at home (pp. 1-25). New York: Haworth Press.

Hagen, J. (1987). Income maintenance workers: Technicians or service provid- ers? Social Service Review, 71, 261-271.

Hagen, J., & Owens-Manley, J. (in press). Issues in implementing TANF in New York: The perspective of front-line workers. Social Work.

Hagen, J., & Wang, L. (1993). Roles and functions of public welfare workers. Administration in Social Work, 17, 81-103.

Howell, S. L. (1997). How will battered women fare under the new welfare reform? Berkeley Women’s Law Journal, 12, 140-150.

Kennedy-Chapin, R. (1995). Social policy development: The strengths per- spective. Social Work, 40, 506-514.

Kenney, C. T., & Brown, K. R. (1996). Report from the front lines: The impact of vio- lence on poor women. New York: NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Pagelow, M. D. (1992). Adult victims of domestic violence: Battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 87-120.

Pollack, W., & Davis, M. F. (1997). The Family Violence Option of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996: Inter- pretation and implementation. Clearinghouse Review, 30, 1079-1098.

Raphael, J. (1995). Domestic violence: Telling the untold welfare-to-work story. Chi- cago: Taylor Institute.

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Raphael, J., & Haennicke, S. (1998). The family violence option: An early assess- ment [On-line]. Available: http://www.ssw.umich.edu/trapped/ marti.pdf

Raphael, J., & Haennicke, S. (1999). Keeping battered women safe through the welfare-to-work journey: How are we doing? Chicago: Taylor Institute.

Raphael, J., & Tolman, R. M. (1997). New evidence documenting the relationship between domestic violence and welfare: A research compilation from the Project for Research on Welfare, Work, and Domestic Violence [On-line]. Available: http://www.ssw.umich.edu/trapped/publications

Register, E. (1993). Feminism and recovering from battering: Working with the individual woman. In M. Hansen & M. Harway (Eds.), Battering and family therapy: A feminist perspective (pp. 93-104). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Shepard, M. (1991). Feminist practice principles for social work intervention in wife abuse. Affilia, 6, 87-93.

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Tieszen-Gary, L. (1991). Feminist practice and family violence. In M. Bricker- Jenkins, N. Hooyman, & N. Gottlieb (Eds.), Feminist social work practice in clinical settings (pp. 19-32). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Tifft, L. L. (1993). Battering of women: The failure of intervention and the case for prevention. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Tolman, R. M. (1992). Psychological abuse of women. In R. T. Ammerman & M. Heren (Eds.), Assessment of family violence: A clinical and legal sourcebook (pp. 291-310). New York: John Wiley.

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Judy L. Postmus, M.S.W., is a doctoral student at the School of Social Wel- fare, University at Albany, State University of New York, 135 Western Ave- nue, Albany, NY 12222; e-mail: [email protected].

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Articles/Postmus et al, 2016, Measuring Economic Abuse in the Lives of Survivors-Revising the Scale of Economic Abuse.pdf

Violence Against Women 2016, Vol. 22(6) 692 –703

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Article

Measuring Economic Abuse in the Lives of Survivors: Revising the Scale of Economic Abuse

Judy L. Postmus1, Sara-Beth Plummer2, and Amanda M. Stylianou3

Abstract Recent attention has been given by researchers to understanding how abusers use economic abuse strategies. Unfortunately, limited measures are available to accurately understand the prevalence of economic abuse in the lives of survivors. Recently, researchers created the 28-item Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) but further validation is needed. This article describes the psychometric evaluation of the SEA through confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses using data collected with 120 survivors of abuse. The findings provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the SEA-12 as a shorter instrument to measure economic abuse as a distinct form of abuse.

Keywords economic abuse, intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes a variety of strategies an abuser uses over time to coercively control an intimate partner. Research and practice in the field have identified such strategies to include physical and sexual assault, psychological badger- ing, emotional blackmail, isolation tactics, and threats to harm the children. Recent

1Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 2Social Work Program, Walden University, USA 3Research & Program Development, Safe Horizon, New York, USA

Corresponding Author: Judy L. Postmus, Center on Violence Against Women & Children, School of Social Work, Rutgers University, 390 George Street, Suite 408, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Email: [email protected]

610012VAWXXX10.1177/1077801215610012Violence Against WomenPostmus et al. research-article2015

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attention has been given by researchers to understanding how abusers employ eco- nomic abuse strategies to control their partner. Such strategies may include economic exploitation and economically controlling behaviors as well as employment sabotage (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). Unfortunately, limited measures are available to accurately understand the prevalence or impact of economic abuse in the lives of survivors. Only recently did researchers create the Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA; Adams et al., 2008) but further validation is needed. This article addresses this need by describing the psychometric evaluation of the SEA using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) from data collected with survivors of abuse.

Measuring Economic Abuse

The impact from physical, sexual, and psychological assaults has long been docu- mented by researchers as tactics used by perpetrators to gain power and control over the victim. These forms of abuse are frequently identified and understood by research- ers and practitioners. However, in addition to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, an abuser may also use economic abuse as a tactic to control his1 partner. These tactics may include hindering economic self-sufficiency and damaging her economic self-efficacy (Adams et al., 2008; Fawole, 2008; Postmus et al., 2012). For example, he may discourage or prevent her from working, harass and disrupt her at work, pur- posively ruin her credit score, demand to know how money was spent, spend money that was designated for bills, or make important financial decisions without seeking input from his partner (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012; Raphael, 1999; Tolman & Rosen, 2001). Indeed, women who are forced to become economically dependent on their partner are at greater risk of being further abused and are less likely to leave the relationship (Sanders & Schnabel, 2006; Strube, 1988; Turner & Shapiro, 1986; Zorza, 1991).

Most of what is known about economic abuse comes from one or two questions included in larger studies that focus on physical or psychological IPV. For example, using data from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), one recent paper focused on identifying non-physical abuse experiences, including economic abuse, by conducting a secondary analysis of the data (Outlaw, 2009). Economic abuse was measured as one dichotomous question that asked if the respondents’ “current partner prevents him/her from knowing about or having access to family income, even when (she/he) asks.” The results indicated that economic abuse was a rare phenome- non, occurring even less than physical abuse. The results also indicated that women experienced more economic abuse and physical abuse than men; additionally, the risk of experiencing physical abuse among those who also experienced economic abuse was 4.68 times greater than those who did not experience economic abuse (Outlaw, 2009). Unfortunately, the NVAWS only had one question on economic abuse, making the results from this study suspect.

Other measures that have a few items on economic abuse include the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Shepard & Campbell, 1992), the Psychological Maltreatment

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of Women Inventory (PMWI; Tolman, 1989), the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA; Sullivan, Parisian, & Davidson, 1991), the abuse questions used by the Safer and Stronger Program (SSP; Curry et al., 2009), and the Domestic Violence–Related Financial Issues Scale (DV-FI; Weaver, Sanders, Campbell, & Schnabel, 2009). The ABI is a 30-item survey that includes two subscales measuring physical and psychological abusive behaviors. Only two items focus exclusively on economic abuse (“prevented you from having money for your own use” and “put you on an allowance”); two other items allude to economic abuse but are blended with other psychological tactics (“checked up on you” and “tried to stop you from going to work or school”). The long form of the PMWI includes 58 items with five items specifically focused on economic abuse; however, the short form of PMWI only retained one item on economic abuse (my partner used our money or made important financial decisions without talking to me about it). The ISA, a 33-item scale that measures the degree perpetrators ridicule, harass, criticize, or emotionally withdraw, only includes one item on economic abuse (tried to control your money). The SSP developed measures of abuse among women with dis- abilities. Only one question that asked about multiple forms of economic control was included (“In the last year, has anyone you know . . . stolen money, important items, or equipment? Signed your checks to take money from you? Used your credit or debit card without your OK?”) However, the respondent was asked to give only one yes or no answer to this multi-faceted question. Finally, the DV-FI included a subscale on eco- nomic abuse as part of an overall evaluation of financial issues facing survivors. Although this subscale expanded the definition of economic abuse when compared with the other previous scales, it too was limited to only five items that primarily focused on credit card debt and credit rating (three items). The remaining items (“My partner prevented me from having access to money” and “My partner prevented me from obtaining necessary skills or education to obtain adequate employment”) are narrowly defined and might miss the nuances of the different types of economic abuse strategies abusers use.

Measuring economic abuse has only recently garnered the attention of researchers, specifically with the creation of the SEA (Adams et al., 2008). This measurement was created from several sources including the existing anecdotal and empirical research as well as from interviews with advocates and IPV survivors. Several economic abuse concepts were identified including (a) preventing women’s resource acquisition, (b) preventing women’s resource use, and (c) exploiting women’s resources. Such con- cepts provided background for the 120-item scale with Likert-type answers ranging from 1-5. The authors then tested this scale with 103 survivors receiving services from domestic violence organizations. Their analyses resulted in a final SEA of 28 items and two subscales including Economic Exploitation (11 items) and Economic Control (17 items). The total SEA had a reliability coefficient of .93; the two subscales also showed good internal consistency with alpha coefficients ranging from .91 (Economic Control) to .89 (Economic Exploitation; Adams et al., 2008).

Although the authors condensed their 120-item scale to 28 items, their SEA is still lengthy when conducting interviews with survivors whether for research or for prac- tice, especially if other measures are used for physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. In addition, the testing of the SEA was done with a limited, purposive sample of 103

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survivors. Further testing is needed to determine if similar results can be replicated. Hence, the purpose of this article is to test the factor structure of the SEA and to reduce the number of items in the scale. We first present the results from a CFA that tested the original two-factor structure of the SEA (Adams et al., 2008). Due to its poor fit, we subsequently conducted an EFA of the SEA using data collected from 120 survivors from 15 domestic violence organizations across 10 states who were participating in an economic empowerment program. Lastly, we tested the convergent validity of the revised SEA scale by correlating the revised scale with other forms of abuse to deter- mine whether it was a distinct form of abuse.

Method

This study is part of a longitudinal, exploratory study evaluating the impact of the Moving Ahead Through Financial Management financial literacy program. This pro- gram was created by the Allstate Foundation in partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) and was implemented with IPV survivors in domestic violence shelters and advocacy organizations across the United States. The curriculum was created to help survivors identify the signs of economic abuse and its impact, increase their knowledge of financial issues, enhance their ability to manage their finances, and obtain the confidence they need to rebuild their financial lives (http://www.clicktoempower.org).

Potential participants were recruited from 15 domestic violence programs who had obtained grants to introduce the Moving Ahead Through Financial Management cur- riculum to their clientele/consumers. Advocates were asked to distribute flyers to those individuals who had attended either group or individual sessions that included content from this curriculum. Individuals at each site were invited to participate in the evaluation if they (a) were a current victim or survivor of abuse, (b) were 18 years or older, and (c) had attended at least one individual or group session during which the economic empowerment curriculum information had been shared.

Individuals who expressed interest in participating in the study completed a contact sheet that requested personal information, including phone numbers and email addresses. Once completed, the sheets were collected by the advocates in each domes- tic violence agency and mailed to the research team using a self-addressed stamped envelope. One of the research team members then contacted the individual to set up the interview date. The research team members had multiple years of experience working with survivors and were trained on the research protocol. Precautions were taken to ensure all contact with survivors was conducted in a safe and sensitive man- ner. All data collection procedures and forms for this study (i.e., survey, contact sheet) were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Sample

One hundred and twenty-one survivors of IPV participated in this study (120 female, 1 male). The data collected from the lone male participant were removed. The mean age of the female participants was 39 years (SD = 11.5 years), with 55% Caucasian,

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20% African American, 18% Latina/Hispanic, and almost 8% identified as “Other” (i.e., bi-racial, Native American, unspecified). Almost half (49%) reported a yearly income between US$0 and US$10,000, and 26% earned an income between US$15,001 and US$25,000, whereas only 4% reported a salary of US$35,000 or more. Many of the participants had either completed high school (31%) or had some college educa- tion (38%). Sixty-five percent of the participants were employed; 71% were working full-time jobs and 29% worked part-time. The majority of the respondents (60%) had received less than 12 months of services from the domestic violence organization and 23% had received advocacy and/or counseling services for more than 2 years.

Measures

The survey instrument was comprised of several validated or revised scales that mea- sured a number of variables. For this article, the measures used included the SEA, the ABI, and several questions on demographic variables including age, gender, ethnicity, level of income, and education.

Economic abuse. The SEA (Adams et al., 2008) is a 28-item scale that identifies the fre- quency of economic abuse participants experienced in their relationships. Participants were asked to rate how often a partner had exhibited financially abusive behaviors since the relationship began. Participants indicated such frequency using a 5-point scale with answers ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (quite often). The SEA includes two subscales includ- ing (a) the Economic Control subscale (17 items) and (b) the Economic Exploitation subscale (11 items; Adams et al., 2008). Each subscale in this study demonstrated high internal reliability (Economic Control, α = 94 and Economic Exploitation, α = .92). Table 1 identifies the mean of the responses to the original SEA, divided by the two subscales.

IPV. IPV was assessed using a modified version of the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Shepard & Campbell, 1992). The original ABI includes 30 items and two subscales, Physical Abuse (10 items) and Psychological Abuse (20 items). For the current study, one item from the Physical and four items from the Psychological subscales were eliminated by the research team and community partners since these items were redundant and already captured in the economic abuse scale. Participants were asked to indicate how often a partner had committed specific abusive acts over the last year, or, if they were no longer with the partner, within the last year of their relationship. The survey used a 5-point scale with answers ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The ABI has exhibited good reliability and construct validity in previous studies (Postmus & Severson, 2006; Shepard & Campbell, 1992). Both subscales in this study demonstrated good internal reliability in the current sample (Physical Abuse, α = .91 and Psychological Abuse, α = .93).

Data Collection

For the larger study, face-to-face interviews lasted approximately 1 hr and covered a wide range of measures including the SEA and the ABI. These interviews were con- ducted at various locations including the domestic violence agencies and local

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Table 1. Means and Percentages for the SEA.

Item M %

Economic Exploitation (11 items) 1. Convince you to lend him money but not pay it back. 3.13 72.5 2. Take money from your purse, wallet, or bank account without your

permission and/or knowledge. 3.00 72.5

3. Pay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or in both of your names.

3.11 71.2

4. Spend the money you needed for rent or other bills. 2.99 69.4 5. Force you to give him money or let him use your checkbook, ATM

card, or credit card. 2.92 68.3

6. Steal your property. 2.75 64.5 7. Refuse to get a job so you had to support your family alone. 2.87 64.2 8. Build up debt under your name by doing things like use your credit

card or run up the phone bill. 2.76 58.8

9. Have you ask your family or friends for money but not let you pay them back.

2.37 52.5

10. Gamble with your money or your shared money. 2.23 50.0 11. Pawn your property or your shared property. 2.30 47.9 Overall M = 2.77 Economic Control (17 items) 12. Demand to know how money was spent. 3.68 88.3 13. Decide how you could spend money rather than letting you spend it

how you saw fit. 3.61 87.5

14. Do things to keep you from having money of your own. 3.63 86.8 15. Make important financial decisions without talking with you about it

first. 3.51 82.6

16. Keep you from having the money you needed to buy food, clothes or other necessities.

3.35 77.7

17. Hide money so that you could not find it. 3.53 77.1 18. Keep financial information from you. 3.33 76.9 19. Make you ask him for money. 3.36 74.4 20. Demand that you give him receipts and/or change when you spent

money. 3.13 72.5

21. Do things to keep you from going to your job 2.75 68 22. Demand that you quit your job. 2.57 59.3 23. Threaten you to make you leave work. 2.42 59.3 24. Take your paycheck, financial aid check, tax refund check,disability

payment or other support payments from you. 2.63 58.3

25. Threaten you or beat you up for paying the bills or buying things that were needed.

2.35 55.8

26. Steal the car keys or take the car so you couldn’t go look for a job or go to a job interview.

2.33 52.5

27. Keep you from having access to your bank accounts. 2.14 44.9 28. Beat you up if you said you needed to go to work. 1.77 31.6 Overall M = 2.96

Note. Scale of 1-5. Percentage column includes those who reported the abuse never (1), hardly ever (2), sometimes (3), often (4), or quite often (5) occurred. SEA = Scale of Economic Abuse.

698 Violence Against Women 22(6)

libraries. The instrument was available in both paper and online format through Zoomerang©, a web-based survey tool. During the interview, the researcher asked the women all of the questions. Answers were either typed into the computer or were writ- ten on the paper survey. The choice of who typed or wrote the answer rested with the participant; almost all asked the researcher to complete the form. All the participants signed IRB approved consent forms prior to beginning the interview. A US$25 gift card was provided for participation in the evaluation, with additional incentives of US$35 and US$50 promised for subsequent interviews.

Data Analysis

The goal of this article was to reduce the number of items in the SEA and to determine its underlying factor structure. To do so, the analysis was conducted in three phases.

Phase 1 was a CFA of the original SEA to determine whether or not the two sub- scales found by Adams et al. (2008) fit the data of this sample. Amos 19.0 was used to test this confirmatory factor model. Chi-square statistics as well as the comparative fit index (CFI), the incremental fit index (IFI), and the root mean square error of approxi- mation (RMSEA) were used as model fit indices (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Ideally a good fit would include a non-significant chi-square, CFI, and IFI values of .90 or higher, and an RMSEA of .05 or lower (Bryne, 2001; Hu & Bentler, 1999).

In Phase 2, we conducted an EFA to reduce the number of items and re-examine the factor structure. This phase included an item selection phase in which missing data were reviewed using SPSS Missing Value Analysis. The Missing Value Analysis showed that missing values were less than 3.5% across all variables. Little’s chi-square indicated that missing was completely at random (p = .07) so that pairwise deletion of cases was chosen for further analysis. We then performed the EFA through a series of principal component analyses with no rotation, followed by a series of principal axis factor analyses with varimax rotation. At last, a series of principal axis factor analyses with oblimin rotation was conducted (Worthington & Whittaker, 2006).

Phase 3 was the validation phase in which correlation analyses between the revised SEA and the ABI were used to examine the convergent validity. The ABI was utilized as economic abuse is hypothesized to be moderately correlated with other forms of abuse (Adams et al., 2008).

Results

Phase 1: CFA

The CFA was conducted to test the fit of Adams et al.’s (2008) two-factor structure of the SEA. When the two-factor structure was tested with our data, the results indicated a poor fit, χ2(349) = 930.186, p = .001, CFI = .740, IFI = .747, RMSEA = .118.

Phase 2: EFA

After running the EFA to reduce the number of items in the SEA, a three-factor solution was accepted, utilizing 12 of the original 28 items (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin [KMO] = .833),

Postmus et al. 699

χ2(66) = 872.783, p < .001). The combined three factors accounted for 65.78% of the total variance. The three factors were reviewed for common underlying themes and variable names were assigned accordingly. Items included in the three factors are pre- sented in Table 2.

The first factor was named Economic Control (M = 3.40, SD = 1.26) and contains five items that capture the concept of economic control and restriction. The five items represent the abuser’s propensity to monitor and restrict the woman’s ability to freely use resources in her life. Some examples include, “make you ask for money” or “demand to know how money was spent.”

The second factor or theme, Employment Sabotage (M = 2.36, SD = 1.21), is com- prised of four variables that address access to employment opportunities. All of the items suggest the abuser is restricting the woman’s ability to obtain her own resources through employment. Some examples include, “demand that you quit your job” or “do things to keep you from going to your job.”

The third factor, Economic Exploitation (M = 2.95, SD = 1.49), contains three items in which the abuser either depletes their existing funds and/or commits certain acts that will either create debt for the woman, or ruin her credit. Some examples include, “spend the money you need for rent or other bills” or “build up debt under your name.”

Phase 3: Reliability and Validity of SEA-12

The internal consistency of the SEA-12 was assessed by examining the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and item-total correlations of the total scale and each of the three sub- scales. The total SEA-12 had a reliability coefficient of .89, with corrected item-total correlations ranging from .52-.68. The Economic Control, Employment Sabotage, and Economic Exploitation subscales also showed good internal consistency, with alpha coefficients of .87, .86, and .89, respectively. The corrected item-total correlations of the Economic Control subscale ranged from .66-.74, for the Employment Sabotage subscale from .63-.82, and for the Economic Exploitation subscale from .78-.82.

Correlation and regression analyses were then used to examine the construct valid- ity of the SEA-12. Table 3 depicts the correlations among the three subscales of the SEA-12 along with the measure of abusive behavior (ABI) and its subscales. The SEA-12 was positively correlated with the ABI (r = .775, p < .01) indicating that higher levels of economic abuse are significantly related to higher levels of physical and psychological abuse. The correlations between the three SEA-12 subscales and the ABI were also positively correlated. The Economic Control subscale was posi- tively correlated with the ABI (r = .630, p < .01) indicating that the more abuse that a woman experienced, the more her partner controlled her access to and use of economic resources. The positive correlation between the Employment Sabotage subscale and the ABI (r = .737, p < .01) suggests that a victim who experiences high levels of abuse also experiences high levels of employment sabotage. Finally, the Economic Exploitation subscale and the ABI were positively correlated (r = .461, p < .01) indi- cating again that women who experience high levels of abuse also experience high levels of economic exploitation. Although the correlations between the three subscales

700 Violence Against Women 22(6)

of economic abuse were positively correlated, they were of only moderate strength (ranging from .431-.479). This provides possible evidence that the three subscales of economic abuse are unique constructs. In addition, there are positive correlations between the three subscales of economic abuse and the subscales of physical and psy- chological abuse from the ABI but also of only moderate strength (ranging from .343- .679) suggesting that economic abuse is a unique form of abuse separate from psychological and physical abuse.

Discussion

The findings of this study provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the SEA- 12 as a short instrument to measure economic abuse as a distinct form of abuse. Whereas the original SEA included 28 items with two subscales, the SEA-12 includes 12 items with three subscales including five items capturing behaviors that control a woman’s access to and use of resources, four items that measure behaviors that restrict a woman’s ability to work or attend school, and three items that measure economically

Table 2. Pattern Matrix Rotated to Oblimin Criterion.

Item

Factor 1: Economic Control

Factor 2: Employment

Sabotage

Factor 3: Economic

Exploitation

Make you ask him for money .765 .127 .150 Demand to know how money was spent .732 .077 −.058 Demand that you give him receipts and/or

change when you spend money .776 .058 .001

Keep financial information from you .803 −.090 −.071 Make important financial decisions without

talking to you first .709 −.097 −.154

Threaten you to make you leave work −.129 .950 −.089 Demand that you quit your job .008 .820 −.005 Beat you up if you said you needed to go to

work .057 .667 −.001

Do things to keep you from going to your job .100 .656 −.003 Spend the money you need for rent or other

bills .090 .125 −.740

Pay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or both of your names

−.035 .021 −.917

Build up debt under your name by doing things like use your credit card or run up the phone bill

.039 −.010 −.834

% of variance 44.1% 12.1% 9.6%

Note. Percentage variance is post-rotation. Shading identifies the items or questions belonging to each factor. Hence, the first five items make up Factor 1; the next four items make up Factor 2; and the last three items make up Factor 3.

Postmus et al. 701

exploitive behaviors. Within this sample, these three dimensions were fully distinct and moderately correlated with experiences of physical and psychological abuse. The SEA-12 can be a useful tool to quickly assess a victim’s experience of economic abuse.

This study also demonstrated the importance of assessing economic abuse as a dis- tinct form of abuse as well as how to measure such abuse with a shortened survey (i.e., the SEA-12). Of the 120 women interviewed, 94% had experienced physical abuse in the past 12 months and 95% had experienced psychological abuse. In addition, 94% reported experiencing economic abuse in their relationship; 92% had experienced behaviors of economic control, 88% had experienced employment sabotage, and 79% experienced economic exploitation. These findings demonstrate that economic abuse is a significant component of abuse and, hence, have important implications for advocates working with survivors of abuse. Advocates play a central role in educating women on the concepts of power and control and helping survivors identify abusive behaviors. Advocates need to be trained on the specific economic abusive behaviors used by bat- terers and, in turn, educate survivors on identifying signs of economic abuse. Having an accessible and short tool with the SEA-12 will afford advocates the opportunity to identify and discuss the different economically abusive tactics batterers use.

Findings need to be considered in light of the study’s limitations. First, the sample size is small (n = 120) and not random. The majority of the women in the sample were primarily Caucasian (54%). Furthermore, the majority of the women reported earning less than US$25,000 annually (74%), a figure not uncommon when using samples from shelters. All women were currently receiving services from a domestic violence agency and had self-selected to participate in a financial education program at the agency. Hence, this sample may have been more aware of economic abuse as a result of their participation, which may have biased their responses. More research is needed to test the reliability and validity of the SEA-12 with diverse populations including different ethnic, socio-economic, and non-shelter samples. Finally, the SEA asks women to identify the different forms of economic abuse since the relationship began instead of measuring more current forms of abuse (past year). Recollection of past experiences that could have spanned multiple partners limits the results of this study; further research is needed to measure past and current economic abuse.

Table 3. Correlations Between SEA-12 and ABI.

SEA-12 Control Sabotage Exploitation ABI Physical Psychological

SEA-12 1 Control .851** 1 Sabotage .759** .434** 1 Exploitation .763** .479** .431** 1 ABI .775** .630** .737** .461** 1 Physical .601** .436** .678** .343** .885** 1 Psychological .785** .678** .679** .483** .956** .710** 1

Note. SEA-12 = Scale of Economic Abuse-12; ABI = Abusive Behavior Inventory. **p < .01.

702 Violence Against Women 22(6)

Despite these limitations, this study furthers the importance of measuring economic abuse and provides a brief scale that can be used by advocates with survivors. Indeed, economic abuse warrants more attention as to its prevalence among and impact on IPV survivors. Further research needs to be conducted on economic abuse to support women in escaping abusive relationships and in regaining a new financially secure life.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Carl Siebert in the data analyses strategies used in this article.

Authors’ Note

Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Allstate Foundation.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by the Allstate Foundation, Economics Against Abuse Program.

Note

1. We specifically talk about violence against women in this article because women dispro- portionately represent victims and males as perpetrators of physical, sexual, and other forms of violence. Hence, we will refer to victims as female and perpetrators as males. This in no way diminishes the experiences of male victims nor absolves females of violence they might inflict upon males or other females.

References

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Author Biographies

Judy L. Postmus is an associate professor at the School of Social Work, Rutgers University, and director of the Center on Violence Against Women & Children (VAWC). She has published widely and has presented her research at local, national, and international conferences on the impact of policies and interventions on survivors of violence. She earned her PhD from SUNY– Albany and her MSW from Barry University.

Sara-Beth Plummer is a core faculty member and assessment coordinator at the Social Work program at Walden University. She has published and presented her research on financial literacy for survivors of abuse at national and international conferences. She earned her PhD from Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Social Work, and her MSW from Adelphi University.

Amanda M. Stylianou is the senior director of Research & Program Development at Safe Horizon in New York City. Ms. Stylianou focuses her work at the intersection of trauma, poverty, and mental health. She is also a doctoral candidate at the School of Social Work at Rutgers University.

Articles/Postmus et al, 2020 economic abuse as an invisible form of DV - a multicountry review.pdf

Review Manuscript

Economic Abuse as an Invisible Form of Domestic Violence: A Multicountry Review

Judy L. Postmus1, Gretchen L. Hoge2, Jan Breckenridge3, Nicola Sharp-Jeffs4, and Donna Chung5

Abstract The predominant perception of intimate partner violence (IPV) as constituting physical violence can still dominate, particularly in research and media reports, despite research documenting multiple forms of IPV including sexual violence occurring between intimate partners and various forms of psychological and emotional abuse. One frequently hidden or “invisible” form of abuse perpetrated within intimate partner relationships is economic abuse, also referred to as financial abuse in much of the liter- ature. While the links between gendered economic insecurity and economic abuse are emerging, there remains a lack of consistency about definitions within the United States and globally, as there is no agreed upon index with which to measure economic abuse. As such, the purpose of this article is to review and analyze the global literature focused on either economic or financial abuse to determine how it is defined and what measures are used to capture its prevalence and impact. The 46 peer- reviewed articles that met all inclusion criteria for analysis came from a range of countries across six continents. Our review found that there is growing clarity and consistency of terminologies being used in these articles and found some consistency in the use of validated measures. Since this research is in its “infancy,” we need to have stronger collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology. Part of that collaborative effort is to consider how language and cultural differences may play a part in our understanding of economic abuse.

Keywords anything related to domestic violence, domestic violence, battered women

Introduction

The fact that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant

social concern affecting a substantial number of women and

children is now undeniable, making it a gendered problem. In

most international jurisdictions, the importance of understand-

ing the needs of and responding to IPV victims is clearly under-

stood. Establishing the prevalence of all forms of violence

against women (VAW) has been a priority since the Conven-

tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women, 1

adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General

Assembly (Articles 12 and 19). Most recently, the 2011 Coun-

cil of Europe Convention on preventing and combating VAW

and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, 2

further details the importance of research intended to move

beyond prevalence in order to better understand the dynamics

of VAW in Europe (including IPV; Article 11). As a direct

result of the number of international conventions and treaties,

research on VAW, including IPV has been prioritized in many

jurisdictions ensuring a growing global evidence base.

Despite prioritizing research in this area, the predominant

focus of international and national studies to date has been on

establishing the prevalence of physical violence and/or threat.

While surely unintended, the seriousness of the effects of IPV

is most often assessed by the extent and nature of any physical

injury. This perception of IPV as primarily constituting phys-

ical violence still dominates, particularly in media reports of

IPV, regardless of reports from practitioners and victims sub-

stantiating multiple forms of abuse. Such forms include sexual

violence and various forms of psychological and emotional

abuse. In an effort to better understand the dynamics of these

latter two manifestations of IPV, many researchers argue that

1 Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of Social Work,

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 2 Department of Social Work, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL, USA

3 School of Social Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

4 Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University,

London, United Kingdom 5 School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth,

Australia

Corresponding Author:

Judy L. Postmus, Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of

Social Work, Rutgers University, 390 George Street, Suite 408, New Bruns-

wick, NJ 08901, USA.

Email: [email protected]

TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 2020, Vol. 21(2) 261-283 ª The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1524838018764160 journals.sagepub.com/home/tva

the context in which violence and abuse occur in intimate

partnerships—frequently referred to as contexts of “coercive

control” (Stark, 2007), is critical. This is where abusers use a

variety of tactics to maintain control over their partners by

forcing physical, emotional, and financial dependency and pro-

ducing a continual fear which prevents women from challen-

ging their actions. Women forced into such dependency are at

greater risk, according to the marital dependency theory (Vyas

& Watts, 2008) and the interdependence theory (Rusbult &

Van Lange, 2003), of being trapped in the relationship. This

explains why women report that economic concerns are one of

their top reasons why leaving the abuser is so difficult (Sanders

& Schnabel, 2006; Strube, 1988). It is precisely the relational

and gendered context of IPV that makes these tactics hard to

detect because the “means and effects . . . are easily confused with the range of sacrifices women are expected to make in

their roles as homemakers, parents and sexual partners” (Stark,

2007, p. 230).

One frequently hidden or “invisible” form of abuse perpe-

trated within intimate partner relationships is economic or

financial abuse. Practitioners and emerging qualitative research

have for some time recognized that IPV contributes to

“poverty, financial risk and financial insecurity for women,

sometimes long after the relationship has ended” (Braaf &

Barrett Meyering, 2010, p. 5). From this perspective, economic

insecurity is framed as a likely consequence of IPV for women

leaving a violent relationship at the time of separation and in its

aftermath. Although identified early on by practitioners in the

IPV field as a fundamental underpinning of coercive control,

only relatively recently has economic abuse been conceptua-

lized as separate from emotional and psychological abuse—

albeit with some overlap (Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon,

2013). Corrie and McGuire (2013) suggest that we are yet to

fully establish the prevalence of economic abuse, in part,

because victims may have difficulty distinguishing economi-

cally abusive patterns from the economic insecurity they expe-

rience as women.

Economic insecurity is, without doubt, a gendered issue

with factors such as the gendered nature of care, the under-

valuing of women’s paid and unpaid work, and workforce dis-

crimination all contributing to women consistently

experiencing poorer social and economic outcomes throughout

their life course. Given that existing prevalence data provide

evidence of gender asymmetry in victimization and perpetra-

tion of IPV, it is not a surprise that economic abuse is com-

pounded by the context of women’s economic insecurity more

generally. It is also possible that victims do not always under-

stand the ongoing consequences and extent of the damage

caused by economic abuse prior to leaving the relationship and

so may fail to recognize economic abuse as a form of IPV

during the relationship.

While the links between gendered economic insecurity and

economic abuse are emergent at best (Corrie, 2016), there

remains a lack of consistency about definitions within the

United States and globally, as there is no agreed index with

which to measure economic abuse, underscoring the purpose of

this article. As with all measures of social concerns, definitions

do matter and it is here that the research can lack precision. The

choice of different terms defined in slightly different ways, and

the interchange of terms at other times has had the unintended

effect of diluting the evidence base. The lack of definitional

clarity also means it is difficult to measure whether service and

policy responses are dealing appropriately with the issue, if at

all. As such, the purpose of this article is to determine how the

peer-reviewed global literature defines and measures economic

or financial abuse to then highlight implications based on an

analysis of the literature. The questions framing this study

include (1) how do researchers define economic/financial

abuse? and (2) how do researchers measure economic/financial

abuse?

Existing Definitions of Economic Abuse and Financial Abuse

Economic abuse has been defined as a deliberate pattern of

control in which individuals interfere with their partner’s abil-

ity to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources (Adams,

Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMa-

hon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). Academics have sought to cate-

gorize the different forms that economic abuse can take. For

instance, Postmus, Plummer, and Stylianou (2016) suggest that

economic abuse involves behaviors that control, exploit, or

sabotage an individual’s economic resources including

employment.

Economic abuse and financial abuse are frequently used

interchangeably in the literature (Sharp-Jeffs, 2015b). Alterna-

tively, abuse may be described as affecting the economic or

financial security of victims of IPV or causing economic or

financial insecurity. Sharp-Jeffs (2015a) adapted the definition

of economic abuse, proposing to use the term “financial abuse”

instead of economic abuse. The distinction made here between

economic and financial abuse is that financial abuse is part of

economic abuse and involves similar behaviors; however,

financial abuse focuses specifically on individual money and

finances and not economic resources (e.g., transportation, a

place to live, employment, and education; Sharp-Jeffs,

2015a). Yount, Krause, and VanderEnde (2016) recently used

the term “economic coercion” to describe the same economic

abusive behaviors identified by others (Adams et al., 2008;

Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2016) in which an abuser

attempts to control the partner’s ability to acquire, use, and

maintain resources.

It is important to note that much of the available literature

describes a range of controlling behaviors or tactics which may

keep victims of IPV financially dependent and socially iso-

lated, often, in place of a definition. Some of the tactics of

economic abuse include reduced access to savings and assets

(Braaf & Barrett Meyering, 2010), deliberately causing hous-

ing insecurity by damaging property or not making rent or

mortgage payments (Valentine & Breckenridge, 2016), and

malicious interference with workforce and educational partic-

ipation (Breckenridge, Walden, & Flax, 2014).

262 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

Measuring Economic Abuse

The measures used in studies on IPV may include items that ask

about forms of economic or financial abuse; however, without

identifying such abuse as a focus of the work, they fail to

reliably capture the scope, complexity, or magnitude of the

abuse. For example, Outlaw (2009) included one question

about economic abuse as part of the National Violence Against

Women Survey and then concluded that economic abuse was a

rare phenomenon, occurring less than physical abuse.

Other studies have included more than one question on

economic abuse but again, fail to identify the term as a focus

of the work. Instead, the questions are frequently integrated

into emotional or psychological abuse scales or subscales. For

example, the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Shepard &

Campbell, 1992) has two subscales—Physical and Psycholo-

gical—in which a few questions on economic abuse are part

of the Psychological Abuse subscale. Similarly, the Index of

Spouse Abuse Hudson & McIntosh, 1981) had physical and

Non-Physical Abuse subscales in which the Non-Physical

Abuse subscale included two questions on economic abuse;

however, the term was never mentioned in the reporting of

the results. The Psychological Maltreatment of Women

Inventory (PMWI; Tolman, 1989) has five questions on

economic abuse as part of the long form; however, the short

form only retained one question.

Other researchers included questions on economic abuse

without recognizing they had done so. For example, Lloyd

(1997) used an expanded version of the Conflict Tactics Scale

to include questions around work sabotage efforts, which is a

form of economic abuse. Although not naming economic

abuse, the qualitative portion of this study provided illustra-

tions of what could be understood as employment sabotage,

economic exploitation, and economic control. Similarly,

Tolman and Wang (2005) focused on employment sabotage

efforts that abusers use against victims in their literature

review; unfortunately, they failed to mention or include ques-

tions on economic or financial abuse in their measure of abuse.

Finally, Weaver, Sanders, Campbell, and Schnabel (2009)

created the Domestic Violence–Related Financial Issues Scale

(DV-FI) that included a subscale on economic abuse as part of

their evaluation of a financial literacy program. This subscale

only included five questions, of which three focused on credit

card debt and credit rating and failed to capture a wider view of

the phenomenon.

Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, and Greeson (2008) created the

first Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) from several sources

such as existing research and from interviews with advocates

and IPV survivors. The researchers started with a 120-item

scale covering several concepts of economic abuse including

preventing women’s resource acquisition, preventing women’s

use of resources, and exploiting women’s resources. After fur-

ther testing, the final scale included 28 questions and two sub-

scales including economic exploitation and economic control.

Postmus et al. (2016) further tested the SEA and reduced the

items to 12 questions, naming it the SEA-12. From their

analyses, they found three conceptual categories of economic

abuse—economic control, economic exploitation, and employ-

ment sabotage. Further testing of the SEA-12 with a new sam-

ple of survivors found that the SEA-12 was a reliable and valid

measure of economic abuse and that such abuse is distinctly

different from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse (Stylianou

et al., 2013). Additionally, the testing found that the three

constructs were also uniquely different from each other and

from other forms of abuse.

While it is clear from a preliminary review of the literature

that economic abuse may be reported by victims of IPV,

research to date subsumes economic abuse into the categories

of emotional or psychological abuse, fails to report the findings

as economic abuse, or does not report the results of the limited

number of survey questions at all. Additionally, the recent

publications of a scale for economic abuse has had limited

testing with varied samples of survivors; they were also only

tested with samples in the United States. Hence, the measure-

ment of economic abuse in IPV is limited. Additionally, there

have been no studies which have attempted to systematically

review the ways in which it has been measured internationally.

Method

The purpose of this study was to provide greater clarity on how

the peer-reviewed global literature defines and measures eco-

nomic or financial abuse and then to provide implications

based on an analysis of this literature. The questions framing

this study include (1) how do researchers define economic/

financial abuse? and (2) how do researchers measure eco-

nomic/financial abuse?

Search Strategy

We conducted a comprehensive review between April 2016 and

May 2017 of main databases in the following fields: social work,

sociology, psychology, public policy, gender and women’s stud-

ies, criminal justice, and economics. Databases searched

included: Social Work Abstracts (EBSCO), Social Services

Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, PAIS Inter-

national, PsychiatryOnline, PsychINFO (including PsychARTI-

CLES), Sociological Abstracts, ProQuest Sociology, PubMed,

Business Source Premier, Econlit, Worldwide Political Science

Abstracts, Academic Search Premier, GenderWatch, Women’s

Studies International, and Criminal Justice Abstracts. Search

terms included: (1) “financial abuse,” (2) “economic abuse,”

(3) “economic security AND abuse,” and (4) a combination of

all three (“financial abuse” OR “economic abuse” OR

“economic security AND abuse”). Search terms, when entered

as a string, used “OR” between individual search terms to mini-

mize overlap in search results while still ensuring that all rele-

vant articles would be captured for each string term. There was

no limit on the year in which the article could be published. Due

to the large number of results in each search, the search was

limited to peer-reviewed, scholarly literature. Articles were lim-

ited to those published in the English language.

Postmus et al. 263

Inclusion Criteria

The database search resulted in 274 articles that addressed

financial or economic abuse in the context of IPV, elder abuse,

system-related abuse, abuse and disability, and child abuse.

This was narrowed to 80 articles that specifically related to

IPV or VAW. Although we recognize that IPV is a gendered

problem with most victims identified as female, to be exhaus-

tive in our search for research on economic abuse, we included

any studies in peer-reviewed journals regardless of the gender

of the perpetrator or the victim.

An analysis of the 80 articles was first done to identify

whether economic or financial abuse was mentioned as a main

focus (n ¼ 33) of the article (i.e., economic abuse was a vari- able in the analyses and the article included an in-depth dis-

cussion of these results) or as a semifocus (n ¼ 47) of the article (i.e., economic abuse was a variable but was not the specific

focus of the article). Upon further analysis, three articles were

removed due to publication in nonacademic sources and one

article was removed as it was a research proposal, narrowing

the articles for consideration to 76 articles. Reference lists of

key authors, identified based on our familiarity with their work,

and articles examining the measurement of economic abuse,

were then reviewed to determine whether any additional arti-

cles should be included. This resulted in the addition of one

article for analysis for a total of 77 articles.

Decisions about the inclusion of articles in analysis at this

stage involved two steps of evaluation, which resulted in the

removal of eight articles, leaving 69 articles. Articles were

then further excluded from analysis if they did not clearly

define economic/financial abuse and provide additional

examples of tactics. For example, articles were excluded from

analysis if their focus was on a general IPV measure and

included items that would be categorized as economic/finan-

cial abuse by experts in this area but did not name them or

categorize them as such (n ¼ 2). Additionally, articles where the multidimensional construct was called something other

than economic/financial abuse (i.e., economic coercion,

financial coercive control) were also excluded (n ¼ 2). This left 65 articles remaining for consideration. Finally, all eight

conceptual articles and 11 qualitative only studies were

removed. These articles, while providing interesting informa-

tion and theories about economic abuse, did not define or test

this form of abuse which is the key focus on this study. In the

end, this left the analysis to focus on 46 articles examining

economic abuse in a quantitative (n ¼ 42) or mixed methods (n ¼ 4) capacity.

Data Extraction and Analysis

An in-depth analysis of the full length of each article was

conducted to gather relevant data. These data included the type

of research conducted (i.e., quantitative, mixed method), sam-

ple characteristics, the country where the research took place,

the study setting, how authors referred to the construct (i.e.,

economic abuse/financial abuse/something else), how authors

defined economic/financial abuse and the specific tactics

included in the introduction and background sections of their

manuscripts, the characteristics of tools used to measure eco-

nomic abuse presented in the methods and results sections of

each manuscript, and the manner in which economic abuse

was used in the research conducted (i.e., independent/predic-

tor variable, dependent/outcome variable, measurement

development). The data were then analyzed through constant

comparison methods to extract answers to our questions guid-

ing this study. To complement this inductive analysis

approach, we also used a deductive or a priori approach to

understanding how economic or financial abuse was defined.

This a priori approach was based on the knowledge of the

theoretical and measurement development literature on eco-

nomic or financial abuse in which we used the three constructs

of economic control, economic exploitation, and employment

sabotage. These inductive and deductive approaches to the

analysis allowed us to acknowledge our own biases around

constructs related to economic abuse while also allowing for

the possibility of additional constructs to derive from the

literature.

Results

The 46 peer-reviewed articles that met all inclusion criteria for

analysis came from a range of countries across six continents.

The majority of articles (17) came from research conducted in

the United States. Four articles came from South Africa. Three

articles came from research in Canada or Palestine. Two arti-

cles came from the UK, Ivory Coast, and the Philippines. One

article from each of the following countries was also included:

Australia, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nigeria,

South Korea, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. One

article was derived from a multicountry study conducted in

Asia and the Pacific.

Overall, 18 studies examined economic abuse with vic-

tims. Thirteen of the studies included samples of female vic-

tims who were recruited using various methods from

community settings, domestic violence agencies and shelters,

health-care settings, or an Individual Development Account

savings program for IPV victims. One study focused on gay

and bisexual male victims from HIV agencies serving men of

color. One study included a random sample of both male and

female victims from a nationally representative survey. One

study compared the experiences of a sample of female perpe-

trators of abuse (as victims) in an offenders’ program with a

sample of female victims in a shelter setting. Two studies

compared the experiences (as victims and perpetrators of

abuse) of convenience samples of female survivors staying

in women’s shelters, male and female college students, and

male prisoners.

There were 26 studies that recruited participants from the

general population of women and/or men. This included 20

studies that examined the construct with a general sample of

women. These women were recruited from the community

using various methods, from health-care settings, from

264 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

microfinance programs, or by using a random sample of

women from nonrepresentative samples or from nationally or

geographically representative samples. One study examined

the construct with a sample of men (as potential perpetrators)

that was representative of each of nine site samples across

multiple countries. Five studies examined the construct with

both men and women using a convenience sample from the

community, or using a random sample obtained from a nation-

ally representative survey, from a military management sys-

tem, or from a college campus.

Overall, two studies examined the concept with service provi-

ders. One of these studies included a sample of lawyers and advo-

cates working in the field. The other study surveyed medical

students who would potentially treat patients who had experi-

enced IPV. Please refer to Table 1 for a description of the articles.

How Economic/Financial Abuse Is Defined

Table 2 provides information on how economic abuse was

defined and measured in the 46 articles. Each citation includes

a brief description and whether: (1) economic abuse was

clearly defined or not, (2) economic abusive tactics were

included or not, and (3) which constructs were captured in the

definition/tactics.

Overall, 20 articles included a clear definition of economic/

financial abuse and/or listed more than one tactic used by per-

petrators to illustrate the construct in the introduction or back-

ground section of the manuscript. Upon analysis, these tactics

were thematically captured under the three constructs identi-

fied in theoretical and measurement development literature

including economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage. Of the 20 articles with a clear definition

and/or description of abusive tactics, 14 articles covered tactics

that could fall under all three constructs of economic abuse.

Three articles included tactics that would fall under the cate-

gories of economic control and economic exploitation. Two

articles included tactics that only covered economic control.

One article included tactics that are categorized as economic

control and employment sabotage. The remaining 26 articles

contained no clear definition of economic abuse or tactics used.

Overall, the construct of economic control received the most

attention in definitions, as every article with a clear definition

either named the construct or included tactics that illustrate this

construct in its definition of economic abuse (n ¼ 20). Such economic control tactics included: restricting access to

finances, refusing to contribute financially for necessities or

other items, restricting access to financial information or invol-

vement with financial decision-making, and controlling the

household spending. This was followed by economic exploita-

tion (n ¼ 17) and employment sabotage (n ¼ 15). Economic exploitation included tactics such as misusing family finances;

damaging property; stealing property, money, or identities;

going into debt through coercion or in secret; kicking the victim

out of the living situation; using wealth as a weapon or as a

threat; selling necessary household or personal items; restrict-

ing access to health care or insurance; and denying or

restricting access to transportation. Employment sabotage tac-

tics included anything related to interfering with or preventing

a partner from work.

How Economic/Financial Abuse Is Measured

Researchers used a variety of measures to capture the construct

of economic/financial abuse in their studies. A total of 44

Table 1. Description of Articles.

Country of Origin

United States 17 South Africa 4 Canada and Palestine 3 Each UK, Ivory Coast, and Philippines 2 Each Australia, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nigeria, South Korea, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey,

and Zimbabwe

1 Each

Multicountry (Asia and the Pacific) 1 Sample

Victims—female 13 Victims—gay and bisexual male victims 1 Victims—male and female 1 Victims and perpetrators—female and male 3 General sample of women from the community 20 General sample of men from the community 1 General sample of women and men from the community 5 Service providers (lawyers, advocates, or medical

students) 2

Definitions of economic and financial abuse Included a clear definition 20 Named or described all three constructs (i.e., economic

control, economic exploitation, and employment sabotage)

14

Named or described two of the three constructs 4 Named or described one of the three constructs

(i.e., economic control) 2

How economic or financial abuse is measured Used a validated tool to measure economic abuse (SEA or

the SEA-12) 4

Used a validated tool (SEA-12) alongside a general IPV measurement tool (ABI)

1

Used general IPV measurement tools that included economic abuse items (i.e., ABI, CCB, DV-FI, CTS, Abuse Assessment Screen Questionnaire, CBS)

9

Used series of items about economic abuse, ranging from 1 to 5 questions

Used one question 5 Used two questions 9 Used three questions 6 Used four questions 4 Used five questions 1 Did not use questions but described characteristics of

economic abuse 3

Presented an unclear picture of how economic abuse was measured

4

Note. n ¼ 46. ABI ¼ Abusive Behavior Inventory; CCB ¼ Checklist of Con- trolling Behaviors; DV-FI ¼ Domestic Violence–Related Financial Issues Scale; CBS ¼ Controlling Behaviors Scale; SEA ¼ Scale of Economic Abuse; SEA-12 ¼ Scale of Economic Abuse-12; CTS ¼ Conflict Tactics Scale.

Postmus et al. 265

T a b

le 2 .

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d an

d D

e fi n e d

in th

e G

lo b al

P e e r-

R e vi

e w

e d

L it e ra

tu re

.

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

A d am

s, A

. E .,

B e e b le

, M

. L .,

an d

G re

go ry

, K

. A

. (2

0 1 5 )

U n it e d

S ta

te s

D V

an d

se x u al

as sa

u lt

ag e n cy

9 3

F e m

al e

IP V

V ic

ti m

s C

o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(A d am

s e t

al .,

2 0 0 8 )

2 8 -i te

m , va

lid at

e d

m e as

u re

o f e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e , ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(4 ).

T w

o su

b sc

al e s

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(f in

an ci

al w

ay s

ab u se

rs ta

k e

ad va

n ta

ge o f su

rv iv

o rs

’) an

d e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

(a b u se

rs ’ e ff o rt

s to

d ic

ta te

w o m

e n ’s

ac ce

ss to

an d

u se

o f m

o n e y)

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(E S

it e m

s ca

p tu

re d

u n d e r

E C

su b sc

al e )

S e t

o f ta

ct ic

s u se

d to

o b ta

in p o w

e r

an d

co n tr

o l in

an ab

u si

ve re

la ti o n sh

ip , in

vo lv

in g

co n tr

o lli

n g

a w

o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

an d

m ai

n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th u s

th re

at e n in

g h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty an

d p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -

su ff ic

ie n cy

. T

ac ti cs

in cl

u d e d : re

gu la

ti o n

o f ac

ce ss

to m

o n e y

an d

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , st

e al

in g

m o n e y,

re fu

si n g

to w

o rk

, ge

n e ra

ti n g

d e b t

in th

e ir

p ar

tn e r’

s n am

e , b la

m in

g w

o m

an fo

r sp

e n d in

g m

o n e y

o n

fa m

ily n e e d s,

co n tr

o lli

n g

h e r

e ar

n in

gs ,

w as

ti n g

m o n e y,

d ir

e ct

an d

in d ir

e ct

in te

rf e re

n ce

w it h

e m

p lo

ym e n t,

an d

co e rc

e d

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

A d am

s, A

. E .,

S u lli

va n , C

. M

., B

yb e e ,

D .,

an d

G re

e so

n , M

. R

. (2

0 0 8 )

U n it e d

S ta

te s

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 0 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

, 2 8 -i te

m m

e as

u re

o f

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

T h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ),

an d

al so

in cl

u d in

g n o t

a p p lic

a b le

(8 )

an d

p re

fe r

n o t

to a n sw

er (9

). T

w o

su b sc

al e s

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

an d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(E S

it e m

s ca

p tu

re d

u n d e r

E C

su b sc

al e )

P ar

t o f th

e p at

te rn

o f b e h av

io rs

u se

d b y

b at

te re

rs to

m ai

n ta

in p o w

e r

an d

co n tr

o l o ve

r th

e ir

p ar

tn e rs

. T

h is

in vo

lv e s

b e h av

io rs

th at

co n tr

o l a

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th u s

th re

at e n in

g h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty an

d p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

A n ta

i, D

., A

n ta

i, J. , an

d A

n th

o n y,

D . S .

(2 0 1 4 )

P h ili

p p in

e s

H o u se

h o ld

s 8 ,4

7 8

W o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. R

e sp

o n se

o p ti o n s

in cl

u d e d : n o , o ft

e n , so

m e ti m

e s,

n o t

at al

l, an

d ye

s. N

o an

d n o t

at al

l w

e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to n o , an

d al

l o th

e r

an sw

e rs

w e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to ye

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d is

al lo

w e d

re sp

o n d e n t

to e n ga

ge in

le gi

ti m

at e

w o rk

, (2

) co

n tr

o lle

d re

sp o n d e n t’ s

m o n e y

o r

fo rc

e d

h e r

to w

o rk

, (3

) d e st

ro ye

d p e rs

o n al

p ro

p e rt

y/ p e t

o r

th re

at e n e d

to h ar

m p e t,

an d

(4 )

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n t

h ad

e ve

r lo

st th

e ir

jo b /s

o u rc

e o f in

co m

e b e ca

u se

o f th

e ir

h u sb

an d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rm

o f D

V an

d fa

m ily

vi o le

n ce

in vo

lv in

g b e h av

io rs

th at

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

a p e rs

o n

fi n an

ci al

ly ,

u n d e rm

in in

g e ff o rt

s to

b e co

m e

fi n an

ci al

ly in

d e p e n d e n t.

B e h av

io rs

th at

co n tr

o l th

e ab

ili ty

to ac

q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s.

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d : p re

ve n t

fr o m

o b ta

in in

g/ m

ai n ta

in in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t

o u ts

id e

th e

h o m

e , ca

u se

h e r

to lo

se h e r

jo b

o r

m is

s w

o rk

,s h o w

u p

at w

o rk

p la

ce , h ar

as s

h e r

at w

o rk

, h ar

as s

co w

o rk

e rs

— w

it h

m o ti ve

to in

te rf

e re

w it h

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e re

so u rc

e s

b y

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

fr o m

m ai

n ta

in in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t,

m o n it o ri

n g

h o w

e x is

ti n g

re so

u rc

e s

ar e

u se

d , st

ri ct

ly lim

it in

g ac

ce ss

to h o u se

h o ld

re so

u rc

e s,

d e n yi

n g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

fo r

e ss

e n ti al

s h id

in g

jo in

tl y

e ar

n e d

m o n e y,

d e n yi

n g

ac ce

ss to

b an

k ac

co u n ts

, w

it h h o ld

in g

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , d e st

ro yi

n g

p ro

p e rt

y, tu

rn in

g o ff

u ti lit

ie s,

cr e d it

ca rd

d e b t,

re fu

si n g

to m

ak e

p ay

m e n ts

o n

b ill

s 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

266

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

A n ta

i, D

., O

k e ,A

., B

ra it h w

ai te

,P .,

an d

L o p e z,

G . B

. (2

0 1 4 )

P h ili

p p in

e s

H o u se

h o ld

s 8 ,4

7 8

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , cl

u st

e re

d , p ro

b ab

ili ty

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. R

e sp

o n se

o p ti o n s

in cl

u d e d : n o , o ft

e n , so

m e ti m

e s,

n o t

at al

l, an

d ye

s. N

o an

d n o t at

al l w

e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to n o , an

d al

l o th

e r

an sw

e rs

w e re

d ic

h o to

m iz

e d

to ye

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d is

al lo

w e d

re sp

o n d e n t

to e n ga

ge in

le gi

ti m

at e

w o rk

, (2

) co

n tr

o lle

d re

sp o n d e n t’ s

m o n e y

o r

fo rc

e d

h e r

to w

o rk

, (3

) d e st

ro ye

d p e rs

o n al

p ro

p e rt

y/ p e t

o r

th re

at e n e d

to h ar

m p e t,

an d

(4 )

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n t

h ad

e ve

r lo

st th

e ir

jo b /s

o u rc

e o f in

co m

e b e ca

u se

o f th

e ir

h u sb

an d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

C o n tr

o l o f a

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

an d

m ai

n ta

in e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s,

th re

at e n in

g e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty , p o te

n ti al

fo r

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

, an

d e co

n o m

ic in

d e p e n d e n ce

. C

o e rc

iv e

b e h av

io r

m ak

in g

vi ct

im e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

p ar

tn e r

an d

in cr

e as

in g

ri sk

o f co

n ti n u e d

ab u se

. T

ac ti cs

in cl

u d e d : ta

k e

co n tr

o l o f re

so u rc

e s

b y

p re

ve n ti n g

e m

p lo

ym e n t

o u ts

id e

h o m

e , ca

u se

jo b

ab se

n ce

o r

lo ss

b y

sh o w

in g

u p

at w

o rk

,p re

ve n t u se

o f e x is

ti n g

re so

u rc

e s

b y

co n tr

o lli

n g

d is

tr ib

u ti o n

an d

u se

,d e n y

ac ce

ss to

jo in

t b an

k ac

co u n ts

o r

fi n an

ci al

in fo

rm at

io n , e x p lo

it a

w o m

an ’s

re so

u rc

e s

b y

st e al

in g

m o n e y,

cr e at

in g

co st

s, ge

n e ra

ti n g

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

A w

w ad

,J .,

G h az

e e ri

,G ,N

as sa

r, A

.H .,

B az

i, T

., an

d F ak

ih , A

. (2

0 1 4 )

L e b an

o n

H e al

th cl

in ic

9 1

W o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

: “D

o e s

yo u r

p ar

tn e r

co n tr

o l h o m

e e x p e n d it u re

d e n yi

n g

yo u

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y?

” C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F al

b , K

. L .,

A n n an

, J. , K

p e b o , D

., C

o le

, H

., W

ill ie

, T

., X

u an

, Z

., R

aj , A

., an

d G

u p ta

, J.

(2 0 1 5 )

Iv o ry

C o as

t R

u ra

l vi

lla ge

s 6 8 2

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

w /o

m ic

ro fi n an

ce e x p e ri

e n ce

C o m

m u n it y

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. If

p ar

ti ci

p an

t re

sp o n d e d

“y e s”

to an

y it e m

, th

e y

w e re

co d e d

as e x p e ri

e n ci

n g

th at

fo rm

o f vi

o le

n ce

.I te

m s

in cl

u d e d :

(1 ) as

k e d

th e

w o m

an if

h e r

p ar

tn e r

re fu

se d

to gi

ve h e r

m o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

n e ce

ss it ie

s e ve

n if

th e re

w as

m o n e y

av ai

la b le

, (2

) to

o k

m o n e y

ag ai

n st

h e r

w ill

, an

d (3

) o b lig

e d

h e r

to gi

ve h im

al l o r

p ar

t o f

th e

m o n e y

sh e

e ar

n e d .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F aw

o le

, O

. I. , va

n W

yk , J. , an

d A

d e jim

i, A

. (2

0 1 3 )

N ig

e ri

a M

e d ic

al sc

h o o l se

tt in

g 1 0 9

M e d ic

al st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

N o

in fo

rm at

io n

o n

sp e ci

fi c

m e as

u re

o r

se m

is tr

u ct

u re

d in

te rv

ie w

q u e st

io n s

as k e d

to ca

p tu

re an

d th

e n

q u an

ti fy

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

U n cl

e ar

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

F u lu

, E .,

Je w

k e s,

R .,

R o se

lli , T

., an

d G

ar ci

a- M

o re

n o , C

. (2

0 1 3 )

M u lt ic

o u n tr

y— A

si a

an d

P ac

if ic

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 0 ,1

7 8

M e n

C lu

st e r

sa m

p le

re p re

se n ta

ti ve

o f

e ac

h o f n in

e si

te s

(m u lt ic

o u n tr

y)

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. M

e as

u re

d as

p ar

t o f

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

p e rp

e tr

at io

n u si

n g

an e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

su b sc

al e . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ro

h ib

it e d

a p ar

tn e r

fr o m

ge tt

in g

a jo

b , go

in g

to w

o rk

, tr

ad in

g, o r

e ar

n in

g m

o n e y,

(2 )

ta k e n

a p ar

tn e r’

s e ar

n in

gs ag

ai n st

h e r

w ill

, (3

) th

ro w

n a

p ar

tn e r

o u t

o f th

e h o u se

, an

d (4

) k e p t

m o n e y

fr o m

yo u r

e ar

n in

gs fo

r al

co h o l,

to b ac

co , o r

o th

e r

th in

gs fo

r yo

u rs

e lf

w h e n

yo u

k n e w

yo u r

p ar

tn e r

w as

fi n d in

g it

h ar

d to

af fo

rd th

e h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

267

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

G af

fo o r,

Z .,

W an

d , H

., S tr

e e t,

R . A

., A

b b ai

, N

., an

d R

am je

e , G

. (2

0 1 6 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

P u b lic

sp ac

e s

(h e al

th cl

in ic

s, m

al ls

, ch

u rc

h e s,

ta x is

ta n d s,

co m

m u n it y

ve n u e s)

1 ,4

5 6

S e x u al

ly ac

ti ve

, H

IV -n

e ga

ti ve

w o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

: “S

o m

e ti m

e s

in re

la ti o n sh

ip s

w o m

e n

ar e

ab u se

d b y

th e ir

p ar

tn e rs

. T

h e

ab u se

ca n

b e

p h ys

ic al

, lik

e h it ti n g

o r

sl ap

p in

g, e m

o ti o n al

lik e

ye lli

n g,

n am

e -c

al lin

g o r

th re

at e n in

g th

e ch

ild re

n , o r

e co

n o m

ic lik

e ta

k in

g aw

ay o r

n o t

gi vi

n g

m o n e y.

W e

w o u ld

lik e

to k n o w

if an

y o f

th e se

th in

gs ar

e h ap

p e n in

g to

th e

w o m

e n

w e

sp e ak

to .”

R e sp

o n se

w as

ca te

go ri

ze d

in to

e co

n o m

ic , e m

o ti o n al

, an

d /o

r p h ys

ic al

ab u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G ra

h am

-K e va

n , N

., an

d A

rc h e r,

J. (2

0 0 8 )

U K

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

4 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o lle

ge se

tt in

g 1 1 3

C o lle

ge st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

P ri

so n

1 0 8

M al

e p ri

so n e rs

A ll

co n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

s

F o u r

it e m

s fr

o m

th e

C o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io r

S ca

le (C

B S ; G

ra h am

-K e va

n &

A rc

h e r,

2 0 0 3 )

b u t

d id

n o t

sp e ci

fy it e m

d e ta

ils . F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

a lw

a ys

(4 )

to in

d ic

at e

if an

d h o w

o ft

e n

an y

o f th

e b e h av

io rs

lis te

d w

e re

u se

d to

in fl u e n ce

th e ir

p ar

tn e rs

.

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

in th

is ar

ti cl

e (E

C an

d E S

ca p tu

re d

in C

B S

(G ra

h am

-K e va

n &

A rc

h e r,

2 0 0 3 )

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G ra

h am

-K e va

n , N

., an

d A

rc h e r,

J. (2

0 0 3 )

U K

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

4 3

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o lle

ge se

tt in

g 1 1 3

C o lle

ge st

u d e n ts

(w o m

e n

an d

m e n )

P ri

so n

1 0 8

M al

e p ri

so n e rs

A ll

co n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

s

F iv

e it e m

s fr

o m

th e

C o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

S ca

le (C

B S )

d e ve

lo p e d

fo r

th is

p ar

ti cu

la r

st u d y.

R e sp

o n d e n ts

in d ic

at e d

w h e th

e r

th e y

h ad

u se

d an

y o f th

e b e h av

io rs

lis te

d , an

d th

e n

w h e th

e r

th e ir

p ar

tn e r

h ad

u se

d an

y. F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (0

) to

a lw

a ys

(4 )

to in

d ic

at e

th e

o cc

u rr

e n ce

an d

fr e q u e n cy

o f co

n tr

o lli

n g

ac ts

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

d is

ap p ro

ve o f th

e o th

e r

w o rk

in g

o r

st u d yi

n g?

(2 ) if

ye s,

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

tr y

to p re

ve n t

o r

m ak

e d if fi cu

lt th

e o th

e r

w o rk

in g

o r

st u d yi

n g?

(3 )

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

fe e l it

w as

n e ce

ss ar

y to

h av

e co

n tr

o l o f th

e o th

e r’

s m

o n e y

(e .g

., w

ag e , b e n e fi t)

? (4

) if

ye s,

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

gi ve

th e

o th

e r

an al

lo w

an ce

/r e q u ir

e o th

e r

to as

k fo

r m

o n e y?

(5 )

d id

yo u /y

o u r

p ar

tn e r

h av

e k n o w

le d ge

o f th

e fa

m ily

in co

m e ?

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

G u p ta

, J. , F al

b , K

. L .,

L e h m

an n , H

., K

p e b o , D

., X

u an

, Z

., H

o ss

ai n , M

., Z

im m

e rm

an , C

., W

at ts

, C

., an

d A

n n an

, J.

(2 0 1 3 )

Iv o ry

C o as

t R

u ra

l vi

lla ge

s 9 3 4

W o m

e n

w it h

p ar

tn e rs

P u rp

o si

ve sa

m p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. D

ic h o to

m iz

e d

to b in

ar y

su m

m ar

y sc

o re

, “y

e s”

to an

y o r

“n o ”

to al

l o ve

r p as

t ye

ar . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) ta

k e n

m o n e y

ag ai

n st

h e r

w ill

, (2

) re

fu se

d m

o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

n e ce

ss it ie

s, an

d (3

) o b lig

e d

th e

w o m

an to

gi ve

h im

al l o r

p ar

t o f th

e m

o n e y

sh e

e ar

n e d

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

268

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (1

9 9 9 )

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 2 ,4

1 0

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n .

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (2

0 0 0 a)

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,3

3 4

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H aj

-Y ah

ia , M

. M

. (2

0 0 0 b )

P al

e st

in e

H o u se

h o ld

s 2 ,4

1 0

M ar

ri e d

w o m

e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. P ar

t o f a

3 2 -i te

m in

st ru

m e n t

d e ve

lo p e d

sp e ci

fi ca

lly fo

r th

is su

rv e y

to m

e as

u re

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l, p h ys

ic al

, se

x u al

, an

d e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. C

la ss

ic al

it e m

te st

th e o ry

w as

u se

d to

cr e at

e th

e sc

al e s

u se

d af

te r

d at

a co

lle ct

io n

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

m o n e y

as yo

u se

e fi t

an d

(2 )

tr ie

d to

co n tr

o l yo

u r

b e h av

io r

o r

fo rc

e yo

u to

d o

w h at

h e

w an

ts , w

h ile

m is

u si

n g

th e

fa m

ily ’s

in co

m e

an d

o th

e r

re so

u rc

e s

to d o

so C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

H ar

n e d , M

. S . (2

0 0 1 )

U S A

C am

p u s

se tt

in g

8 7 4

F e m

al e

an d

m al

e co

lle ge

st u d e n ts

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

A B

I- 1 2

(S h e p ar

d &

C am

p b e ll,

1 9 9 2 )

U n sp

e ci

fi e d

it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d , 1 2 -i te

m p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l ab

u se

su b sc

al e

o f a

ge n e ra

l ab

u se

m e as

u re

. E x am

p le

s re

fe re

n ce

d in

cl u d e d : (1

) re

st ri

ct io

n o f fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s

an d

(2 )

h as

a d at

in g

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

h av

in g

m o n e y

fo r

yo u r

o w

n u se

? C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

269

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

H u an

g, C

-C .,

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

V ik

se , J.

H .,

an d

W an

g, L -R

. (2

0 1 3 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,1

0 7

m o th

e rs

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. M

e as

u re

d (n

e ve

r, so

m e ti m

e s,

o r

o ft

e n ) o ve

r p as

t 1 2

m o n th

s. C

o d e d

“y e s”

if a

w o m

an h ad

e x p e ri

e n ce

d e it h e r

o f th

e tw

o ab

u se

it e m

s “o

ft e n ”

o r

“s o m

e ti m

e s.

” C

o d e d

“n o ”

if a

w o m

an re

p o rt

e d

“n e ve

r” fo

r b o th

it e m

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h e

tr ie

d to

p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l an

d (2

) h e

w it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y,

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

D e fi n e d

as in

cl u d in

g “e

m p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge ,

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n .”

D e fi n e d

as d is

ti n ct

fr o m

n o rm

al p at

te rn

s o f

fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g in

re la

ti o n sh

ip s

d u e

to n at

u re

o f co

n tr

o l in

vo lv

e d . O

n e

p ar

tn e r

d o e s

n o t

al lo

w th

e o th

e r

an y

sa y

in fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s,

co n tr

o ls

h e r

w o rk

ac ti vi

ti e s

an d

u se

o f in

co m

e ,

ru in

s cr

e d it

as m

e an

s to

in cr

e as

e fi n an

ci al

d e p e n d e n ce

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

H u an

g, C

-C .,

V ik

se , J.

H .,

L u , S .,

an d

Y i,

S . (2

0 1 5 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,4

1 0

M o th

e rs

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. F re

q u e n cy

th at

fa th

e r

h ad

co m

m it te

d th

e se

ty p e s

o f b e h av

io rs

m e as

u re

d (n

e ve

r, so

m e ti m

e s,

o r

o ft

e n ) o ve

r p as

t 1 2

m o n th

s. C

o d e d

“y e s”

if a

w o m

an h ad

e x p e ri

e n ce

d e it h e r

o f

th e

tw o

ab u se

it e m

s “o

ft e n ”

o r

“s o m

e ti m

e s.

” C

o d e d

“n o ”

if a

w o m

an re

p o rt

e d

“n e ve

r” fo

r b o th

it e m

s. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h e

tr ie

d to

p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l an

d (2

) h e

w it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y,

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Je w

k e s,

R .,

P e n n -K

e k an

a, L .,

L e vi

n , J. ,

R at

sa k a,

M .,

an d

S ch

ri e b e r,

M .

(2 0 0 0 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,3

0 6

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , m

u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

, m

e as

u re

d as

p ar

t o f

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

in p as

t ye

ar . It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d fr

o m

w o rk

in g,

(2 )

p ar

tn e r

h as

n o t

p ro

vi d e d

m o n e y

to ru

n th

e h o m

e o r

lo o k

af te

r ch

ild re

n b u t

h as

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs , an

d (3

) e vi

ct io

n fr

o m

h o m

e .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Je w

k e s,

R . K

., L e vi

n , J.

B .,

an d

P e n n -

K e k an

a, L . A

. (2

0 0 3 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

H o u se

h o ld

s 1 ,1

6 4

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , m

u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) h av

in g

n o t

b e e n

gi ve

n m

o n e y

to ru

n th

e h o m

e w

h e n

h e r

p ar

tn e r

h ad

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs an

d (2

) h av

in g

h e r

e ar

n in

gs ta

k e n

b y

h e r

p ar

tn e r

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

Jo yn

e r,

K .,

an d

M as

h , R

. J.

(2 0 1 1 )

S o u th

A fr

ic a

R u ra

l h e al

th cl

in ic

s 1 6 8

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

fr o m

p u rp

o se

fu lly

se le

ct e d

si te

s

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) w

it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y,

(2 )

co n tr

o lli

n g

d e ci

si o n s,

o r

(3 )

ta k in

g m

o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

m e n ti o n

o f ta

ct ic

s 3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

K ap

ig a,

S .,

H ar

ve y,

S .,

M u h am

m ad

, A

. K

., S to

ck l,

H .,

M sh

an a,

G .,

H as

h im

, R

., H

an se

n , C

., L e e s,

S .,

an d

W at

ts ,

C . (2

0 1 7 )

T an

za n ia

M ic

ro fi n an

ce /l o an

gr o u p s

1 ,0

4 9

W o m

e n

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. S e ve

ri ty

d e te

rm in

e d

b as

e d

o n

n u m

b e r

o f “y

e s”

an sw

e rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d :(

1 ) re

fu se

s to

gi ve

yo u

e n o u gh

m o n e y

fo r

h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s, e ve

n w

h e n

h e

h as

m o n e y

fo r

o th

e r

th in

gs , (2

) ta

k e s

m o n e y

th at

yo u

h av

e e ar

n e d

aw ay

fr o m

yo u , an

d (3

) m

ak e s

im p o rt

an t

fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s

w it h o u t

co n su

lt in

g yo

u C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

m e n ti o n

o f ta

ct ic

s 3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

270

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

K u ti n , J. , R

u ss

e ll,

R .,

an d

R e id

, M

. (2

0 1 7 )

A u st

ra lia

C o m

m u n it y

1 3 ,3

0 7

W o m

e n

an d

3 ,7

4 3

M e n

R an

d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

F iv

e it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. L if e ti m

e ab

u se

m e as

u re

d w

it h

d ic

h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

h e r/

h is

m o n e y,

(2 )

p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

fr o m

w o rk

in g

o r

e ar

n in

g m

o n e y

o r

st u d yi

n g,

(3 )

p ar

tn e r

d e p ri

ve d

yo u

o f b as

ic n e e d s

(e .g

., fo

o d , sh

e lt e r,

sl e e p , as

si st

iv e

ai d s)

, (4

) P ar

tn e r

d am

ag e d , d e st

ro ye

d o r

st o le

an y

o f yo

u r

p ro

p e rt

y, an

d (5

) p ar

tn e r

st o p p e d

o r

tr ie

d to

st o p

yo u

fr o m

u si

n g

th e

te le

p h o n e , In

te rn

e t

o r

fa m

ily ca

r. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rm

o f IP

V in

vo lv

in g

b e h av

io rs

ai m

e d

at m

an ip

u la

ti n g

a p e rs

o n ’s

ac ce

ss to

fi n an

ce s,

as se

ts ,

an d

d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g to

fo st

e r

d e p e n d e n ce

an d

co n tr

o l.

E co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l,

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n , an

d e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge id

e n ti fi e d

as th

re e

d im

e n si

o n s

co m

p ri

si n g

th e

o ve

ra ll

co n st

ru ct

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

m e n ti o n e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

L e h m

an n , P .,

S im

m o n s,

C . A

., an

d P ill

ai , V

. K

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

S h e lt e r

se tt

in g

2 ,1

3 5

F e m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

C h e ck

lis t

o f C

o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

(C C

B )

to o l u se

d to

as se

ss fo

r co

e rc

iv e

co n tr

o l in

vi o le

n t

re la

ti o n sh

ip s

d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

S e ve

n -i te

m su

b sc

al e

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h e

5 -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e re

sp o n se

st yl

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r (1

) to

ve ry

fr e q u e n tl y

(5 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

n o t

al lo

w m

e e q u al

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily m

o n e y;

(2 )

to ld

m e

o r

ac te

d as

if it

w as

h is

m o n e y,

h is

h o u se

, h is

ca r,

an d

so o n , (3

) th

re at

e n e d

to w

it h h o ld

m o n e y

fr o m

m e , (4

) m

ad e

m e

as k

fo r

m o n e y

fo r

b as

ic n e ce

ss it ie

s; (5

) u se

d m

y fe

ar o f n o t

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

to co

n tr

o l

m y

b e h av

io r,

(6 ) m

ad e

m e

ac co

u n t fo

r th

e m

o n e y

I sp

e n t,

an d

(7 )

tr ie

d to

k e e p

m e

d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

fo r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

R e fe

rs to

“w it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y”

as ro

u ti n e

b ar

ri e r

u se

d to

e n tr

ap , is

o la

te , an

d co

n tr

o l a

su rv

iv o r.

E co

n o m

ic co

e rc

io n

an d

th re

at s

to w

it h h o ld

fi n an

ci al

m e an

s fo

r fo

o d

o r

h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

re fe

re n ce

d 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

L it tw

in , A

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

P e rs

o n al

co n ta

ct s/

D V

e -m

ai l lis

ts /

co al

it io

n s

5 5

D V

la w

ye rs

/a d vo

ca te

s S n o w

b al

l sa

m p le

R e vi

se d

C o n fl ic

t T

ac ti cs

S ca

le (M

u rr

ay S tr

au s

e t

al .,

1 9 9 6 ).

T w

o it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d

m e as

u re

o f ab

u se

ad d re

ss in

g e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) va

n d al

iz e

yo u r

p ro

p e rt

y o r

d e st

ro y

so m

e th

in g

yo u

lo ve

d , ca

u si

n g

yo u

to b e

fr ig

h te

n e d

o r

fe ar

b o d ily

h ar

m an

d (2

) st

an d

o u ts

id e

yo u r

h o m

e , sc

h o o l,

o r

w o rk

p la

ce C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E E

E S

F in

an ci

al co

n tr

o l,

e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , co

n tr

o l

o ve

r fa

m ily

fi n an

ce s,

re st

ri ct

e d

ac ce

ss to

k n o w

le d ge

ab o u t

fi n an

ce s.

T ac

ti cs

u se

d as

fo u n d at

io n

th at

al lo

w s

fo r

co e rc

e d

d e b t

to o cc

u r,

w h e re

vi ct

im h as

d e cr

e as

e d

ab ili

ty to

p re

ve n t

tr an

sa ct

io n s

to w

h ic

h sh

e d o e s

n o t

co n se

n t.

T h is

in cl

u d e s

cr e d it

fr au

d an

d th

e ft

as w

e ll

as in

ti m

id at

io n /t

h re

at s/

vi o le

n ce

th at

k e e p

vi ct

im fr

o m

co n fr

o n ti n g

ab u se

r w

it h

is su

e s

o f cr

e d it

fr au

d o r

o th

e r

fo rm

s o f co

e rc

e d

d e b t

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

271

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

M e rr

ill , G

. S .,

an d

W o lf e , V

. (2

0 0 0 )

U S A

D V

an d

H IV

ag e n ci

e s

se rv

in g

m e n

o f

co lo

r 5 2

ga y/

b is

e x u al

m al

e IP

V vi

ct im

s C

o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. N

o t

al l

it e m

s d e ta

ile d . T

h o se

d e sc

ri b e d

ar e

as fo

llo w

s: (1

) d am

ag in

g p ro

p e rt

y w

h ic

h b e lo

n ge

d to

re sp

o n d e n t,

(2 )

h ar

as si

n g

re sp

o n d e n t

at w

o rk

o r

sc h o o l,

(3 )

ca u si

n g

re sp

o n d e n t

to m

is s

w o rk

o r

sc h o o l,

(4 )

ca lli

n g

an d

vi si

ti n g

re sp

o n d e n t

at w

o rk

o r

sc h o o l

e x ce

ss iv

e ly

, (5

) m

ak in

g re

sp o n d e n t

fe e l h e

w as

e n ti tl e d

to re

sp o n d e n ts

’ fi n an

ci al

su p p o rt

, (6

) re

fu si

n g

to co

n tr

ib u te

to h is

p o rt

io n

o f e x p e n se

s, an

d (7

) si

gn if ic

an tl y

in te

rr u p ti n g

w o rk

, e d u ca

ti o n

an d /o

r ca

re e r

d e ve

lo p m

e n t

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

F o rc

in g

e co

n o m

ic d e p e n d e n ce

, p re

ve n ti n g

th e

vi ct

im fr

o m

ac ce

ss in

g fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s,

d e st

ro yi

n g

p ro

p e rt

y, re

st ri

ct in

g p ar

tn e rs

fr o m

at te

n d in

g sc

h o o l,

w o rk

in g,

ac ce

ss in

g an

y so

u rc

e o f

in d e p e n d e n t

in co

m e , d am

ag in

g o r

st e al

in g

p ro

p e rt

y, u si

n g

su p e ri

o r

w e al

th as

a w

e ap

o n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

N ag

as sa

r, R

. P .,

R aw

lin s,

J. M

., S am

p so

n , N

. R

., Z

ac k e ra

li, J. ,

C h an

k ad

ya l,

K .,

R am

as ir

, C

., an

d B

o o d ra

m , R

. (2

0 1 0 )

T ri

n id

ad H

o u se

h o ld

s 2 9 0

W o m

e n

S tr

at if ie

d , ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

N o

m e as

u re

m e n t

in fo

rm at

io n

in cl

u d e d

1 )

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

2 )

N o t

va lid

at e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

T h e

w it h h o ld

in g

o r

d e p ri

va ti o n

o f fu

n d s

fo r

e ss

e n ti al

n e e d s,

ga m

b lin

g aw

ay th

e h o u se

k e e p in

g m

o n e y,

p u rp

o se

ly b u ild

in g

d e b ts

an d

se lli

n g

o f n e ce

ss ar

y h o u se

h o ld

it e m

s. 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

O u tl aw

, M

. (2

0 0 9 )

U S A

P h o n e

su rv

e y

1 1 ,2

9 1

W o m

e n

an d

m e n

w it h

p ar

tn e rs

S u b sa

m p le

o f n at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

.D ic

h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

as to

w h e th

e r

re sp

o n d e n ts

’c u rr

e n t p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n ts

h im

/h e r

fr o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n w

h e n

s/ h e

as k s.

Q u e st

io n

o n

su rv

e y

ab o u t

p ro

h ib

it in

g w

o rk

o u ts

id e

th e

h o m

e w

as n o t

in cl

u d e d

in an

al ys

is as

au th

o r

st at

e s

th is

co u ld

b e

re p re

se n ta

ti ve

o f e it h e r

e co

n o m

ic o r

so ci

al ab

u se

. C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

Im p o se

d e co

n o m

ic d e p e n d e n ce

o f th

e ab

u se

d b y

th e

ab u se

r, p o ss

ib le

o u tr

ig h t

st e al

in g

b y

ab u se

r. A

b u se

r d e ci

d e s

w h e n

an d

if su

rv iv

o r

ge ts

m o n e y

e ve

n if

sh e

e ar

n s

it an

d h o w

m u ch

sh e

ge ts

. In

ad e q u at

e am

o u n t

o f m

o n e y

gi ve

n , su

rv iv

o r

h as

to as

k fo

r m

o re

, st

e al

o r

b o rr

o w

fr o m

o th

e rs

to m

e e t

b as

ic n e e d s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

P o o le

, C

., an

d R

ie ts

ch lin

, J.

(2 0 1 2 )

C an

ad a

P h o n e

su rv

e y

U n sp

e ci

fi e d

n u m

b e r

o f fe

m al

e an

d m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

o ve

r ag

e 6 0

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

d am

ag e s

o r

d e st

ro ys

yo u r

p o ss

e ss

io n s

o r

p ro

p e rt

y, an

d (2

) p re

ve n ts

yo u

fr o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

th e

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n if

yo u

as k .

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

H u an

g, C

.C .,

S ty

lia n o u ,

A . M

. (2

0 1 2 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,3

0 5

M o th

e rs

in vo

lv e d

w it h

fa th

e rs

o f th

e ir

ch ild

re n

1 -y

e ar

p o st

b as

e lin

e S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o r.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) H

e w

it h h e ld

m o n e y,

m ad

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y

o r

to o k

yo u r

m o n e y,

an d

(2 ) H

e tr

ie d

to p re

ve n t

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

an d /o

r sc

h o o l.

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

In cl

u d e s

e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l,

an d

e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

(c o n ti n u ed

)

272

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

P lu

m m

e r,

S .,

M cM

ah o n ,

S .,

M u rs

h id

, N

. S .,

an d

K im

, M

-S .

(2 0 1 2 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 2 0

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

-1 2

(S E A

-1 2 ; P o st

m u s

e t

al .,

2 0 1 6 ).

V al

id at

e d

re vi

si o n

o f th

e S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(S E A

;A d am

s e t al

., 2 0 0 8 ).

F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

- ty

p e

sc al

e ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ).

T w

e lv

e it e m

s co

m p ri

si n g

th re

e fa

ct o rs

n am

e d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l(

5 it e m

s) ,e

m p lo

ym e n t sa

b o ta

ge (4

it e m

s) , an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s) C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

D e fi n e d

as e ff o rt

s o f ab

u se

r to

m ak

e p ar

tn e r

e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t,

co n tr

o lin

g h e r

ab ili

ty to

b e co

m e

se lf -s

u ff ic

ie n t,

ac co

m p lis

h e d

b y

m ai

n ta

in in

g co

m p le

te co

n tr

o l o ve

r m

o n e y

an d

o th

e r

e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s

b y

m ak

in g

al l fi n an

ci al

d e ci

si o n s,

re d u ci

n g

ab ili

ty to

ac q u ir

e , u se

, an

d m

ai n ta

in m

o n e y,

an d /o

r b y

fo rc

in g

h e r

to re

ly o n

ab u se

r fo

r al

l o f fi n an

ci al

n e e d s.

T ac

ti cs

id e n ti fi e d

in cl

u d e

fo rm

s o f e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge , co

e rc

e d

d e b t,

in st

it u ti o n al

b ar

ri e rs

to re

in fo

rc e

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e x p lo

it at

io n

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

P lu

m m

e r,

S . B

., an

d S ty

lia n o u , A

. M

. (2

0 1 6 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

1 2 0

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S ca

le o f E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

-1 2

(S E A

-1 2 ) d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

R e vi

si o n

o f th

e S ca

le o f

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

(S E A

; A

d am

s e t

al .,

2 0 0 8 ).

F iv

e -

p o in

t L ik

e rt

-t yp

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n ev

er (1

) to

q u it e

o ft en

(5 ).

E x p lo

ra to

ry fa

ct o r

an al

ys is

re su

lt e d

in th

e 2 8 -i te

m S E A

b e in

g re

d u ce

d to

1 2

it e m

s co

m p ri

si n g

th re

e fa

ct o rs

n am

e d

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l

(5 it e m

s) , e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge (4

it e m

s) , an

d e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s) C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

S tr

at e gi

e s

in cl

u d in

g e co

n o m

ic e x p lo

it at

io n ,

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l an

d e m

p lo

ym e n t

sa b o ta

ge th

at h in

d e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

an d

d am

ag e

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -e

ff ic

ac y.

T ac

ti cs

p re

ve n ti n g

w o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e ac

q u is

it io

n , p re

ve n ti n g

w o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e u se

, an

d e x p lo

it in

g w

o m

e n ’s

re so

u rc

e s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

R ab

b an

i, F .,

Q u re

sh i,

F .,

an d

R iz

vi , N

. (2

0 0 8 )

P ak

is ta

n C

o m

m u n it y-

b as

e d

h e al

th an

d d e ve

lo p m

e n t

p ro

gr am

1 0 8

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

N o

in fo

rm at

io n

o n

sp e ci

fi c

m e as

u re

o r

se m

is tr

u ct

u re

d in

te rv

ie w

q u e st

io n s

u se

d . In

re su

lt s,

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

is re

fe rr

e d

to as

e co

n o m

ic co

n tr

o l in

cl u d in

g: w

it h h o ld

in g

m o n e y

fr o m

vi ct

im ,r

e fu

si n g

to m

e e t h o u se

h o ld

e x p e n se

s, st

e al

in g

va lu

ab le

as se

ts su

ch as

p e rs

o n al

je w

e lr

y, la

n d , an

d so

o n . U

n cl

e ar

w h e th

e r

th e se

w e re

p re

d e te

rm in

e d

ca te

go ri

e s

o r

if th

e y

w e re

q u al

it at

iv e

re sp

o n se

s th

at w

e re

q u an

ti fi e d

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

R o m

an s,

S . F o rt

e , T

., C

o h e n , M

. M

., D

u M

o n t,

J. , an

d H

ym an

, I.

(2 0 0 7 )

C an

ad a

P h o n e

su rv

e y

1 7 ,0

0 5

w o m

e n

an d

m e n

w it h

cu rr

e n t

o r

e x -p

ar tn

e r

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

O n e

it e m

ch o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. D

ic h o to

m o u s

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

M e as

u re

d u si

n g

th e

fo llo

w in

g it e m

: “H

as yo

u r

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

k n o w

in g

ab o u t

o r

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

th e

fa m

ily in

co m

e , e ve

n if

yo u

as k e d ?”

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

S ah

ra ia

n , A

., G

h an

iz ad

e h , A

., H

as h e m

i, S . H

., M

o h am

m ad

i, M

. R

., an

d A

h m

ad za

d e h , L . (2

0 1 5 )

Ir an

P sy

ch ia

tr ic

in p at

ie n t

p ro

gr am

2 0 9

w o m

e n

m ar

ri e d

to p sy

ch ia

tr ic

p at

ie n ts

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

F o u r

it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o rs

. F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

st yl

e sc

al e , ra

n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r to

al w

ay s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) n o t

gi vi

n g

m o n e y

fo r

th e

e x p e n se

s to

th e

w if e , (2

) co

n st

an t

co n tr

o l o ve

r h e r

e x p e n se

s, (3

) n o t

te lli

n g

h e r

ab o u t

h is

in co

m e , an

d 4 )

o p p o si

n g

to h e r

h av

in g

a jo

b C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

273

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

S an

d e rs

, C

. K

. (2

0 1 4 )

U S A

M at

ch e d

sa vi

n gs

p ro

gr am

fo r

IP V

su rv

iv o rs

1 2 5

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. M

e th

o d s

st at

e th

at “h

is to

ry o f e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

” w

as ga

th e re

d fr

o m

sh e lt e r

in ta

k e . N

o fu

rt h e r

d e ta

ils o n

m e as

u re

m e n t

o f co

n st

ru ct

o r

q u e st

io n s

u se

d C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

V ar

ie ty

o f ta

ct ic

s th

at n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

w o m

e n

fi n an

ci al

ly an

d u n d e rm

in e

e ff o rt

s to

b e co

m e

fi n an

ci al

ly in

d e p e n d e n t,

in cl

u d in

g b e h av

io rs

th at

re st

ri ct

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

p u rs

u e

e d u ca

ti o n

o r

ga in

o r

m ai

n ta

in e m

p lo

ym e n t.

A b u se

r al

so re

st ri

ct s,

m o n it o rs

, o r

co m

p le

te ly

co n tr

o ls

ac ce

ss to

fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E S

S e le

k , S .,

V u ra

l, M

., an

d C

ak m

ak , I.

(2 0 1 2 )

T u rk

e y

U n iv

e rs

it y

te ac

h in

g h o sp

it al

se tt

in g

9 6

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

e m

p lo

ye d

as n u rs

e s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

M o d if ie

d A

b u se

A ss

e ss

m e n t

S cr

e e n

Q u e st

io n n ai

re .

N o

sp e ci

fi c

d e ta

ils p ro

vi d e d

re ga

rd in

g m

e as

u re

m e n t

q u e st

io n s

in sc

re e n in

g to

o l re

la te

d to

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

u n cl

e ar

D e sc

ri b e d

as “p

re ve

n ti o n

o f w

o rk

in g,

m ak

in g

m o n e y,

b u yi

n g,

se lli

n g

o r

se iz

u re

o f re

ve n u e s

o f so

m e o n e .”

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

S im

m o n s,

C . A

., L e h m

an n , P .,

an d

C o lli

e r-

T e n is

o n , S . (2

0 0 8 )

U S A

O ff e n d e rs

p ro

gr am

7 7

fe m

al e

IP V

p e rp

e tr

at o rs

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

2 ,1

3 5

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S e ve

n it e m

s fr

o m

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

su b sc

al e

in C

h e ck

lis t

o f C

o n tr

o lli

n g

B e h av

io rs

(C C

B ;

L e h m

an n , 1 9 9 8 ).

V al

id at

e d

8 4 -i te

m m

e as

u re

u se

d to

as se

ss fo

r co

e rc

iv e

co n tr

o l in

vi o le

n t

re la

ti o n sh

ip s.

F iv

e -p

o in

t L ik

e rt

st yl

e sc

al e

ra n gi

n g

fr o m

n e ve

r (1

) to

ve ry

fr e q u e n tl y

(5 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) d id

n o t

al lo

w m

e e q u al

ac ce

ss to

fa m

ily m

o n e y,

(2 )

to ld

m e

o r

ac te

d as

if it

w as

h is

m o n e y,

h is

h o u se

, h is

ca r,

an d

so o n , (3

) th

re at

e n e d

to w

it h h o ld

m o n e y

fr o m

m e , (4

) m

ad e

m e

as k

fo r

m o n e y

fo r

b as

ic n e ce

ss it ie

s, (5

) u se

d m

y fe

ar o f n o t

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y

to co

n tr

o l

m y

b e h av

io r,

(6 ) m

ad e

m e

ac co

u n t fo

r th

e m

o n e y

I sp

e n t,

an d

(7 )

tr ie

d to

k e e p

m e

d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

fo r

m o n e y

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 .

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 .

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 .

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

S to

ck l,

H .,

an d

P e n h al

e , B

. (2

0 1 5 )

G e rm

an y

C o m

m u n it y

re gi

st ra

ti o n

lis ts

1 0 ,2

6 3

w o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T h re

e it e m

s fr

o m

va lid

at e d

3 3 -q

u e st

io n

to o l th

at al

so ad

d re

ss e d

e m

o ti o n al

ab u se

an d

co n tr

o lli

n g

b e h av

io r.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p ar

tn e r

co n tr

o ls

e x ac

tl y

h o w

m u ch

m o n e y

I sp

e n d

o n

w h at

, (2

) m

ak e s

m e

fe e l th

at I am

fi n an

ci al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

h im

, an

d (3

) d o e s

n o t

le t

m e

d e ci

d e

ab o u t

m o n e y

o r

th in

gs I w

an t

to b u y

b y

m ys

e lf

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

274

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

S ty

lia n o u , A

. M

., P o st

m u s,

J. L .,

an d

M cM

ah o n , S . (2

0 1 3 )

U S A

D V

ag e n ci

e s

4 5 7

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

S E A

-1 2

(P o st

m u s,

P lu

m m

e r,

& S ty

lia n o u , 2 0 1 6 )

m e as

u ri

n g

e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

. T

h re

e su

b sc

al e s

n am

e d

E co

n o m

ic C

o n tr

o l (5

it e m

s— m

o n it o ri

n g/

re st

ri ct

in g

w o m

an ’s

ab ili

ty to

fr e e ly

u se

re so

u rc

e s)

, E m

p lo

ym e n t

S ab

o ta

ge (4

it e m

s— b lo

ck in

g e m

p lo

ym e n t

o r

re st

ri ct

in g

ab ili

ty to

o b ta

in re

so u rc

e s

vi a

e m

p lo

ym e n t)

, an

d E co

n o m

ic E x p lo

it at

io n

(3 it e m

s— d e p le

ti o n

o f fu

n d s

an d /o

r cr

e at

io n

o f d e b t

o r

ru in

in g

o f cr

e d it )

T w

o e co

n o m

ic ab

u se

q u e st

io n s

fr o m

p sy

ch o lo

gi ca

l ab

u se

su b sc

al e

o f va

lid at

e d

A b u si

ve B

e h av

io r

In d e x

(A B

I; S h e p ar

d &

C am

p b e ll,

1 9 9 2 ).

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) p re

ve n te

d yo

u fr

o m

h av

in g

m o n e y

fo r

yo u r

o w

n u se

an d

(2 )

p u t

yo u

o n

an al

lo w

an ce

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

U si

n g

m e an

s to

co n tr

o l su

rv iv

o r

th at

h in

d e r

h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -s

u ff ic

ie n cy

an d

d am

ag e

h e r

e co

n o m

ic se

lf -e

ff ic

ac y.

D e sc

ri p ti o n

in cl

u d e s

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

fr o m

w o rk

in g,

h ar

as si

n g

h e r

at w

o rk

,r u in

in g

h e r

cr e d it

sc o re

,d e m

an d in

g th

at sh

e ac

co u n t

fo r

al l e x p e n se

s, m

ak in

g u n ila

te ra

l d e ci

si o n s.

T h e se

ac ti o n s

re su

lt in

w o m

e n

b e co

m in

g e co

n o m

ic al

ly d e p e n d e n t

o n

p ar

tn e r

1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

U m

, M

. Y

., K

im , H

. J. , an

d P al

in k as

, L .

A . (2

0 1 6 )

S o u th

K o re

a H

o u se

h o ld

s 1 8 0

e ve

r- m

ar ri

e d

re fu

ge e

w o m

e n

S n o w

b al

l sa

m p le

T h re

e it e m

s in

a va

lid at

e d , M

o d if ie

d C

o n fl ic

t T

ac ti cs

S ca

le . D

ic h o to

m iz

e d

ye s/

n o

re sp

o n se

o p ti o n s.

It e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) m

y p ar

tn e r

d e p ri

ve d

m e

o f

m o n e y

to b u y

n e ce

ss it ie

s, (2

) m

y p ar

tn e r

d is

p o se

d o f p ro

p e rt

y w

it h o u t

m y

co n se

n t,

an d

(3 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

to o k

fu ll

co n tr

o l o f in

co m

e an

d e x p e n se

s C

o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

V o th

S ch

ra g,

R . J.

(2 0 1 5 )

U S A

H o sp

it al

se tt

in g

2 ,7

7 7

m o th

e rs

w h o

w e re

al so

IP V

vi ct

im s

S u b sa

m p le

fr o m

st ra

ti fi e d ,

m u lt is

ta ge

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

T w

o it e m

s ch

o se

n b y

au th

o r.

M e as

u re

d d ic

h o to

m o u sl

y, w

it h

“s o m

e ti m

e s”

an d

“o ft

e n ”

as “y

e s.

” It

e m

s in

cl u d e d : (1

) H

o w

o ft

e n

d id

/d o e s

p ar

tn e r

tr y

to k e e p

yo u

fr o m

go in

g to

w o rk

o r

sc h o o l?

an d

(2 )

H o w

o ft

e n

d id

/d o e s

p ar

tn e r

w it h h o ld

m o n e y,

m ak

e yo

u as

k fo

r m

o n e y

o r

ta k e

yo u r

m o n e y?

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

T ac

ti cs

u se

d to

cr e at

e b ar

ri e rs

to e co

n o m

ic se

cu ri

ty in

cl u d in

g d e st

ro yi

n g

cr e d it , st

e al

in g

fi n an

ci al

re so

u rc

e s,

lim it in

g p ar

ti ci

p at

io n

in e co

n o m

ic d e ci

si o n -m

ak in

g. A

d d it io

n al

ta ct

ic s

d e sc

ri b e d

in cl

u d e

sa b o ta

gi n g

e m

p lo

ym e n t;

m ak

in g

e co

n o m

ic th

re at

s; lim

it in

g, d e st

ro yi

n g,

an d

co n tr

o lli

n g

w o m

an ’s

ac ce

ss to

e co

n o m

ic re

so u rc

e s;

p re

ve n ti n g

h e r

p ar

ti ci

p at

io n

in e co

n o m

ic lif

e an

d d e ci

si o n s

o f th

e fa

m ily

; d e lib

e ra

te sa

b o ta

gi n g

o f

re so

u rc

e s;

d e st

ro yi

n g

cr e d it ; p re

ve n ti n g

ab ili

ty to

o b ta

in an

d m

ai n ta

in e m

p lo

ym e n t

o r

cr e d e n ti al

s, an

d st

e al

in g

m o n e y

o r

p ro

p e rt

y 1 )

C le

ar ly

d e fi n e d

2 )

T ac

ti cs

in cl

u d e d

3 )

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

W at

ts , C

., K

e o gh

, E .,

N d lo

vu , M

., an

d K

w ar

am b a,

R . (1

9 9 8 )

Z im

b ab

w e

H o u se

h o ld

s 9 6 6

w o m

e n

N at

io n al

ly re

p re

se n ta

ti ve

, ra

n d o m

ly se

le ct

e d

sa m

p le

U n cl

e ar

se t

o f it e m

s cr

e at

e d

b y

au th

o rs

. D

e sc

ri b e d

o n

q u e st

io n n ai

re as

“b e in

g p re

ve n te

d fr

o m

go in

g to

w o rk

, th

ro w

n o u t

o f th

e h o m

e , n o t

gi ve

n av

ai la

b le

su p p o rt

m o n e y.

” N

o cl

e ar

in fo

rm at

io n

ab o u t

sp e ci

fi c

it e m

s u se

d to

m e as

u re

co n st

ru ct

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

1 )

N o t

cl e ar

ly d e fi n e d

2 )

N o

ta ct

ic s

in cl

u d e d

3 )

N o

co n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d

(c o n ti n u ed

)

275

T a b

le 2 .

(c o n ti n u e d )

S tu

d y

C o u n tr

y S am

p le

(L o ca

ti o n , G

e n d e r,

T yp

e )

H o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is M

e as

u re

d H

o w

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

Is D

e fi n e d

W e av

e r,

T .,

S an

d e rs

,C .K

., C

am p b e ll,

C . L .,

an d

S ch

n ab

e l,

M . (2

0 0 9 )

U S A

D V

sh e lt e r

se tt

in g

1 1 3

fe m

al e

IP V

vi ct

im s

C o n ve

n ie

n ce

sa m

p le

D o m

e st

ic V

io le

n ce

– R

e la

te d

F in

an ci

al Is

su e s

S ca

le (D

V -F

I) d e ve

lo p e d

an d

va lid

at e d

in th

is st

u d y.

E co

n o m

ic A

b u se

su b sc

al e

in cl

u d e d

th e

fo llo

w in

g it e m

s: (1

) cr

e d it

ca rd

d e b t

h as

p la

ye d

a ro

le in

m y

p re

vi o u s

e x p e ri

e n ce

s o f p ar

tn e r

vi o le

n ce

, (2

) m

y p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d m

e fr

o m

h av

in g

ac ce

ss to

m o n e y,

(3 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

e d

m y

cr e d it

ra ti n g,

(4 ) m

y p ar

tn e r

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

e d

m y

cr e d it

ca rd

d e b t,

(5 )

m y

p ar

tn e r

p re

ve n te

d m

e fr

o m

o b ta

in in

g n e ce

ss ar

y sk

ill s

o r

e d u ca

ti o n

to o b ta

in ad

e q u at

e e m

p lo

ym e n t

C o n st

ru ct

s ca

p tu

re d —

E C

E E

E S

T ac

ti cs

th at

n e ga

ti ve

ly af

fe ct

w o m

e n

fi n an

ci al

ly an

d u n d e rm

in e

th e ir

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276

articles used quantitative measures to examine the construct of

economic abuse, while two articles using mixed methods did

not use a specific quantitative measure and presented descrip-

tive statistics based on quantified qualitative data. Of the arti-

cles that used a specific measure to capture economic abuse,

most used measures that covered all three constructs (n ¼ 17). This was followed by articles using measures covering both

economic control and economic exploitation (n ¼ 14), and then by articles using measures that only captured economic control

(n ¼ 6). Three articles used measures capturing both economic control and employment sabotage. One article used a measure

capturing economic exploitation and employment sabotage.

Three articles did not provide specific measurement informa-

tion. Overall, economic control received the most attention

across measures used in articles (n ¼ 40). This was followed by economic exploitation (n ¼ 32) and then employment sabo- tage (n ¼ 21).

Researchers quantified economic abuse in the following

ways: used a specific validated tool, included economic abuse

items within a broader IPV measurement tool, or identified

economic abuse through a number of questions not in any

measurement tool. Five articles used validated tools that spe-

cifically measured the construct of economic abuse. Two of

these articles used the SEA, which captures and explicitly

names the constructs of economic control and economic

exploitation. Two of these articles used the SEA-12, a revised

version of the SEA, which captures and names as such the

constructs of economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage.

A number of articles used general IPV measurement tools

that also included items that capture the construct of economic

abuse. In each case, these items were representative of a com-

bination of economic control, economic exploitation, and/or

employment sabotage but were not named as such. One of these

articles used the ABI Psychological Abuse subscale-12, in

which economic abuse was a subscale of psychological abuse,

capturing the construct of economic control. The Checklist of

Controlling Behaviors was used in two articles and included an

economic abuse subscale capturing economic control and eco-

nomic exploitation. The DV-FI was used in one article and

included a subscale for economic abuse that captured all three

constructs. Two articles used different revised versions of the

Conflict Tactics Scale, one covering the constructs of eco-

nomic control and economic exploitation, and the other cover-

ing the constructs of economic exploitation and employment

sabotage. One article used a modified form of the Abuse

Assessment Screen Questionnaire but did not provide detail

about the question(s) that addressed economic abuse. Two arti-

cles used the Controlling Behaviors Scale including items that

captured the constructs of economic control and employment

sabotage.

Some articles did not use specific tools to measure economic

abuse but instead included a series of items chosen by the

researchers to represent the construct. Five articles used only

1 item to measure economic abuse. The item in each of these

five articles captured economic control. Nine articles used a

series of 2 items to measure the overall construct. Five of these

articles used items that captured economic control and eco-

nomic exploitation. Four of these articles included items that

captured economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage. Six articles used a series of 3 items in

their measurement of economic abuse. One article captured

only economic control. Four articles included items that

addressed economic control and economic exploitation. One

article captured economic control, economic exploitation, and

employment sabotage in its 3-item measure. Four articles used

a series of 4 items to measure economic abuse, with one of

these articles focusing on economic control and employment

sabotage, and the other three focusing on economic control,

economic exploitation, and employment sabotage. One article

used a series of 5 items to measure the overall construct. This

measure included items that captured economic control, eco-

nomic exploitation, and employment sabotage.

Three articles did not state the individual items used in their

measure of economic abuse, but one article described charac-

teristics of the measure that captured economic control and

economic exploitation in the findings. The other two articles

captured the constructs of economic control, economic exploi-

tation, and employment sabotage. Four articles presented an

unclear picture of how economic abuse was measured. Two

of these articles stated that they used quantitative tools to mea-

sure economic abuse but provided no specific information on

the items or tools used. The other two articles presenting an

unclear picture used mixed methods in data collection and

analysis and provided descriptive statistics on quantified qua-

litative data; however, they did not provide details on any

specific quantitative measure used in data collection.

Discussion

This global review of the literature provides answers to our

research questions as to how researchers define and measure

economic or financial abuse when examining IPV. The review

resulted in a large number of peer-reviewed articles coming

from countries representing almost all of the continents

(excluding Antarctica). However, the number of articles iden-

tified (n ¼ 46) is considerably small in comparison to the number of articles that would likely be identified in a global

review focused on physical or sexual violence.

Our review suggests there is growing clarity and consistency

of terminologies being used in these articles, as well as evi-

dence that economic abuse can be conceptualized as a separate

category from emotional abuse. However, further clarity is

needed as to whether economic abuse and financial abuse are

the same phenomenon and are therefore interchangeable or if

they are different but related concepts in the context of IPV.

Most of the articles focused on the same aspects of economic

abuse including economic exploitation, economic control, and

employment sabotage. Yet it is reasonable to question whether

there are other aspects of economic or financial abuse that are

yet to be included in measures of these forms of abuse. Indeed,

further research is needed that is guided by the marital

Postmus et al. 277

dependence theory (Vyas & Watts, 2008) and the interdepen-

dence theory (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003) which suggest that

a survivor’s increased financial dependence on an partner

increases her risk for experiencing abuse. Thus, to better under-

stand how and to what extent survivors’ increased access to

economic resources might lead to increased independence from

abusive relationships, we might also need to learn about the

modes of financial entrapment that are used to restrict eco-

nomic resources beyond those included as part of any measure-

ment used. The limited number of specific questions addressing

economic or financial abuse included in large-scale surveys

may well influence our understanding of perpetrator strategies

simply because we ask respondents to identify a limited range

of abusive behaviors.

Additionally, our analysis identified studies that primarily,

but not exclusively, focused on females as victims of economic

abuse. A few studies included heterosexual, gay, and bisexual

male victims from different settings including college cam-

puses, prisons, general communities, HIV agencies, and

domestic violence agencies. More research is needed to deter-

mine whether economic abuse, like other forms of IPV, is a

gendered phenomenon as well as to determine the prevalence

of economic abuse with a wide range of samples that include

both genders and different sexual orientations as victims and

perpetrators.

Our review also identified some consistency in the use of

validated measures including the SEA with 28 items or the

shortened SEA-12 version with 12 items (see Appendix A for

these two measures). Although used more frequently in studies

in the United States, questions remain as to the use of these

scales in other countries or in other languages. It is also of

interest as to whether other distinct questions measuring eco-

nomic or financial abuse would be more culturally relevant in

Hong Kong, for example, than those found to measure the

construct in the United States. It is clear that gender does matter

when considering cultural differences in the definition and

manifestation of economic abuse. For example, in a Chinese

population study of sociodemographic factors in domestic vio-

lence, Cao, Yang, Wang, and Zhang (2014) stressed the impor-

tance of cultural context, pointing to the sharp division of

gender roles and responsibility for financial matters being the

province of male family members based on Confucian philo-

sophy. Hence, this cultural context fundamentally contributes

to gender inequality and particular behavioral forms of IPV.

Further testing is needed to determine the impact of cultural

and linguistic nuances, particularly in the administration of

surveys where there is no opportunity to clarify or reframe a

question. For example, the SEA-12 is currently being adminis-

tered in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand to

test its cultural utility.

Additionally, conceptual clarity is needed when considering

use of the terms financial and economic abuse with other spe-

cific population groups such as older people. We purposefully

removed articles about economic exploitation or abuse among

the elderly in nonintimate relationships since such abuse is not

entirely the same as IPV. Conceptually, it is important to

distinguish between IPV with older couples and elder abuse

where the perpetrator is not the survivor’s partner. This is

pertinent as some research has suggested that the “patterning”

of abuse may change over the length of the relationship, with

physical abuse decreasing and emotional, financial, and sexual

abuse increasing with age over time (Bows, 2015). Such abuse

by an intimate partner would be a fundamentally different phe-

nomenon to abuse occurring in older age from a family member

or caregiver. Further exploration is needed to better understand

the intersection between economic abuse that is perpetrated

within an intimate relationship and age, as well as potential

differences when perpetrated by extended family members and

caregivers.

This review, while thorough in its efforts to unearth as many

articles as possible, was narrowly focused on the measurement

of economic and financial abuse. This review may also not

have found all articles due to differences in terminology. Addi-

tionally, this review only captured English language articles;

there may be research on economic or financial abuse pub-

lished in other languages (e.g., Spanish or Mandarin). We only

included peer-reviewed articles with full or partial quantitative

focus; additional work is needed to examine the gray literature,

conceptual articles, and qualitative articles. Australia is an

example of a country where the work on economic abuse and

economic security is primarily funded by government and sub-

sequently appears in the gray literature as opposed to peer-

reviewed publications.

Finally, it would be useful to establish at what point and in

which contexts the gendered division of the management of

financial resources and economic opportunities in intimate

relationships actually becomes financial control and abuse.

There is literature (mostly in the financial realm) about the

difference between financial management (i.e., paying bills and

managing households) and financial control (i.e., making deci-

sions around how money is spent). However, less is known

about this difference in the context of IPV, or in varied cultural

contexts where gender role expectations may directly influence

what is understood as economic or financial abuse, or not.

Implications

This review of the peer-reviewed literature provides a frame-

work that IPV researchers should consider when studying,

naming, and measuring economic or financial abuse. Since this

research is in its “infancy,” there are some key strategies for

developing knowledge and evidence in the future. The emer-

ging framework presented includes three main categories of

tactics; in furthering research in this area, it is worth consider-

ing whether there are tactics of economic abuse that we have

yet to identify. For example, the development of digital tech-

nologies has increased the types of surveillance tactics that

perpetrators now employ as part of their coercive control; there

may be economic abuse tactics that are yet to be identified as

such. To strengthen the research, we need to have stronger

collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology.

Part of that collaborative effort is to consider how language and

278 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE 21(2)

cultural differences may play a part in our understanding of

economic or financial abuse. There is also a need to collect

prevalence data and to study the impact of economic abuse in

the short term AND long term for victims. Research is also

needed to better understand how perpetrators use economic

or financial abuse as part of their overall strategy to control

partners (Table 3)

Additionally, there is a need to focus on economic or finan-

cial abuse in practice settings. Such focus should include

ensuring that practitioners have the relevant knowledge and

skills for assessing and responding to economic abuse, devel-

oping and testing interventions that address economic or

financial abuse, and improving survivors’ economic security.

There is evidence suggesting that women may not always iden-

tify their experiences of financial control and abuse or distin-

guish these from their experience of gendered financial

management. Hence, it is crucial that advocates are clear of these

distinctions and work with women to make transparent the per-

petrator’s use of strategies and tactics of economic and financial

abuse. Several studies exist that evaluate economic empower-

ment programs or financial literacy programs (Postmus, Hetling,

& Hoge, 2015; Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007); however,

these studies are limited to the United States and are limited in

their scope of program materials. Further research is needed to

determine whether improving ones financial knowledge

decreases the impact of experiencing economic or financial

abuse as it does on improving survivors’ access to resources,

economic self-efficacy, or economic self-sufficiency.

Finally, economic abuse can cause severe material depriva-

tion for women and can prevent them from becoming econom-

ically secure and independent (Corrie, 2016). Economic abuse

most often results in a lack of financial resources making it

difficult to leave a violent relationship and providing the impetus

for some women to feel they have no choice but to return to that

relationship (McLaren, 2013). The theories of marital depen-

dency and interdependence (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003; Vyas

& Watts, 2008) could provide greater understanding into how

economic abuse is used by abusers to trap their partners in the

relationship. As with all manifestations of IPV, economic abuse

affects women from all socioeconomic groups and geographic

locations. However, there is no doubt that intersections of

vulnerability include disability, older people, indigeneity, and

certain cultural, racial, or ethnic backgrounds.

Appendix A

The Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) and the SEA-12

Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA).

Adams, A. E., Sullivan, C. M., Bybee, D., & Greeson, M. R.

(2008). Development of the scale of economic abuse.

Violence Against Women, 14, 563–588.

I’m going to go through a list of things some individuals do

to hurt their partner or ex-partner financially. Could you tell

me, to the best of your recollection, how frequently your part-

ner or ex-partner has done any of the following things in the last

12 months. Your answer can range from 1 to 5. 1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ hardly ever, 3 ¼ sometimes, 4 ¼ Often, 5 ¼ Quite often.

Scale of Economic Abuse-12 (SEA-12).

Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S. B., & Stylianou, A. M. (2016).

Measuring economic abuse in the lives of survivors:

Revising the scale of economic abuse. Violence Against

Women, 22, 692–703.

I’m going to go through a list of things some individuals do

to hurt their partner or ex-partner financially. Could you tell

Table 3. Implications.

For research Further clarity and refinement is needed to determine whether economic abuse and financial abuse are the same phenomenon and therefore are interchangeable or if they are different but related concepts in the context of IPV

Further testing of measurements are needed to determine if all aspects of economic or financial abuse are included in current measures

Further testing of the SEA or the SEA-12 is needed to determine if relevant for use in other countries and cultural contexts

Further clarity is needed to determine the impact that gender and gender roles around financial management play in our understanding of economic abuse

Greater clarity is needed when considering use of the terms financial and economic abuse with other specific population groups such as older people

Need stronger collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology

Need prevalence data Need to determine the patterns of impact of

economic abuse in the short term and long term for victims

Need to better understand how perpetrators use economic or financial abuse as part of their overall strategy to control partners during the relationship and after separation

For practice Greater focus on economic abuse and its continuing consequences for victims

Greater awareness of economic abuse is needed as victims may not always identify their experiences of financial control and abuse

Interventions are needed to address economic abuse and improve economic security

Practitioners and advocates in specialist IPV and mainstream human services should have knowledge and skills to assess and respond to economic abuse

Financial institutions and other relevant organizations be encouraged to continue to develop policies and practices that take account of women’s circumstances of economic abuse when they are seeking credit or paying for debts incurred

Jurisdictions should include economic or financial abuse in the legal definitions of IPV

Postmus et al. 279

me, to the best of your recollection, how frequently your

partner or ex-partner has done any of the following things

in the last 12 months. Your answer can range from 1 to 5.

1 ¼ never, 2 ¼ hardly ever, 3 ¼ sometimes, 4 ¼ often, 5 ¼ quite often.

Authors’ Note

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs is now affiliated to Surviving Economic Abuse in

London, UK.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The work

for this manuscript was funded by the Rutgers University, Rutgers

Global.

Notes

1. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women does not explicitly mention violence against

women (VAW) but general recommendations 12 and 19 that clar-

ify the convention includes VAW and makes detailed recommen-

dations to state parties.

2. The convention on preventing and combating VAW and domestic

violence (later known as the Istanbul Convention) was adopted by

the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on April 7, 2011.

Following its 10th ratification by Andorra on April 22, 2014, it

entered into force on August 1, 2014. Retrieved September 11,

2016, from https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchSer

vices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId¼090000168046031c

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Author Biographies

Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, is a professor at the School of Social

Work, Rutgers University. Her research is on physical, sexual, and

economic victimization experiences of women with her most recent

attention given to developing a violence against women research con-

sortium, funded by the National Institute of Justice (2016-MU-CX-

K011). She is also the director of the Center on Violence Against

Women & Children. She has given many local, national, and interna-

tional presentations on the impact of policies and interventions for

survivors of violence. Her work is strongly influenced from her 20

years as a practitioner and administrator.

Gretchen L. Hoge, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor of social

work at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL and a faculty affiliate at

the Center on Violence Against Women & Children at Rutgers Uni-

versity. Her research explores the experiences of immigrant survivors

of intimate partner violence in varied cultural contexts, as well as the

evaluation of policies and programs addressing gender-based violence

and the development of healthy relationships. She has experience

working in the areas of community outreach and education, policy

practice, and direct practice with survivors of intimate partner vio-

lence and their children.

Jan Breckenridge, PhD, is the deputy head of school (research) in the

School of Social Sciences at UNSW Sydney, Australia. She was

instrumental in the establishment of the gendered violence research

network (GVRN) at UNSW, is the co-convenor of the GVRN. She has

a commitment to action and other participatory strategies of research

engagement and has undertaken extensive work and research in the

areas of trauma, domestic and sexual violence and child abuse, and

gender justice. Her research provides a focus for her commitment to

developing evidence-informed practice in these areas.

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, PhD, is the founder and director of surviving

economic abuse, a nonprofit organization in the UK whose mission

is to raise awareness of economic abuse and build the capacity of those

who come into contact with victims and survivors to respond. She has

been working in the violence against women and girls sector since

2006. In 2016, she was made a winston churchill fellow and travelled

to the U.S. and Australia to explore innovative responses to economic

abuse.

Donna Chung, PhD, is a professor of social work and social policy at

Curtin University in Perth, Australia. She has been involved in social

work education and social research for over 20 years undertaking

various teaching, research and management roles within higher

education. Her research interests are primarily the areas of male vio-

lence against women, homelessness, gender and sexuality and social

policy. She has worked on various research projects in these areas and

provides advice and consultancy to governments on policies and pro-

grams in these areas.

Postmus et al. 283

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Articles/Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2009.pdf

240

Economic Education for Battered Women An Evaluation of Outcomes

Cynthia K. Sanders Boise State University, Idaho Terri L. Weaver Saint Louis University, Missouri Meg Schnabel Redevelopment Opportunities for Women, St. Louis, Missouri

Economic education programs that are intended to improve financial literacy have gained sig- nificant attention in recent years as one strategy for promoting social and economic develop- ment, especially among poor and disadvantaged groups. The aims of such programs are to increase awareness of financial choices, opportunities, and consequences. The role that poverty and financial matters play in intimate partner violence has also received increasing attention among advocates for victims of domestic violence. This study examined the financial literacy outcomes of an economic education program that was created specifically for battered women using a quasi-experimental design. The findings indicate limited gains in financial knowledge and significant improvements in financial self-efficacy and highlight the need for further research.

Keywords: domestic violence; economic education; financial well-being

Economic education programs have received significant attention in recent years frompolicy makers, the Federal Reserve, major financial institutions, and community-based social service organizations. Financial literacy may be thought of as the “knowledge of personal money management concepts and skills” (Jacob, Hudson, & Bush, 2000, p. 8). According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV, 2005), “Financial education involves knowing and understanding the often complex principles of earning, spending, saving and investing.”

Building financial literacy skills allows individuals to gain confidence in their ability to make informed, responsible financial decisions. Financial skills apply to a range of money- related activities, such as balancing a checkbook; creating a budget; managing debt, includ- ing one’s credit rating; taking out loans; and investing to build financial assets and future financial security (Jacob et al., 2000). Services like checking and savings accounts are basic financial tools. However, millions of Americans can be counted among the “unbanked.” They have neither a checking nor a savings account and do not have any relationship with a traditional financial institution (Caskey & Peterson, 1994). The lack of financial knowledge

Authors’ Note: The authors thank the National Endowment for Financial Education (project 002-02-2001), the Center for Social Development, and the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation, which have all con- tributed funding for research and evaluation of the Economic Action Program of Redevelopment Opportunities for Women.

Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Volume 22 Number 3 Fall 2007 240–254

© Sage Publications 10.1177/0886109907302261

http://aff.sagepub.com hosted at

http://online.sagepub.com

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 241

can result in financial choices that lead people to pay more than they should for financial services, fall into debt, damage their credit records, or fall prey to predatory lending prac- tices. Damaged credit can perpetuate financial instability and be a barrier to such things as gaining employment or renting an apartment.

As concern about financial literacy has increased, so have the number and variety of financial literacy programs. Whereas higher-income groups often have opportunities for financial education through their workplaces, especially with regard to retirement planning and investment options, low-income families and other disadvantaged groups are commonly isolated from traditional financial services and economic knowledge. A growing number of programs are aimed at low-income individuals and delivered through community-based social service agencies. Prominent among such programs are those connected to Individual Development Accounts (IDAs, or matched savings programs) (Clancy, Grinstein-Weiss, & Schreiner, 2001). IDAs were designed, in part, to address the fact that many low-income earners do not have access to employer-sponsored savings programs, such as 401(k) plans. Other financial literacy programs have been designed for specifically targeted populations, including youths (Bernheim, Garrett, & Maki, 2001), Native Americans (Malkin, 2003), women (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2005), and battered women (National Endowment for Financial Education [NEFE] & NCADV, 2000).

Economic Education for Battered Women

Evidence suggests that financial literacy is generally low among Americans (Bernheim & Garrett, 1996; Kennickell, Starr-McCluer, & Sunden, 1997). But why target battered women specifically with economic education initiatives? Feminists have asserted that domestic violence is, at least in part, a function of patriarchy and men’s capacity to main- tain power and dominance over women (Jaggar, 1983). Such dominance can include control of monetary matters. Women’s economic dependence on men is reinforced by institutional factors that support lower wages, fewer economic opportunities, and social welfare policies that do little to promote economic security for low-income women (Abramovitz, 1996). Low-income women who are dealing with intimate partner violence may be especially economically vulnerable.

The roles that poverty and financial matters play in intimate partner violence have received increasing attention in recent years (Raphael & Tolman, 1997; Rennison & Planty, 2003). Abusive partners often engage in economic abuse, such as retaining complete financial control in a relationship. In this context, many women lack ready access to cash or checking and charge accounts. Furthermore, abusive partners engage in tactics that negatively affect women’s ability to establish or maintain economic independence, including harassing women about money matters, building up debt and otherwise negatively affecting women’s credit rat- ings, sabotaging efforts to work or go to school, and exploiting women sexually in exchange for money (Ptacek, 1997; Sanders, 2004; Swanberg & Macke, 2006). Thus, without access- ing money through their controlling partners, women may be unable to make household pur- chases, including basic items like food. Not only do economic issues affect the dynamics of relationships, but also battered women have reported that economic factors are a primary reason for staying with their abusive partners (Gondolf, 1988; Strube & Barbour, 1983).

Recognizing that economic dependence on an abuser is a serious obstacle for many women in abusive relationships, advocates for battered women have increased their efforts to make economic issues a primary component of domestic violence intervention

242 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

(Christy-McMullin, 2003; Correia, 2000; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006; VonDeLinde, 2002). Intimate partner violence presents considerable challenges to economic security and independence. Not only may women be the subject of economic abuse, but the daily circumstances of living with intimate partner violence consume their time and energy, dam- age their self-confidence, and leave them little time to focus on short- and long-term goals, which are essential for women to transition from economic dependence to building finan- cial resources of their own (Kenney & Brown, 1996).

For battered women, the process of building financial literacy and ultimately economic self-sufficiency can be hindered by abusive partners. What some may view as a straight- forward financial matter becomes increasingly complicated when it is compounded by the need to protect oneself and often one’s children from a controlling, violent partner. Therefore, creating economic education programs for battered women requires focusing on strategies that not only address basic financial skills, but that seek to empower women and give them a sense of hope about their ability to manage their own finances and safely plan for their future through short- and long-term goals.

The purpose of the study reported here was to examine one such financial literacy pro- gram and to answer the question: Does providing an economic education course to battered women result in greater gains in financial literacy and financial self-efficacy for the women compared to battered women who do not take the course? It was hypothesized that women who received economic education would experience significantly greater increases in finan- cial literacy and financial self-efficacy than women who did not.

The next section reviews research on financial literacy programs and their outcomes. Following this review of literature is a discussion of Redevelopment Opportunities for Women’s Economic Action Program (REAP), the St. Louis, Missouri, program whose eco- nomic education program was evaluated in the study and the implications of the findings for research and practice.

Review of Literature

Although the ability to generalize from current research on the outcomes of financial lit- eracy programs is limited because of the variety of types of programs and target groups, the findings to date have been encouraging. Many studies have been based on corporately spon- sored financial education programs for employees. In general, positive relationships have been found among educational offerings, the rate of participation in retirement plans, and the amount of savings (Bayer, Bernheim, & Scholz, 1996; Bernheim & Garrett, 1996; Borleis & Wedell, 1994; Clark & Schieber, 1998). A study by Clark, d’Ambrosio, McDermed, and Sawant (2003), which compared the outcomes for men and women, found that women were more likely than men to alter their retirement goals and savings behavior after attending a financial education seminar.

Of course, financial education through employers is not available to everyone, especially low-income workers who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement programs. A growing area in which low- and moderate-income individuals receive financial education is IDA initiatives that are designed to increase the rate of savings among moderate- and low-income families. In their study of IDA participants, Clancy et al. (2001) found that completing up to 12 hours of financial education had large positive effects on savings deposits and the frequency of savings. Savings rose sharply as the number of general financial education hours attended increased from zero to 12, after which it leveled off. In addition,

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 243

a study by Zhan, Anderson, and Scott (2006), which evaluated a large financial manage- ment training program for low-income people, found the program to be effective in improv- ing the financial knowledge of participants.

Few studies have examined economic literacy programs specifically for women, and there appear to be no studies of economic education for battered women. A study of the financial literacy program of the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development in Boston, which is aimed at low-income women, suggested that economic literacy programs do help women gain control over their money. Although only a small percentage of the past participants (18%) responded, the results were encouraging. Eighty percent reported using budgets they had created in the course; 53% were using the Earned Income Tax Credit, com- pared to 40% who had applied for it before taking the course; and all reported staying clear of credit traps and had taken advantage of at least one of the resources that was introduced in the course, from career counselors to tax rebates (Baum, 2000).

In support of furthering financial literacy and mastery among women, NEFE and AARP hosted a two-day roundtable session on women and money in February 2000 in Washington, DC. Among the several key issues that affect the financial security of women that were identified were that women, in general, have fewer opportunities to save for retirement on the job and tend to be more intimidated about financial issues than do men, often because women have been socialized to believe that they cannot handle money competently and have relied on men for financial support. The participants also identified the importance of transitional periods in the lives of women. Transitions can have a critical bearing on women’s financial lives and may be a particularly effective time to capture their attention with educational programs (Anthes & Most, 2000).

The greater awareness of and focus on the role of financial issues in domestic violence has resulted in a number of economic education programs that are aimed specifically at bat- tered women. Examples include the NCADV’s (2005) Financial Education Project; Hope and Power for Your Personal Finances (NEFE & NCADV, 2000); and Personal Economic Planning, developed by Elizabeth Stone House in Boston and used by others, such as the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence (VonDeLinde & Correia, 2005). However, out- come evaluations appear to be lacking.

In 2001, NEFE provided funding to REAP to create an economic education curriculum with the specific needs of battered women in mind. REAP is a multiagency collaborative of 13 domestic violence and 3 homeless service agencies in the St. Louis, Missouri, region that was created to promote the economic development of battered women (Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). The collaboration has culminated in the provision of formalized economic services, including economic education and credit counseling, women’s matched savings accounts, and economic advocacy and support services. This study examined the economic education component.

REAP’s Economic Education Program

In July 2001, the staff of Redevelopment Opportunities for Women (ROW) began to offer REAP economic education classes. REAP’s curriculum, titled “Realizing Your Economic Action Plan” (ROW, 2006), is a 12-hour group format emphasizing the connection among poverty, oppression, and violence and providing in-depth, concrete financial information. The format uses a combination of group and individual activities. Four class sessions cover four topic areas: money and power, developing a cost-of-living plan, building and repairing

244 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

credit, and banking and investing (VonDeLinde & Correia, 2005). In addition to teaching basic budgeting, banking, and investing skills, the curriculum explores oppression and the concept of economic abuse. An important component of the curriculum is the focus on women’s credit reports (how to read them and correct errors) and how to build a good credit history independent of an abuser.

The aim of the curriculum is to increase access to and knowledge of financial resources and women’s self-confidence in managing and coping with financial problems indepen- dently. Small positive steps toward budgeting, paying off debts, and planning for the future are viewed as successful outcomes. In addition to core financial information, an emphasis on safety issues is included throughout the curriculum.

Method

Design of the Study

The study was conducted in 2001 and used a quasi-experimental design. The curriculum was initially implemented at two shelters for abused women, from which the experimental- group participants were drawn. The comparison-group participants were drawn from two additional shelters of a similar structure and population where the curriculum had not yet been implemented.

Shelter dyads were matched on the characteristics of their programs. Four REAP col- laborative agencies were chosen on the basis of the similarity of the services they provided and the populations they served. All the agencies were emergency shelter programs, as opposed to nonresidential services or transitional housing programs. Two locations received the curriculum and acted as the experimental group. The other two agencies did not receive the curriculum, acting as the comparison group. Data on the experimental and comparison groups were collected simultaneously every two weeks following the delivery of the cur- riculum at the experimental sites. That is, the time between the pre- and postassessment was the same for the treatment and comparison conditions. Recruitment and data collection continued until pre- and postassessment data had been collected on at least 30 participants in both the experimental and comparison groups.

Procedure

The shelter residents were informed of the opportunity to participate in the economic curriculum and/or evaluation during house meetings. They were told that the evaluation was being conducted by a local university research partner, that their participation in the evaluation was voluntary and confidential, and that their data would be coded using a study identification number. The link between the study identification number and the partici- pant’s identity was used by the agency, not the research staff, to track each participant, thus making data on the participants anonymous to the research team. Participation or nonpar- ticipation in the evaluation did not affect the residents’ future eligibility to participate in the economic curriculum. If the participants were part of the comparison group, they were given the opportunity to participate in the economic curriculum after their postevaluation.

Preevaluation meetings were conducted in small groups (3–7 participants) at the desig- nated shelter location. The research staff was available to answer any questions that the par- ticipants had about the questions that were asked. The participants met briefly following

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 245

both evaluations with the research staff to discuss any issues that arose during the comple- tion of the evaluation. The participants were paid $30 for the preevaluation and $35 for the postevaluation. The evaluation was approved by the university’s institutional review board.

Participants

Women were eligible for inclusion if they were aged 18 or older and residents of a par- ticipating shelter for at least two days before the study began. They were excluded from participation if they were younger than age 18, exhibited any overt symptoms of mental ill- ness or cognitive impairment, or were not residents of a participating shelter. The partici- pants were designated as program completers if they attended and completed at least three sessions of the financial curriculum.

Pretest data were collected from 64 experimental-group participants and 53 comparison- group participants. At the pretest, the groups did not vary significantly on demographic fac- tors, including race, age, education, employment status, income, marital status, length of time with the partner, or most recent incident of physical violence. The number of partici- pants who completed both the pre- and posttest measures was substantially fewer—32 par- ticipants in the experimental group and 35 in the comparison group, for a total sample of 67, an attrition rate of 43%. This high attrition rate is likely due to the fact that the study was conducted in an emergency shelter in which women in crisis may stay briefly or a month at a time. Table 1 presents the descriptive characteristics of those who completed both the pre- and posttest measures.

Using chi-square tests of significance, we found no significant differences in race, age, education, employment status, income, marital status, or most recent incident of physical violence between the participants in the experimental and comparison groups who com- pleted both the pre- and posttest measures. However, a t-test revealed that the two groups differed significantly on the average time with the current partner, t(52) � 2.17, p � .05. On average, the experimental-group participants had been with their partners 84 months (about 7 years), compared to 48 months (about 4 years) for the comparison-group participants. Thus, length of time with the partner was controlled in the analysis of the outcome mea- sures. In addition to demographic factors, the groups were examined for differences in the type and level of abuse using three subscales (assault, injury, and sexual coercion) of the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2) (Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996) and two subscales (dominance/isolation, and emotion and verbal abuse) of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (PMWI) (Tolman, 1999). Both the CTS2 and PMWI have been shown to have good internal consistency and validity (Straus et al., 1996; Tolman, 1999). No significant differences were found between the groups on these measures using independent t-tests, nor were abuse measures significantly correlated with outcome mea- sures. Descriptive statistics of these measures are also presented in Table 1. On all the mea- sures, a higher score represents more frequent and/or more severe abuse.

To assess any systematic patterns in attrition rates, we compared the women who com- pleted the pre- and posttest measures to those who dropped out prior to completing the posttest measures. Using chi-square and independent t-tests, we found no differences between the completers and the noncompleters on demographic characteristics or measures of abuse with one exception: Women who dropped out had a significantly higher score on the CTS2 sexual coercion scale. Thus, the findings are less applicable to women who experienced more frequent sexual exploitation. The scores of the experimental and comparison groups, however, did not vary on this measure.

246 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Table 1 Characteristics of the Participants (N � 67)

Experimental Comparison Characteristic Total Sample Group Group

Educationa

Less than high school 13 (19%) 6 (19%) 7 (20%) High school or GED 32 (48%) 16 (50%) 16 (46%) Some college 19 (28%) 9 (28%) 10 (29%) College degree 3 (5%) 1 (3%) 2 (6%)

Agea

18 to 25 10 (15%) 4 (13%) 6 (17%) 26 to 35 24 (36%) 8 (25%) 16 (46%) 36 to 50 32 (48%) 20 (63%) 12 (34%) 51 and older 1 (1.5%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%)

Racea

African American 49 (73%) 23 (72%) 26 (74%) White 14 (21%) 9 (28%) 5 (14%) Biracial or Latina 4 (6%) 0 (0%) 4 (11%)

Employment status (n � 63) Employed at least part time or in school 22 (35%) 10 (35%) 12 (35%) Seeking employment 29 (46%) 13 (45%) 16 (47%) Not working or disabled 12 (19%) 6 (21%) 6 (18%)

Incomea

$250 or less per month 29 (43%) 14 (44%) 15 (43%) $251 to $500 per month 15 (22%) 8 (25%) 7 (20%) $500 to $1000 per month 14 (21%) 6 (19%) 8 (23%) $1001 or � per month 9 (13%) 4 (13%) 5 (14%)

Most recent physical violence Within the past week 18 (27%) 7 (22%) 11 (31%) Within the past month 27 (40%) 14 (44%) 13 (37%) Between 2 and 3 months 13 (19%) 7 (22%) 6 (17%) 4 months or more 9 (13%) 4 (13%) 5 (14%)

Length of time with partner (months)* (N � 54) (N � 25) (N � 29)

Missing (n � 13) Range � 1–297 Range � 12–240 Range � 1–297 Mean � 69 Mean � 84 Mean � 48 Median � 45 Median � 60 Median � 30 SD � 78 SD � 64 SD � 58

CTS2: Physical Assault Scale (N � 67) Range � 0–300 Range � 0–250 Range � 0–300

Mean � 79 Mean � 74 Mean � 84 Median � 57 Median � 49 Median � 58 SD � 78 SD � 74 SD � 82

CTS2: Injury Scale (N � 67) Range � 0–150 Range � 0–100 Range � 0–150 Mean � 25 Mean � 20 Mean � 30 Median � 11 Median � 13 Median � 11 SD � 34 SD � 24 SD � 40

CTS2: Sexual Coercion Scale (N � 66) Range � 0–175 Range � 0–150 Range � 0–175

Missing (n � 1) Mean � 29 Mean � 24 Mean � 34 Median � 8 Median � 4 Median � 16 SD � 45 SD � 38 SD � 51

(Continued)

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 247

Outcome Measures

To evaluate each participant’s level of financial literacy, we created a financial curriculum outcome measure. The measure was created with the intention of broadly capturing key com- ponents of the economic education curriculum offered by REAP. The questions assess both factual knowledge about financial planning and credit repair (e.g., “It is important to set aside money for expenses that do not come up every month,” “A savings account is the only way to save money,” and “I know what all my current debts are”), as well as understanding and atti- tudinal outcomes related to sociopolitical factors (e.g., “Everyone in society has equal power” and “Economic self-determination means that someone else makes decision about your money”). A 35-item measure using a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly dis- agree) to 4 (strongly agree) was used. The scores on the 35 items could range from 35 to 140, with a higher score indicating a higher level of financial literacy. The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha � .81).

In addition to financial literacy, we also examined financial self-efficacy. The literature suggests that improving a sense of one’s ability to make financial decisions and reach goals is an important potential impact of financial literacy programs. In addition, higher levels of financial self-efficacy have been shown to translate into positive financial behavior (Danes, Huddleston-Casas, & Boyce, 1999; Vitt et al., 2000). Financial self-efficacy was measured using a five-item subscale of Domestic Violence-Related Financial Issues, which also demonstrates good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha � .86) (Weaver, Sanders, Schnabel, & Campbell, 2005). Scores could range from 5 to 35, with a higher score indi- cating greater financial self-efficacy.

Results

Descriptive Outcomes

Means and standard deviations of the experimental and comparison groups on the finan- cial literacy outcome measure for the pretest, posttest, and change scores are presented in

Table 1 (Continued)

Characteristic Total Sample Experimental Comparison Group Group

PMWI: Dominance/Isolation Scale (N � 67) Range � 6–35 Range � 6–35 Range � 14–35

Mean � 27 Mean � 27 Mean � 27 Median � 28 Median � 31 Median � 26 SD � 6.81 SD � 7.81 SD � 5.87

PMWI: Emotional/Verbal Abuse Scale (N � 67) Range � 8–35 Range � 8–35 Range � 11–35

Mean � 28 Mean � 28 Mean � 29 Median � 29 Median � 29 Median � 30 SD � 5.88 SD � 6.56 SD � 5.26

a. Some categories were collapsed to test for differences between the experimental and comparison groups using chi-square tests. *p � .05.

248 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Table 2. The women who received economic education began with a lower score than did those in the comparison group. However, an independent samples t-test revealed that the two group means did not differ significantly on the pretest score, t(65) � �1.67, p � .05. An examination of the change score between the pre- and posttest scores revealed that, on aver- age, the women who received economic education evidenced a significantly greater increase than did the women in the comparison group, 4.9 and .285, respectively, t(64) � 1.70, p � .05 (one-tailed tests).

The means and standard deviations of financial self-efficacy for the pretest, posttest, and change scores are presented in Table 3. Although the women in the experimental group started out with a slightly lower level of financial self-efficacy, they did not vary signifi- cantly from the women in the comparison group on the pretest score, t(65) � �.025, p � .05. Similar to financial literacy outcomes, the women who received economic education expe- rienced a significantly greater change between the pre- and posttest scores in their level of financial self-efficacy (2.88), compared to the women in the comparison group, who, on aver- age, experienced a decrease in the level of financial self-efficacy, �.91, t(56) � 2.00, p � .05 (two-tailed tests).

Analyses of covariance were conducted to assess whether the groups differed signifi- cantly in their financial literacy change scores and financial self-efficacy change scores when the length of time with the partner was controlled. As can be seen in Table 4, the financial literacy change score did not vary significantly by group. Thus, although the women who received the financial curriculum did experience a greater increase, on aver- age, in financial literacy, the increase was not statistically significant after differences in the length of time with the partner were controlled. For the financial self-efficacy change score, however, the groups did vary significantly in gains when the length of time with the part- ner was controlled (see Table 5).

Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations of the Experimental and Comparison

Groups on the Financial Literacy Outcome Measure

Group Pretest Posttest Change Score

M SD M SD M SD

Experimental (n � 32) 107.17 10.55 112 9.89 4.90 14.18 Comparison(n � 35) 111.74 8.18 112 10.74 .285 7.08

Table 3 Means and Standard Deviations of Experimental and Comparison

Groups on Financial Self-Efficacy

Group Pretest Posttest Change Score

M SD M SD M SD

Experimental (n � 26) 25.35 9.35 29.23 6.22 2.88 8.42 Comparison (n � 32) 27.13 6.83 26.22 6.83 �.91 6.01

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 249

Discussion

Empirical evidence points to the critical relationship between economic factors and inti- mate partner violence (Raphael & Tolman, 1997; Swanberg & Macke, 2006). Thus, it is critical that economic services are developed and tailored to the unique needs of battered women. Asset development strategies and economic education have gained attention in recent years as initiatives to improve the economic well-being of the poor, although no ini- tiatives have been aimed specifically at battered women. Previous studies that have exam- ined economic education have shown promising results. It would be premature to dismiss the value of economic education in advancing the financial literacy of battered women on the basis of the outcomes of this study. Controlling for differences in the length of time with the partner was found to be a significant predictor of change in the financial knowledge score. That is, the longer a woman had been with her abuser, the more her financial liter- acy score improved. One reason may be that women who have been with their partners longer may have a more substantial history of financial abuse and the negative financial implications that follow (e.g., a negative credit record and the inability to establish finan- cial independence), which may make the financial curriculum more relevant and meaning- ful for them. This finding underscores the importance of providing financial education to women who have been in long-term abusive relationships.

Table 4 ANCOVA of the Financial Literacy Change Score

Source Type III SS df F p

Corrected model 954.778 2 3.702 .032 Intercept 40.311 1 .313 .579 Time with partner 546.877 1 4.241 .045 Group 142.023 1 1.101 .299 Error 6446.920 50 Corrected total 7401.698 52 Adjusted mean change score Experimental group 5.12 Comparison group .05

Table 5 ANCOVA of the Financial Self-Efficacy Change Score

Source Type III SS df F p

Corrected model 297.412 2 3.638 .043 Intercept 2.394 1 .042 .838 Time with partner 3.183 1 .056 .813 Group 253.076 1 4.490 .040 Error 2423.827 43 Corrected total 2721.239 45 Adjusted mean change score Experimental group 3.21 Comparison group �1.93

250 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Although changes in financial knowledge did not vary significantly after the length of time with the partner was controlled, gains in financial self-efficacy remained significant. This finding indicates that the curriculum was associated with an increase in financial self-efficacy and suggests that content that is intended to empower women to take charge of their financial matters had an impact. Although self-efficacy suggests that a woman believes that her actions can result in desired outcomes (Bandura, 1986), financial self-efficacy refers specifically to a woman’s confidence in dealing with financial issues and achieving her financial goals. An important dimension of the REAP curriculum is to address women’s self-confidence and sense of empowerment in dealing with financial matters. Thus, although a woman’s financial knowledge per se may not have increased significantly in this study, her belief in her abilities to deal with financial matters did increase significantly and is a critical outcome. Research suggests that financial self-efficacy is a precursor to positive financial behavioral changes (Danes et al., 1999; Vitt et al., 2000). For battered women, financial self-efficacy should also be viewed as a meaningful component of financial well-being in and of itself.

Limitations

The study had a number of limitations that should be addressed in future research. First, this was the first study of its kind to examine a financial literacy program that was aimed at battered women. Thus, readers are cautioned not to draw premature conclusions about the fea- sibility and benefits of providing economic education to battered women. Second, the small sample and attrition do not permit generalization of the findings to other populations of bat- tered women. Although steps were taken to increase the comparability of the experimental and comparison groups, the participants were nonetheless self-selected. A true experimental design with random assignment within each shelter was not feasible, given the circumstances under which the women were residing at the shelters. Third, although the only observable dif- ference between the experimental and comparison groups appears to have been based on the length of time with the abusive partner and was controlled for in the analysis, it is possible that unobserved differences between the groups resulted in the attenuation of the relationship between the intervention and the financial literacy outcome. The complicated nature of women’s lives in dealing with intimate partner violence, especially women residing in a shel- ter, could also be a confounding factor. It may be that the challenges of shelter life, including the nature of the crisis—trying to find safe permanent housing, employment, and child care, for example—may have truncated the impact of the economic education program.

The measurement of financial literacy that was used in this study showed good internal consistency. However, the economic education program was novel, and the curriculum was implemented simultaneously with the study. Thus, it is possible that the instrument did not capture the true nature of what was being taught in the classes. Therefore, modification of the instrument may be warranted to ensure that the items adequately capture the content that is taught in the course.

Implications

Research

Perhaps the biggest implication of this study is the need for further research and evalu- ation of economic literacy programs that are aimed at battered women. The number of such

Sanders et al. / Economic Education for Battered Women 251

programs is on the rise. The REAP curriculum was originally created as a comprehensive package and designed for each class to build on the previous one. However, because of the challenges created by shelter life and the complicated nature of the lives of women who have experienced intimate partner violence, the curriculum has since been changed so that each class stands on its own and women can benefit from any individual class they attend. To date, more than 700 women have participated in classes, and more than 350 have com- pleted all four sessions. Classes are currently offered at 11 collaborative partner locations throughout the St. Louis region, including domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, outreach locations, and transitional housing and nonresidential service providers for bat- tered women. Other changes have been made to strengthen the curriculum on the basis of feedback from women who have participated (see VonDeLinde & Correia, 2005).

A larger study is now warranted that addresses the limitations of this study. First, the measurement of financial literacy should be reviewed to ensure that it comprehensively reflects what is being taught in the curriculum. Second, a larger sample and perhaps a true experimental design should be used. Although an experimental design is probably not fea- sible in a single shelter, the curriculum is now also delivered in nonresidential settings, where random assignment to experimental and control groups may be possible. Third, a critical out- come to examine in future studies is not only whether the intervention results in greater financial literacy and financial self-efficacy, but whether it translates into behavioral out- comes, such as the increased savings, budgeting, credit repair, and financial independence of battered women. Finally, it will be critical to assess qualitative experiences as well as quantitative outcomes. A study of 30 women who participated in REAP’s Women’s Savings Account program and completed the economic education program is currently being ana- lyzed (Sanders, 2007). That study will present outcomes of the economic education classes from the perspective of the women themselves.

Social Work Practice

In comparison to the physical, sexual, and emotional dimensions of intimate partner vio- lence, the economic dimensions have been largely ignored. Historically, efforts to address domestic violence have relied largely on individual counseling and the provision of crisis ser- vices (Davis, Hagen, & Early, 1994). When the economic needs of battered women are empha- sized, it is seldom with long-term economic security in mind (Christy-McMullin, 2002). Financial knowledge and self-efficacy have important implications for promoting economic well-being (Jacob et al., 2000). Social work practitioners and advocates of abused women can play an important role in the development and provision of financially related interventions and by referring women to economic education programs. In addition, because intimate partner violence is a crosscutting issue that social workers encounter in many settings, it is imperative that the curricula of schools of social work include content that recognizes the economic dimension of intimate partner violence. Few schools of social work systematically integrate content that adequately prepares social workers to practice competently when faced with issues of intimate partner violence (Danis & Lockhart, 2003). As social work education makes strides to integrate more content on intimate partner violence in curricula, it will be critical to include discussions of economic issues and interventions, such as economic education programs.

Finally, as advocates for abused women increasingly move forward with innovative services and programs that are aimed at promoting the economic well-being of battered women, they need to be mindful of the larger economic context in which these women must live daily. Programs like REAP can assist women by increasing their economic empowerment

252 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

and knowledge, helping them deal with daily financial tasks, and advancing their short- and long-term financial goals. However, economic advocacy on behalf of battered women must also seek to address the larger structural conditions and forces that work against them. Among them are wage and job discrimination and the lack of access to education or mean- ingful job-skills training, affordable child care, and a social safety net that supports battered women in their economic efforts, rather than penalizes them by reducing benefits, leaving them with little choice but to return to their abusers to survive financially.

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Zhan, M., Anderson, S. G., & Scott, J. (2006). Financial knowledge of the low-income population: Effects of a financial education program. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 33 (1), 53–74.

254 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

Cynthia K. Sanders, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-1940, and a faculty associate at the Center for Social Development, Washington University, St. Louis; e-mail: [email protected].

Terri L. Weaver, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, Shannon Hall 217, 3511 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103-2919; e-mail: [email protected].

Meg Schnabel, MSW, is the executive director of Redevelopment Opportunities for Women, 2229 Pine, St. Louis, MO 63103; e-mail: [email protected].

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Articles/Sauber & O'Brien, 2020 psy and economic well bieng of IPV survivors.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517706760

Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2020, Vol. 35(15-16) 3054 –3078

© The Author(s) 2017 Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0886260517706760

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Article

Multiple Losses: The Psychological and Economic Well-Being of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Elizabeth W. Sauber1 and Karen M. O’Brien1

Abstract This study advanced knowledge regarding the mechanisms through which intimate partner violence relates to psychological and financial distress with a sample of diverse low-income women. Data were collected from 147 female domestic violence survivors who were abused by a male partner within the past 6 months. Three hierarchical regression analyses revealed that psychological, physical, and economic abuse were predictive of posttraumatic stress, depression, and economic self-sufficiency among survivors. Guided by the Conservation of Resources Theory, the loss of financial, work, and interpersonal resources also predicted these three outcomes, above and beyond abuse experiences (i.e., economically controlling behaviors, economic sabotage, and interpersonal resource loss were unique predictors). In addition, bootstrap mediation analyses showed that interpersonal resource loss partially mediated the relationship between psychological abuse and mental health outcomes. Together, these findings can be used to inform future interventions to promote the financial and psychological well-being of survivors.

Keywords domestic violence and cultural contexts, battered women, predicting domestic violence

1University of Maryland, College Park, USA

Corresponding Author: Elizabeth W. Sauber, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Biology Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Email: [email protected]

706760 JIVXXX10.1177/0886260517706760Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceSauber and O’Brien research-article2017

Sauber and O’Brien 3055

Intimate partner violence is associated with a myriad of mental health con- cerns, including depression (e.g., Illangasekare, Burke, McDonnell, & Gielen, 2013) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; for example, Brown, Burnette, & Cerulli, 2015). Research also indicates that intimate partner vio- lence is related to job instability, financial and economic strain, and economic dependence (Adams, Bybee, Tolman, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2013; Golden, Perreira, & Durrance, 2013). This association is particularly concerning, as economic distress often plays a role in a victim’s ability to leave an abusive relationship (Peled & Krigel, 2016), become economically self-sufficient (Postmus, Plummer et al., 2012), and obtain work-related advancements (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Gresson, 2008). While these relationships have been established in the literature, there is limited research describing the pos- sible mechanisms through which intimate partner violence relates to psycho- logical health and economic well-being. The purposes of this study were to (a) describe the occurrence of economic abuse among abused women and how it contributes to depressive symptomology and PTSD; (b) examine the degree to which physical, psychological, and economic abuse and resource loss predict psychological and economic well-being; and (c) test whether resource loss mediated the relationship between intimate partner violence and well-being.

One theory that offers insight regarding the mechanism through which intimate partner violence affects psychological health and economic well- being is Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 2001). COR posits that actual or threatened resource loss is a means through which traumatic events influence psychological health. Resources, or the things that we value, can include interpersonal support (e.g., close relationships with family members), financial means (e.g., savings/money for emergencies), and work-related assets (e.g., stable employment). Resource loss following trauma can result in a variety of negative psychological outcomes including depression and PTSD (e.g., Walter & Hobfoll, 2009). Hobfoll (1989, 2001) argued that the fewer resources a person has, the more vulnerable she is to loss, and the more difficult it is for her to invest and gain new resources. Psychological distress continues this resource loss cycle, as resources are depleted in trying to cope with the distress—loss leads to distress which leads to loss.

Previous research supports the basic principles of COR theory, with resource loss related to negative psychological outcomes among refugees (e.g., Finkelstein, 2016), survivors of child abuse (Lamoureux, Palmieri, Jackson, & Hobfoll, 2012), and survivors of sexual violence (Walter & Hobfoll, 2009). A similar relationship may hold for survivors of intimate partner violence: Resource access and resource constraints mediated the

3056 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

relationships between abuse (physical and nonphysical) and health outcomes (physical and psychological; Beeble, Bybee, & Sullivan, 2010; Ford-Gilboe et al., 2009). Additional studies are needed to understand the specific mediat- ing pathways in these relationships, as the prior research grouped all types of partner violence (physical and nonphysical) and/or resources (personal, social, and economic) in their models (Beeble et al., 2010; Ford-Gilboe et al., 2009).

COR theory also suggests that resource loss leads to stress in the family, work, and financial domains, although little is known about the relationship between resource loss and economic or employment outcomes. One study found that work-related losses (such as skills, social capital, and flexibility) were related to both role disengagement (e.g., not being able to concentrate on work) and work–family conflict (Chen & Powell, 2012). Hobfoll and his colleagues (2003) also found that material resource loss (e.g., employment and money for transportation) was related negatively to a sense of mastery among low-income women, such that the women felt less in control and less able to accomplish their goals (Hobfoll, Johnson, Ennis, & Jackson, 2003). This diminished sense of mastery has implications for abused women, who may feel less confident in their abilities to seek employment, manage their finances, and provide for themselves and their children after experiencing economic abuse or leaving their partners (Postmus, Huang, & Mathisen- Stylianou, 2012).

Survivors of intimate partner violence, who often experience prolonged abuse, may be especially vulnerable to resource loss. Abusers can use tactics to disconnect survivors from their work and financial resources, such as harassing them at their place of employment, withholding their earnings, and purposely accruing credit card debt (Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2016). Survivors also experience isolation, threats, and intimidation from their abus- ers, which may prevent them from obtaining material resources (e.g., income, health care), interpersonal resources (e.g., social support from coworkers), and intrapersonal resources (e.g., self-esteem; for example, Sanders, 2015). Even if women are able to leave the abusive relationship, survivors often continue to experience resource loss—including lost support from some friends and family members for leaving and less financial assistance from their partners for their children. Survivors also lose homes, jobs and posses- sions, as they often leave their positions and belongings behind for their safety (Wuest, Ford-Gilboe, Merritt-Gray, & Berman, 2003). Consequently, the COR framework suggests that intimate partner violence may contribute to resource loss, which in turn, relates to psychological distress and economic well-being.

Sauber and O’Brien 3057

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, despite a rich understanding of physical and psychological abuse, much less is known about economic abuse, or behaviors that control a person’s ability to save and use financial resources. Abusers might insist that their partners quit their jobs, hide financial information from their partners, or intentionally accumulate debt in their partners’ names (Postmus et al., 2016). Historically, economic abuse has been assessed within measures of psychological abuse or using a single item (Huang, Postmus, Vikse, & Wang, 2013). These assessments are problematic as they fail to capture the depth and range of economically abu- sive behaviors. The Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA; Adams et al., 2008) addresses economic abuse more comprehensively; the items capture eco- nomic control (e.g., hides financial information) and economic exploitation (e.g., intentionally builds up debt) in addition to employment interference (e.g., threaten you to make you leave work; Postmus et al., 2016). In this study, a revised version of the SEA was used to reflect the range of behaviors used by abusers and to capture differences in the consequences of economic abuse.

In addition, there is a need to explore how economic abuse may contribute to the psychological functioning of survivors, beyond physical and emotional abuse. One study found that mothers who experienced economic abuse were 1.9 times more likely to experience depression than mothers who did not experience economic abuse (Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). While psychological and physical abuse also contributed to the prediction of depression in the first year of the study, only economic abuse continued to predict depressive symptoms over time (from Year 1 to Year 3; Postmus, Huang et al., 2012). Consequently, one aim of the current study was to better understand how economic abuse contributed to depressive symp- toms and posttraumatic stress for racially diverse, low-income women who are often neglected in psychological research.

In addition, further research is needed to understand the underlying mech- anism through which abuse experiences lead to psychological and economic distress. Previous studies suggested that physical and sexual assault lead to interpersonal resource loss (e.g., loss of social support/networks), which sub- sequently contributed to both depression and posttraumatic stress symptomo- logy (Slobodin, Caspi, Klein, Berger, & Hobfoll, 2011). Given research linking economic abuse experiences with economic dependency, this study also explored resource loss as the mechanism through which economic abuse influences economic self-sufficiency.

Specifically, we hypothesized that intimate partner violence (physical, psychological, and economic abuse) and resource loss (interpersonal resource loss) would uniquely contribute to the prediction of PTSD and depressive

3058 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

symptomology, with high levels of each variable associated with high levels of PTSD and depressive symptomology. In addition, intimate partner vio- lence (physical, psychological, and economic abuse) and resource loss (financial and work losses) were expected to uniquely contribute to the pre- diction of economic self-sufficiency, with high levels of each variable associ- ated with low levels of self-sufficiency.

In addition, to further advance understanding regarding the mechanism by which resource loss explains the relationship between abuse and well- being, we also hypothesized the following four pathways: (a) Interpersonal resource loss would mediate the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD (see Figure 1), (b) interpersonal resource loss would mediate the relationship between psychological abuse and depressive symptoms (see Figure 2), (c) financial resource loss would mediate the relationship between economic abuse and economic self-sufficiency, (d) work-related resource loss would mediate the relationship between economic abuse and economic self-sufficiency.

If supported, resource loss may be implicated as a critical point of inter- vention for domestic violence survivors. A survey of domestic violence sur- vivors found a discrepancy between the services being used and the services rated as most helpful—survivors mostly received psychological and emo- tional help, but wanted more tangible resources (Postmus, Severson, Berry, & Yoo, 2009). Thus, while efforts to end abuse altogether remain futile, service providers may intervene more effectively by targeting resource loss cycles and helping women gain access to additional interpersonal and financial resources.

Figure 1. Mediation of psychological abuse and PTSD by interpersonal resource loss. Note. PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; CI = confidence intervals.

Sauber and O’Brien 3059

Method

Procedure

Data were collected in two ways. First, 11 domestic violence shelters, advo- cacy/support centers, and other agencies providing services to survivors in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were contacted and five agreed to allow a member of the research team to describe the study to their clients. Survivors who chose to participate were compensated US$10. Second, par- ticipants were recruited online through personal contacts, blogs, online sup- port groups, domestic violence resource sites, and social networking sites. Those who were eligible to participate were directed to a Qualtrics question- naire. Upon completion of the survey, they could enter a lottery for the chance to win one of four US$50 gift cards. All participants were given the number for the national domestic violence hotline and a link to a free financial liter- acy course.

Participants

The online survey was accessed by 402 people, 126 of which met the inclu- sion criteria (identified as female, were at least 18 years of age, and had been abused by their current or former male partners within 6 months of taking the survey) and gave their consent to participate. In addition, approximately 100 women were offered the chance to participate in-person, 84 met the inclusion criteria and completed the survey. Thus, 210 survivors started the question- naire. Forty-four participants failed to answer at least one of the validity

Figure 2. Mediation of psychological abuse and depressive symptoms by interpersonal resource loss. Note. CI = confidence intervals.

3060 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

check items correctly and were removed. Moreover, participants who failed to complete at least 85% of the items were eliminated (n = 19), leaving 147 women in the final sample.

Participants ranged in age from 18 to 64 years old (M = 37.56, SD = 11.58) and were racially/ethnically diverse: 32.6% Black/African American, 51.1% White/European American, 5.7% Hispanic/Latina, 1.4% Asian/Asian American, 3.5% Biracial/Multiracial, and 5.7% Other. All identified as heterosexual (90.7%) or bisexual (9.3%). Most of the participants were single (41.8 %), while others were dating (17%), married (17%), separated (11.3%), or divorced (11.3%). Seventy-five percent of the women were no longer with their abusive partners.

The survivors in this sample showed a range of educational experiences: 4.8% did not complete high school, 21.1% were high school graduates, 34.7% attended some college, 26.5% completed college, and 8.8% pursued graduate degrees. About half were unemployed (50.3%). Of those currently employed, occupations listed included business analyst, cosmetologist, cus- tomer service representative, registered nurse, personal care aid, and sales associate. Participants primarily earned below US$20,000 a year (65.2%) or between US$20,000 and US$39,999 a year (21.7%). When asked to what degree concerns about their financial future affected their decisions about staying or leaving their abusive partners, 43.9% of the participants endorsed “a great degree,” 12.9% “considerable degree,” 12.2% “moderate degree,” 13.7% “small degree,” and 17.3% “not at all.”

Measures

Physical and psychological abuse. Physical and psychological abuse was mea- sured using the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Shepard & Campbell, 1992), consisting of a Physical Abuse subscale (10 items) and a Psychologi- cal Abuse subscale (20 items). Example items ask how often a partner or former partner “pushed, grabbed, or shoved you” and “called you a name and/or criticized you.” Participants rated the frequency of abusive behaviors on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Scores for each subscale were averaged, with high scores relating to high levels of abuse. Anyone who averaged above a 1 on the scale was classified as having experienced abuse. Both subscales demonstrated internal consistency (psy- chological, α = .91; physical, α = .86; Zink, Klesges, Levin, & Putnam, 2007). Support also was found for convergent validity, as the Psychological and Physical subscales of the ABI correlated in the expected direction with the Verbal and Physical Aggression subscales of the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (Zink et al., 2007). The Cronbach’s alphas for this sample were .93 for the Psychological subscale and .92 for the Physical subscale.

Sauber and O’Brien 3061

Economic abuse. The Scale of Economic Abuse–12 (SEA-12; Postmus et al., 2016) was used to assess economic abuse and includes three subscales: Eco- nomic Exploitation (three items, for example, spend the money you needed for rent or other bills), Economic Control (five items, for example, demand to know how money was spent), and Employment Sabotage (four items, for example, threaten you to make you leave work). Participants indicated how often their partners used financially abusive behaviors on a 5-point Likert- type scale from 1 (never) to 5 (quite often). Items were summed and then averaged to calculate a total score and scores for each of the three subscales; high scores represented high levels of economic abuse. Anyone who aver- aged above a 1 on the scale was classified as having experienced economic abuse. The revised scale showed adequate internal consistency (Postmus et al., 2016). Postmus and her colleagues (2016) also found support for con- vergent validity, with measures of physical abuse and psychological abuse being positively related to the Exploitation, Control, and Sabotage subscales. In this sample, the Cronbach’s alphas were .93 for the full scale, and .84 for the Exploitation, .87 for the Control, and .92 for the Employment Sabotage subscales.

Resource loss. Three subscales of the Conservation of Resources–Evaluation (COR-E; Banou, Hobfoll, & Trochelman, 2009; Hobfoll & Lilly, 1993) were used to measure loss of resources. Participants rated the extent to which they lost a given resource over the past 6 months on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (to a great deal). Scores were obtained by summing the scores for each subscale, with high scores indicating high levels of loss. The original mea- sure included a list of 74 resources; this study only used the Interpersonal (nine items; “intimacy with a spouse or partner”), Financial (nine items; “money for extras”), and Work (seven items; “stable employment”) loss sub- scales. The Interpersonal, Financial, and Work subscales had Cronbach’s alphas of .88, .95, and .90 in this study.

Posttraumatic stress. PTSD symptomology was evaluated using the civilian version of the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993), a 17-item self-report instrument that parallels PTSD diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Participants indicated how much a symptom bothered them over the past month on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). A total severity score was calculated by summing the items (e.g., “how much have you been bothered by repeated, disturbing dreams of a stressful experience from the past”), with high scores indicating severe PTSD symptomology. The measure showed adequate internal

3062 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

consistency among a sample of 392 college students (α > .85; Ruggiero, Del Ben, Scotti, & Rabalais, 2003) and in the current study (α = .93). Support also was found for convergent validity through significant relationships with two established measures of PTSD (Ruggiero, Del Ben, Scotti, & Rabalais, 2003).

Depressive symptoms. The 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) was used to measure depressive symptoms and is rated on a 4-point scale from 0 (none of the time) to 3 (most or all of the time). A total severity score was calculated by summing the items, with high scores relating to depressive symptomology. Items include, “I could not get going” and “I did not like myself.” Support for internal con- sistency was found in a previous sample of domestic violence survivors (α = .78; Suvak, Taft, Goodman, & Dutton, 2013) and in the present sample (α = .92). High scores on the CES-D were related to low scores on measures of social support and perceived health.

Economic self-sufficiency. Economic self-sufficiency was measured using the 15-item Economic Self-Sufficiency Scale (ESS; Gowdy & Pearlmutter, 1993) that assesses how often participants have been able to accomplish their financial tasks and goals. Answers range from 1 (no, not at all) to 5 (yes, all of the time). Responses on the scale were averaged, with high means repre- senting high levels of economic self-sufficiency. An example item states, “my current financial situation allows me to pay my own way without bor- rowing from family or friends.” Adequate reliability was shown among another sample of domestic violence survivors (α = .93; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, & Zurlo, 2013), in addition to the current sample (α = .93). The scale was moderately correlated with measures of economic empowerment and economic self-efficacy, providing support for convergent validity (Post- mus et al., 2013).

Demographics. Data were collected regarding gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, employment status, occupation, educational attainment, relationship status, number of children, and to what extent their worries about their finan- cial futures affected their decisions about staying or leaving their partners.

Analytic Strategy

Data were entered into SPSS 21. As missing values only accounted for 1.10% of the data set, missing data were addressed using Expectation Maximization (Schlomer, Bauman, & Card, 2010). Three hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the predictive ability of the abuse and resource loss

Sauber and O’Brien 3063

variables on the three outcome variables. The four assumptions of multiple regression were checked and met: normality, linearity, reliability, and homoscedasticity. Multicollinearity also was assessed between the predictor variables by calculating the variance inflation factors (VIF). All VIFs were below 4.0, suggesting that multicollinearity was not of concern (O’Brien, 2007).

Bootstrap mediation analyses were then used to investigate the relevant mediation hypotheses. According to recommendations by Fritz and MacKinnon (2007), a sample size of 148 is suggested for a bootstrap media- tion analysis with 80% power and a small effect size. Using the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2013), estimates of the total effect (c), the direct effect (c′), and the bootstrapped bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals of the indirect effect (ab) were calculated. A confidence interval that does not contain zero suggests an indirect effect (i.e., mediation).

Results

The means, standard deviations, reliabilities, ranges, and correlations among the measures are reported in Table 1. As two different recruitment strategies were used to access this sample, we investigated whether there were differ- ences between women recruited online and in-person across the abuse, F(3, 143) = 6.13, p = .00; resource loss, F(3, 143) = 2.85, p = .04; and financial well-being, F(2, 144) = 12.65, p = .00, variables. Specifically, we found that women recruited online (M = 2.37, SD = 1.14) experienced less physical abuse than women recruited in-person (M = 2.89, SD = 1.17), experienced less economic abuse (M = 1.80, SD = 1.22 vs. M = 2.48, SD = 1.19), lost fewer financial resources (M = 19.45, SD = 12.71 vs. M = 23.93, SD = 10.85), and had higher levels of economic self-sufficiency (M = 2.38, SD = 1.07 vs. M = 2.00, SD = 1.02). As these differences existed for less than half of the variables of interest, the two groups of women were combined for the analyses.

On average, the women reported between “rare” and “occasional” experi- ences with physical abuse and between “occasional” and “frequent” experi- ences of psychological abuse in the past 6 months. These survivors also indicated “hardly ever” to “sometimes” experiencing economically exploi- tive behaviors, “sometimes” experiencing economic sabotage, and “some- times” to “often” experiencing economically controlling behaviors in the past 6 months. More specifically, 95% of the sample endorsed at least one experi- ence with economic abuse. Approximately 78% of survivors experienced some form of economic exploitation, 94% of economic control, and 68% of employment sabotage.

3064

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Sauber and O’Brien 3065

Furthermore, the women reported moderate levels of interpersonal, finan- cial, and work-related resource loss. Their average scores on the CES-D and the PCL-C were higher than the commonly used cutoff scores (16 and 30, respectively; Radloff, 1977), suggesting high levels of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptomology. The women also reported that they were occasionally able to meet their financial needs and goals.

The first regression investigated the degree to which abuse (psychologi- cal, physical, and economic) and interpersonal resource loss were predictive of PTSD symptoms (see Table 2). Collectively, the variables accounted for 42% of the variance in PTSD symptomology, with the abuse experiences explaining 32% and interpersonal resource loss accounting for an additional 10% of the variance. Economic abuse (the Control subscale) and interper- sonal resource loss accounted for unique variance and were related positively to posttraumatic stress symptoms.

The second regression investigated the degree to which abuse (psycho- logical, physical, and economic) and interpersonal resource loss were predic- tive of depressive symptoms (see Table 3). Collectively, the variables accounted for 39% of the variance in depressive symptomology, with the abuse experiences explaining 22% and interpersonal resource loss an addi- tional 17% of the variance. When all of the variables were entered, economic abuse (the Sabotage subscale) and interpersonal resource loss accounted for variance in depressive symptomology, with economic sabotage relating neg- atively to depressive symptoms and resource loss relating positively to depressive symptomology.

The third regression tested the degree to which abuse (psychological, physi- cal, and economic) and resource loss (financial loss and work loss) were pre- dictive of economic self-sufficiency (see Table 4). Collectively, the variables accounted for 29% of the variance, with the abuse experiences explaining 27% and the resource loss variables accounting for an additional 2% of the variance. Only the Control subscale of economic abuse accounted for unique variance; this variable was related negatively to economic self-sufficiency.

As financial and work-related resource loss did not predict economic self- sufficiency after controlling for the abuse variables, only the two mediation hypotheses related to interpersonal resource loss were tested. Results of the analyses are summarized in Figures 1 and 2. The total effect of psychological abuse on PTSD was significant. Psychological abuse was associated with interpersonal resource loss and interpersonal resource loss was associated with PTSD. The direct effect of psychological abuse on PTSD remained sig- nificant when accounting for interpersonal resource loss. In addition, a sig- nificant indirect effect emerged for the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD through interpersonal resource loss.

3066

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3067

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3068

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Sauber and O’Brien 3069

Moreover, the total effect of psychological abuse on depressive symptoms was significant. Psychological abuse was associated with interpersonal resource loss and interpersonal resource loss was associated with depressive symptoms. The direct effect of psychological abuse on depressive symptoms remained significant when accounting for interpersonal resource loss. A sig- nificant indirect effect also was present for the relationship between psycho- logical abuse and depressive symptoms through interpersonal resource loss.

Discussion

This study advanced knowledge regarding economic abuse and the mecha- nisms through which abuse leads to psychological and financial distress with a sample of racially diverse, predominantly low-income women. Economic abuse was experienced by almost all of the survivors (95%). Moreover, psy- chological, physical, and economic abuses were predictive of posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and economic self-sufficiency. As hypothesized by COR Theory (Hobfoll 1989), the loss of resources also predicted these three outcomes, above and beyond abuse experiences. Contrary to our expec- tations, only economically controlling behaviors (e.g., demands to know how money was spent), economic sabotage (e.g., intentionally builds up debt), and interpersonal resource loss (e.g., family stability) remained unique pre- dictors after all variables were entered into the regression models. Finally, we replicated previous findings in the literature suggesting that interpersonal resource loss partially mediated the relationship between psychological abuse and mental health (i.e., PTSD and depressive symptoms).

Adding to the limited literature on economic abuse, the majority of survi- vors in this sample endorsed experiences with economic control, exploita- tion, and/or work sabotage. Notably, women whose partners’ used more economically abusive behaviors reported more symptoms of depressive symptoms and PTSD; lost more interpersonal, financial, and work-related resources; and were less economically self-sufficient compared with women whose partners did not employ these tactics. These findings are particularly salient as economic abuse may greatly hinder low-income women’s ability to remain free from abusive relationships (Goodman & Epstein, 2008). However, given the correlational nature of this study, it also is possible that economic dependence, the loss of resources, and poor psychological health make women vulnerable to economic abuse. Abusers might feel frustrated with their partners’ lack of resources and engage in economic abuse as a way to feel more in control of the household.

Qualitative reports from female survivors suggest that abusers intention- ally sabotage their partners’ efforts toward financial independence, which in

3070 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

turn contributes to psychological and financial distress (Sanders, 2015). The current study adds further support to these findings, highlighting how eco- nomic abuse and a lack of resources challenge the ability of women to recover from their victimization. However, it is important to note that the majority of survivors in this sample were no longer in their violent relationships. Women who are still with their partners may not have reported as freely about their experiences, due to shame, denial, or fear of reprisal. It seems critical, then, to understand how economic abuse may be operating among women who are still in these relationships. Peled and Krigel (2016) suggested that problem- atic public policies (e.g., time limits on financial aid for welfare recipients, custody and protection laws that prioritize parental rights of the abuser over the safety of the survivor), the privatization of social services (resulting in cutbacks and a shortage of available support resources), and the challenging labor market (i.e., available jobs for women concentrated in part-time, low wage work) act as obstacles for abused women wanting to leave their rela- tionships and support themselves. Future research should assess the role of these structural obstacles, in conjunction with individual-level factors like economic abuse, on the choices and well-being of abused women.

Of note, the survivors in this sample were primarily low-income women. Historically, low-income women have been largely absent in the psychologi- cal literature (Lott, 2002). While domestic violence affects individuals across all social identities, the current research suggested that poverty plays a sig- nificant role in the perpetuation of domestic violence and the intergenera- tional cycle of intimate partner violence (Goodman, Smyth, Borges, & Singer, 2009). In addition to the consequences of abuse, resource loss, and sexism, low-income abused women must cope with the exclusion, stigma, hopelessness, and lack of options associated with poverty. Consequently, women living in poverty are more likely to face significant financial and resource-related barriers to leaving an abusive relationship (Goodman et al., 2009). Their survival, and that of their children, may be dependent on the abuser’s financial support. This is particularly distressing in light of this study’s findings regarding the common occurrence of economic abuse within these relationships—women cannot support themselves and their children if they leave the relationship, yet they risk being economically dependent if they stay in the relationship.

It also was hypothesized that the abuse variables and interpersonal resource loss would collectively contribute to the prediction of both PTSD and depressive symptoms. These hypotheses were supported, with interper- sonal resource loss accounting for unique variance in both PTSD and depres- sive symptoms. This was consistent with COR Theory, as interpersonal resource loss could exacerbate psychological distress by decreasing the social

Sauber and O’Brien 3071

support available to survivors that they otherwise may have used in the heal- ing process (Beeble et al., 2010). Social support, or lack thereof, has an estab- lished relationship with mental health difficulties among victims of interpersonal violence (Lamoureux et al., 2012). Conversely, COR Theory also posits that psychological distress leads to further resource depletion in the coping process, trapping individuals in a spiral of loss (Schumm, Hobfoll, & Keogh, 2004). Thus, it is possible that PTSD or depressive symptomatol- ogy is contributing to the loss of interpersonal resources. But regardless of directionality, when survivors are experiencing psychological distress, these findings suggest that interpersonal resource loss specifically should be con- sidered as a possible point of intervention.

Economic control also contributed unique variance to the prediction of PTSD, but not depressive symptoms, with high levels of economic control from the abuser being related to high levels of posttraumatic stress symp- toms. Women whose finances were controlled by their partners may have experienced trauma like having to file for bankruptcy, losing their home, or watching their credit get destroyed. It could be that these fiscally con- trolling experiences lead to posttraumatic stress symptoms, like avoidance of related stimuli or nightmares. The finding that economic sabotage was related negatively to depressive symptoms was inconsistent with prior research, as economic abuse predicted depressive symptoms over the course of 3 years among a sample of mothers (Postmus, Huang et al., 2012). Given the study’s cross-sectional design, women who are less depressed may have partners who notice their resilience and well-being, and consequently increase their financial sabotage to exert control. However, as the effects of these findings were small and correlational, future research is needed to further understand the direct role of economic abuse on mental health outcomes.

It also was hypothesized that the abuse variables and resource loss (finan- cial and work-related) would collectively contribute to the prediction of eco- nomic self-sufficiency. This was partially supported. While each of the variables accounted for variance in predicting economic self-sufficiency, only economic control emerged as a unique predictor. The relationship between economic abuse and self-sufficiency was expected, as economic abuse is used to make victims financially dependent in their relationships (Adams et al., 2008). For women living in poverty, the exertion of control over their limited economic resources exacerbates the challenges they face in leaving the relationship and achieving economic self-sufficiency. Postmus and her colleagues (2012) found this link between economic control and eco- nomic self-sufficiency as well, reiterating the importance of connecting sur- vivors with resources to obtain financial independence.

3072 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

Contrary to our hypotheses, however, financial and work-related resource losses were not unique predictors of economic self-sufficiency. One possible explanation could be construct overlap between economic abuse and resource loss. For instance, a common tactic among abusers is preventing victims from working—this may be capturing the loss of employment and consequently sharing variance with work resource loss. Moreover, many of the women in this sample have operated with few material resources throughout their lives due to structural barriers outside of their relationships (e.g., poverty, racism). As a result of social oppression, research shows that low-income women and women of color have developed ways to survive outside of traditional sys- tems, for example, by accessing financial support from their social networks (e.g., Miller-Cribbs & Farber, 2008). Because of this, it is possible that the women in this sample did not feel the impact of financial and work-related losses on their economic self-sufficiency as strongly as their loss of interper- sonal support. Previous research suggested that low-income women may worry more about emotionally burdening those in their community, as they, too, are struggling to survive (Goodman, Smyth, & Banyard, 2010).

In addition, we learned that higher levels of psychological abuse were related to higher levels of interpersonal resource loss, which in turn, were associated with higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms. This partial mediation is consistent with Hobfoll’s (1989, 2001) COR Theory, which pro- posed that people experience stress when their resources are lost or threat- ened with loss after a traumatic event. While this finding must be replicated using longitudinal data to infer true mediation, the loss of interpersonal resources after abuse appears to play a key role in the mental health of survi- vors. The hypothesis that a lack of economic self-sufficiency might relate to resource loss from the aftermath of trauma, however, was not supported. Yet, this relationship warrants further investigation—it may be that resource loss related to economic abuse is more deleterious while women are still with their partners, highlighting a potential area of future research.

Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings of this study. The women in this sample answered the survey retrospectively, and consequently, their responses may have been affected by memory. Additionally, the cross-sectional design of this study prevents any causal con- clusions from being made about the relationships among variables. Women’s experiences with abuse may have preceded their resource loss or vice versa. Subsequent researchers could improve upon this work by engaging in a lon- gitudinal investigation of abuse and resource loss over time. Moreover, the majority of survivors in this study were low-income women and had left their male abusive partners, limiting the generalizability of the findings. An impor- tant step for future research could be to highlight how the relationships

Sauber and O’Brien 3073

between abuse, resource loss, and well-being operate among other under- served populations (e.g., male or queer-identifying survivors). Finally, there were some differences across the measured variables for survivors depending on where they were recruited. It appears that women recruited online were slightly more resourced (e.g., experienced less financial resource loss) than women recruited from shelters. This may warrant separate investigations of these samples in the future.

Despite being a relatively new construct, economic abuse has a growing body of literature to support its role in the psychological health and economic self-sufficiency of domestic violence survivors. As economic abuse is hap- pening, interventions are needed to help increase survivors’ financial knowl- edge and self-sufficiency in the aftermath. For example, the All-State Foundation and the National Network to End Domestic Violence partnered to create a free, empirically supported financial literacy program, titled Moving Ahead Through Financial Management (Postmus & Plummer, 2010). This study further suggests that counselors, social workers, lawyers, police offi- cers, and advocates should work to educate others about economic abuse tactics, especially economic control.

Early intervention could help individuals identify warning signs of finan- cially abusive behavior before it escalates. Psycho-education around eco- nomic abuse might be particularly powerful for women living in poverty, who already struggle to establish economic self-sufficiency without the inter- ference of an abusive partner. To effectively participate in these interven- tions, clinicians also must continually reflect on and challenge the ways in which they cognitively and interpersonally distance themselves from people living in poverty (Lott, 2002).

Interventions around economic abuse also are needed at a policy-level. Laws should be amended or written to include economic abuse as unaccept- able behavior (Postmus, Plummer et al., 2012). On a broader level, policies aimed at reducing the wage gap, expanding social welfare services, and increasing the availability of jobs with a livable wage would benefit low- income, female survivors. State and federal funding could be directed to the development or expansion of financial resources and support programs for domestic violence survivors, especially low-income women.

This study also implicated interpersonal resource loss in the psychological distress of domestic violence survivors. As social support is such a key pre- dictor of well-being, existing services that focus on relationship building, such as group therapy and support groups, should be strengthened, especially for low-income women. Early intervention with young people also seems critical here, as counselors and educators could teach teens how partners who isolate them from their support systems are problematic. To minimize the

3074 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 35(15-16)

amount of emotional support lost by women with abusive partners, interven- tions highlighting the importance of maintaining friendships and familial relationships with loved ones in the face of dating violence also could be emphasized. While the influence of work and financial resource loss was less robust, emergency shelters could still work to develop partnerships with local businesses to connect survivors with job-training, career counseling, finan- cial literacy resources, and stable employment opportunities. Service provid- ers also might collaborate with community leaders to create scholarships or emergency funds to assist survivors when unexpected expenses arise.

Economic abuse poses a real threat to abused women. Given its frequency among this racially diverse, low-income sample, economic abuse needs to be recognized by those at risk of violence and those working to help survivors in the aftermath of violence. Economic control is particularly harmful, as it pre- dicted PTSD symptomology and (a lack of) economic self-sufficiency. In addition, interpersonal resource loss was a key predictor of psychological distress. While the continued loss experienced by survivors is devastating, this finding may provide hope. As psychologists, we may not be able to stop violence from happening, but we can intervene earlier in the resource loss— distress cycle to minimize the negative psychological and financial outcomes experienced by too many domestic violence survivors.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the assistance of Julie Wakeman, Rebecca Gwira, and Christine Vaing with data collection and analyses. Much gratitude is extended to the women and staff at the Family Crisis Center of Prince George’s County who have contributed to this research.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded through a grant from the University of Maryland College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

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Author Biographies

Elizabeth W. Sauber is a counseling psychology doctoral student at the University of Maryland. She serves the Department of Psychology as a lecturer and teaching assistant for courses on the psychology of women, domestic violence, and basic help- ing skills. Her research seeks to understand the experiences of domestic violence sur- vivors and how to engage students as bystanders in preventing dating violence. She was awarded the George M. Philips Award for Graduate Student Research in the Public Interest for her research on economic abuse among battered women. She hopes this research will enhance our ability to help female survivors attain economic self-sufficiency.

Karen M. O’Brien is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland. She received her doctoral degree from Loyola University Chicago. Through her research, she seeks to advance understanding regarding domestic and dating violence, successful management of work and family, and the education of future helping professionals regarding end-of-life issues and grieving. She teaches courses on domestic violence and supervises service-learning experiences for under- graduates in a shelter for abused women. She is a board member at the Family Crisis Center of Prince George’s County and she maintains a small psychotherapy practice.

Articles/Silvia-Martinez et al, 2015, Implementing a Financial Management Curriculum With Survivors of IPV.pdf

Article

Implementing a Financial Management Curriculum With Survivors of IPV: Exploring Advocates’ Experiences

Elithet Silva-Martı́nez 1 , Amanda M. Stylianou

2 , Gretchen L. Hoge

3 ,

Sara Plummer 4 , Sheila McMahon

5 , and Judy L. Postmus

3

Abstract There is a clear need for financial literacy programs specific to survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), as the skills and knowledge acquired during these programs stand to increase survivors’ ability to achieve economic independence. In order to understand advocates’ experiences in providing a financial literacy program, this study reports the findings of a qualitative study among 19 domestic violence advocates across 10 states. Findings revealed that advocates expressed complexities in providing financial literacy to survivors. Furthermore, advocates discussed the ways in which they incorporated the financial literacy curriculum into their own financial management behaviors. These findings provide critical information in regard to best practice approaches to incorporating financial literacy into IPV services.

Keywords advocates, economic empowerment, intimate partner violence

Background Literature

Addressing Economic Abuse Through Economic Empowerment

Encouraging financial empowerment among survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of

the many responsibilities of advocates working in the IPV field. Improving financial empowerment

among survivors of IPV is crucial, as studies have shown that financial dependence is one of the

1 Beatriz Lassalle Graduate School of Social Work, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA

2 Research and Evaluation, Safe Horizon, New York, NY, USA

3 Center on Violence Against Women and Children, School of Social Work, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 4 School of Social Work and Human Services, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

5 Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Elithet Silva-Martı́nez, Beatriz Lassalle Graduate School of Social Work, University of Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 3345, San Juan,

PA 3345, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 2016, Vol. 31(1) 112-128 ª The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0886109915608218 aff.sagepub.com

main reasons a woman remains in an abusive relationship (Adams, 2011; Anderson & Saunders,

2003; Barnett, 2000; Kim & Gray, 2008; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). Although IPV occurs across

all socioeconomic classes, low-income women are more often subject to abuse (Meier, 1997;

Tolman & Raphael, 2000).

Results from the National Crime Victimization Survey demonstrated that women in families with

annual incomes less than US$10,000 were 4 times more likely to be victimized than other women

(Bachman & Saltzman, 1995). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed significantly

higher prevalence of rape, physical violence, or stalking among women and men with a combined

household income of less than US$25,000 (Breiding, Chen, & Black, 2014).

From a feminist empowerment paradigm, inequality and subordination in the lives of women

need to be analyzed in order to promote social and economic justice (Mayoux, 2002). A feminist

empowerment model provides a foundation for considering the multiple factors that impact women

in patriarchal societies, including economic inequality. When focusing on the impact of patriarchy in

the lives of women and the centrality of gender in multiple aspects of their lives (Drolet, 2010), it is

important to pay special attention to the fact that women are more vulnerable to financial abuse as a

tactic used by their abusers to perpetuate IPV.

The presence of economic abuse significantly affects the ability of a survivor to obtain financial

independence. Economic abuse is a covert form of abuse that inhibits a survivor’s movement toward

economic security and self-sufficiency through control of the ability to obtain, use, and maintain

economic resources (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Sanders, 2015). Economic abuse

occurs in three ways: (1) controlling the victim’s access to economic resources, (2) sabotaging the

victim’s ability to obtain and maintain employment, and (3) exploiting the victim’s personal eco-

nomic situation (Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2013). Furthermore, economic abuse tactics used

by abusers decrease survivors’ confidence in their ability to manage their financial resources. This

decrease in confidence may lead to detrimental financial behaviors and circumstances such as pay-

ment of higher amounts for financial services, use of predatory lending services, increased debt, and

damaged credit (Christy-McMullin, 2011; Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007).

Financial Literacy as a Tool for Survivors of IPV

Financial literacy programming is one way that service providers in the IPV field are beginning to

address the financial situations of survivors. The presence of financial literacy services among IPV

programs has increased as the need for these particular services has been identified (Christy-

McMullin, 2003; Correia, 2000; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006; VonDeLinde, 2002). However, various

barriers exist to their implementation. The inclusion of financial literacy services may require a shift

in agency focus. Traditionally, services for IPV survivors have focused on short-term emergency

needs such as food, housing, employment, skill building, and mental health services (Christy-

McMullin, 2011; Chronister & McWhirter, 2003; Sanders et al., 2007; VonDeLinde, 2002; VonDe-

Linde & Correia, 2005).

When financial education is offered as an agency service, advocates may be called upon to pro-

vide this information to survivors due to its centrality to survivor safety and economic independence

(VonDeLinde, 2002). Advocates in this role may be responsible for a range of activities. These often

include evaluating a survivor’s economic situation, counseling survivors regarding their financial

situations in group and individual settings, helping with tasks such as a making a budget, reviewing

credit reports, opening bank accounts, connecting survivors to outside resources, and collaborating

with community agencies and social services (Christy-McMullin, 2011; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006;

VonDeLinde, 2002).

Experts in the field have made a wide range of recommendations to address current barriers in

financial literacy program development. Among them is the suggestion for collaboration with other

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 113

community agencies already providing economic services, the development training manuals and

advocacy tools, and the implementation of certification requirements for advocates (Christy-

McMullin, 2011; VonDeLinde, 2002). Researchers have also argued that financial training for advo-

cates would provide opportunities to further empower and aid both advocates and survivors in

navigating and understanding economic systems (Postmus, 2010).

IPV-specific programs such as Redevelopment Opportunities for Women’s ‘‘Realizing Your

Economic Action Plan’’ (REAP), The Allstate Foundation’s Moving Ahead Through Financial

Management curriculum, the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s ‘‘Personal Economic

Planning’’ program, and the ‘‘Hope and Power for Your Personal Finances’’ provide financial lit-

eracy education to increase survivor knowledge of and access to financial resources and aim to

increase survivor confidence in managing finances (Correia, 2000; Postmus, 2011). Research sug-

gests that survivors who participate in financial education interventions gain financial literacy,

increase positive financial behaviors, and decrease economic dependence on both present and future

abusers (O’Rourke, 2010).

Evaluation of Financial Literacy Programs for Survivors of IPV

Although systematic review of these programs has not been widespread, those programs that have

implemented some form of evaluation have shown positive outcomes for survivors. A qualitative

evaluation of the REAP program reported improved cognitive/affective behavioral and learning out-

comes and feelings of empowerment upon completion of the program for participants (Sanders,

2007). Participants also reported actively working toward short- and long-term financial goals, over-

all improvement in their financial lives, and taking steps to achieve and maintain economic indepen-

dence (Sanders, 2007). A quantitative evaluation of the REAP program also found that survivors

who participated in the REAP program had significantly better scores in financial knowledge com-

pared to survivors who did not participate in REAP (Sanders et al., 2007).

The Allstate Foundation’s Moving Ahead Through Financial Management curriculum has under-

gone two longitudinal evaluations. The first study found that survivors had significant improvements

in financial literacy, economic self-efficacy, and economic self-sufficiency after participating in the

program (Postmus & Plummer, 2010). The second evaluation found improved economic outcomes

for women who participated in the program compared to those who did not (Postmus, Hetling, &

Hoge, 2015). These included significantly better scores and significant changes over time for finan-

cial literacy, financial attitudes, economic self-efficacy, economic self-sufficiency, financial beha-

viors and intentions, financial strain, perceived difficulty living on annual income, and quality of life

(Postmus et al., 2015).

Advocates in the field who have assumed the responsibility of implementing these programs have

voiced concerns related to their ability to provide financial literacy programming to survivors of

IPV. In one study, advocates noted that there should be a set of core competencies with respect

to financial advising to increase their knowledge and ability to financially help survivors (Rupred,

Most, & Sherraden, 2000). A second study revealed advocates’ need for their own financial capacity

to be increased and for provision of additional training to ensure comprehensive financial education

for survivors (Postmus, 2010).

Advocates have also reported challenges related to the logistics of implementing financial lit-

eracy programs. Research indicates that a lack of funding and training are major barriers to provid-

ing financial literacy programs (Postmus, 2010). Inconsistent financial knowledge, a lack of clarity

about how economic services fit the mission of the agency, overworked staff, a lack of financially

trained staff as well as other systemic barriers have also been identified (Sanders & Schnabel, 2006;

VonDeLinde, 2002). Furthermore, survivors’ short housing stays, work schedule conflicts, and focus

114 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

on short-term/emergency needs have also been highlighted as barriers to program implementation

(VonDeLinde, 2005).

There is a clear need for the development of financial literacy programs specific to IPV survivors,

as the skills and knowledge acquired during these programs stand to increase survivors’ ability to

manage money and achieve economic independence. There is also a need for the evaluation of these

programs from the perspective of advocates. Such evaluations would provide key information to

agencies on ways in which financial literacy programs can be implemented. In an effort to provide

insight on how financial literacy can be used as one of the strategies for economic empowerment,

especially for survivors of IPV, the purpose of this article is to understand the experiences of 19

advocates implementing a financial literacy program designed specifically for survivors. The main

research question guiding this study is: What are the experiences of advocates providing a financial

literacy program for survivors of IPV?

Method

Participants

This project was part of a longitudinal, exploratory study evaluating the impact of the Moving Ahead

Through Financial Management financial literacy program. This program was created by The Allstate

Foundation in partnership with the National Network to End Domestic violence and was implemented

with IPV survivors in domestic violence organizations across the United States. The curriculum was

created to help survivors identify the signs of economic abuse, increase their financial knowledge,

enhance their ability to manage their finances, and obtain the confidence they need to rebuild their

financial lives (www.clicktoempower.org). The study was implemented in the summer of 2008 and

lasted for 11 months. After receiving approval from the University’s institutional review board, 15 IPV

programs, across 10 states (West Virginia, South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kentucky,

Florida, Missouri, New York, and Iowa), were asked to participate in the research project. These agen-

cies were purposefully chosen as they had applied for and obtained grants to introduce the Moving

Ahead Through Financial Management curriculum to their participants.

Individuals working at the shelters and/or nonresidential programs as counselors and case man-

agers (referred to as advocates going forward) from each site were provided a onetime, multiday

training on the material prior to implementation. Each site was then provided multiple copies of the

curriculum that outlined the basic topics that were to be addressed. The advocates were given carte

blanche on how they wanted to deliver the material. Some advocates chose to provide the informa-

tion in a group setting, while others provided the information either individually or as a combination

of group and one on one. Participants were either chosen and invited by the advocates, and then

invited to attend the groups or individual sessions, or a flyer was sent out to all of the clients in the

agency in an effort to recruit participants. The clients were also provided a copy of the curriculum

and a calculator.

For this study, a total of 19 advocates from all of the 15 programs were interviewed face to face

utilizing 13 open-ended questions, in order to learn about their experiences with the Moving Ahead

Through Financial Management curriculum. Advocates responsible for teaching the material at each

agency were interviewed by two researchers in charge of conducting the study. Interviews were held

in person and/or over the phone. The number of advocates interviewed from site to site depended on

how many were teaching the curriculum. At some sites, one advocate was solely responsible for

teaching the information to the women, while at other sites two advocates shared that role. At the

time of the interviews, each site was at a different point in implementing the curriculum. Some sites

had been sharing the information with their clients for a few months, while other sites had just started

introducing the material. Therefore, the answers to these questions are based on the advocates’

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 115

experiences with the curriculum as they were currently implementing it with survivors of IPV. The

research plan included a schedule that incorporated the interviews of all of the advocates at the same

time twice during the course of the implementation of the curriculum.

Interview Guide

Interviews were conducted with the advocates using an interview guide and all advocates gave per-

mission for the interviews to be recorded. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim. The inter-

views lasted approximately 1 hour and were conducted at the agencies in which the advocates were

employed. Advocates were asked about their experiences providing the Moving Ahead Through

Financial Management curriculum to survivors at their agencies. Advocates were asked about the

process of providing the curriculum including questions on how they chose what workbooks to uti-

lize, if they preferred individual or group sessions and recommendations on providing the curricu-

lum. Advocates were also asked to evaluate the curriculum by explaining what sections were most/

least helpful in their opinion and which clients benefited the most/least from the curriculum. Finally,

advocates were asked how comfortable they felt with teaching the curriculum and if they incorpo-

rated any information from the curriculum into their own lives.

Data Analysis

The current study employed a qualitative approach that searched for significant statements and

meanings in the responses of study participants. This design was appropriate given that the goal

of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of 19 advocates’ experiences with providing

financial literacy education to survivors of IPV. The experiences and observations of these advo-

cates provide an important view on the financial literacy work at these settings.

A thematic analysis of the data across and within interviews was performed in order to identify

patterns and themes. In addition, a coding scheme that ranged from low to high levels of abstraction

was implemented, using microanalysis, followed by axial coding, procedures commonly used in

grounded theory designs (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Starting with the coding of raw data, and subse-

quently comparing and contrasting categories, key themes were uncovered based on commonalities

and differences in the experiences of the participants.

To begin this process, all transcripts were read and open coded by four researchers using Atlas.ti.

In this first round of coding, detailed coding was utilized to identify over 530 raw codes from the

data. In the second round of coding, two researchers independently grouped the codes into groups

and families and then compared their categories and came to a consensus of 40 groups within 12

families. The researchers then reviewed the groups and patterns to ensure that all agreed with the

categories. Each of the four researchers then reviewed the original coding again and added/changed

any codes where necessary. Engaging in what Patton (2002) refers to as investigator triangulation,

periodically, all researchers met to discuss codes, categories, and themes. Once the main categories

and patterns emerged, they engaged in a narrative analysis within each interview to make sure that

the essence of the stories was not lost. Those themes were discussed between the researchers until

consensus was reached. Finally, a researcher who had not participated in the coding process took the

role of auditor as a way to substantiate trustworthiness, by examining the process and the interpreta-

tion of the data (Creswell, 1998).

Findings

After the research team analyzed the transcripts of the interviews, the key themes emerged in response

to the advocates’ experiences with the implementation of a financial literacy program for IPV.

116 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

Particular attention was paid to the strengths, limitations, and challenges of implementing a financial

literacy program in high-stress, resource-limited environments with clients in various stages of crisis

and recovery from trauma. The thematic analysis of statements across and within interviews revealed

three overarching themes: (1) Introducing Financial Literacy Curriculum in Traditional Service Set-

tings for Survivors of IPV, (2) Implementing Financial Literacy Efforts in Their Advocates’ Personal

Lives, and (3) Decision Making and Implementation Barriers. Within each theme, the advocates shed

light on specific factors that shape their work in supporting survivors of IPV that are important and

relevant when it comes to addressing best practice approaches in the field.

Introducing a Financial Literacy Curriculum in Traditional Service Settings for Survivors of IPV

Advocates who work with survivors of IPV support them in their journeys at different stages of the

helping process. Given the often busy context in which advocates work, those who facilitated the

financial literacy groups for participants were adding a new responsibility to their already full sche-

dules. Many advocates talked about the fast-paced environment in which they work. One noted,

We run run, run, run, run so you don’t have a whole lot of time that you can sit down and really get more

into it because the phone is always ringing, someone’s coming in . . . .

I didn’t necessarily use all of the activities . . . just because of the time constraint, of you know, trying to

get something accomplished.

The advocates’ personal experiences around finances impacted the way they faced the responsibility

of implementing the financial literacy curriculum with participants. Advocates also saw their ability

to engage the curriculum as helpful to themselves personally and as role models for their partici-

pants. They felt positive about the content, seeing value in this type of information and sharing it

with their clients. Two advocates reported,

I feel pretty comfortable with that—it is well written and easy to talk about and understand. It has not

only been helpful for the participants but me as well.

I loved it. The first training, I learned so much. I personally have gotten a lot out of it. And yes some of it

was very new to me.

I think it was a huge, huge step in the right direction for us to say, ‘‘We’re gonna do what we ask clients to

do,’’ even though it was really, really scary in the beginning . . .

In the same vein, some advocates described the challenging but important responsibility of learning

the financial literacy curriculum to be able to better support participants:

But for us, I think it’s really important that if we’re gonna be out there and everybody here’s job descrip-

tion, including mine, says you gotta be a role model, you know, you gotta be willing to practice what we

preach here . . .

I tell the clients all the time-if you want to learn about money, just, you know, read something every day

that deals with money . . . Since I started reading the curriculum, you know, I feel like I can have a

decent conversation about stocks and investments and things like that so it has done me, you know, like

I tell them, I’m learning as you’re learning every time I talk to them.

Acting as role models for participants in the arena of personal finances was challenging on a per-

sonal level due to advocates’ own financial anxieties. The volume of new information they learned

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 117

as a result of preparing to lead these financial literacy groups also posed challenges. One key strategy

for managing these challenges was reaching out to other advocates and community members. Work-

ing in conjunction with fellow staff members and advocates from the state coalition, advocates were

able to obtain the information they needed for the participants with whom they worked:

If I wasn’t sure about something they were asking us, I’d say you know what, I need to get back to you

. . . if I had to, I called the bank and say ok, I had this come up, what do we do?

I feel OK. We are going to be bringing in some professional people to talk about investments. I don’t

know enough about that myself to feel like I can share with anybody. If the women want, I’ve talked

to a couple of local bankers and they’re more than willing to come in and work with us on that.

This process of connecting with advocates at sister agencies to aid participants also proved benefi-

cial for the advocates themselves as new information was shared with other agencies. One advocate

noted,

We are invited by the coalition to go to a advocates’ retreat and we will be doing the credit report [ . . . ] so

we’re looking forward to that, to taking what we’ve learned from the Allstate program and bringing it out

and sharing that with all the advocates.

Implementing Financial Literacy Efforts in Advocates’ Personal Lives

Due to the nature of this work, many advocates live in contexts in which money is tight and can be a

source of stress and anxiety. For some, this served as an impetus to discuss their own finances among

agency staff members. One stated,

The staff were really interested in it. They wanted to start an hour group to talk about their money issues

since they feel pretty broke. Even the facilitators are thinking about their finances.

Almost all of the advocates incorporated the financial literacy curriculum into their own lives

through changes in knowledge and/or through changes in financial behaviors. The advocates spoke

candidly about the experience of becoming financially literate themselves through the new knowl-

edge they gleaned from the Allstate financial literacy curriculum:

I looked at my credit. I looked at my debt and stocks. I recognized I did have fears around money.

Cause I had never taught any type of financial literacy class and I wasn’t very financially literate myself

[ . . . ], But then once I read the curriculum, it laid it out a whole lot easier.

[ . . . ] when I was going through guidebook 4, you know, a lot of that was just beyond my knowledge, I

had never invested myself.

For some advocates, preparing to teach the curriculum to survivors was an opportunity to apply the

financial literacy skills to their own lives. This often meant engaging in more deliberate financial

behaviors based on this new knowledge:

When I went through it myself—it has brought up things I want to do in my personal life. What we have

done I have already addressed but as we continue it will enhance my knowledge . . . It has made me look

at my long-term financial goals, are they realistic. And to start looking at ways to meet those needs. And

to start saying you have to do this and do that.

118 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

The new knowledge challenged familiar practices, such as using cash advances or financing house-

hold purchases through payment plans with high interest rates for some advocates. One of them

described this transition in her own life, from often being a victim of predatory lending to making

financial choices that empowered her:

We started talking about other forms of predatory lending like rent-to-own furniture places. I would go

finance a TV that would end up being $3,000, $4,500 . . . Then, after reading the curriculum, I thought,

do I take that same 50 dollars that I would be making on a monthly planned payment towards this stuff

and put it away? So it’s really, really helped me.

Other topics of greatest use to the advocates were budgeting and credit issues.

I learned to budget and track my money to see where my money is going. I started to understand my

spending habits.

Well, it has really made me stop and think for what I have for the future and how I need to save more than

what I have right now.

A handful of advocates went beyond making changes in their own financial lives as a result of teach-

ing the curriculum and also shared what they learned with others. This included both colleagues and

family members.

And so I brought some of that home . . . And then, but another thing is that it has affected the whole staff

here because as part of the curriculum, we brought activities to our staff meetings . . .

Of the few advocates who did not incorporate the curriculum into their lives, one advocate explained

that she was already doing the things that were recommended in the curriculum. Another advocate

expressed that she accepted her own financial situation as it is, without feeling the drive to make

changes:

Unfortunately, I would say no because I have already done all of this.

It is what it is, you know. It’s just kinda like, this is what I make, this is what I pay, so it is what it is.

All of the advocates reported feeling comfortable with the curriculum. However, some took steps to

obtain additional information about a range of financial literacy topics through outside manuals,

REAP, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), local banks, and family members.

The fact that you should put money into stock and leave it there for quite some time, you know, I didn’t

understand any of that and this curriculum really sparked that for me. I end up reading other sources of

course, you know to get more information but for the most part, you know it sparked the interest for me to

even begin to learn more about it.

. . . I went to the REAP program, and FDIC. I did a lot of work outside of the manuals to make it relevant

to the women and to be comfortable myself to do the training.

Decision Making and Implementation Barriers

Deciding who should get the curriculum. Some of the advocates expressed a sense of frustration around implementing a financial literacy program when there were other crises that needed their attention.

Further, advocates seemed to view the curriculum as irrelevant to their clients’ hierarchy of needs.

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 119

This judgment factored into how, when, and to whom they introduced the content. As stated, advo-

cates had the freedom to deliver the material in any way they felt would be most advantageous to

their clientele. Participants just entering services and deemed ‘‘in crisis’’ were predominately

excluded from the curriculum by the advocates. There was a general sense that clients just leaving

abusive situations could not gain from this information at that time because they were addressing

more immediate issues. They questioned the utility of such a program when the clients have only

just left the abuser. There was a clear definition by these advocates of a hierarchy of needs that did

not appear to include financial literacy. This judgment was based on their opinion and experience in

the field prior to the implementation of the program.

Women in crisis it is too much because they are not at a point in which they can begin with this infor-

mation. Once out of the crisis and they are settled then we can begin on this information. When they are

transitioning out of the shelter.

Yes, people that were overwhelmed with other goals that needed to be accomplished were less apt to gain

from the material. When you are in the mode of getting your basic necessities met this material is not on

their agenda.

While there was some consensus among the advocates in this study regarding who should receive the

curriculum, there was, in contrast, great diversity in advocates’ views on who benefited from the

program and who did not. Advocates noted a range of characteristics that affected how much a par-

ticipant benefited from the program. These ranged from a participant’s age and immigration status to

time at the shelter and employment status upon entering the program.

The older ones seemed to bring a lot to the table, the younger ones seemed to gain a lot from just the

basics . . . the younger group seemed to get things, but the ones who seemed to really get it was your

more your middle-aged group.

Lack of employment was cited as a reason that participants did not benefit from the curriculum:

. . . The women who don’t have jobs—they say how can we talk about money if we don’t have any

money?

One advocate identified former incarceration as a serious barrier for participants. This is a challenge

that ought to be examined carefully, as it was not considered in the current formulation of the

curriculum:

Women who have been incarcerated—their biggest concern is how to get job—plus restitution and court

fees, bill, and some kind of charge—even talking about money—they get mad—they can’t even talk

about it because they don’t have anything . . . They are discouraged.

As the facilitators of the financial literacy curriculum, advocates played a critical role in identifying

participants who would be willing to participate in the training and were responsible for keeping

these participants motivated to complete the program. As advocates noted, survivors arriving at

domestic violence organizations are often in a state of crisis. So, it is likely that advocates provide

the majority of the support for client participation in this curriculum. In addition to concern for the

status of participants’ mental health upon arrival, advocates expressed that they were burdened with

many work obligations and few resources. Given this context, it is understandable that motivating

participants to care about financial matters could be difficult.

120 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

I just don’t know how to get people more motivated, and excited. Some people are and some people, I

don’t know, they’re just comfortably stuck where they are and they don’t wanna move up outta there, I

don’t know how to get people motivated.

. . . clients gained what they could be based on their capacity. Women who did not have as much moti-

vation did not gain as much. Women had the cognitive delays has motivational delays.

Overall, the consensus was that individuals who were motivated to learn the material were those who

would gain the most from the program.

Implementation barriers. Barriers to implementing the curriculum included aspects that could be chan- ged with additional resources, such as providing child care as well as less tangible obstacles such as

how to motivate participants to focus on their financial well-being. Variation in methods for delivery

of curriculum content also posed barriers.

In addition to the programmatic content, the format of the financial literacy trainings offered to

participants had a significant impact on the advocates’ experiences with these programs. While oth-

ers expressed the contrary, several advocates expressed great satisfaction with providing the curri-

culum in a group setting, noting various positive aspects to this dynamic:

. . . the group situation-support group of survivors-is so, so powerful and empowering that I cannot

imagine-unless a woman has a specific problem with a creditor or something like that that an advocate

can help her, I just think the group is the way to go.

It was good for building that all around general knowledge and made it less intimating, sharing their

stories.

I think the group setting women learn they are not alone in their lack of their knowledge around financial

information and breaks down in barriers. Everyone shares that they don’t know information. In individ-

ual the woman may take it as this is what I am telling you and how to change things.

For these advocates, the group setting allowed them to meet a broader goal for their participants by

providing a context in which to model an empowerment approach. This meant helping the partici-

pants to turn to each other for problem-solving support and to see each other as capable, rather than

reinforcing their roles as victims.

Other advocates, however, felt that the group setting for curriculum implementation was challen-

ging due to a variety of factors. They reported perceiving that some participants felt they needed

more privacy in order to open up about their financial situations, as well as participants who felt that

aspects of the curriculum did not pertain to them (such as opening a retirement savings account).

I don’t think it’s [the Allstate curriculum] necessarily for a particular group of individuals, but it doesn’t

take into account that some people, to be able to pay the electric bill during the month is a big thing that

they’re actually able to do it . . . so some of those things were just, you know, we talked about retirement

and they looked at us and laughed.

More than half of the advocates identified the group setting as a challenge because it required par-

ticipants to be comfortable sharing personal financial information in front of one another. This sug-

gests that a high level of trust must be established in order to succeed in group work:

I don’t think it would work in a group. Because they have to trust you completely and it’s hard, it’s dif-

ficult for I’m gonna say 95% of the people to open to you.

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 121

In order to address the challenge of working in groups, advocates provided individual sessions for

participants to review aspects of the financial literacy curriculum:

We decided to do 3 individual sessions because they didn’t feel comfortable talking in the group, so they

wanted to do privately.

For participants whose financial circumstances were particularly difficult, there was some reluc-

tance to sharing in the group. Hence, advocates provided individual sessions for them.

. . . people don’t really like sharing their financial situation. They have a certain shame about it even

though everyone’s in the same boat.

In addition to shame-based emotions that served as barriers, some participants faced personal logis-

tical challenges that made participation difficult or even impossible. One critical example of this

dynamic was the issue of childcare. Lack of childcare at the agencies themselves presented consis-

tent challenges, particularly for participants with children who were not yet school age at the time

the curriculum was being offered.

This one lady that was very happy to start the group but she stopped coming because she has two little

boys and we don’t have childcare.

. . . Because I just feel like there’s so many women that do have children that are not in school yet, and if

you bring ‘em, you don’t, the mom doesn’t learn anything . . .

As these quotes reflect, without child care, participants who are single parents of young children may

actually forego this educational opportunity or miss out on group sessions. For those participants who

attempted to juggle both the program and the child care, the ability to take in new information was very

limited. Advocates also described the role of crisis in participants’ lives as a barrier to their participa-

tion in the financial curriculum workshops. Advocates believed that participants in crisis were not able

to focus on learning the financial literacy information because they needed to stay focused on the

immediate issues of physical safety, shelter, and care for themselves and their children.

. . . that’s one reason we have no shelter residents participating, because women would be in crisis and

that’s not what they’re thinking about . . .

Another important factor was that financial education was sometimes considered a part of transition

out of the shelter rather than a part of the personal crisis management process during the shelter stay.

Once out of the crisis and they are settled then we can begin on this information . . . when they are tran-

sitioning out of the shelter.

Another advocate spoke to this issue more broadly and described how a focus on other immediate

goals often supersedes the focus on financial literacy. As advocates discussed their own ambivalence

about incorporating what they learned from the curriculum into their own lives, they also acknowl-

edged that financial issues could be very difficult for participants facing personal losses.

The few new clients, it was a very emotional topic for them.

Yes, people that were overwhelmed with other goals that needed to be accomplished were less apt to gain

from the material. When you are in the mode of getting your basic necessities met this material is not on

their agenda.

122 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

Discussion and Implications

Addressing financial literacy as a strategy for economic empowerment for women and acknowled-

ging the particularities around finances in women’s lives can help in eradicating the historic margin-

alization that women, advocates and survivors of IPV included, have been subject to, especially in

the economic arena. These findings suggest various factors worth considering when implementing

financial literacy programs alongside IPV services. They also highlight the complexities surround-

ing this effort, including the need for developing structured programming and training for advocates.

The themes identified in this study provide a snapshot of how advocates experienced the imple-

mentation of The Allstate Foundation’s Moving Forward through Financial Management curriculum

with survivors of IPV. This evaluation offers insight into both positive experiences and challenges

faced by advocates, as they incorporated the content of the curriculum into their work settings and

personal lives. Advocates reported on the complexity of the process of integrating financial literacy

into their work and the challenges posed by this process.

One of the most remarkable outcomes of the study is learning how several of the advocates

embraced the content personally and conquered their own financial fears. Similar to what has been

found in evaluations of financial literacy programs with survivors, advocates also affirmed the pos-

itive impact of the financial literacy curriculum on their own financial management behaviors. In

fact, in some anecdotal conversations, it was clear that the clients were also teaching the advocates.

On a number of occasions, advocates stated that the information in the curriculum should not just be

given to survivors of IPV but to all women. This was echoed over and over again, and it underscores

the need for acknowledging financial literacy and economic empowerment as a tool for addressing a

multiplicity of dimensions around economic equality for women, including those women who work

with survivors of IPV.

An important element in implementing financial literacy that arose from the findings is that advo-

cates need to implement the curriculum in a way that suits the clients’ particular situations. This

context-specific implementation can be seen as a positive as it seeks to ‘‘start where the client is,’’

as each state and agency had specific clientele with specific needs. This is particularly helpful as it

became clear that each organization was operating under specific rules and regulations regarding cer-

tain policies and financial programs. In fact, the advocates stated on numerous occasions that they

wished the resource pages offered in the curriculum had included more state specific information.

One of the limitations presented by the way some advocates implemented the curriculum

involved their decision making around which participants would benefit more from the curriculum.

Although these decisions were made based on the advocates’ personal perceptions and experiences,

limiting participation to particular survivors could, in turn, limit others from benefiting from the cur-

riculum. Starting ‘‘where the client is’’ is a strength when advocates present material that seems

appropriate for their clients based on their clients’ unique situations. However, this notion of limiting

participation can also become problematic. Some advocates made decisions for the clients without

asking them, thus not incorporating an empowering approach. Many of the advocates chose which

topics they felt were best for the clients based on assumptions and not on evidence. This may be in

part due to the advocates’ beliefs that they are doing what is best for their clients, but it could foster

an environment of control which is especially concerning considering the clients have recently left

controlling situations with their abusive partners.

Carr (2003) suggests that when implementing a feminist empowerment model, it is important to

be reflexive about power relations not only around us but also within the professional relationship.

This involves searching for alternative ways of sharing decision-making processes and power.

Although there may not exist any perfect formula on deciding who participates in a financial literacy

program, encouraging all residential and nonresidential programs for IPV survivors to adopt some

form of financial literacy might be a first step in providing this type of education at different stages.

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 123

Fawole (2008) makes an important point when addressing economic abuse with women and girls,

stressing the importance of providing them with education at all levels when it comes to their rights,

which could very well be implemented at different points of the intervention.

It would also be imperative to encourage increased collaboration between IPV agencies and

financial institutions. Some of the advocates invited individuals from banks to supplement the con-

tent from the workbooks in the curriculum. This alleviated the pressure advocates felt regarding the

need to learn and teach everything in the curriculum at the same time.

The term financial literacy can take on many definitions, and what was gathered from both the

official interviews and the unofficial side conversations is that many advocates viewed financial lit-

eracy as long-term financial planning. Additional education on what constitutes financial literacy

would help challenge these assumptions and offer new ways of looking at this topic. The curriculum

itself actually allowed for this varied use by using workbooks that built upon themselves.

There are numerous reasons why implementation varied from state to state and site to site. One

important reason is that the additional work that came with program implementation was seen as an

additional stressor on an already overworked group of individuals. The advocates discussed how

their already busy days were now busier with the addition of another group to run. Further, many

found it hard to carve out time to review the content, fully learn it, and then present it in a manner

that fit their clients’ needs. This was also based on the varied approaches allowed by agency admin-

istrative teams for incorporating this new program into their services. Some advocates were given

time to prepare, learn, and implement the program (only one was given additional monetary com-

pensation) while others were not, which resulted in having to find additional time, sometimes on

their own personal time, for preparation.

Another reason for variance in implementation was a true lack of knowledge around certain cur-

riculum topics. This in turn created anxiety and avoidance. While many advocates said they were

comfortable with the content—when further pressed it became clear that only certain fundamental

issues were being taught (i.e., budgeting) and more complex topics (i.e., stocks and bonds, education

funds, etc.) were not. This is understandable as many advocates are underpaid or receive fairly low

wages (Behounek, 2011) may have personal financial situations that may not be much better than

their clients, and have limited personal experience with those more complex topics. As Lehrner and

Allen (2009) state, the domestic violence movement has evolved into promoting organizations that

provide expansive arrays of services. Although it may be beneficial to participants, expanding and

providing specialized services, in this case financial literacy, involve further considerations when it

comes to strengthening resources and training.

The results corroborate the need to not only promote financial literacy as a strategy for eco-

nomic empowerment with survivors, but to do it with women in general, including advocates.

Feminist Nancy Fraser (1989) suggests ways to address democracy, which can very well be

applied to addressing economic inequality. One way is to consider collective identification, as

well as an understanding of the need for women to work together toward liberation from inequal-

ity, economic inequality being one of its strongest forms. Individual empowerment for women

depends on collective efforts, and this is very much true when thinking about economic empow-

erment in particular (Fraser, 1989). In that sense, ‘‘by relocating social work within a patriarchal

capitalist global social structure’’ (Dominelli, 2002, p. 9), feminist social work research and prac-

tice can be a great platform for advancing economic empowerment for women receiving services

for IPV as well as the women who work with them as service providers. Educating advocates is

central to the success of implementing financial literacy and economic empowerment efforts with

survivors in both nonresidential and shelter programs, and transitional housing. This could be done

by first having the advocates go through the topics on their own as ‘‘clients’’ in order to provide a

basic foundation for the content of the curriculum. Additional booster classes on new topics can

then be provided on an ongoing basis as needed.

124 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

Acknowledging the economic hardship that advocates often go through, and the fact that they

have been and continue to be overworked and underpaid, it is important to provide financial com-

pensation to those who are asked to take on the added responsibility of implementing a financial

literacy curriculum. This compensation has potential to motivate advocates to learn the content and

fully embrace the new intervention. To increase the number and quality of financial literacy inter-

ventions provided at IPV agencies, program administrators need to support efforts for incorporation

of these programs in agency service provision and advocates need to be willing to receive training on

financial literacy program implementation. Financial literacy training for advocates can increase

advocates’ comfort level with financial education materials and confidence in their ability to teach

the materials (Baron-Donovan, Wiener, Gross, & Block-Lieb, 2005). Advocate training has resulted

in both an increase in the effectiveness of financial literacy programs for IPV survivors (Sanders &

Schnabel, 2006) and has caused advocates to consider new issues in the creation of safety plans for

survivors (VonDeLinde, 2005).

Another strategy for optimizing results in the implementation of financial literacy programs with

survivors of IPV is to encourage collaboration between IPV agencies and financial institutions. This

will alleviate the pressure advocates might feel to learn everything in the curriculum. Depending on

other experts to teach certain topics will aid in a more consistent implementation of the content.

Finally, a discussion around what is economic empowerment and what is financial literacy should

be encouraged. Financial literacy can encompass many topics and can include at the minimum a dis-

cussion about one’s assets and liabilities and budgeting concerns.

Limitations

Our examination of the experiences of advocates implementing a financial literacy curriculum in 10

states has uncovered complexities involved in this process, especially when implementing the cur-

riculum with survivors of IPV. However, the findings are not representative of all advocates. Using a

larger sample and triangulating the data by engaging in observations and interviews with adminis-

trators and participants could be used in future analysis to deepen our understanding of advocates’

experiences in implementing a financial literacy program. Another dimension of the study of finan-

cial literacy and economic empowerment that could be explored in the future is a contextualized

analysis of the realities of advocates as working women and how their own economic empowerment

affects the way they work with survivors. Equally important is the need for examining the relation-

ship between diversity and economic empowerment.

Methodological limitations include possible variation in data collection, since different inter-

viewers conducted each interview according to an interview guide. However, to minimize variation,

these trained interviewers worked in collaboration during data collection, participating in frequent

team meetings to discuss the process of systematically conducting interviews. In addition, the research

group worked systematically during the data analysis phase in order to ensure trustworthiness.

Conclusion

Financial literacy is a potential new intervention that can be used with survivors of IPV as a tool for

becoming economically empowered. Social and economic justice needs to be considered a priority

in order to come closer to the dream of economic empowerment for women. Thus, developing

empowerment-oriented praxis in social work through a feminist lens is crucial, especially when

acknowledging that for women to achieve well-being and peace, they need to gain access to eco-

nomic power at both individual and collective levels. The findings of this study show that in order

to implement financial literacy programming successfully, it is important to recognize the particu-

larities of working in settings in which crisis and the need for shelter, protection, and support are

Silva-Martı́nez et al. 125

present. Also, given that survivors of IPV have different racial, ethnic, social, and economic back-

grounds, implementing an economic empowerment curriculum can be complex.

In addition, the findings confirm the importance of being aware of the fact that advocates who

work with survivors of IPV may face economic hardship and need to become economically empow-

ered. Thus, it is crucial to include them in the process of developing interventions geared toward

economic empowerment, through strategies such as financial literacy for women by providing edu-

cation and support. Furthermore, it is imperative to continue developing a framework directed to

equality and empowerment for both survivors, and those women who join them on their journeys.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of all the survivors, agencies, advocates, and members of

the research team who made this study possible.

Authors’ Note

Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or

policies of The Allstate Foundation.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-

cation of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-

tion of this article: This project was supported by The Allstate Foundation, Economics Against Abuse Program.

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Author Biographies

Elithet Silva-Martı́nez is an assistant professor at the Beatriz Lassalle Graduate School of Social Work at the

University of Puerto Rico, as well as a faculty affiliate at the Center on Violence Against Women and Children

at the Rutgers School of Social Work. She has done therapeutic work with survivors of intimate partner violence

(IPV) over the last 10 years and has been active in collaborating with organizations that provide services for

survivors of IPV.

Amanda M. Stylianou MSW, LCSW, is the senior director of research and program development at Safe Hor-

izon. Ms. Stylianou focuses her research on the intersection of trauma, poverty and mental health.

Gretchen L. Hoge is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. She has her

Masters of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. Her research focuses on the experiences of survivors

of intimate partner violence across cultures and in the context of immigration.

Sara Plummer is a core faculty member in the Social Work program in the School of at Walden University.

Before coming to Walden she was an Instructor and Project Coordinator at the School of Social Work at Rutgers

University. There she taught and ran a certificate program for students interested in focusing their education on

addressing violence against women and children.

Sheila McMahon is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. She is also the

sexual assault services and prevention specialist at Brandeis University.

Judy L. Postmus is an associate professor at the School of Social Work, Rutgers University. Her research is on

physical, sexual, and economic victimization experiences of women with her most recent attention given to

understanding how an economic empowerment curriculum improves fiscal and mental health functioning of

battered women. Dr. Postmus is also the director of the Center on Violence Against Women & Children. She

has given many local, national, and international presentations on the impact of policies and interventions on

survivors of violence. Her work is strongly influenced from her 20 years as a practitioner and administrator.

128 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 31(1)

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Articles/Stylianou, 2018, Economic Abuse Experiences and Depressive Symptoms among Victims of Intimate Partner Violence.pdf

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Economic Abuse Experiences and Depressive Symptoms among Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Amanda M. Stylianou1

Published online: 30 May 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract There are significant, detrimental effects of physical, sexual, and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) on victims’ mental health and well-being. However, little is known about the impact of economic abuse. To address this gap, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between economic abuse and depression and to explore whether the association between economic abuse and depression could be accounted for by other forms of IPV victimization (physical, sexual, and psychological abuse). Data from 457 female victims of IPV, recruited from 14 domestic violence programs across 10 states and Puerto Rico, were examined to explore the association between economic abuse and depressive symptoms. A series of hierar- chical regressions were used to examine whether the addition of economic abuse improved the association between depression over and above participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of psychological, physical, and sexual IPV. The majority (93%) of participants reported experiencing economic abuse from their intimate partner. The findings from a series of multiple regression analyses revealed that economic abuse was uniquely associated with depression after accounting for other forms of IPV victimization and the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. Implications include the need for screening, intervention, and prevention of economic abuse among IPV victims and continued research regarding economic abuse experiences.

Keywords Intimate partner violence . Domestic violence . Economic abuse . Depression

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health con- cern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines IPV as physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse (CDC 2013). It is estimat- ed that the annual cost of intimate partner violence in the United States, including medical costs, mental health costs, and loss of productivity, is $5.8 billion (CDC 2003). Researchers have found that victims of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV are more likely to use healthcare services and to develop a range of physical and mental health conse- quences (Black et al. 2011; Breiding et al. 2008). However, despite numerous studies documenting the impact of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse on depressive symptomatol- ogy, few studies exist that document the impact of economic abuse on depression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to

examine the association between economic abuse experiences and depressive symptoms among victims of intimate partner violence.

Economic Abuse

Although a great deal of research has been conducted over the past 40 years to examine the prevalence and impact of phys- ical, psychological, and sexual abuse; the scientific communi- ty has focused far less on economic abuse. While researchers have identified a variety of economic abuse tactics (Adams et al. 2008; Eriksson and Ulmestig 2017; Jury et al. 2017; Postmus et al. 2012b, 2016b; Sanders 2015; Sedziafa et al. 2017); researchers often do not examine economic abuse and subsume economic abuse under psychological abuse in re- search studies (Stylianou et al. 2013). It was not until 2008 that Adams et al. created the first Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) and not until 2016 that Postmus, Plummer, and Stylianou revised and shortened the SEA to the SEA-12. In 2013, Stylianou et al. utilized a confirmatory factor analysis to

* Amanda M. Stylianou [email protected]

1 Safe Horizon, 2 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10007, USA

Journal of Family Violence (2018) 33:381–392 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9973-4

provide evidence that economic abuse was a construct unique from psychological, physical, and sexual abuse.

Economic abuse occurs when a perpetrator utilizes behav- iors that Bcontrol a woman’s ability to acquire, use and main- tain economic resources, thus threatening her economic secu- rity and potential for self-sufficiency^ (Adams et al. 2008, p.564). Economic abuse occurs in three main ways: (a) con- trolling the victim’s access to economic resources, (b) sabotaging the victim’s ability to obtain and maintain employment, and (c) exploiting the victim’s personal economic situation (Postmus et al. 2016a, b).

Abusers control victims’ economic situations by preventing victims from using or accessing available re- sources. These tactics include denying access to money, dic- tating use of transportation, putting the victim on an allow- ance, and monitoring all money spent (Adams et al. 2008, Postmus et al. 2016a; Wettersten et al. 2004). Abusers sabo- tage victims’ ability to obtain and maintain employment by discouraging or actively forbidding education, training, and/or employment. Researchers have documented a variety of abu- sive tactics used by perpetrators to interfere with their part- ners’ employment, such as sabotaging the car, threatening physical harm, failing to show up for childcare or transporta- tion, stealing the car keys, draining gas from the car, preventing sleep, hiding clothes, inflicting injuries, and harassing the victim at work (Adams et al. 2008; Anderberg and Rainer 2013; Borchers et al. 2016; Hadeed and Lee 2010; Postmus et al. 2012a; Showalter 2016).

Abusers economically exploit victims by actively destroying their economic situation. This can occur in a vari- ety of ways, including stealing money, generating debt under the victim’s name, opening up credit cards under the victim’s name, stealing the victim’s checkbook, ATM, or credit card, gambling shared money, and not paying the utilities (Adams et al. 2008; Postmus et al. 2016a). Ultimately, all of the previ- ously mentioned behaviors represent ways that abusers at- tempt to control victims’ ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources.

The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Mental Health

Researchers have demonstrated associations between IPV his- tory and medical and psychosocial diagnoses, both observed in clinical settings and self-reported by victims (Afifi et al. 2009; Beydoun et al. 2012; Breiding et al. 2008; Devries et al. 2013; Ellsberg et al. 2008). These researchers have found that victims of psychological, physical, and sexual IPV are more likely to use healthcare services and to develop a range of mental health consequences compared to individuals with- out IPV experiences.

While most researchers have examined outcomes across broad medical categories, some researchers have explored the relationship between IPV experiences and depressive symptoms specifically (Beydoun et al. 2012; Bonomi et al. 2009; Devries et al. 2013; Lipsky et al. 2009; Dillon et al. 2013; Hankin et al. 2010; Mburia-Mwalili et al. 2010). Researchers have documented the relationship between IPV experience and major depressive disorder, depressive symp- toms, postpartum depression, and suicide attempts (Beydoun et al. 2012; Devries et al. 2013; Dillon et al. 2013; Vaeth et al. 2010). Beydoun et al. (2012) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and found that 9%– 28% of major depressive disorder and postpartum depression could be attributed to lifetime IPV experiences. The relation- ship between IPV experience and depression remains across multiple forms of IPVexperiences including physical, psycho- logical, and sexual abuse (Vaeth et al. 2010). As noted by Dillon et al. (2013), the severity and chronicity of the IPV experiences is associated with the severity of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, experiencing more than one type of abuse (physical, sexual, and/or emotional/psychological) in- creases the probability of having depressive symptoms.

The Impact of Economic Abuse on Mental Health

Although researchers have demonstrated an association be- tween IPV history and mental health problems, and specifi- cally with depression; the majority of researchers have exam- ined the effects of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse and have ignored the impact of economic abuse experiences on mental health outcomes. Only a few researchers have dem- onstrated an association between economic abuse experiences and psychological outcomes (Antai et al. 2014; Hamdan- Mansour et al. 2011; Nancarrow et al. 2008; Postmus et al. 2012a; Voth Schrag 2015).

Four research studies conducted by Nancarrow et al. (2008), Hamdan-Mansour et al. (2011), Antai et al. (2014), and Voth Schrag (2015) have examined the cross-sectional relationship between economic abuse and psychological outcomes. Nancarrow et al. (2008) examined the cross- sectional relationship between economic abuse and mental health among cohabitating, heterosexual partners, living in the Bowen Basin and Mackay region of Central Queensland. Their findings indicated that women, who reported physical, sexual, psychological, social-psychological, or economic abuse at any stage of their relationship, were more likely to show evidence of depression at 3.7 times, 4.8 times, 3.0 times, 4.2 times, and 4.7 times more likely, respectfully. Similarly, Hamdan-Mansour et al. (2011) examined the cross-sectional relationship between marital abuse and psychological well- being among women in the southern region of Jordan. They

382 J Fam Viol (2018) 33:381–392

found that physical, psychological, and social and economic abuse were all significantly and negatively associated with psychological well-being.

Antai et al. (2014) examined the differential association of economic, physical, and psychological abuse on psychologi- cal distress and suicide attempts. Data were derived from the 2008 Philippines’ Demographic and Health Surveys (PDHS), a nationally representative, household sample survey conduct- ed with women aged 15–49 years. Antai et al. (2014) found positive associations between economic, physical, and psychological abuse and suicide attempts and psychological distress. Furthermore, economic abuse was a stronger predictor of psychological distress than physical or psychological abuse. Based on the results, Antai et al. (2014) suggested that economic abuse had a greater associa- tion with psychological distress than other forms of abuse. Finally, Voth Schrag (2015) assessed the mediating impact of depression on the association between three forms of IPV (economic abuse, physical/sexual abuse, and emotional abuse) and later experiences of material hardship. Data were drawn from 3282 women with children interviewed in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The author re- vealed that, when controlling for experiencing material hard- ship at baseline, reporting economic abuse at baseline was associated with a 2.4 times greater likelihood of meeting the clinical cutoff for depression at baseline. While all four of these studies documented cross-sectional associations be- tween economic abuse experiences and psychological studies, none of the studies utilized validated measures of psycholog- ical, physical, or economic abuse experiences.

In order to examine the relationship between economic abuse and depression over time, Postmus et al. (2012a) con- ducted a study using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The researchers utilized a longitudinal ap- proach to examine the impact of psychological, physical, and economic abuse on mothers’ levels of depression and parenting behaviors. The results of Postmus et al.’s study (2012a) indi- cated that mothers who experienced physical, psychological, or economic abuse at Year 1 were more likely to experience a depressive episode in Year 5. When controlling for demograph- ic variables, mothers who experienced economic abuse at Year 1 were 1.9 times more likely to exhibit depression than mothers who had not experienced abuse. Similarly, mothers who expe- rienced physical or psychological abuse were more likely to experience depression (1.4 and 1.8 times more likely, respec- tively). Furthermore, when testing for level and changes in abuse over time, only economic abuse significantly predicted maternal depression. Based on these findings, Postmus et al. (2012a) suggested that economic abuse had a greater impact on depression over time than other forms of abuse. However, sim- ilar to previously mentioned cross-sectional studies, Postmus et al. (2012a) did not include validated measures of psychologi- cal, physical, or economic abuse.

In sum, the previous researchers provided preliminary ev- idence to the hypothesis that economic abuse influenced de- pressive symptoms among victims of IPV. However, previous researchers studying economic abuse used only two to five non-validated items to measure economic abuse experiences. Further research is needed to examine the impact of economic abuse on depressive symptoms utilizing validated measures of economic abuse experiences among victims of IPV. The pur- pose of this study was to contribute to the growing literature on IPV by providing a cross-sectional view of the associations between economic abuse and depression. The researcher also aimed to examine whether the association between economic abuse and depression could be accounted for by other forms of IPV victimization (physical, sexual, and psychological abuse) and/or the sociodemographic characteristics (race/ethnicity, age, born in the US, children, employment, and income) of the participants. By better understanding the unique relation- ship economic abuse may have with depressive symptoms, professionals can better tailor their assessments of and ser- vices for victims of economic abuse.

To that end, this study is designed to disentangle the rela- tive effect of economic abuse on depressive symptoms by examining the following research questions:

1. What is the relationship between economic abuse and psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and depression among IPV victims?

2. Are abuse experiences (economic, psychological, physi- cal, and sexual abuse), depression, and participant sociodemographic characteristics (age, born in the US, children, employment, and income) related?

3. After controlling for participants’sociodemographic char- acteristics and abuse experiences (physical violence, psy- chological abuse, and sexual abuse), what is the relation- ship between economic abuse and depression?

Methods

Design and Procedures

The aim of this study was to examine the association between economic abuse experiences and depressive symptoms among victims of intimate partner violence. Data for this study came from a larger parent study which utilized a longitudinal, randomized control design to examine the impact of the Moving Ahead through Financial Management program (www.clicktoempower.org). The Moving Ahead through Financial Management program, created by The Allstate Foundation in collaboration with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), was implemented with IPV victims receiving services in domestic violence shelters and

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advocacy organizations across the United States. The curriculum was created to help victims identify the signs of economic abuse and its impact, increase their knowledge of financial issues, enhance their ability to manage their finances, and obtain the confidence they need to rebuild their financial lives. Five modules included in the curriculum covered Understanding Financial Abuse, Learning Financial Fundamentals, Mastering Credit Basics, Building Financial Foundations, and Creating Budgeting Strategies. The researchers of the parent study, a randomized control trial, found that IPV victims who received the financial literacy curriculum intervention had higher levels of self- reported financial knowledge, financial intentions, and finan- cial behaviors, and lower levels of financial strain, than IPV victims who received services as usual (Postmus et al. 2015). For this study, the researcher utilized this dataset because it included validated measures of abuse experiences – physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse experiences – and of depressive symptoms.

Data Collection

For the parent study, the research team recruited potential participants from 14 domestic violence agencies across seven states (Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island) and Puerto Rico which had obtained grants to introduce the Moving Ahead through Financial Management curriculum to their clients. The re- search team selected agencies from locations representing dif- ferent socioeconomic backgrounds, from city and suburban locations, and from the Northeast, Midwest, Texas, and Puerto Rico regions. In addition, agencies that provided ser- vices targeted to both English and Spanish speaking clients were included. The research team instructed advocates to dis- tribute flyers to female victims of intimate partner abuse to inform the clients about the study. Advocates invited female IPV victims to participate in the study if they (a) were a current victim of abuse, (b) were 18 years or older, and (c) were willing to attend individual and group sessions to receive the economic empowerment curriculum.

Women who expressed interest in participating in the study completed a contact sheet which requested personal contact information, including safe phone numbers and email ad- dresses; women also indicated whether they wanted to com- plete the interview in English or Spanish. Next, the advocate sent the contact sheets to the research team. Members of the research team then contacted the women to set up the initial face-to-face interviews. The interviews lasted for approxi- mately one hour and included numerous validated quantitative measures and open-ended qualitative questions. The research team then scheduled three more interviews, following the de- livery of the curriculum, over a one-year period. The research team provided gift card incentives to participants starting at

$20 for the first interview, and increasing thereafter ($25, $30, and $40). The university’s Institutional Review Board ap- proved all data collection procedures and forms.

Due to attrition in the larger longitudinal study, data for this study came from the first wave of data in order to examine the extent to which victims experienced economic abuse, along with relationships between sociodemographic variables and experiences of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, among the full sample of 457 female victims of IPV.

Measures

The research team developed the survey instrument for the parent study using several validated scales across a number of variables. For this study, validated measures of economic abuse; physical, psychological, and sexual abuse; and depres- sive symptoms were included in the analysis. In addition, several questions on sociodemographic variables were includ- ed measuring race/ethnicity, age, place of birth, children, em- ployment, and income. The research team initially designed the instrument in English and then translated the instrument into Spanish. Three bilingual researchers, representing differ- ent Latino backgrounds (Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Chile) reviewed the Spanish version of the instrument to address language issues and aid in understanding biases.

Economic Abuse The original Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA; Adams et al. 2008) involved a 28-item scale that iden- tified the frequency of economic abuse that participants expe- rienced in their relationship. The SEA included two subscales: Economic Control (17 items) and Economic Exploitation (11 items). Postmus et al. (2016a) evaluated the original SEA through confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and re- duced the SEA to the SEA-12. The SEA-12 involved a 12- item scale that identified the frequency of economic abuse that participants experienced in their relationships across three subscales including Economic Control (5 items; e.g. Bmake important financial decisions without talking with you about it first^), Employment Sabotage (4 items; e.g. Bdo things to keep you from going to your job^), and Economic Exploitation (3 items; e.g. Bspend the money you needed for rent or other bills^). For this study, the SEA-12 was utilized to rate how often a partner had exhibited financially abusive behaviors in the past 12 months. Participants indicated such frequency by using a five-point scale with answers ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (quite often). The scale demonstrated strong reliability among this sample with an alpha coefficient of 0.89.

Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Abuse Physical, psycho- logical, and sexual abuse from an intimate partner was assessed by using the Abuse Behavior Inventory - Revised (ABI-R; Postmus et al. 2016b). The original ABI (Shepard and Campbell 1992) represented a commonly used measure

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to assess for physical and psychological abuse experiences. The ABI included 30 items encompassing two subscales: Physical Abuse (10 items) and Psychological Abuse (20 items). While the ABI was a commonly used measure in the field of IPV, only the scale developers, Shepard and Campbell (1992) examined the ABI’s reliability and validity. Shepard and Campbell (1992) tested the ABI among 178 men and women recruited from an inpatient substance abuse treatment facility. The original research was, therefore, limited to a small sample size and the final scale contained only two subscales, physical abuse and psychological abuse, even though items reflecting sexual abuse (Bpressured you to have sex,^ Bphysically forced you to have sex,^ and Bphysically attacked the sexual parts of your body^) and economic abuse (Bprevented you from having money for your own use,^ Bput you on an allowance,^ and Bstopped you or tried to stop you from going to work or school^) were included in the measure.

Given the limitations to the original ABI; Postmus et al. (2016b) re-tested and revised the scale to the ABI-R which included 25 items across three sub-scales including physical abuse (9 items; e.g. Bthreatened to hit or throw something at you^), psychological abuse (13 items; e.g. Bcalled you a name and/or criticized you^), and sexual abuse (3 items; e.g. Bpressed you to have sex in a way you didn’t like^). In the ABI-R, two of the economic abuse items included in the psy- chological subscale of the ABI (Bput you on an allowance^ and Bstopped you or tried to stop you from going to work or school^) were dropped from the scale while the item Bprevented you from having money for your own use^ was incorporated into the psychological abuse subscale of the ABI-R. While the ABI-R does not include a subscale on eco- nomic abuse experiences, it is important to note that one item on economic abuse is included in the psychological abuse subscale. As this is a validated measure, the measure was used in its validated form in this study.

In this study, interviewers asked participants to indicate how often a partner committed specific abusive acts over the last 12 months. The survey response items ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The ABI-R exhibited strong reliabil- ity and construct validity in the validation study (Postmus et al. 2016b). Among this sample, the ABI-R demonstrated a reliability coefficient of 0.95, with the Physical Violence, Psychological Abuse, and Sexual Abuse subscales all demon- strating strong internal consistency, with alpha coefficients of 0.93, 0.92, and 0.85, respectively.

Depression The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff 1977), developed by the National Institute of Health, was used to assess current depressive symptomatology in the general population. The CES-D in- cluded components of depressed mood, feelings of helpless- ness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, loss of appe- tite, and sleep disorders. The instrument consisted of a 20-

item, self-report scale which has been used previously with victims of IPV (Cobb et al. 2006; Datner et al. 2007; Schumm et al. 2006). Participants reported how often they experienced depressive symptomatology over the past week on a scale of 0 (less than one day) to 3 (five to seven days). For determining levels of depression, the item responses were summed (four items are reverse coded) and scores of 16 or greater were used to indicate depressive illness (Radloff 1977).

In their study of women who had used domestic violence shelter programs, Campbell et al. (1995) found that 83% of the women reported at least mild depression on the CES-D upon shelter exit. Similarly, Ham-Rowbottom et al. (2005) interviewed women who had graduated from either an emer- gency or second-stage shelter using the CES-D and found that 43% of the women reported clinical levels of depression. Among this sample, the scale demonstrated strong internal reliability with an alpha coefficient of 0.81.

Sociodemographic Characteristics Race/ethnicity was assessed by asking participants to indicate the racial/ethnic group she considered herself with the following categories: White, African American, Latina/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, or Other. The categories were later collapsed into White, African American, Latina/Hispanic, or Other for analysis. Age was calculated by asking each partic- ipant her year of birth and subtracting the year of the interview from the year of the participant’s birth. Participants were asked whether they had children for whom they were financially responsible (0 = Bno^, 1 = Byes^). In addition, participants were asked whether they were born in the United States (0 = Bno^, 1 = Byes^). To measure current employment partic- ipants were asked, BAre you currently employed?^ with re- sponse options including Byes, full-time,^ Byes, part-time,^ or Bno^. The item was re-coded into a dichotomous variable by combining responses from Byes, full-time^ and Byes, part- time^ (employment, 0 = Bno^, 1 = Byes^) as the sample was almost evenly split between participants unemployed (54.9%) and employed (45.1%). To measure the participant’s annual household income, participants were asked, Bin the past 12 months, what has been your average annual household income?^ The categorical response options included B$0 to $10,000,^ B$10,001 to $15,000,^ B$15,001 to $25,000,^ B$25,001 to $35,000,^ and Bmore than $35,000^. This vari- able was collapsed for this analysis into a dichotomous vari- able with B$0 to $10,000^ and Bmore than $10,000^ as the sample was almost evenly split between participants reporting B$0 to $10,000^ (48.4%) and Bmore than $10,000^ (51.6%).

Data Analysis

First, descriptive statistics were used to examine the sample’s sociodemographic variables and to examine the mean scores of physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse,

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economic abuse, and depressive symptoms. Prevalence rates of abuse experiences among this sample were calculated based on the percentage of women reporting each form of abuse and the overlap of the experiences of the four different forms of abuse (physical, psychological, sexual, and econom- ic abuse) were examined. Next, bivariate analyses were con- ducted between the different types of abuse (economic, phys- ical, psychological, and sexual abuse), depressive symptom- atology, and participant characteristics (age, born in the US, children, employment, and income). Finally, a series of hier- archical regressions were used to examine whether the addi- tion of economic abuse improved the association between depression over and above participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of psychological, physical, and sexual IPV. The first step for each model was a multivar- iate regression examining the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics (race/ethnicity, age, born in the US, children, employment, and income) and depression. In the second step, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse were entered. In the final step, economic abuse was entered. By simultaneously controlling for other forms of IPV and sociodemographic factors, the third step provided the most stringent test of the association between economic abuse and depression.

Little’s Missing Completely at Random (Little and Rubin 2014) test was performed and found to be nonsignificant (p = 0.46), indicating that the pattern of missing data was not sig- nificantly different from a pattern of randomly missing data.

There was less than 1% missing data on each variable with the exception of income in which 2% was missing. Due to the small amount of randomly missing data, all analyses were run utilizing listwise deletion, which excluded the entire record from the analysis if any single value was missing.

Participants

There were 457 female IPV victims who participated in the baseline interviews. The mean age was 36 years (SD = 9.15). The participants were racially diverse, with 17.5% of the par- ticipants identifying as Caucasian, 20.2% as African American, 53.9% as Latina/Hispanic, and 8.3% as BOther.^ Approximately half (51.9%) of the participants were born in the United States. Almost half (48%) of the participants re- ported a yearly income under $10,000. Just over 45% of the participants were employed. The majority of participants (80%) reported having children.

Table 1 contains results examining the overlap between the four types of abuse (physical, psychological, sexual, and eco- nomic abuse). In most cases, participants who reported experiencing one form of IPValso reported experiencing other forms of IPV. Almost half (47.7%) of the participants reported experiencing all four forms of abuse. Almost all of the partic- ipants reported experiencing economic abuse (93.0%), psy- chological abuse (96.8%), and physical abuse (81.2%), while just over half (52.5%) reported experiencing sexual abuse. A third of the participants (34.0%) reported experiencing only three forms of abuse with the majority of those participants reporting physical, psychological, and economic abuse expe- riences (29.8%). Only 13% of the participants reported experiencing only two forms of abuse. The majority of the participants who experienced only two forms of abuse report- ed experiencing psychological and economic abuse (10.5%). Finally, only 3% of the participants reported experiencing on- ly one form of abuse.

Results

Research Question 1: What is the Relationship between Economic Abuse and Psychological Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and Depression among IPV Victims?

The participants reported a range of economic abuse experi- ences. Table 2 presents the means, standard deviations, fre- quencies, and correlations with psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and depression for each of the items in the Scale of Economic Abuse - Revised. On a Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (quite often), the participants re- ported a mean economic abuse experiences score of 2.64 (SD = 0.99). In order to examine the regularity with which participants experienced the range of abusive behaviors,

Table 1 Prevalence of the overlap and frequency between abuse types

Combination type Number and frequency (%)

Rarely abused 6 (1.3%)

Physical only 1 (0.2%)

Psychological only 8 (1.8%)

Economic only 6 (1.3%)

Psychological + Physical 10 (2.2%)

Psychological + Sexual 1 (0.2%)

Psychological + Economic 48 (10.5%)

Physical + Economic 1 (0.2%)

Physical + Psychological + Economic 136 (29.8%)

Physical + Psychological + Sexual 4 (0.9%)

Psychological + Economic + Sexual 16 (3.5%)

Psychological + Physical + Sexual 1 (0.2%)

Psychological + Physical + Sexual + Economic 218 (47.7%)

Combinations that yielded 0 were eliminated from the chart. The rarely abused category represents six women who experienced abuse but rated the abuse as having occurred Brarely^ over the past 12 months. To count for abuse in this analysis, the participant must have experienced abuse Bsometimes, often, and/or very often.^ Also note that all of the women in this study were recruited from domestic violence agencies; hence, it is expected that all of the women had experienced at least one form of abuse

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frequency scores were created. The frequencies were calculat- ed by recoding responses on the abuse items so that partici- pants who endorsed the item at 3 Bsometimes^, 4 Boften^, or 5 Bquite often^ were recoded as 1 (yes, did experience) and participants who endorsed abuse items at a 1 Bnever^ or 2 Brarely^ were coded as 0 (no, did not experience) in order to minimize over-estimating abuse experiences.

The frequencies among the economic abuse items ranged from 77.8% (N = 354, M = 3.62, SD = 1.49; BMake important financial decisions without talking with you about it first^) to 15.4% (N = 70, M = 1.50, SD = 1.06; BBeat you up if you said you needed to go to work^). Over three quarters of the partic- ipants reported experiencing the following items: BMake im- portant financial decisions without talking with you about it first^ (77.8%, N = 354, M = 3.62, SD = 1.49), BDemand to know how money was spent^ (73.7%, N = 335, M = 3.38, SD = 1.50), and BKeep financial information from you^ (70.6%, N = 321, M = 3.38, SD = 1.60). Over half of the par- ticipants reported experiencing the following items: BMake you ask him/her for money^ (52.8%, N = 240, M = 2.72, SD = 1.64), BSpend the money you needed for rent or other bills^ (63.5%, N = 288, M = 3.02, SD = 1.59), and BPay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or in both of your names^ (55.2%, N = 250, M = 2.80, SD = 1.62). All items on the economic abuse scale were moderately and significantly positively correlated with the scales of psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and depression.

The most commonly experienced form of abuse was psy- chological abuse (96.8%, N = 441, M = 3.51, SD = 1.00), followed by economic abuse (93%, N = 424, M = 2.64,

SD = 0.99), physical abuse (81.2%, N = 370, M = 2.46, SD = 1.14), and sexual abuse (52.5%, N = 239, M = 2.16, SD = 1.25). The participants also reported a depression mean score of 22.33 (SD = 13.35). According to Radloff’s (1977) cut-off score of 16 to reflect individuals with depressive ill- ness, 63% of the participants met the cut-off for depression.

Research Question 2: Are Abuse Experiences (Economic, Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Abuse), Depression, and Participant Sociodemographic Characteristics (Age, Born in the US, Children, Employment, and Income) Related?

Next, bivariate correlations were conducted between all forms of intimate partner violence (economic, physical, psychologi- cal, and sexual abuse), depressive symptomatology, and par- ticipant characteristics (age, born in the US, children, employ- ment, and income). Table 3 illustrates the results of the corre- lations. All forms of abuse were significantly, moderately cor- related with the strongest relationships between psychological and economic abuse (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) and psychological and physical abuse (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). In addition, all forms of abuse were significantly correlated with depression with the strongest relationships with economic abuse (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) and psychological abuse (r = 0.29, p < 0.001). In regard to the sociodemographic variables, age was negatively correlated with physical abuse (r = −0.11, p < 0.05) while be- ing born in the US was positively correlated with physical abuse (r = 0.13, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with

Table 2 Means, standard deviations, frequencies, number, and correlations for economic abuse items (SEA-12) items. Frequencies calculated for responses of a 3, 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1–5)

Items M SD Frequency (%, N)

Psychological abuse

Physical abuse

Sexual abuse

Depression

Make important financial decisions without talking with you about it first.

3.62 1.49 354 (77.8) 0.50*** 0.23*** 0.27*** 0.23***

Demand to know how money was spent. 3.38 1.50 335 (73.7) 0.58*** 0.36*** 0.31*** 0.21***

Keep financial information from you. 3.38 1.60 321 (70.6) 0.47*** 0.23*** 0.22*** 0.18***

Make you ask him/her for money. 2.72 1.64 240 (52.8) 0.47*** 0.33*** 0.28*** 0.19***

Demand that you give him receipt and/or change when you spent money.

2.63 1.61 225 (49.4) 0.56*** 0.41*** 0.41*** 0.22***

Spend the money you needed for rent or other bills. 3.02 1.59 288 (63.5) 0.52*** 0.36*** 0.30*** 0.22***

Pay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or in both of your names.

2.80 1.62 250 (55.2) 0.39*** 0.28*** 0.25*** 0.18***

Build up debt under your name by doing things like use your credit card or run up the phone bill.

2.24 1.58 172 (37.8) 0.38*** 0.30*** 0.30*** 0.19***

Do things to keep you from going to your job. 2.50 1.56 222 (48.9) 0.46*** 0.35*** 0.25*** 0.16*

Demand that you quit your job. 1.98 1.46 140 (31.0) 0.39*** 0.35*** 0.28*** 0.21***

Threaten to make you leave work. 1.93 1.37 136 (30.1) 0.43*** 0.45*** 0.32*** 0.19***

Beat you up if you said you needed to go to work. 1.50 1.06 70 (15.4) 0.35*** 0.51*** 0.35*** 0.20***

***p < .001, *p < .05

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sexual abuse (r = −0.11, p < 0.05). Employment was negative- ly correlated with economic abuse (r = −0.11, p < 0.05), psy- chological abuse (r = −0.10, p < 0.05), and physical abuse (r = −0.12, p < 0.05) while an annual household income of $10,000+ was negatively correlated with physical abuse (r = −0.14, p < 0.01) and sexual abuse (r = −0.16, p < 0.01). Finally, depression was positively cor- related with all forms of abuse and negatively correlated with having children (r = −0.10, p < 0.05) and being employed (r = −0.12, p < 0.05).

Research Question 3: After Controlling for Participants’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and Abuse Experiences (Physical Violence, Psychological Abuse, and Sexual Abuse), What is the Relationship between Economic Abuse and Depression?

Finally, a series of hierarchical regressions were used to ex- amine whether the addition of economic abuse improved the association between depression over and above participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of psycho- logical, physical, and sexual IPV. Results of the regression models are presented in Table 4. The Step 1 model (which included only sociodemographic characteristics) was not sta- tistically significant, R2 = 0.03, F (8, 436) = 1.55, p = 0.14; adjusted R2 = 0.01. The addition of IPV experiences to the prediction of depression (Step 2) led to a significant increase in R2 of 0.08, ΔF (3, 432) = 12.27, p < 0.001. The results of Step 2 found that psychological abuse was significantly asso- ciated with depression (β = 2.9, p < 0.01). The addition of economic abuse to the prediction of depression (Step 3) also led to a significant increase in R2 of 0.02, ΔF (1, 431) = 8.58, p < 0.01. The results of Step 3 found that economic abuse, and not psychological abuse, was significantly associated with depression (β = 2.67, p < 0.01).

Discussion

The findings from this study of 457 female IPV victims indi- cate that economic abuse was a common experience. Almost all (93%) of the IPV victims in this sample reported experienc- ing economic abuse from their intimate partner in the past 12 months. While almost half (47.7%) of the participants re- ported experiencing physical, psychological, sexual, and eco- nomic abuse; approximately one third (29.8%) of the partici- pants reported experiencing physical, psychological, and eco- nomic abuse; and 10.5% of the participants reported experiencing psychological and economic abuse. These find- ings suggest that victims experiencing one form of abuse (physical, psychological, or sexual) are also likely experienc- ing economic abuse. In addition, 63% of the participants met the clinical cut-off for depression. The prevalence of depres- sion among this sample is similar to other samples of IPV victims. Among two other studies that reported the CES-D scores of IPV victims, Campbell et al. (1995) found 83% of victims existing domestic violence emergency shelter met criteria for depression while Ham-Rowbottom et al. (2005) found that 43% of victims existing domestic violence emer- gency and transitional shelter met criteria for depression.

This researcher was the first to examine the relationship between economic abuse and depressive symptoms among female victims of IPV using a validated measure of economic abuse. Findings from this study align with findings from stud- ies conducted by Antai et al. (2014), Nancarrow et al. (2008), Hamdan-Mansour et al. (2011), Postmus et al. (2012a), and Voth Schrag (2015) suggesting a significant relationship be- tween economic abuse experiences and depression and/or psychological well-being. Interestingly, researchers have his- torically (Antai et al. 2014; Hamdan-Mansour et al. 2011; Nancarrow et al. 2008; Postmus et al. 2012a; Voth Schrag 2015) found significant impacts of multiple forms of abuse experiences on depression and/or psychological well-being,

Table 3 Correlations among IPV scores, depression, and participant characteristics

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Abuse

Economic (1) 1

Psychological (2) 0.70*** 1

Physical (3) 0.51*** 0.69*** 1

Sexual (4) 0.45*** 0.55*** 0.59*** 1

Depression (5) 0.30*** 0.29*** 0.25*** 0.19*** 1

Age (6) 0.05 0.01 −0.11* 0.04 0.05 1 Born in US (7) 0.02 0.03 0.13** −0.11* 0.03 −0.01 1 Children (8) −0.03 −0.03 −.07 −0.08 −0.10* 0.37*** 0.16*** 1 Employed (9) −0.11* −0.10* −0.12* 0.02 −0.12* 0.07 0.16*** 0.08 1 Income (10) −0.06 −0.09 −0.14** −0.16** −0.05 0.26*** −0.08 −0.01 0.22*** 1

*** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05

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while the findings from this study only suggested a significant association between economic abuse experiences; and not physical, psychological, or sexual abuse experiences; and depressive symptoms. Similarly, Postmus et al. (2012a) found that when testing for level and changes in abuse experiences over time, only economic abuse experiences significantly pre- dicted depression.

One potential reason for the significant association between economic abuse experiences; and not physical, psychological, or sexual abuse experiences; on depressive symptoms is the way in which economic abuse is often used by perpetrators to create economic dependency and maintain the abusive rela- tionship. Economic abuse, therefore, may have a range of cascading impacts including preventing the victim from leav- ing the abusive relationship, preventing the victim from gaining and/or maintaining economic opportunities, impacting the victim’s ability to financially care for his or her children, and destroying the victim’s economic founda- tion. Given the uniqueness of economic abuse and the impact economic abuse has on the longer term financial capabilities of IPV victims, it is possible that the additional financial hard- ship created by economic abuse – that is not created by other forms of abuse – may explain the strong relationship between economic abuse and depression. However, further research is needed to understand the relationship between economic abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse,

and depressive symptoms over time and to study what poten- tial moderating and mediating variables, such as financial hardship, exist in the relationship between economic abuse experiences and depressive symptoms.

Limitations

As an exploratory study in an emerging field, the findings need to be understood within the limitations of the study. First, the sample consisted of self-selecting female victims of IPV who were receiving services from domestic violence agencies and volunteered to participate in a financial literacy program. Therefore, these women did not represent all women who experience IPV; instead, they represented a select group of women who sought services and were willing and able to participate in a research study and a financial literacy program. Over half (53.9%) of the participants identified as Latina/ Hispanic, over half (51.9%) of the participants reported being born outside of the United States, and almost half (48%) of the participants reported an annual income of $10,000 or less. The overrepresentation in some of the sample sociodemographic variables limits the generalizability of the findings to all vic- tims of IPV. Research is needed to examine the relationship between economic abuse and depression across a diverse sam- ple of IPV. Additionally, given the financial hardship experi- enced by the study participants, and by many IPV victims,

Table 4 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Predicting Depression from Participant Characteristics and Abuse Experiences

Step 1

Sociodemographic variables

Step 2

Psychological, physical, & sexual abuse

Step 3

Economic abuse

Variable β Β β

Constant 47.46*** 32.23*** 32.15***

Race/Ethnicity

Black/African-American −1.99 −1.94 −2.15 Latina 0.96 1.19 1.12

Other −1.59 −2.21 −2.77 Age 0.05 0.06 0.05

Born in the U.S. 0.96 0.89 0.87

Employed −2.98* −2.37 −2.04 Children −2.59 −2.28 −2.32

Income

Less than $10,000 −0.93 −0.07 −0.23 Psychological abuse 2.91** 1.23

Physical abuse 1.00 0.95

Sexual abuse 0.17 0.01

Economic abuse 2.67**

R2 0.03 0.10 0.12

F 1.55 4.54*** 4.94***

ΔR2 0.08 0.02 ΔF 12.27*** 8.58**

*** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, *p < .05; B = Unstandardized Beta

J Fam Viol (2018) 33:381–392 389

further research is needed to understand the relationship be- tween economic abuse, financial hardship, and mental health outcomes.

The abuse measures utilized in this study, the ABI and SEA-12, only asked about abuse experiences that occurred within the previous 12-months. Therefore, any childhood or adult abuse experiences that occurred prior to that 12-month period were not captured in the data. Without being able to control for any earlier traumatic experiences, it is possible that these unmeasured traumatic experiences also influenced the outcome variable of depression. Furthermore, the measure for depression, the CES-D, only assessed depressive symptoms over the past week and no additional markers of depression were used. There were no questions about mental health ser- vices (whether therapeutic or medical services) provided to these participants. Therefore, it was not possible to control for any participants receiving mental health treatment within the domestic violence agencies, with an outside mental health provider, or with a primary care practitioner. Furthermore, the data most likely contain respondent biases, inherent to all interview data, which involves either underreporting or over- reporting on issues, such as experiences of intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms. Finally, as data are cross-sectional, no causal relationships can be examined. Given the findings of the current study, there is a clear need for additional longitudinal work examining the impact of eco- nomic abuse experiences on depression over time.

Implications for Practice and Policy

The significant association between economic abuse experi- ences and depressive symptoms has important practice and policy implications in the field of IPV. According to findings from this study, most victims of IPV who seek services from domestic violence agencies experience economic abuse. Researchers and advocates need to identify and implement practical assessment tools that can be utilized in domestic violence advocacy and mental health programs to assess for victims’ economic abuse experiences. Advocates need train- ing on how to explore economic abuse with IPV victims. Unlike physical abuse, many economic abuse behaviors are covert behaviors that may not be readily apparent to either the victim or the advocate as a form of abuse. Advocates need to understand the dynamics that occur in economically abusive relationships and be equipped with tools to assess for econom- ic abuse experiences with victims of IPV.

Domestic violence organizations need to be aware of the relationship between economic abuse experiences and depres- sive symptoms. While most domestic violence organizations focus on providing supportive counseling and empowerment interventions to address depressive symptoms among victims, agencies might want to spend more time collaborating with victims in protecting their financial situation from their

abusers in order to enhance victims’ emotional health. In order to do this, agencies need to assess for economic abuse expe- riences and develop financial safety plans with clients. For many organizations, this means integrating economic empow- erment into their vision of key service provision priorities, committing resources to train staff and implement economic programming, and advocating for funding and policies that improve the financial conditions for victims of IPV.

State and federal policies designed to prosecute offenders and support victims of IPV need to be expanded to acknowl- edge and prohibit economic abuse. Researchers and advocates need to advocate for the creation of criminal offenses of eco- nomic abuses to protect and support IPV victims. State and federal policies are also needed to provide employment pro- tections to IPV victims and mandate that places of employ- ment develop and implement policies to support employees experiencing IPV. Furthermore, federal equal employment op- portunity laws prohibiting discrimination against job appli- cants or employees who experience IPV are needed.

Overall, while the study of economic abuse remains a new literature in the field of IPV, there remains a gap in the under- standing of the relationship between economic abuse and de- pression among victims. This study provides greater knowl- edge in understanding the association between economic abuse and depression. This knowledge can be used to create opportunities for improved services and policies to support victims of IPV to rebuild their lives.

Acknowledgements This research was supported by The Allstate Foundation, Economics Against Abuse Program. The opinions and con- clusions expressed herein are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policies of The Allstate Foundation. In addition, the author expresses her gratitude to Dr. Judy L. Postmus, Dr. Andrea Hetling, Dr. Chien-Chung Huang, and Dr. Patricia A. Findley for their continued support of this study.

Funding This research was supported by The Allstate Foundation, Economics Against Abuse Program.

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Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

  • Economic Abuse Experiences and Depressive Symptoms among Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
    • Abstract
    • Economic Abuse
    • The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Mental Health
    • The Impact of Economic Abuse on Mental Health
    • Methods
      • Design and Procedures
      • Data Collection
      • Measures
      • Data Analysis
      • Participants
    • Results
      • Research Question 1: What is the Relationship between Economic Abuse and Psychological Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and Depression among IPV Victims?
      • Research Question 2: Are Abuse Experiences (Economic, Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Abuse), Depression, and Participant Sociodemographic Characteristics (Age, Born in the US, Children, Employment, and Income) Related?
      • Research Question 3: After Controlling for Participants’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and Abuse Experiences (Physical Violence, Psychological Abuse, and Sexual Abuse), What is the Relationship between Economic Abuse and Depression?
    • Discussion
      • Limitations
      • Implications for Practice and Policy
    • References

Articles/Stylianou, 2018, review of economic abuse in IPV.pdf

© 2018 Springer Publishing Company 3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00112

Violence and Victims, Volume 33, Number 1, 2018

Economic Abuse Within Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of the Literature

Amanda M. Stylianou, PhD, LCSW Safe Horizon, New York, New York

This article reviews the literature on the measurement of, impact of, and interventions for economic abuse within intimate partner relationships. Current assessment measures for economic abuse, along with estimates of the prevalence of economic abuse, are reviewed and critiqued. Research exploring the impact of economic abuse on the victim’s mental health and psychological well-being, family formations and parenting practices, and children’s behaviors and youth outcomes are presented. Recently developed interven- tions, including financial literacy program models, are discussed and emphasized as a critical service to increase victims’ economic self-efficacy, financial literacy, and finan- cial behaviors. Finally, the review provides detailed recommendations on incorporating economic abuse as a central component of domestic violence research, practice, and policies.

Keywords: domestic violence; economic abuse; intimate partner violence; violence against women

I ntimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern. Approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience severe violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in their lifetime (Breiding, Chen, & Black, 2014). Although the definition of

IPV varies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines IPV as “physi- cal violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression by a current or former intimate partner” (CDC, 2016).

The field of IPV has a history of acknowledging both physical and nonphysical forms of abuse (Outlaw, 2009), yet the vast majority of research focuses on the impact of physi- cal forms of IPV. To examine nonphysical forms of abuse, Miller (1995) identified four types of nonphysical abuse including emotional, psychological, social, and economic abuse. According to Miller, emotional abuse involves comments or behaviors intended to undermine the victim’s sense of value and self-worth and often includes complaints, insults, name-calling, and public embarrassment. Psychological abuse entails behaviors that the perpetrator uses to degrade the victim’s sense of logic and reasoning and involves making the victim feel as if he or she is losing his or her mind (Miller, 1995). Social abuse typically focuses on isolating the victim from his or her family and friends by threat, force, or persuasion (Miller, 1995). Finally, economic abuse centers on creating eco- nomic dependency on the perpetrator (Miller, 1995). Among these forms of nonphysical

4 Stylianou

abuse, economic abuse has historically been the most understudied form of abuse often being subsumed within emotional or psychological abuse or simply being ignored in the research. This article focuses on providing a comprehensive review of the literature on economic abuse and explores our current understanding of economic abuse, the strengths and weaknesses of current measures and prevalence estimates of economic abuse, and the impact of economic abuse on victims of IPV. In addition, the article provides an overview of interventions designed to target victims experiencing economic abuse and recommends next steps in research, practice, and policy.

ECONOMIC ABUSE: DEFINITION AND TACTICS

Economic abuse includes behaviors that control a victim’s “ability to acquire, use, and maintain resources thus threatening her economic security and potential for self- sufficiency” (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008). Similar to forms of psychological abuse (Kasian & Painter, 1992; Sackett & Saunders, 1999), economic abuse incorporates behaviors that control both what the victim can and cannot do. Economic abuse occurs when the abuser gains complete control over the victim’s financial resources (Fawole, 2008) and includes three forms of economic abuse: economic control, employment sabotage, and economic exploitation (Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou, 2015; Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon, 2013). See Table 1 for a list of the definitions of and tactics used in economically abusive relationships.

Economic control occurs when the perpetrator prevents the victim from having access to or knowledge of the finances and from having financial decision-making power (Anderson et al., 2003; Brewster, 2003; Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015). Victims of eco- nomic control report their partners control and limit access to financial resources (Sanders, 2015; Wettersten et al., 2004) and deny access to necessities such as food, clothing, and/or medications (Anderson et al., 2003; VonDeLinde, 2002). A perpetrator may track the victim’s use of money, withhold or hide jointly earned money, prevent the victim from having access to a bank account, or lie about shared properties and assets (Brewster, 2003; VonDeLinde, 2002).

Employment sabotage encompasses behaviors that prevent the victim from obtaining or maintaining employment (Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015). Numerous studies docu- ment the ways in which perpetrators forbid, discourage, and actively interfere with their partners’ employment and/or educational endeavors (Alexander, 2011; Brewster, 2003; Moe & Bell, 2004; Sanders, 2015; Swanberg & Logan, 2005; Swanberg & Macke, 2006; Tolman & Raphael, 2000; VonDeLinde, 2002; Wettersten et al., 2004). One study, con- ducted by Riger et al. (2000), examined employment sabotage among 57 primarily African American female victims of domestic violence residing in domestic violence shelters in Chicago. The study found that perpetrators actively interfered with victims’ ability to sus- tain employment by destroying their cars, threatening to physically harm or restrain them, failing to provide child care, stealing their car keys and money, and refusing to provide transportation to work. Similarly, Tolman and Raphael’s (2000) review of the literature documented numerous types of employment sabotage including keeping victims up all night with arguments before job interviews, turning off alarm clocks, destroying clothing, inflicting visual facial injuries, disabling the car, threatening to kidnap the children from child care, failing to show up as promised for child care or transportation, and harassing the victim on the job.

Economic Abuse Within IPV 5

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6 Stylianou

Additional studies have also recognized on-the-job harassment, which includes inci- dents of the perpetrator physically appearing at the workplace or making repeated tele- phone calls to the victim or to the victim’s coworkers and supervisors (Riger et al., 2000; Swanberg & Logan, 2005; Swanberg & Macke, 2006; Wettersten et al., 2004). For many victims, experiences of employment sabotage cause missed days of work, loss in pay, or the loss of employment (Tolman & Wang, 2005; Wettersten et al., 2004). Research has also found that perpetrators interfere with their partners’ ability to attend educational opportunities and obstruct their partners from receiving other forms of income such as child support, public assistance, or disability payments (Anderson et al., 2003; Brewster, 2003; Moe & Bell, 2004).

Economic exploitation occurs when a perpetrator intentionally engages in behaviors aimed to destroy the victim’s financial resources or credit (Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015). As consumer lending has increased, perpetrators increasingly use debt as a means of gaining power and control over their partners (Littwin, 2012). This can occur when a perpetrator steals money, checks, or automated teller machine (ATM) cards; opens or uses a victim’s line of credit without permission; refuses to pay the mortgage, rent, or other utility payments; runs up bills under the name of the victim or of his or her children; or gambles jointly earned money (Anderson et al., 2003). A perpetrator may also steal or damage the victim’s possessions to exploit the victim (Brewster, 2003). One study, con- ducted by Anderson and colleagues (2003), found that among a sample of 485 women seeking services from a domestic violence advocacy program, 38% reported their partners stole money from them.

In sum, research has documented a range of economically abusive behaviors that perpetrators use to threaten their partners’ economic stability. These economically abu- sive behaviors fall into three categories: economic control, employment sabotage, and economic exploitation (Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015; Stylianou et al., 2013). Although the literature has identified a variety of economic abuse tactics, historically, scholars have blurred together measures of economic abuse with other forms of nonphysical abuse. Yet, it is often forms of nonphysical abuse that victims identify as the most devastating forms of abuse, beyond the effects of physical violence (Outlaw, 2009). Identifying and measur- ing economic abuse is critical to understand the extent and impact of economic abuse on victims of IPV.

MEASURES OF ECONOMIC ABUSE

Historically,  economic  abuse  has  most  often  been  included  within  the  definition  of  psy- chological abuse (Shepard & Campbell, 1992; Tolman, 1989, 1999). Only recently have scholars begun to identify economic abuse as its own unique form of abuse (Adams et al., 2008; Riger et al., 2000; Stylianou et al., 2013; Weaver, Sanders, Campbell, & Schnabel, 2009). Most of what we know about economic abuse is derived from one or two ques- tions included in larger measures of IPV that focus on physical and/or psychological abuse tactics. For example, the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS; Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998), a nationally representative survey drawn by random-digit dialing from households in the United States, measured economic abuse experiences with one dichotomous question. The item asked if the respondent’s “current partner prevents him/her from knowing about or having access to family income, even when (she/he) asks.” The results indicated that economic abuse was a rare phenomenon, occurring less

Economic Abuse Within IPV 7

frequently than physical abuse experiences (Outlaw, 2009). According to the results, women reported higher rates of economic abuse experiences than men and the risk of experiencing physical abuse was 4.68 times higher among those who experienced eco- nomic abuse compared to those who did not experience economic abuse (Outlaw, 2009). Unfortunately, the NVAWS only used one question focused on economic control, which limited the results. Including a broader range of items measuring economic control, employment sabotage, and economic exploitation is needed to assess economic abuse experiences among IPV survivors.

To develop a more expansive measure of economic abuse experiences, scholars have begun to develop scales and subscales of economic abuse (Adams et al., 2008; Lehmann, Simmons, & Pillai, 2012; Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015; Weaver et al., 2009). The Domestic Violence-Related Financial Issues Scale (DV-FI; Weaver et al., 2009) was the first scale to incorporate a subscale measuring economic abuse experiences. The DV-FI was tested among a sample of 113 females who were primarily African American, single, impoverished victims of IPV seeking emergency shelter services. The DV-FI was devel- oped to be a comprehensive assessment of the unique financial issues victims of IPV face. The DV-FI included one subscale measuring economic abuse that contained five items. Although the DV-FI expanded the definition of economic abuse when compared to previous one item measures, it is limited to only five items that primarily focus on credit card debt and credit rating. Although these are important items in assessing for economic exploitation, they are narrow in scope and only focus on victims of IPV who are engaged in the formal credit system. The DV-FI does not capture economic exploitation that occurs among victims of IPV that use cash-only finances. The two items focusing on economic control and employment sabotage (“My partner prevented me from having access to money” and “My partner prevented me from obtaining necessary skills or education to obtain adequate employment”) are narrowly defined and miss the nuances of the different types of economic abuse strategies used by abusers. Using a measure that fully assesses all three forms of economic abuse applicable to victims of IPV using formal economic services and/or cash-only finances would allow for a more comprehensive measure of economic abuse.

Another subscale created to measure economic abuse is found in the Checklist of Controlling Behaviors (CCB; Lehmann et al., 2012). The CCB is an 84-item domestic violence assessment instrument that is used to address multiple levels of violence and coer- cive control in IPV relationships. The CCB was validated among a sample of 517 shelter residents in a northern Texas community. Participants ranged from 16 to 68 years of age with 40.3% identifying as Anglo, 24.8% identifying as African American, 31.9% identify- ing as Hispanic, and 3% identifying as Other. The CCB includes a subscale of economic  abuse with seven items that focus almost exclusively on economic control including items such as “did not allow me equal access to the family money” and “threatened to withhold money from me.” Although these seven items focus on capturing experiences of economic control within IPV relationships, there are no items that focus on employment sabotage or economic exploitation. Similar to the DV-FI, the subscale of economic abuse in the CCB accounts for experiences of economic abuse but does not fully measure the array of experiences a victim of economic abuse may experience.

Adams and colleagues (2008) developed the first full scale measuring economic abuse experiences, the Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA). The SEA was constructed from several sources including the existing anecdotal and empirical research as well as from interviews with advocates and IPV victims. Several economic abuse concepts emerged including

8 Stylianou

(a) preventing victims’ resource acquisition, (b) preventing victims’ resource use, and (c) exploiting victims’ resources. These concepts provided the foundation for the initial 120-item scale. The authors tested this scale with 103 victims receiving services from domestic violence organizations. The study participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 60 years with 71% having children living in their household. Half (50%) of the participants were  White, 40% were African American, and 10% were Other. More than three quarters (78%) of the participants reported a yearly income lower than $15,000, and 10% were living with the abusive partner at the time of the study. Their analyses resulted in a final SEA of 28 items with two subscales including Economic Exploitation (11 items) and Economic Control (17 items). The total SEA had a reliability coefficient of .93, and the two sub- scales demonstrated strong internal consistency with alpha coefficients ranging from .91 (Economic Control) to .98 (Economic Exploitation; Adams et al., 2008). The SEA was positively correlated with a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale focused on physical abuse experiences (Straus, 1979; as modified by Sullivan, Tan, Basta, Rumptz, & Davidson, 1992) and the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (PMWI; Tolman, 1999) indicating that higher levels of economic abuse were significantly related to higher levels of physical and psychological abuse.

The second full scale measuring economic abuse experiences, the Scale of Economic Abuse—Revised (SEA-R; Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015), is a revised shortened ver- sion of the SEA developed to use with victims in research or practice settings. Postmus, Plummer, and colleagues (2015) tested the full SEA on a sample of 120 female victims of abuse receiving services from domestic violence organizations. The mean age for partici- pants was 39 years, with 55% White, 20% African American, 18% Latina/Hispanic, and  almost 8% identifying as Other. Almost half of the participants (49%) reported a yearly income of less than $10,000. Using exploratory factor analysis, the SEA was reduced to 12 items with three subscales including economic control (five items; “Keep financial information from you”), employment sabotage (four items; “Threaten you to make you leave work”), and economic exploitation (three items; “Pay bills late or not pay bills that were in your name or both of your names”). The total SEA-12 had a reliability coefficient of .89, and the Economic Control, Employment Sabotage, and Economic Exploitation subscales demonstrated strong internal consistency with alpha coefficients of .87, .86, and .89, respectively. The results found that the SEA-12 was positively correlated with the Abusive Behavior Inventory (Shepard & Campbell, 1992) indicating that higher levels of economic abuse experiences were significantly related to higher levels of physical and psychological abuse experiences.

ECONOMIC ABUSE AS A UNIQUE FORM OF ABUSE

Although the SEA and the SEA-R (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015) contributed to the literature by expanding measures of economic abuse among victims of IPV, a gap in the literature still existed as to whether economic abuse was a unique form of abuse or a subset of psychological abuse experiences. Stylianou and colleagues (2013) used confirmatory factor analyses to provide evidence that economic abuse was a correlated yet distinct construct from other forms of abuse including physical, psycho- logical, and sexual abuse experiences. The sample in their study consisted of 457 female victims of IPV receiving services from domestic violence organizations. The mean age of the participants was 36 years, with 54% Latina/Hispanic, 20% Black, non-Hispanic, 

Economic Abuse Within IPV 9

18% White, non-Hispanic, and 8% Other. Almost half (48%) reported an annual income  of less than $10,000. Four models were evaluated including (a) a two-factor model repre- senting psychological abuse and physical violence (with economic abuse included in the psychological abuse indicators and sexual violence included in physical violence indica- tors); (b) a three-factor model encompassing psychological abuse, physical violence, and sexual violence (with economic abuse included in the psychological indicators); (c) a four-factor model representing psychological abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, and economic abuse; and (d) a six-factor model including psychological abuse, physi- cal violence, sexual violence, economic control, employment sabotage, and economic exploitation. The results found that the final six-factor model including psychological abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, economic control, employment sabotage, and economic exploitation was the best fit to the data supporting the hypothesis that the three forms of economic abuse are distinct constructs from other forms of abuse (Stylianou et al., 2013).

In addition, the paper examined the correlations between the six forms of abuse and found that the three forms of economic abuse were moderately correlated with psycho- logical abuse, physical violence, and sexual violence with correlations ranging from .33 to .68. This finding demonstrated that increased experiences of economic abuse were significantly related to increased experiences of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse experiences (Stylianou et al., 2013). Economic abuse and other forms of abuse, including psychological abuse, physical violence, and sexual violence, often co-occur in abusive relationships  (Adams  et  al.,  2008;  Postmus,  2011).  However,  the  early  literature  on  eco- nomic abuse suggests that economic abuse remains a separate unique construct from other forms of abuse, and in particular, from psychological abuse (Adams et al., 2008; Stylianou et al., 2013).

Two critical dynamics of economic abuse need to be considered in understanding the differences between economic abuse and other forms of abuse. The first dynamic, as men- tioned by Stylianou and colleagues (2013), is the spatial component to abusive behaviors. The closer the proximity between the perpetrator and the victim, the higher the number of abusive tactics the perpetrator can use. In order for the perpetrator to engage in physically or sexually violent behaviors, the victim and the perpetrator must be in close proximity. Yet, a perpetrator may engage in psychologically abusive behaviors from anywhere in the world. In order for the perpetrator to engage in psychologically abusive behaviors, the perpetrator must have communication with the victim or with close friends and fam- ily members of the victim. In contrast, with a few pieces of identifying information, a perpetrator can engage in economically abusive behaviors without having any contact, communication, or spatial proximity with the victim. Perpetrators of IPV can engage in economically abusive behaviors even when they are unable to engage in physical, sexual, or psychological abuse. Therefore, victims may experience difficulty in ending economic abuse compared to other forms of abuse, and economic abuse experiences may continue even when other forms of abuse have terminated.

The second dynamic that differentiates economic abuse from other forms of abuse is the specific focus of engaging in behaviors that target the financial security of the victim with the goal to create economic dependency on the perpetrator (Adams et al., 2008; Miller, 1995). This differs from emotional abuse, which intends to undermine the victim’s sense of value and self-worth; psychological abuse, which degrades the victim’s sense of logic and reasoning; and social abuse, which focuses on isolating the victim (Miller, 1995). According to Adams et al. (2008), economic abuse aims to control the victim’s ability

10 Stylianou

to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources. The focus on controlling and/or destroy- ing the victim’s economic resources can have a range of cascading impacts including pre- venting a victim from leaving an abusive relationship because of economic dependency; preventing the victim from gaining and/or maintaining economic opportunities; impacting the victim’s ability to financially care for his or her children; and destroying the victim’s economic foundation, such as his or her credit score, which then negatively impacts the victim’s future financial opportunities (Littwin, 2012; Postmus, 2011; Swanberg & Logan, 2005). Therefore, economic abuse can create both short- and long-term impacts above and beyond the impact of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse on victims of IPV (Huang,  Postmus, Vikse, & Wang, 2013; Nancarrow, Lockie, & Sharma, 2009; Postmus, Huang, &  Stylianou, 2012). Given the uniqueness of economic abuse and the impact economic abuse has on the longer term financial capabilities of IPV victims, it is critical that the field of victim services intentionally focus on better understanding the nature and consequences of economic abuse.

IMPACT OF ECONOMIC ABUSE

One of the greatest impacts of economic abuse is that it creates economic dependency on the perpetrator. Studies have consistently demonstrated that economic dependence is the primary obstacle victims face in attempting to leave abusive relationships (Adams, 2011; Barnett, 2000; Fawole, 2008; Kim & Gray, 2008). Economic abuse, and in particular employment sabotage, affects the victim’s ability to gain and maintain stable employ- ment. Victims of employment sabotage report having difficulty concentrating at work and performing on the job (Banyard, Potter, & Turner, 2011; Logan, Shannon, Cole, & Swanberg, 2007; Ridley et al., 2005; Swanberg & Logan, 2005; Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005; Swanberg & Macke, 2006; Wathen, MacGregor, & MacQuarrie, 2015; Wettersten et al. 2004). Research has found that victims of IPV report significant absentee- ism rates (LeBlanc, Barling, & Turner, 2014; Swanberg et al., 2005; Swanberg & Macke, 2006), reduced annual work hours (Tolman & Wang, 2005), and increased tardiness rates (Swanberg & Logan, 2005; Swanberg et al., 2005; Swanberg & Macke, 2006). In addi- tion, IPV is associated with job loss, unemployment, and employment instability (Adams, Bybee, Tolman, Sullivan, & Kennedy; 2013; Borchers, Lee, Martsolf, & Maler, 2016; Staggs, Long, Mason, Krishnan, & Riger, 2007; Swanberg & Logan, 2005). Research documents the detrimental impact of IPV in the short-term and the impact past IPV expe- riences have on sustained effects on employment stability over time (Adams et al., 2013; Crowne et al., 2011; Lindhorst, Oxford, & Gillmore, 2007).

Economic abuse also affects the victim’s ability to gain economic self-sufficiency and financial resources. Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim (2012) examined the impact of economic abuse experiences among 120 female victims of IPV receiving services from domestic violence organizations. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 73 years with more than half of the participants identifying as White (55%), 20% as African American,  18%  as  Latina/Hispanic,  and  almost  8%  as  Other. Almost  half  of  the participants (49%) reported an annual income of less than $10,000. The results found that economic abuse, while controlling for demographic characteristics, was a significant predicator of economic self-sufficiency, defined as the ability to accomplish financially related tasks. Similarly, a study conducted by Schrag (2015) examined economic abuse within a sample of 3,282 women with children interviewed in Waves 4 and 5 of the Fragile

Economic Abuse Within IPV 11

Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative sample of births in hos- pitals in cities over 200,000 (Princeton University, 2011). The study found that mothers who experienced economic abuse were 1.3 times more likely to experience material hard- ship, defined as facing shortfalls in meeting basic needs such as food, housing, and medi- cal care, than mothers who did not experience economic abuse. Finally, Adams, Beeble, and Gregory (2015) examined the relationship between economic abuse and financial resources, defined as the respondent’s perception of having enough money for necessi- ties, among a sample of 93 women with abusive partners over a period of 4 months. The study participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 60 years, with 71% having children living in their household. Half (50%) of the participants were White, 40% were African American,  and 10% identified as Other. More than three quarters (78%) of the participants reported an annual income of less than $15,000, and 10% were living with the abusive partner at the baseline interview. The findings indicated that after controlling for physical violence and psychological abuse experiences, baseline economic abuse was significantly related to baseline financial resources, and within-women change in economic abuse significantly predicted change in financial resources over time.

Economic abuse also affects the victim’s mental health and psychological well-being. Postmus,  Huang,  and  colleagues  (2012)  used  the  Fragile  Families  and  Child  Wellbeing  Study (Princeton University, 2011), a nationally representative sample of births in hos- pitals in cities over 200,000, to conduct a longitudinal analysis on the impact of psy- chological, physical, and economic abuse on mothers’ levels of depression. The sample consisted of 2,305 mothers with a mean age of 25.8 years with more than 40% of mothers identifying as non-Hispanic Black (42%), one-quarter Hispanic (28%) and non-Hispanic  White (27%), and 4% as Other. When controlling for demographic variables, mothers who experienced economic abuse were 1.9 times more likely to exhibit depression than moth- ers who had not experienced economic abuse. Furthermore, when testing for level and changes in abuse experiences over time, only economic abuse (not physical or psychologi- cal abuse) significantly predicted maternal depression.

Similar studies have linked economic abuse experiences to mental health symptomatol- ogy. Nancarrow et al. (2009) found that among 532 women living in Central Queensland’s mining region, economic abuse experiences was the highest risk factor (when compared to psychological, sociopsychological, and nonphysical forms of abuse) for depression. Hamdan-Mansour, Arabiat, Sato, Obaid, & Imoto (2011) studied 915 women in the south- ern region of Jordan. The participants had a mean age of 34.6 years, almost all (85%) were married, and almost half (45%) had less than a secondary level of education. The study found that economic abuse experiences were significantly related to decreases in psy- chological well-being, self-acceptance, and environmental mastery. Finally, Antai, Oke, Braithwaite, & Lopez (2014) used the 2008 Philippines National Demographic and Health  Surveys, a nationally representative household sample survey conducted with women aged 15–49 years and found that among a sample of 9,316 women, economic abuse experiences predicted psychological distress and suicide attempts.

Additional research has established relationships between economic abuse experiences and family formations, parenting practices, children’s behaviors, and youth outcomes. A study conducted by Postmus, Huang, and colleagues (2012) used the Fragile Families and  Child Wellbeing Study (Princeton University, 2011), a nationally representative sample of births in hospitals in cities over 200,000, to examine the long-term impact of IPV on parenting. Findings indicated that economic abuse at Year 1 had significant effects on the likelihood  of  mothers  spanking  their  children  at Year  5.  Similarly,  Huang  et  al.  (2013) 

12 Stylianou

used the same dataset to examine the occurrence of and changes in economic abuse over time and how economic abuse influenced union formation among mothers. The results demonstrated that the prevalence of economic abuse increased over time and both the occurrence and the increase in economic abuse were significantly and negatively associ- ated with the likelihood of stable union formations such as marriage and cohabitation.

Initial research has also demonstrated the impact of exposure to economic abuse on  children.  Huang, Vikse,  Lu,  and Yi  (2015)  examined  the  effects  of  exposure  to  IPV  in early childhood (as measured by their mothers’ experiences with physical violence and economic abuse) on children’s delinquency at age 9 years based on children’s self- report of their own history of behaviors. Huang and colleagues used the Fragile Families  Dataset (Princeton University, 2011), a nationally representative sample of births in hos- pitals in cities over 200,000. The results indicated that with respect to the two types of IPV (physical violence and economic abuse), only the presence of economic abuse was statistically shown to be significantly associated with child delinquency at age 9 years. These findings highlight the persistent, long-term effects of children’s early exposure to economic abuse.

Similarly, Schrag, Edmond, Tlapek, and Auslander (2016) examined the impact of witnessing economic abuse tactics among female youth involved in the child welfare sys- tem. The sample consisted of 105 adolescent girls, aged 12–19 years, with just lower than half (41%) of the participants identifying as White and 59% identifying as youth of color. Nearly half of the sample reported witnessing moderate or high levels of exposure to eco- nomic abuse. Increased exposure to economic abuse was significantly related to increased rates of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology and decreased rates of financial self-efficacy, defined as the belief in one’s ability to succeed at a given financial task in the future (Schrag et al., 2016).

In sum, economic abuse experiences have been found to be associated with a range of negative outcomes among victims including difficulty gaining or maintaining employment (Swanberg & Logan, 2005), difficulty establishing economic self-sufficiency (Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2012; Schrag, 2015), and increased rates of depressive symptoms and decreased  rates  of  psychological  well-being  (Antai  et  al.,  2014;  Hamdan-Mansour  et  al.,  2011;  Nancarrow  et  al.,  2009;  Postmus,  Huang,  et  al.,  2012).  In  addition,  economic  abuse  experiences impact family outcomes including decreased stable family formations, parenting practices, children’s behaviors, and youth outcomes (Huang et al., 2013; Huang et al., 2015;  Postmus, Huang, et al., 2012; Schrag et al., 2016). Not only does this early literature provide  evidence to both the short- and long-term impacts of economic abuse among victims of IPV and their children, but it also begins to document the impact of economic abuse above and beyond the impact of other forms of IPV.

INTERVENTIONS

As the field of IPV increasingly recognizes the impact of economic abuse on victims, advocates have focused their efforts to make economic issues a primary component of domestic violence interventions (Christy-McMullin, 2003; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). Numerous economic empowerment programs have been developed that focus on both increasing basic financial knowledge and skills and empowering victims through increas- ing victims’ sense of confidence about their ability to manage their own finances and to develop safety plans for their financial future (Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007).

Economic Abuse Within IPV 13

The most studied economic empowerment program for victims of IPV are financial literacy programs. Financial literacy programs for IPV survivors incorporate traditional financial literacy topics along with safety-related topics specifically for victims of IPV as well as introducing of the concept of economic abuse. To date, there are two models that have been found to be effective financial literacy models among victims of IPV: the Redevelopment Opportunities for Women’s Economic Action Program (REAP) funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education and the Allstate Foundation’s Moving Ahead through Financial Management curriculum.

REAP emphasizes the intersection of poverty, oppression, and violence while providing financial information to victims of IPV (Sanders et al., 2007). The curriculum includes both group and individual activities delivered over the course of a 12-hour group format broken down into four classes. The curriculum covers the following topic areas: money and power, developing a cost-of-living plan, building and repairing credit, and banking and investing (VonDeLinde, 2005). The aim of the curriculum is to increase access to knowledge of financial information and resources and increase victims’ confidence in managing and coping with financial problems (Sanders et al., 2007). The REAP program was evaluated using a quasi-experimental design with 117 victims of IPV receiving services at domestic violence organizations. The sample consisted primarily of women between the ages of 18 and 50 years (98.5%), almost three quarters identified as African American (73%), almost one quarter as White (21%), and 6% as Biracial or Latina. Almost half (43%) of the participants were making less than $250 a month and one third were employed at least part-time or in school (35%). The length of time with the abusive partner in months ranged from 1 to 297 with a mean of 69 months. The results indicated that victims receiving the REAP curriculum made limited gains in financial literacy and significant improvements in financial self-efficacy compared to victims who received services as usual (Sanders et al., 2007). Although the average participant made moderate gains in financial literacy over time, the differences in the change of financial literacy scores between the experimental and control groups were not significant when the length of time the victim spent with the abuser was included in the model. However, the length of time the victim spent with  the abuser was found to be a significant predictor of the change in financial knowledge score. That is, the longer the victim was with the perpetrator, the more his or her financial literacy score improved over time. Yet when examining the impact of the curriculum on change in financial self-efficacy, even when controlling for the length of the relationship, participants in the experimental group had a significantly greater change in financial self- efficacy than participants in the control group. This finding highlights the importance of providing financial literacy programs, particularly to victims who have been in long-term abusive relationships, to increase financial literacy and even more importantly to increase financial self-efficacy.

A similar evaluation was conducted examining a combined financial literacy and individual development accounts (IDAs) intervention using REAP’s curriculum and a women’s IDA program (Sanders, 2014). The IDAs could be used to purchase or repair a home, acquire career-enhancing education, purchase an automobile, start or sup- port a small business or microenterprise, or for retirement. Women were also able to access their own funds (but not the matching funds) for emergency needs. The sample consisted of 125 female victims of IPV with 46% of participants identifying as Black, 42% as White, and 12% as Other. The average age of the sample was 37 years, and almost three quarters had at least some college education (70%). The majority of the participants were single (42%), divorced (35%), or separated (11%), and almost all of

14 Stylianou

the women (91%) lived at or below the 150% of the poverty line. Among those who participated in the IDA matched savings program, two thirds reached their savings goal, and 76% made at least one matched withdrawal (Sanders, 2014). The average par- ticipant saved $1,310, which increased to $3,014 with the matched funding (Sanders, 2014). This research provides early evidence that when institutional support and access to resources are available, IPV victims can successfully save and purchase financial assets.

A similar financial literacy curriculum, created by the Allstate Foundation in collabo- ration with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the Moving Ahead Through Financial Management curriculum, was evaluated and found to have a significant impact on victims of IPV. The Allstate Foundation model contains five modules, including (a) understanding financial abuse, (b) learning financial fundamentals, (c) mastering credit basics, (d) building financial foundations, and (e) creating budget strategies. There are three objectives of the program. The first overall objective is for participants to gain basic financial knowledge around budgeting, credit, and financial management. The sec- ond objective is for participants to understand basic financial processes including loan applications, filing for bankruptcy, running a credit score, and filling out the accompany- ing financial paperwork. The final objective includes information about gaining financial safety including disentangling joint financial accounts, repairing credit damaged by an abuser, locating safety and financial resources, and forming economic safety plans and strategies. The program allows for flexibility in the delivery of the curriculum, and staff  are  encouraged  to  use  both  individual  and  group  sessions  (Postmus,  Hetling,  &  Hoge, 2015).

The Allstate Foundation model was evaluated through a longitudinal randomized control trial with 300 female victims of IPV receiving services from domestic violence organizations. The mean age of the participants was 36 years, with 54% Latina/Hispanic,  20%  Black,  non-Hispanic,  18% White,  non-Hispanic,  and  8%  Other. Almost  half  (48%)  reported an annual income of less than $10,000. Approximately 1 in 5 (19%) of the par- ticipants reported living in the abusive relationship, whereas 81% reported having left the abusive relationship. Participants qualified to participate in the research study if they had experienced IPV over the past year, whether or not they remained with or were sepa- rated from the abusive partner. Over the 14-month period, participants who received the Allstate Foundation financial management curriculum had a significant increase in self- reported financial knowledge, financial intentions, and financial behaviors and a decrease in financial strain when compared to participants who received services as usual (Hetling,  Postmus, & Kaltz, 2015; Postmus, Hetling, et al., 2015).

Historically,  domestic  violence  interventions  have  focused  heavily  on  crisis  interven- tion, advocacy, and individual counseling services. When the economic needs of victims are addressed, it is often with a focus on short-term needs (Christy-McMullin, 2002). However, as demonstrated by the research (Postmus, Hetling, et al., 2015; Sanders et al.,  2007). Financial literacy programs need to be considered a critical intervention for vic- tims of IPV because financial literacy programs have the potential to increase victims’ economic self-efficacy, financial literacy, and financial behaviors. In addition, financial lit- eracy has been found to be associated with significant positive outcomes among victims of IPV. Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, and Zurlo (2013) found that among female victims of IPV, higher financial literacy was significantly associated with higher levels of economic empowerment, conceptualized as the knowledge, skills, and confidence to address one’s own financial well-being.

Economic Abuse Within IPV 15

IMPLICATIONS

The learning from the field of economic abuse has critical research, practice, and police implications.

Research

Although two measures of economic abuse have been validated in the literature (SEA, Adams et al., 2008; SEA-R, Postmus, Plummer, et al., 2015), further validation of the scales among more diverse populations, including victims residing in rural areas; Native American and Asian victims; male victims; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ)-identified victims; victims with disabilities; immigrant victims; and victims of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, is needed. Additional research is needed to understand the dynamics of economic abuse across multiple family formations including heterosexual and LGBTQ relationships; married, dating, and cohabitating relationships; and families with and without children. Furthermore, although studies among victims of IPV have found high rates of economic abuse experiences among victims, no study has examined the prevalence of economic abuse experiences in the general public using a comprehensive measure of economic abuse.

Research is also needed to explore the relationships between economic abuse and outcome variables for victims of IPV and their children. Studies need to examine at what point economic abuse experiences lead to negative outcomes, the relationships between the different outcome variables, potential mediating and moderating variables, and the impact of interactions of multiple forms of abuse on the outcome variables. Furthermore, research is needed to understand characteristics of individuals who perpetrate economic abuse against their partners and to identify risk and protective factors around economic abuse behaviors.

Last, although initial research has found financial literacy interventions, such as REAP (Sanders et al., 2007) and the Allstate Foundation’s curriculum (Postmus, Hetling, et al.,  2015), to be effective interventions among victims of IPV, further research is needed to understand the effectiveness of the interventions in supporting victims after leaving abu- sive relationships and in protecting victims remaining in abusive relationships. Research is needed to test the effectiveness of these interventions among more diverse populations.

Practice

Advocates and domestic violence organizations need to make economic issues a primary component of domestic violence interventions (Correia, 2000; VonDeLinde, 2002). Organizations need to commit to focusing on increasing the financial empowerment of clients not just through providing referrals but also by offering extensive economic services that address both the short- and long-term needs of IPV victims and their children. For many domestic violence organizations, this means integrating economic empowerment into their vision of key service provision priorities, committing resources to train staff and implement economic programming, and advocating for funding and policies that improve the finan- cial conditions for victims of IPV. It also means conceptualizing economic empowerment programming as a critical service to support victims remaining in abusive relationships. As research has demonstrated, the primary reason victims remain in abusive relationships is because of financial dependence on the abuser (Adams, 2011; Barnett, 2000; Fawole, 2008; Kim & Gray, 2008). Therefore, economic empowerment services are critical in supporting

16 Stylianou

victims in abusive relationships to gain the financial independence needed to leave the rela- tionship. Furthermore, economic empowerment services may have the potential to decrease future abuse by supporting victims in gaining financial independence within the relationship and thereby shifting the financial power dynamics of the relationship.

Advocates need training on how to explore economic abuse with IPV victims. Unlike physical abuse, many economic abuse behaviors are covert behaviors that may not be readily apparent to either the victim or the advocate as a form of abuse. Advocates need to understand the dynamics that occur in economically abusive relationships and be equipped with tools to assess for economic abuse experiences with victims of IPV. Advocates need to be prepared to codevelop safety plans to address the range of financial risks a victim may face. Identifying ways to increase financial safety, access financial resources and assets, review and improve credit, and gain or maintain employment and/or educational oppor- tunities can support the victim in increasing his or her financial safety and independence.

Domestic violence organizations need to focus on providing financial literacy services and on increasing collaborations with community agencies providing economic empower- ment services (VonDeLinde, 2002). Economic services provided within domestic violence organizations must be developed, implemented, and tailored to the unique needs of victims of IPV (Sanders et al., 2007). Incorporating concepts of financial safety planning and eco- nomic abuse into traditional financial literacy curriculum and services will provide victims of IPV with a comprehensive approach to improving their economic empowerment.

Policy

State and federal policies designed to prosecute offenders and support victims of IPV need to be expanded to acknowledge and prohibit economic abuse. Currently in the United States, domestic violence criminal offenses are primarily enforced through local and state governments and each state varies in their domestic violence provisions. Generally, an act of domestic violence is committed when a criminal offense such as (but not limited to) disorderly conduct, harassment, aggravated harassment, sexual abuse, stalking, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, strangulation, or assault occur between cur- rent or former spouses, parent and child, and members of the same family or household. However, each state varies in its criminal code and in its definition of domestic violence.  Although physical abuse and stalking behaviors are often simple to classify under state criminal code and therefore enforceable by the criminal justice system, many components of psychological abuse and economic abuse do not qualify as a crime under criminal code. Among economic abuse, more overt forms of economic abuse such as opening a line of credit under the victim’s name without permission can be prosecuted under criminal law, whereas more covert forms of abuse such as controlling the finances and limiting access to shared finances rarely meet state standards to be considered a criminal offense.

To address this gap in the criminal code in the United Kingdom, The Serious Crime Act of 2015 created a new crime entitled “Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship” (Section 76). The law specifies that

A person (A) commits an offense if

(a) repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person (B) that is controlling or coercive,

(b) at the time of the behaviour, A and B are personally connected, (c) the behaviour has a serious effect on B, and (d) A knows or ought to know that the behaviour will have a serious effect on B.

Economic Abuse Within IPV 17

This new offense closed a gap in the law around patterns of controlling or coercive behavior among intimate partners or family members. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment, a fine, or both. The government also released a statutory guidance framework for the police and criminal justice agencies involved in the investi- gations  of  this  new  offense  (Home  Office,  2015).  The  framework  defines  a  controlling  behavior as

a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriv- ing them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour. (p. 3)

In addition, the framework provides a list of behaviors associated with coercion or control that include behaviors that fall under the concept of economic abuse including depriving the victim of his or her basic needs, preventing the victim from having access to transport or from working, and economic control including control of finances. The United States needs to model policies from the United Kingdom in creating criminal offenses for psy- chological and economic abuses to further protect and support victims of IPV.

State and federal policies need to provide employment protections to victims of domes- tic violence and mandate that places of employment develop and implement policies to support employees who are experiencing IPV. Currently, federal equal employment oppor- tunity laws do not prohibit discrimination against job applicants or employees who experi- ence domestic violence. However, many states have enacted laws protecting employment  rights for victims of domestic violence. In California, an employer may not discharge or discriminate or retaliate against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault for taking time off to obtain or attempt to obtain a restraining order or any other judicial relief to help ensure his or her health, safety, or welfare or that of his or her child (California Labor Code §§ 230, 230.1, 2006). In Illinois, according to the Victim’s Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA; 2003), an employee who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence or has a family or household member who is a victim of such violence may take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave to address the violence. This leave may be used to seek medical attention or counseling, obtain services from a victim service organization, participate in safety planning or relocation, or seek legal assistance. In New York, victims of domestic violence are a group protected from employment dis- crimination (Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. L. §§ 292(34), 296-1(a), 2009). In New York  City, the Human Rights Law prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, discharging, or  discriminating against an individual because the individual is or is perceived to be a victim of domestic violence, sex offenses, or stalking (Unlawful Discriminatory Practices, N.Y. Admin. Code § 8-107.1, 2016).

Although there are no federal equal employment opportunity laws prohibiting discrimi- nation against job applicants or employees who experience domestic violence, there are also no federal laws requiring domestic violence workplace policies (Swanberg, Ojha, & Macke, 2012). Several states and cities require state agencies to adopt workplace poli- cies on domestic violence, and some jurisdictions have passed laws or established task forces to create model workplace policies for the voluntary adoption by public and private employees. These recommendations often include prohibiting discrimination against employees who are victims of domestic violence, establishing confidential means for reporting domestic violence, providing education and training on domestic violence to all employees, posting resource and referral information in easily accessible and highly

18 Stylianou

visible locations, providing adjusted work schedules and/or leave to obtain medical care, counseling or legal assistance, increasing the safety of the workplace, and disciplining and/or discharging employees who threaten or abuse others on work time or outside of the workplace (Legal Momentum, 2009). All federal, state, and local governments should implement laws both protecting victims of domestic violence from employment discrimi- nation and requiring places of employment to implement domestic violence workplace policies to support victims of domestic violence at the workplace.

CONCLUSION

The field of IPV has made considerable gains in the past decades in increasing our under- standing of abusive behaviors and tactics, understanding the impact abuse has on victims and their children, and developing and implementing programming to both prevent IPV and provide support to victims of IPV. As we move forward, the field needs to increase its focus on economic abuse and on developing practices and policies aimed specifically at economic abuse. Research has demonstrated that economic abuse is a unique form of abuse that has both short- and long-term impacts on victims of IPV and their children. Furthermore, early research provides evidence that economic abuse affects victims of IPV above and beyond other forms of abuse including physical violence, psychological abuse, and sexual violence. Although initial research has demonstrated the effectiveness of finan- cial literacy programs implemented among victims of IPV, further program development is needed to develop and test interventions across diverse populations. Finally, researchers, advocates, and policymakers need to focus efforts on providing services and options to victims of IPV experiencing economic abuse.

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Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Amanda M. Stylianou, PhD, LCSW, Senior Director, Research and Program Development, Safe Horizon, 2 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor,  New York, NY 10007. E-mail: [email protected]

  • Economic Abuse Within Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of the Literature
    • ECONOMIC ABUSE: DEFINITION AND TACTICS
    • MEASURES OF ECONOMIC ABUSE
    • ECONOMIC ABUSE AS A UNIQUE FORM OF ABUSE
    • IMPACT OF ECONOMIC ABUSE
    • INTERVENTIONS
    • IMPLICATIONS
      • Research
      • Practice
      • Policy
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES

Articles/Sullivan & Olsen, 2016 common ground, adapting Housing First model for DV survivors.pdf

Common ground, complementary approaches: adapting the Housing First model for domestic violence survivors Cris M. Sullivana and Linda Olsenb

aPsychology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; bWashington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Seattle, WA, USA

ABSTRACT The Housing First model has been shown to be a highly effective approach to achieving permanent housing for chronically home- less individuals with serious mental illness and chemical depen- dency. There are numerous components of the model that lend themselves toward achieving similar goals for homeless domestic violence (DV) survivors and their children. A leading cause of homelessness for women, many of whom are mothers, is DV. This article describes the commonalities between the Housing First model and the tenets of DV victim advocacy work and explores how Housing First can be adapted to effectively achieve safe and stable housing for DV survivors and their children. Preliminary evidence for the adapted model – termed Domestic Violence Housing First – is provided, and policy implications are discussed.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 29 July 2016 Accepted 19 March 2017

KEYWORDS Intimate partner violence; domestic violence; homeless; housing first

Homelessness continues to be a serious and devastating social issue plaguing the United States. It has been estimated that approximately 3 million adults and over a million school-aged children are homeless in any given year (Kilgore, 2013; National Center for Homeless Education, 2015; Perlman, Willard, Herbers, Cutuli, & Eyrich Garg, 2014). Numerous factors increase one’s risk for becoming homeless, including the lack of affordable housing, living in poverty, experiencing serious mental illness (SMI), and for women, domestic violence (DV) victimization (Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2013; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015; Paveo et al., 2007).

The Housing First model was originally created as an alternative to the more tradi- tional “housing ready” model, which expected homeless individuals to deal with their mental health issues and chemical dependencies before being offered stable housing (Padgett, Henwood, & Tsemberis, 2016; Pleace & Bretherton, 2013). The traditional model for helping people with SMI and/or chemical dependency (CD) was communal residen- tial treatment, followed by supported living, and then ultimately independent living (Carling, 1990; Pleace & Bretherton, 2013; Ridgway & Zipple, 1990). This has been referred to as linear residential treatment or the staircase model and has been widely criticized for being overly controlling, resulting in many people dropping out (Padgett et al., 2016).

CONTACT Cris M. Sullivan [email protected]

HOUSING AND SOCIETY, 2016 VOL. 43, NO. 3, 182–194 https://doi.org/10.1080/08882746.2017.1323305

© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Housing First model was based on the presumption that helping people obtain stable housing before addressing other concerns makes dealing with these other issues easier, and the evidence has strongly supported this claim (Padgett et al., 2016; Tsemberis, 2010). However, the model has relied on the availability of a stream of government funding targeted toward chronically homeless people with SMI and che- mical dependencies (McKinney–Vento Continuum of Care funding), and this funding is not readily available to other populations. Further, most of the evidence for Housing First’s success has come from studies with single, primarily male, adults. Therefore, a number of adaptations may be necessary in order to effectively use this model with those who are homeless for reasons beyond SMI or chemical dependencies.

For women, being the victim of DV is a leading cause of homelessness (Jasinski, Wesely, Mustaine, & Wright, 2002; Kannah, Singh, Nemil, & Best, 1992; Wilder Research Center, 2007). Housing instability is four times more likely for women who have experi- enced DV compared to other women (Pavao et al., 2007), and approximately 25% of homeless women have noted DV as being a major contributor to their homelessness (Jasinski et al., 2002; Wilder Research Center, 2007). DV victimization has both direct and indirect pathways to homelessness. Many abusers intentionally destroy their victims’ economic and housing stability by ruining their credit, stealing their money, destroying their property, or preventing them from working, as a means of trapping them in the relationship (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Adams, Tolman, Bybee, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2012; Hahn & Postmus, 2014). Further, the DV itself often leads to injuries, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and frequent absences from jobs or school, all of which can then contribute to homelessness (Adams, Bybee, Tolman, Sullivan, & Kennedy, 2013; Lacey, McPherson, Samuel, Sears, & Head, 2013). Sometimes, DV survivors flee their homes and find new immediate housing, only to realize they can not afford it on their own (Galano, Hunter, Howell, Miller, & Graham- Bermann, 2013). All of these factors can make achieving safe and stable housing difficult, especially since affordable housing in the United States is scarce and continues to decline (Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2013; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015).

Advocates for DV survivors are often faced with helping their clients locate safe and affordable housing, a daunting challenge in most parts of the country where affordable housing is scarce or nonexistent (Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2013; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). These advocates base their work on many of the same principles guiding the Housing First model. Shared principles include (1) viewing housing as a basic right; (2) treating clients with respect, warmth, and compassion; (3) working with people as long as they need; (4) moving people into independent housing; and (5) separating housing from services (see Table 1). There are an additional three Housing First tenets that suggest areas where the model could be adapted to be relevant for DV survivors, and these are discussed next.

Where the Housing First model refers to “consumer choice and self-determination” (Tsemberis, 2010, p. 18), DV advocates would refer to “empowering practice” (Cattaneo & Chapman, 2010; Kasturirangan, 2008; Kulkarni, Bell, & McDaniel Rhodes, 2012). This involves behaving with survivors in ways that not only honor their agency but that will also increase their power in personal, interpersonal, and political arenas (Gutierrez & Lewis, 1999; Gutierrez, Parson, & Cox, 1998; Sullivan, 2006). Empowerment practice in

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general is a helping relationship through which the advocate (or other form of help provider such as a case manager) shares power with the participant and is a facilitator, not a director, of services. In the DV context, the advocate works with the survivor to facilitate their access to knowledge, skills, supports, and resources that will enhance their personal power. Advocates’ analysis of DV is that abusers use violence and control to rob victims of their power to determine their own destiny. Therefore, advocates intentionally work to restore that sense of power by offering information and choices, while recogniz- ing and supporting survivors’ strengths and decisions.

While empowering practice includes “consumer choice and self-determination,” DV advocates recognize that advancing survivors’ empowerment entails more than influ- encing the way they think and feel about themselves and their abilities (Goodman & Epstein, 2008; Kulkarni et al., 2012; Song, 2012; Sullivan, 2006). While self-determina- tion is an important construct, and central to the concept of empowerment, it is not synonymous with actually increasing survivors’ power in interpersonal, social, and political spheres (Cattaneo & Chapman, 2010). Staples (1990) perhaps summarized it best: “In addition to transformations in consciousness, beliefs, and attitudes, empow- erment requires practical knowledge, solid information, real competencies, concrete skills, material resources, genuine opportunities, and tangible results” (p. 38; emphasis added).

The second Housing First component that requires adapting for the DV context is harm reduction. Harm reduction involves helping clients minimize risky behaviors rather than mandating full compliance with either chemical abstinence or, in the case of people with SMI, taking prescribed medication. DV advocates only follow this principle for those survivors who also have SMI or who are chemically dependent; a core activity they do engage in with all survivors, however, is safety planning (Davies & Lyon, 2014; Goodkind, Sullivan, & Bybee, 2004). For many DV survivors, the abuse or fear of future abuse is ongoing, regardless of their relationship status (Fleury, Sullivan, & Bybee, 2000). Advocates draw on their understanding of the dynamics of DV to consider how the abuse is impacting other issues survivors are dealing with, including their housing, economic independence, parenting, custody, legal issues, immigration, and social

Table 1. Shared and similar principles between the Pathways Housing First model and domestic violence victim advocacy. Housing First model tenets (Tsemberis, 2010, p. 18) Domestic violence victim advocacy tenets2

Shared principles Housing is a basic human right Housing is a basic human right Respect, warmth, and compassion for all clients Respect, warmth, and compassion for all clients Commitment to working with clients for as long as they need

Commitment to working with clients for as long as they need

Scattered site housing; independent apartments Scattered site housing; independent apartments (and communal shelters)

Separation of housing and services Separation of housing and services Similar principles Consumer choice and self-determination Strength-based, empowerment focus Harm reduction Safety planning Recovery orientation Orientation toward social and emotional well-being

Explicit principles of domestic violence victim advocacy Community engagement, systems change Trauma-informed practice

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support. In other words, when a survivor is contending with ongoing DV, safety issues need to be continually addressed along with other concerns.

While it is understood that safety planning efforts may or may not be successful, given the individual circumstances surrounding each incident of abuse and the reality that the perpetrator is ultimately responsible for whether abuse occurs, a variety of strategies are discussed with survivors to help them decide what might or might not reduce their future risk of abuse. Safety planning is therefore related to harm reduction, but with the understanding that the advocate is working with the survivor to reduce someone else’s harmful acts, and not the survivor’s “risky” behaviors.

The third Housing First tenet that requires some modification is the model’s “recovery orientation” – working with consumers in ways that will lead to their full participation in their communities (Tsemberis, 2010). This tenet stems from the model’s focus on persons with SMI, who have often been segregated from their communities and viewed as incapable of full integration. For DV victim advocates, the focus is on increasing survivors’ access to resources, opportunities, and supports needed for them to achieve social and emotional well-being (Sullivan, 2016).

In addition to the eight tenets just discussed (five shared, three similar), DV advocates are guided by two additional principles not explicitly stated in the Housing First model1: (1) engaging in trauma-informed practice (Goodman, Fauci, Sullivan, DiGiovanni, & Wilson, 2016; Goodman et al., 2016) and (2) systems change and community engagement (Goodman & Epstein, 2008; Sullivan, 2016). Trauma- informed practice is grounded in an understanding that DV is an ongoing pattern of coercive control maintained through physical, psychological, sexual, and/or eco- nomic abuse that varies in severity and chronicity. It is not surprising, then, that DV survivors’ responses to this victimization vary as well. Many victims of DV recover relatively quickly from the experience, particularly if the abuse is shorter in duration and less severe, and they have access to resources and support (Bonanno, 2004). Others, particularly those who experience more frequent or severe abuse, may develop symptoms that make daily functioning more difficult, including depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and PTSD (Bennice, Resick, Mechanic, & Astin, 2003; Anderson, 2009; Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman, 2013). Survivors who are having trouble concentrating, who are in a state of constant high anxiety, or who are not sleeping (just to name a few examples) may find it temporarily difficult to make decisions or feel emotionally in control of their lives. Advocates strive to provide survivors and their children with the time, space, and supports needed to heal from traumas that may be impeding their ability to fully reintegrate into their communities and to achieve social and emotional well-being (Warshaw, Sullivan, & Rivera, 2013).

Another core principle of DV advocacy involves systems change and community engagement. Recognizing that one’s social and emotional well-being is not independent from community-level factors, advocates do not focus solely on working with individual survivors to improve their individual situations. They engage in a variety of efforts to create communities that hold offenders accountable, promote justice, and that provide adequate resources and opportunities for the survivors they work with and all commu- nity members (Sullivan, 2016). This involves building and sustaining strong community partnerships as well as working to change systems that are ineffective, inaccessible, or oppressive.

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The creation of the domestic violence Housing First model

In light of the many shared principles between Housing First and DV advocacy work, and given the promise of the original Housing First model, in 2009 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation approached the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) with a funding proposal to adapt the model for DV survivors. Termed Domestic Violence Housing First (or DV Housing First, or DVHF), the program was designed to increase survivors’ access to and retention of not just stable but safe housing (Mbilinyi, 2015). The model was evaluated through a 5-year pilot involving 13 DV agencies from diverse areas within Washington State. Seven of the nine agencies were in rural areas, where resources were fewer and the need for creative solutions much greater. Three of the rural programs were tribal and located on reservations. Another rural program served many migrant Latina farmworkers. One of the two urban programs was a culturally specific program, serving immigrants and refugees from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Out of the 681 survivor households participating in the evaluation, 35% were Native American/Alaska Native, 22% were immigrant/refugee, and 12% were Hispanic or Latino/a. Forty-six languages were spoken in the survivors’ homes. Half had a household monthly income of $800 or less. The majority of survivors (75%) had children, with a combined total of 937 children living in their households (Mbilinyi, 2015).

Program records indicated that 96% of the families receiving DV Housing First retained their housing at 18 months. Focus group data with survivors revealed addi- tional positive outcomes for families, including increased safety, improved health and well-being, and restored dignity. Lessons learned from the pilot led WSCADV to identify four key service pillars of the model: (1) survivor-driven, mobile advocacy; (2) flexible engagement, including flexible funding; (3) trauma-informed practice; and (4) commu- nity engagement (see Figure 1). The philosophy guiding the model is that survivors and their children need individualized and flexible levels of assistance. The four pillars are described next.

Survivor-driven, mobile advocacy

A critical component of the model is that advocates focus on addressing the needs identified by survivors rather than on predetermined needs promoted by agencies. Advocates are also mobile, meeting survivors where it is safe and convenient for them, and advocacy continues as long as survivors need support. Advocates are aware of the myriad ways that abusers sabotage survivors’ economic and housing stability – even after the relationship has ended – and they mobilize multiple resources and community supports to prevent or counter these abusive activities. In addition to advocating for survivors in other aspects of their lives (e.g., employment, immigration, health, children’s needs) and engaging in ongoing safety planning, advocates work proactively and creatively with survivors to obtain housing stability. This may involve helping a survivor safely retain her current housing or helping find new affordable housing. Advocates are proactive and creative, accompanying survi- vors to housing appointments, acting as liaisons with landlords, and negotiating leases.

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Flexible engagement, including flexible funding

Many survivors need not only proactive advocacy to obtain safe and stable housing but also temporary financial assistance to get back on their feet. They may need assistance with issues viewed as directly related to housing: a security deposit and temporary rental assistance, help clearing up rent arrears (often intentionally incurred by the abuser), or help with utility bills. Often, though, survivors need funds that may not be viewed by others as impacting housing but that advocates recognize are critical to housing stability: for example, help repairing their cars so they do not lose their jobs, help expunging a prior conviction that is preventing them from obtaining government- funded housing, or help repairing bad credit (often destroyed by the abuser). Funds are targeted to support survivors so they can rebuild their lives, including covering childcare costs, transportation, school supplies, uniforms and permits required for employment, as well as time-limited and flexible rental assistance (Mbilinyi, 2015; Sullivan, Bomsta, & Hacskaylo, 2016).

The idea of providing flexible funding with individualized advocacy is similar to but distinct from the idea of “progressive engagement” promoted by the US Interagency

Figure 1. Tenets of domestic violence Housing First.

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Council on Homelessness and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Progressive engagement involves providing every client with a very small and brief amount of assistance (“light touch”) and then providing additional funds and other supports only as needed to select clients over time (Culhane, Metraux, & Byrne, 2011; Levitt, 2015). While this is sometimes appropriate, the DVHF model promotes the idea of “flexible engagement,” tailoring financial and support assistance to the individual needs of each survivor. For some survivors, that may be a small amount of funding followed by a check-in to see if additional funds are needed (the traditional progressive engagement model). For others, however, a larger immediate investment may be necessary and sufficient to stabilize someone’s housing, and for others, assistance will fluctuate with crises (sometimes caused by the abuser when a survivor initially becomes stable). This flexibility is a critical component of the DV Housing First model and is consistent with the philosophy of DV advocacy to provide individualized, survivor-centered services (Davies & Lyon, 2014; Goodman & Epstein, 2008).

Trauma-informed practice

Given the traumatic nature of DV, as well as the likelihood that DV survivors have also experienced other lifetime traumas such as child abuse and sexual abuse (Campbell, Greeson, Bybee, & Raja, 2008), a critical tenet of DV Housing First is to engage in trauma- informed practice. These practices include (1) establishing emotional safety, (2) restoring choice and control, (3) facilitating survivors’ connections to community supports, (4) supporting coping, (5) responding to identity and context, and (6) building strengths (Anderson, 2009; Goodman, Sullivan, et al., 2016; Harris & Fallot, 2001). Understanding and appropriately responding to trauma reactions is especially important when helping survivors obtain and sustain housing, as sometimes these responses manifest after initial stability is attained (Ferencik & Ramirez-Hammond, 2013; Horesh, Solomon, Zerach, & Ein-Dor, 2011). Sometimes, trauma reactions such as depression, immobility, or PTSD are suppressed while a survivor is intently focused on the task of securing housing for themselves and their children. Once that housing is obtained, however, and an initial calm is established, the survivor is “safe” to experience the overwhelming feelings related to their trauma. Without a knowledgeable and supportive advocate available to them to help them through this crisis, the housing that the survivor has worked so hard to secure can be jeopardized.

Community engagement

Advocates also proactively engage those people in the community who can help support the safety, stability, and well-being of survivors. This includes engaging with health-care professionals, law enforcement and the legal systems, educators and school administrators, religious and spiritual leaders, and others. With specific regard to obtaining housing, advocates forge mutually beneficial relationships with land- lords, city officials, and housing councils to obtain vouchers or rental agreements on behalf of DV survivors. Through these relationships, advocates not only obtain hous- ing for individual survivors, but they change and improve the way communities respond to DV overall.

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The importance of having multiple housing options for DV survivors

As noted earlier, the Pathways Housing First model relies heavily on obtaining perma- nent housing vouchers for clients with SMI. Such vouchers have been found to be the most desired as well as the most successful option for homeless families in general (Gubits et al., 2015), but they are also a very expensive option and there are not enough vouchers to meet the need. They are also not necessarily what is needed by many DV survivors. DV Housing First, then, focuses on matching each DV survivor with the housing option best suited to their need. For some survivors, this means receiving immediate financial and support services to stay in their current homes, thus avoiding homelessness altogether (Sullivan, Bomsta, and Hacskaylo, 2016). Interestingly, half of the survivors participating in the DV Housing First pilot expressed the desire to remain safely in either their current home or in a home they obtained when immediately fleeing an abuser but which they could not manage or afford long term (Mbilinyi, 2015). While eviction-prevention efforts or advocacy with landlords were often helpful with this option, providing flexible financial assistance was also the key. Such assistance might include paying back rent that the abuser failed to pay, fixing property damaged by the abuser, repairing the survivor’s car so they do not lose their job, paying for a security system, or any number of issues that, but for the availability of a flexible pot of funds, could lead to homelessness.

In short, DV advocates need to work with survivors to identify the most appropriate short- and long-term housing options that they desire and that are available to them. DV survivors who have had relatively stable economic resources in the past and who have minimal obstacles to sustaining stable housing may need relatively brief assistance obtaining safe and secure housing. In these cases, safety planning and information may be all a survivor requires. At the other end of the continuum, there are DV survivors with multiple, complex issues that will require longer term and more sustained supports from advocates. These may include survivors who are non-English-speaking refugees or immigrants who had relied on the abuser for their economic and social support, or those with criminal records (often related to the abuser’s coercion; Richie, 2012) and/or SMI. Low-income women of color are at greater risk of experiencing victimization as well as experiencing the mental and physical health sequelae resulting from it (Kennedy et al., 2012), and DV victimization has been linked to increased CD (Bonomi et al., 2006; Humphreys, Regan, River, & Thiara, 2005). Survivors with extremely complex issues are sometimes unable to sustain housing past the 24 months designated by Rapid Re- Housing or Transitional Housing programs, and in these cases, long-term subsidies with voluntary services need to be available.

Promising evidence for the DV Housing First model

The development of the DV Housing First model was informed by both practice-based evidence and evidence-based practice. A large, randomized controlled trial conducted in the 1990s had established that mobile advocacy leads to improvements in DV survivors’ ability to access community resources (including housing), social support, safety from abuse, and overall quality of life (Bybee & Sullivan, 2002; Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Building on this earlier work, Niolon and colleagues (2009) longitudinally examined the

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role of housing stability in preventing revictimization and reducing negative outcomes for DV survivors and their children. That study, which included an examination of mobile advocacy and housing supports over time, found quite positive changes in women’s and children’s lives over 18 months. Women who were homeless or at high risk for home- lessness when entering the study reported greater housing stability, higher quality of life, fewer absences from work, greater job stability, higher income, fewer problems with alcohol/drugs, less depression, and less PTSD over time. Their children missed fewer days of school, had better academic performance, and fewer behavioral problems over time.

WSCADV’s evaluation of the DV Housing First model was similarly promising. The majority of families in both rural and urban communities reported being effective at accessing and retaining housing at 6, 12, and 18 months after program entry. Participants also reported increased safety and well-being. More rigorous evidence is needed to examine the impact of this model (and is currently in process), but evidence to date is quite promising.

Looking forward

Given the many similarities between the generic Housing First approach and the tenets underlying advocacy with DV survivors, adapting the Housing First model to meet the needs of this population could go a long way toward ending family homelessness (Jasinski et al., 2002; Pavao et al., 2007). The two approaches already share the important principles that housing is a basic human right, clients must be treated with respect and dignity, we must work with people as long as they need assistance, and services must be disentangled from the right to independent housing. Adaptations take into account and address issues specific to DV survivors. For example, a number of barriers presented by survivors are rooted in ongoing safety concerns and abuser sabotage. When case managers lack an understanding of these multifaceted issues, they may not provide the most appropriate assistance that will lead to safe and stable housing.

An effective model for stabilizing housing for DV survivors must also attend to the impacts of trauma on both survivors and their children. Trauma responses, which sometimes include CD, increase in severity when the abuse reaches back into a survi- vor’s childhood and continues through adult relationships (Carlson, McNutt, & Choi, 2003; Seedat, Stein, & Forde, 2005). While most survivors have the resiliency to move quickly on with their lives once a sense of safety has been restored, many others need extensive periods of time to heal and to regain or gain confidence in their ability to return to school, complete job training, and sustain employment at a living wage job adequate to pay for market rate housing.

A final but critical point to make is that no model will be widely successful without the creation of additional affordable housing in this country. In too many communities, affordable housing is simply out of the reach of the typical American (Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2013; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). Until this crisis is abated, even the best approaches will be severely limited in what they can achieve. The reduction of homelessness requires a multipronged solution focused at multiple levels. At the individual and community level, the DVHF approach holds great

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promise for assisting survivors to obtain safe and stable housing over time for them- selves and their families.

Notes

1. While the Housing First model does not explicitly include attending to trauma or systems change (Tsemberis, 2010, p. 18), both are often implied or alluded to, and many programs operating from the model include one or both in their practice.

2. These common tenets have been drawn from multiple sources, including Davies and Lyon (2014), Goodman and Epstein (2008), and Sullivan (2016).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, awarded to the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence [grant number OPP1117416].

Notes on contributors

Cris M. Sullivan is a professor of ecological-community psychology and director of the Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence at Michigan State University (MSU). In addition to her MSU appointments, she is the senior research advisor to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. She has been an advocate and researcher in the movement to end gender-based violence since 1982. Her areas of expertise include developing and rigorously evaluating commu- nity interventions for abused women and their children and evaluating victim services.

Linda Olsen is the Housing Program Coordinator at the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Linda has worked in the field of domestic violence for 30 years, serving in the roles of shelter director and executive director at two domestic violence agencies. She has graduate degrees in theology and social work.

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194 C. M. SULLIVAN AND L. OLSEN

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  • Abstract
  • The creation of the domestic violence Housing First model
    • Survivor-driven, mobile advocacy
    • Flexible engagement, including flexible funding
    • Trauma-informed practice
    • Community engagement
  • The importance of having multiple housing options for DV survivors
  • Promising evidence for the DV Housing First model
  • Looking forward
  • Notes
  • Disclosure statement
  • Funding
  • Notes on contributors
  • References

Articles/Tarshis, 2020, Intimate Partner Violence and Employment-Seeking.pdf

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Original Research

Intimate Partner Violence and Employment-Seeking: A Multilevel Examination of Barriers and Facilitators

Sarah Tarshis1

Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts career development and negatively influences employment prospects, education attainment, and financial earnings; yet there is a gap in research exploring the experiences of employment-seeking from the perspectives of survivors. An intersectional and social ecological perspective provides an important framework and highlights the multiple intersecting barriers of IPV and employment ranging from mental health concerns such as trauma, anxiety and depression to lack of shelter and childcare, limited access to employment services, and other forms of discrimination. This article responds to this gap in research and provides findings from a constructivist grounded theory study of 16 employment-seeking survivors of IPV. To theorize and understand IPV and employment utilizing an intersectional and social ecological framework, the following research question were addressed: (a) What are the contextual barriers or facilitators that shape the employment-seeking process of survivors of IPV? (b) How do the experiences of discrimination shape the employment-seeking experience of survivors of IPV? (c) What employment services were helpful or unhelpful during the employment-seeking process? Two main themes emerged from analysis: (a) Multilevel barriers to employment and (b) Employment barriers/facilitators to employment-

1University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Corresponding Author: Sarah Tarshis, Carleton University School of Social Work, Ottawa, Canada. Email: [email protected]

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seeking. Findings indicate that survivors of IPV face multiple barriers to employment at the intrapersonal (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem), interpersonal (e.g., ties to an abusive partner, responsibilities related to childcare), community (lack of social support, few employment opportunities, poverty), and structural/institutionalized levels (e.g., racism, sexism, transphobia). Implications from these findings illustrate that employment-seeking is shaped by structural inequities, intersecting stigma, individual level barriers, and social identities, as well as experience of abuse, which is an important contribution to IPV research. This study provides insight into the complexities of employment-seeking and helps improve knowledge on the social ecological and intersecting barriers of employment from the perspectives of survivors.

Keywords domestic violence, cultural contexts, intervention/treatment, violence against LGBT

Introduction and Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV)—the physical, sexual, emotional, coercive, and economic abuse of intimate partners (e.g., spouses, domestic or dating partners; Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2019)—impacts one in three women in their lifetime (World Health Organization [WHO], 2017). IPV dis- proportionately effects lower-income women, foreign-born women, as well as ethnic, racial, sexual and gender minorities, including women in same-sex relationships and transgender women (Davila et al., 2017). IPV can have long- lasting, debilitating effects on the psychological well-being, physical health, and economic security of women (Black et al., 2011; WHO, 2017). Economic abuse is widely reported among survivors of IPV and over the last two decades has been conceptualized as a distinct form of abuse (Stylianou, 2018). It is broadly defined as the persistent control, exploitation, and sabotage of a part- ner’s economic resources and employment (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2018). Economic dependency is one of the main factors that prevents sur- vivors from leaving abusive relationships (Sanders, 2015). Abusive partners can use a range of tactics to interfere with and restrict finances and workforce participation, which can impact employment prospects.

Employment provides survivors with financial independence and the resources to leave abusive partners. However, even after leaving the abusive relationship, survivors can often face multiple barriers that interfere with the employment-seeking process. These barriers include limited work

Tarshis 3

experience, lack of education, welfare restrictions, immigration status, racial bias, homophobia, and transphobia (Calton et al., 2016; Chronister et al., 2018). A survivor’s particular social locations (e.g., race, sexuality, age, immigration status, culture) can increase the risk of exposure to adverse eco- nomic conditions that can negatively impact employment outcomes (Ballou et al., 2015). Survivors with diverse social locations, understood here as the social positioning of an individual within society, are frequently disadvan- taged in the labor market and vulnerable to precarious employment. Precarious employment encompasses jobs that are temporary, provide low wages and few benefits, and are devoid of prospects for career mobility (Crenshaw, 1989; Scott-Marshall et al., 2007).

Review of the Literature

Over the last two decades, researchers have examined the interrelationships between IPV and employment by primarily focusing on the prevalence of economic abuse tactics (e.g., job interference, on the job harassment, work- place disruptions) that impede survivors’ ability to secure employment (see Albaugh & Nauta, 2005; Alexander, 2011; Brown et al., 2000; Costello et al., 2005; Duffy, 2015; Showalter, 2016; Swanberg et al., 2007). These studies contributed to expanding academic and policy debates about economic abuse and employment, while also setting the ground for further research on the topic. Other studies examined how changes in US welfare policies adversely affected the ability of low-income survivors to remain eligible for public or community-based shelter programs while trying to find and maintain sustain- able employment (see Meisel et al., 2003; Moe & Bell, 2004; Staggs et al., 2007; Tolman & Wang, 2005).

Research conducted since the passage of the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act” in 1996 documents survivors’ strug- gles with the welfare system and employment promotion programs (Showalter, 2016). The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) initiative, a federally funded program, was created to incentivize employ- ment by requiring recipients to work for their benefits (Scott-Marshall, 2013). The majority of studies on IPV, employment, and TANF focused on the expe- riences of survivors who received welfare and the specific barriers to employ- ment that impacted their ability to find work. Researchers identified barriers that included homelessness, welfare eligibility requirements, childcare, trans- portation, poor social support, lack of specific job skills (e.g., technology/IT, math, reading, writing) or higher education, physical injuries, and psycho- logical issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction; Ballou et al., 2015; Chronister et al., 2018; Chronister & McWhirter, 2006; Davidson et

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al., 2012; Prescod & Zeligman, 2018; Tolman & Rosen, 2001). Research has also found that the programs’ strict requirements and time-limited welfare benefits negatively impacted survivors’ ability to secure well-paid, living wage employment (Peled & Krigel, 2016).

Findings from the IPV and economic abuse literature have influenced policy debates, programs, and interventions (Kulkarni & Ross, 2016; Lozano et al., 2013; Swanberg et al., 2007; WHO, 2013). However, employment issues faced by women impacted by IPV are significantly understudied and gaps in our understanding of the consequences and scope of IPV on employ- ment persist. These gaps highlight the need for research that provides a deeper understanding of the employment-seeking experiences of survivors of IPV and the broader, structural factors and barriers that impact their experi- ences. In this context, an approach that relies on an intersectional feminist lens allows to better understand structural aspects of oppression and margin- alization (Crenshaw, 1989).

Theoretical Framework

Intersectionality. Previous feminist theorists have made important contribution to IPV research (e.g., the battered women’s movement) but also have their limitations, namely the narrow understanding of gender, the exclusion of racial and minority women, and constrained service practices that overlook employment needs (Crenshaw, 1989; Kulkarni, 2019). An intersectional perspective aims to redress these limitations by recognizing that women with differing identities have experiences of structural inequities (e.g., discrimination) that can influ- ence their employment-seeking experiences (Hill Collins, 2000). Survivors’ multiple identities and experiences often make them vulnerable to different forms of employment bias and discrimination, including race, gender, sexual identity, immigration status, and status as mother/single parents. These mul- tiple identities and experiences tend to shape the bias and discrimination they are confronted with. A central proposition of this study is that survivors of IPV with diverse identities and experiences of oppression have different employment-seeking experiences which are not captured in the current literature.

Social Ecological Model. A social ecological model explores interpersonal, structural, and systemic experiences of violence, while linking them to oppressions such as racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. A social ecological perspec- tive suggests that violence occurs as a result of a complex network of

Tarshis 5

individual, social, and societal risk factors (CDC, 2020). Its emphasis on the complex relationships and interconnectedness of systems and experiences that impact survivors has made it a useful approach for scholars studying IPV (Heise, 1998).

A social ecological model can help conceptualize the multilayered experi- ences of survivors seeking employment by expanding the analysis of human development (e.g., experiences of trauma), impact of relationships (e.g., abu- sive partner), community (social supports, welfare policies), and structural (discrimination, oppression) factors while also taking into consideration the interconnected nature of these systems.

Purpose and Research Questions

This study responds to gaps in research by seeking to understand how IPV and experiences of oppression relate to employment-seeking. To do so it addresses the following research questions:

1. What are the contextual barriers and facilitators that shape the employment-seeking process of survivors of IPV?

2. How do the experiences of discrimination shape the employment- seeking experience of survivors of IPV?

3. What employment services were helpful or unhelpful during the employment-seeking process?

Methods

This study employs a qualitative study design with a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2014). Grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) is a qualitative methodology that studies underresearched social phenomena inductively from the subjective perspectives of research participants (Charmaz, 2014). Constructivist perspectives understand that knowledge and research are constructed by participants (Charmaz, 2014) and recognizes the unique experiences of women and IPV. This perspective also considers the position of the researcher as being part of the process and not as a neutral observer (Charmaz, 2014).

This study received institutional ethics approval. All participants com- pleted a written informed consent process prior to participating in the inter- view. Participants were carefully prescreened to ensure that participating in the study would not create safety risks (e.g., ensuring participants were no longer in abusive relationships or were currently engaged in IPV support services).

6 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

To ensure that the research is responsive to the needs of the population, a multidisciplinary IPV community advisory board (CAB) was developed to consult with throughout the research process. The inclusion of an IPV CAB provided an opportunity to present challenges and receive feedback and sup- port when conducting research with IPV survivor participants. Feminist research methodologies often include the addition of a CAB to consider the privacy and safety concerns of survivors and ensure that researchers captured participants’ perspectives (Padgett, 2016).

Study Setting and Recruitment

The research was conducted between March, 2018 and July, 2018 in a large American Northeastern urban city that is well resourced with a variety of ser- vices. Using theoretical sampling, a form of purposive sampling (Charmaz, 2014), recruitment began with women who experienced violence and engaged in employment-related services at IPV organizations. Theoretical sampling then focused on recruiting women from varied sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, ethnoracial backgrounds, abilities, and immigration experiences to ensure that different identities and experiences would be represented in the data (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Purposive recruitment considerations were also carried out to illuminate employment-seeking experiences among those who were actively job-seeking and those who had already secured employment.

Participants were recruited through study flyers that were circulated at multiple IPV organizations across a large American Northeastern urban city. Since women from LGBTQ communities are at an even higher risk of expe- riencing violence, participants who identified as female (e.g., cisgender female, trans female) were also recruited from LGBTQ organizations. A pre- screening tool was utilized to ensure participants met specific criteria, were at least 18 years of age, spoke English, and identified as women (cisgender/ transgender). Eligible participants were required to have received or cur- rently be engaged in IPV counseling or support services, and be either employed (full-time, part-time) or currently seeking employment. It should be noted that this study did not aim to essentialize the identities of different women, but rather sought to identify various identities and experiences that are frequently excluded from mainstream IPV research. Research on women can essentialize the category of “women” because it assumes shared experi- ences and perspectives. A focus on gender can obfuscate the interacting iden- tities associated with race, ethnicity, linguistic backgrounds, sexual identity, and ability, which are critical to achieving a fulsome explanation of the per- son in contexts that is too often excluded in social sciences research (Hankivsky et al., 2010).

Tarshis 7

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection A semi-structured interview guide was developed in consultation with the thesis committee and IPV CAB. The interview guide included open-ended questions that elicited the survivor’s views on IPV and employment, as well as barriers and facilitators to employment, and access to employment ser- vices. Interviews lasted between 40 minutes and 2 hours at the location of the participant’s choice (e.g., a private room at the IPV support agency, a private office at an affiliated university, coffee shop etc.).

Data analysis Initial (open, line-by-line) coding was applied to the first interview tran- scripts to yield a broad set of emerging codes and categories before the researcher applied focused and selective coding at later stages of analysis to identify salient themes (Charmaz, 2014). Codes emerged from the data and were not imposed a priori (Flick, 2014). A constant comparison analysis of cases was applied until theoretical saturation was reached, the point at that continued coding no longer lead to new theoretical insights (Charmaz, 2014; Strauss & Corbin, 1998).The final stage of analysis included focused coding to identify emerging theoretical concepts that supported the identification of major themes (Charmaz, 2014).

Trustworthiness To ensure dependability of the data (Drisko, 1997), all participant interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and uploaded into NVivo 12 qualita- tive software for analysis. Constructivist grounded theory methods are inter- active in nature and analysis alternates between conducting interviews and transcribing, conducting analysis, and conducting subsequent interviews (Charmaz, 2014). Memo writing began with the first interview and continued throughout the research. After the interviews, impressions, reflections, and descriptions of the setting were recorded and reviewed by the researcher to explore additional insights on the data and identify any changes to the inter- view guide. The use of direct quotations that support study themes and find- ings demonstrates confirmability of the data (Drisko, 1997). Throughout the study, the researcher also engaged in peer debriefing with the IPV CAB and thesis committee members, who supported the interpretation of findings which also helped ensure data trustworthiness.

Reflexivity Reflexivity was exercised throughout the research process, using memo writing to examine intentions and ensure that research was not conducted exploitatively

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(Drisko, 1997; Finlay, 2002). These activities were aimed to help uncover any theoretical discrimination such as racism, sexism, ableism, classism, and homophobia during the research process (Few, 2007). Given the status of the primary investigator as a white, male-partnered, able-bodied, cisgender woman, it was particularly important to be explicit about the motivations underlying the research as well the investigator’s long-term goals of social change, empower- ment of women, and contributions to research and theory.

Sample and Demographics

All recruited participants were either engaged in employment programs, had completed employment programs, or were actively job-seeking (see Table 1). 16 survivors of IPV were interviewed in this study. Most survivors were employed (n = 10; part-time n = 4; full-time n = 6) and those who were not employed (n = 6) were all actively job-seeking or engaged in a paid intern- ship (n = 2) or volunteer work (n = 1). Survivors who were employed worked in a variety of employment sectors (e.g., food service, beauty, health). Annual average income was $24,000 per year which is close to the poverty threshold based on the cost of living in a large northeastern city (e.g., one parent and one child need to make at least $22,000 per year in order to be considered out of poverty; Office for Economic Opportunity, 2018). The mean age of partici- pants was 36 years old (SD = 7.6). More than half (n = 9) of the survivors had children and had caregiving responsibilities.

The sample included cisgender women (n = 13) and trans women (n = 3). A total of 15 survivors identified as heterosexual and one identified as queer. Out of the 15 women, 11 women were born outside the United States and five were born in the United States. The level of education of participants ranged from university (master’s degree, n = 2; bachelor’s degree, n = 5), to some post-sec- ondary (some college, n = 3), to high school/GED (n = 6). Less than a third of participants identified as white (n = 5), and the remainder identified as people of color including Black/African American (n = 4), South Asian (n = 2), Latin American (n = 2), Arab (n = 1), East Asian (n = 1), and mixed/other (n = 1).

Findings

Two main themes emerged from the data: (a) Multilevel barriers to employ- ment and (b) Employment supports/facilitators to help secure employment. The themes and subthemes are described in the following sections. The study findings are also presented in a conceptual diagram (Figure 1) that builds an integrated framework to better understand employment barriers and supports inductively derived from the data. Exemplary quotes are presented in text.

Tarshis 9

Table 1. Sample Demographics (n = 16).

Demographic Information Participants (%)

Age 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59

Gender Cisgender female Trans female

Sexual orientation Straight LGBTQ

Ethnicity/cultural background White/European Black/African American Hispanic/Latin American South Asian East Asian Arab Other

Country of birth USA Other

Highest completed educational level High school/GED Some college Bachelor Master

Number of children 0 1 2 3 4 5

5 (31) 6 (38) 4 (25) 1 (6)

13 (81) 3 (19)

12 (75) 4 (25)

5 (31) 4 (25) 2 (13) 2 (13) 1 (6) 1 (6) 1 (6)

5 (31) 11 (69)

6 (38) 3 (19) 5 (31) 2 (12)

7 (44) 7 (44)

0 1 (6)

0 1 (6)

(continued)

10 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Demographic Information Participants (%)

Household income range Under $10,000 $10,000–$19,999 $20,000–$29,999 $30,000–$39,999 $40,000–$49,000 $50,000 and above

Employment status Employed Part-time Full-time Unemployed

Occupation Beauty Non-profit/government Food service Private (legal, financial firms) Health Self-employed

3 (19) 5 (31) 3 (19) 1 (6) 3 (19) 1 (6)

10 (62) 6 (60) 4 (40) 6 (38)

1 (10) 2 (20) 1 (10) 2 (20) 2 (20) 2 (20)

Figure 1. An intersectional and social ecological approach to understanding IPV and employment-seeking.

Table 1. continued

Tarshis 11

Barriers to Employment

Survivors recalled an overwhelming number of barriers during the process of seeking employment. The study identifies over 30 barriers at the social eco- logical level (see Table 2). They discussed these barriers at the individual (e.g., mental health, self-esteem), interpersonal (e.g., IPV, childhood vio- lence, sexual violence), community (lack of social networks, limited com- munity resources), and structural (e.g., sociopolitical, historical, economic) levels. Multiple barriers had significant impact on their employment-seeking and contributed to periods of underemployment and unemployment.

Individual. Survivors reflected on individual challenges such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, as well as a lack of work experience, specific skills, and educa- tion that made finding employment more difficult. Many survivors described years of psychological distress resulting from abusive relationships, which contributed to depression and interfered with employment and education. As this survivor reflected:

Because with the depression, you’re depressed, and you don’t want to study, and you don’t want to do anything” (Participant 14).

The impact of victimization on mental health was so profound for some sur- vivors that looking for work became secondary as they needed to first stabi- lize their mental health and well-being. Some survivors with severe depression were unable to secure employment immediately after leaving the abusive relationship because they needed time to recover and heal from the abuse. One survivor summarized the dynamic as follows:

I was depressed when I broke off with him, I went to the hospital to stay in the psychiatric ward for two months, and then I was very depressed and then I was living in a shelter, I didn’t get a job (Participant 07).

Nearly all survivors referred to a plunge in their self-esteem after years of abuse and emotional victimization. Abusers used a variety of tactics that chipped away at survivors’ self-esteem, including verbal abuse and insults that impacted their confidence in their own ability to get a job, as described by this survivor:

Yes, it was challenging being that everyone, when they go through a domestic violence situation, you are in an emotional state. You lose confidence in yourself, you lose the motivation that you had to survive that you had, so it’s difficult to get back into the workforce (Participant 12).

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The psychological impact of low self-esteem interfered with their motivation and contributed to patterns of negative thinking and self-doubt.

Interpersonal. Survivors described how their interpersonal relationship with their abusive partner became a significant barrier to employment. Many survivors were unable to work entirely because of the controlling nature of their partners. In some cases, survivors were expected to take care of the house, clean, cook, and care for children and denied the opportunity to work. For others who were employed during the abusive relationship, they discussed how abusers sabotaged their jobs. This survivor struggled with physical injuries that pre- vented her from work:

It was times where I would get into fights on occasion with him and I would have to call my work due to bruises my face. I was a customer service representative, so I dealt with customers face-to-face and I didn’t want my customers, my former colleagues, to see bruises and scars so I just had to call my work multiple times (Participant 12).

Other complexities in the relationship between survivors and their abusers also created barriers to employment and help-seeking. In one instance, a sur- vivor’s abusive partner used her precarious immigration status as a threat. This experience contributed to feelings of isolation, shame, and increased fear which prevented her from leaving:

He kicked me a lot but I didn’t call the police…And he’s threatening me about my documentation. He said, he going to take me all of my stuff. So, I have nobody here (Participant 06).

This survivor discussed the challenges of disclosing abuse to her employer and recalled:

Yes, I just had to confide in my general manager, my district manager, and she understood, but it’s certain things that I told her, certain things I just kept to myself because the shame and embarrassment, and I didn’t want to bring my issues from home to work (Participant 12).

The responsibility of caring for children was also major barrier to employ- ment. Survivors overwhelmingly identified their struggles with childcare responsibilities and emphasized that the lack of affordable, safe, and reliable childcare as one the most daunting barrier to employment.

Tarshis 13

And if I wanted to work in a restaurant and actually make money, that would be nights. I applied for lunch shift at some restaurants, but it never worked out. I didn’t have consistent safe childcare at night, I didn’t (Participant 16).

Some survivors were overburdened by the responsibility of caring for numerous children, finding it challenging to manage childcare and employ- ment-related responsibilities. Ultimately, some survivors were unable to focus on their employment or educational needs because they had to priori- tize their children’s well-being. This survivor described it this way:

That’s another one that I’m facing right now. If I start the (employment training program) courses, who will pick up the children from the school? Because I have childcare for the little one, but who is going to pick up the children from school? That’s difficult (Participant 5).

Community

Survivors reflected on several community barriers that interfered with find- ing employment including lack of housing or living in shelter, lack of afford- able childcare, lack of affordable employment training, lack of population-specific services (e.g., LBGTQ-specific), as well as legal and public assistance requirements that contributed to time constraints. Notably, the inaccessibility and lack of employment support programs posed as a major barrier for many survivors. Survivors cited factors such as long wait- lists, high costs, specific eligibility requirements (e.g., immigration status, income level, education level) that restrict those who can enroll. Survivors expressed their wish to find employment support programs, but noted that these services were often unavailable as described by this survivor:

Basically there aren’t any programs, and if there were programs, there are barriers to them… if there was um, a group of two hundred women probably only 10 women would (be eligible; Participant 15).

One survivor noted that while there were some free job training programs, many of them required a certain income level in order to be eligible to participate:

I want to maybe try to do medical billing, something else that is a skill that I can have. That’s something that if you get that, you can get a job in many places, you can work from home, I tried to get into one of those courses and

14 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

they were like, sorry you’re not eligible for the free one, you have to pay thousands of dollars (Participant 16).

Survivors also discussed struggles accessing community-specific services. One commented on the lack of support available for women who are traf- ficked. This survivor described her isolation and struggle to find support ser- vices. She described:

For me I didn’t know about help until I saw on TV, but I remembered in the back of my head, trafficking, that is who is doing this to me and finally realized my situation…I had no one reach out to me when I had problems with abuse or arrest. No one to tell me, nothing (Participant 10).

One survivor who identified as queer commented on the lack of support ser- vices available to survivors in same-sex relationships.

Number one, there’s just an invisibility of violence between same gender couples. There isn’t as much written on it, there isn’t as much organizing. And so I feel like I was vulnerable to that, being like a little bit outside the narrative (Participant 08).

Structural. Survivors described various experiences of structural factors influenced by race, immigration status, gender, age, sexual identity, class, and single-parent status as interfering with employment. Many of these experiences intersected with each other and posed additional challenges to leaving abusive relation- ships and finding employment. One survivor, who identified as a Black, het- erosexual, cisgender female commented on difficulties leaving her abusive Black, cisgender male partner due to intersections of IPV and fear of police brutality. This highlights the complexity for Black couples in abusive rela- tionships about seeking help from the police or law enforcement agencies. Not only was she concerned about her partner being arrested or harmed by the police, she was also worried for her own safety as a Black woman. This survivor set aside her own needs for safety to protect her Black partner, illus- trating the complexity of her experiences and concerns for racial violence. This survivor felt compelled to remain in an abusive relationship that impeded her ability to leave and focus on her career.

So, I shut my mouth…The cops were called to (the) house regularly. I never pressed charges because his mom told me in America, you don’t let a Black man get arrested. So, I dealt with it a little bit more (Participant 09).

Tarshis 15

Intersecting identities of gender and race have implications for employment. One survivor, an immigrant, woman of color reflected on the realities of racial discrimination and employment:

I heard some people talking about their experience, how they couldn’t get a [job] because they were Black (Participant 03).

Notably, nearly half of survivors in this study were immigrants. This aspect of survivors’ intersecting identities created additional barriers to employment. Several immigrant survivors had extensive educational and employment experience in their home countries, but those experience were largely unrecognized by American employers. These factors highlight the additional challenges and impact of immigration on employment-seeking for survivors of IPV. This participant discussed the challenges transitioning to the United States:

My situation was hard and complicated. I was in a new country, with a different language, different tradition, different customs, different attitudes. It’s so different, you have to learn everything, and at 37 years old, it’s not easy (Participant 02).

For some survivors, gender norms including patriarchy and views on wom- en’s employment were problematic and, in some cases, prevented women from seeking higher education or getting a job.

And when it’s bad it’s just toxic. And so, with that being said, even if I wanted to go back to school, I don’t think I had the support. And I wasn’t very vocal at times about what was going on, because in Caribbean culture it’s kind of like, yeah, the man goes out and works, and yeah you stay home and take care of the children (Participant 11).

Several survivors were also single parents and the primary caretakers of their children. This participant recalled being discriminated against during a job interview and was asked whether she had children. She was not offered the job.

The only thing that I have run a lot into is the fact that I have kids… I could do whatever they want me to do. I had interviewers tell me that they wouldn’t hire me because I have kids… I had childcare. But they still wouldn’t take me because they said that they couldn’t take me because they wanted someone else that isn’t going to call out if something happens to the children or anything (Participant 05).

16 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Trans and queer survivors described experiencing significant employment discrimination and systemic inequities. Some participants commented on trans stigma and experienced negative attitudes from employers due to their identity. This trans survivor experienced stigma towards her trans identity while job-seeking:

Sometimes I do feel that, I’m not sure, like I told you I sent 150 résumés, is it because something is wrong with me or is it because something is wrong with the résumé or is it because something is wrong with my gender (Participant 07).

One survivor described the nexus of being trans, involved in sex work, and experiencing incarceration. She described the challenges of transitioning from sex work to mainstream employment:

That’s why I don’t, I, you know, then when it comes to getting a job, after I’ve been a sex worker my whole life, it’s challenging. Because when people ask for a resume, I got no skills. Sex…doesn’t apply in résumés (Participant 13).

Employment supports/facilitators to help secure employment

Individual. Survivors who found employment (n = 10) described processes of individual change and community support that helped them secure employment. Personal processes ranged from improving mental health (e.g., reduced depression and/ or anxiety, identifying trauma), restoring self-esteem, acquiring new skills, and leaving abusive relationships. Many survivors reflected on how improved mental health and the development of personal motivation such as regaining self-esteem, and acquiring skills, work experience, and education helped them find employment.

The motivation. For me, when I was living in the shelter I said, I must find a job, if I don’t have a job, I’m going to stay in the shelter forever until they find me a job. So I had to push myself, every day I had to go to the library, make myself send out résumés and make sure that I sent at least five a day (Participant 07).

Another survivor discussed the significance of having a purpose and personal strength:

Because it is important to have purpose. You must be able … there must be a reason for you to get up and brush your teeth. Must be a reason for you to get up and brush your hair. It sounds primitive how I’m telling you. But if you don’t have a reason to get up and shower, bathe, brush your hair, or a person, a reason, your kid or whatever to live for, you just stop living (Participant 09).

Tarshis 17

This survivor discussed feeling personally empowered. She described:

I think that if somebody feels empowered they know that they can take that next step, they can learn, they are adaptable, if they do feel that way about themselves then they will most definitely, well maybe not most definitely, but most likely apply for a job (Participant 16).

Relational. Another survivor described how the impact of leaving the abusive relation- ship helped regain her confidence and self-esteem. This survivor reflected on what allowed her to pursue a new life violence free and focus on getting a living wage job.

For one, I left my abuser, so I don’t have to live in fear every single second. So, it’s something that I could just be free and enjoy my kids and enjoy my life. The other one is that I have more things to offer. As to a job, I don’t have to go and apply for a little cashier or coffee shop. I have computer skills. So, my self- esteem is a little bit better (Participant 05).

Notably, several survivors discussed the importance of relationships with IPV service providers who supported them while employment-seeking. They commented on supportive staff, who became somewhat of a role model and mentor to women. One survivor described how she came to depend and rely on program staff:

I don’t know how, I depend on them, sometimes I don’t know what to do and I just go, (program staff member], I’m lost, should I do this? She is kind of my mentor and if there was no organization like (name of organization), I really don’t know what to do, maybe I’m lost, and I don’t know what to do (Participant 07).

Another survivor discussed the importance of LGBTQ sensitive organiza- tions and advocating for the needs of LGBTQ survivors of IPV. She described her experiences:

I recognized immediately that she was an advocate for LGBT for women … And there’s a trans program there too now. And I don’t know who does that. But that’s essential also. And umm so I also recognized in her like … that was really important. And so she was my career counselor (Participant 08).

Survivors also commented on the importance of positive and healthy per- sonal relationships (e.g., family, friends, and safe partners) and professional relationships (e.g., role models, mentors, peers) which indirectly contributed to them finding employment.

18 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

And being in an environment where there are people who are focused, there are people who are ambitious, people who are driven, it makes you want to jump on the same wagon… And so being there and being around my peers, there’s so many who are much more established, but I know because I’m already there that I too can attain those things. So, I’m encouraged (Participant 11).

Community. Several survivors discussed the importance of community support (e.g., IPV organizations, public assistance, employment services) that directly or indi- rectly helped them find employment. Survivors described services such as IPV counseling, employment placement programs, childcare assistance, reli- gious communities, and professional networks. Survivors who were eligible for public assistance could apply for a childcare voucher that covered the costs of childcare so women could engage in a formal job training programs. This survivor described the importance of reliable childcare.

I had childcare near where I was in shelter so I was just going back and forth and it was reliable day care from 7:00 to 6:00 p.m., so, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00, so I was able to have him there while I was at (employment training program; Participant 12).

Another commented on the financial support from public assistance that helped support her with transportation, childcare, and professional licensing.

You can go, and they (public assistance) provide you with a Metro card, they provide you with childcare. I think that’s really helpful. Or they go into the … getting license like a CNA or something for … it’s really, these things they really help. I think they’re already out there, the people just have to be more knowledge that those things are existing, and they have to use it (Participant 14).

Several discussed the significance of a sense of belonging to a community with other survivors who experienced violence while in employment programs.

And there were many times that we would meet and we would have lunch but we would talk. And there were women from different states that just shared similar stories. And although our self-esteems were low, we found a common thread. And that strengthened us, telling our stories to each other (Participant 11).

This survivor described the importance of being a part of community of women with shared trans identity:

Tarshis 19

And they are all transgender, and then you make friends from there and then you build a community. You make more friends…So, I made new friends and we go out, have a drink, coffee, and then become closer, and then we exchanged information and they tell me where there are new classes, and exchange more information. I made four or five new close friends, everybody we text (Participant 08).

Survivors described the practical benefits of engagement in employ- ment-related programs. Many programs provided interview preparation, interview attire, professional networking, skills training, and internship opportunities. They discussed the importance of receiving interview prepa- ration at a job training program. Some survivors recalled receiving profes- sional clothing attire from an IPV organization that helped her feel prepared for interviews. One survivor commented that having a crisp new suit helped her land a job:

Because it’s crisp and it’s … the funniest thing is, when I had my interview and I became a little bit more of (name of employer) family, my coordinator and supervisor spoke to me one day and they said, that suit. When you came in and you sat down in that suit, we knew that you were the one (Participant 11).

Structural.

All women who participated in the study provided program and policy rec- ommendations and suggestions around improving employment-related pro- grams for survivors of IPV. Recommendations included more funding for programs, increased access to social supports and services (e.g., childcare onsite, housing support, grants and funding for education), and specialized employment-related training (IT, medical training, workers’ rights). This sur- vivor stressed the importance of expanding assistance with childcare within employment programs. She suggested:

The only thing maybe is the childcare, that they should have it every day for other women that are struggling. Because there are a lot that struggle that don’t have anywhere to take the kids or anything like that (Participant 05).

Survivors highlighted the importance of accessible, specialized training pro- grams. They recommended expanding employment services to include train- ing in healthcare administration, IT, and advanced skills such as coding. This survivor described:

I think that there needs to be skills classes and I know that sounds probably so basic to some people, but offering Windows Office, the things that people

20 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

would use in administrative positions, having that offered and having everybody go through that, if they don’t know it. Yes, and IT is in even greater demand, even bigger I would have them have coding and all that other stuff because that’s something that is hugely in demand (Participant 16).

For many survivors in shelter, finding housing continued to be a struggle. This survivor suggested changes to shelter stays which interfered with her employment training program.

I stayed with the baby for three months. But then after the three months, I had to do training, back to work programs, which is when I came to [IPV organization]. And then I couldn’t finish the cycle because [the shelter system] moved me around three or four times…The shelter, yeah. So, I had to restart all over again the last cycle that happened right now (Participant 05).

Additionally, survivors discussed the importance of expanding existing pro- grams and increasing services for survivors with multiple identities and expe- riences, especially for women in same-sex relationships, trans women, women who have experienced trafficking, as well as survivors without immi- gration status. This survivor commented on the need to expand services for LGBTQ survivors of IPV.

I want (name of service provider) to have a bigger program. Umm, she couldn’t see my partner when my partner first moved here. Because by that time. I mean she was over capacity. How many people can she serve at a given time (Participant 08).

Finally, survivors discussed the need to reducing shame around experiences of violence and discrimination. This participant stated:

I think that people need to stop victim shaming. Just let them know, I’m proud of you for getting out of this, as a society we have to help build these people up and stop pointing fingers at the victim and start… So, as a society, that’s the main thing, stop victim blaming (Participant 16).

Another survivor brought up how trans women face employment discrimina- tion that results in them resorting to survival sex work. She described:

I think a lot of transgender, they can’t find a job, this is what I feel, I believe they cannot find a job then they have no choice, they don’t want to go to the shelter and they need money, then they have to work as a sex worker. So, I believe if the world changed and they give transgenders a chance, I don’t think there are so many sex workers for transgender (Participant 07).

T a b

le 2

. M

ul ti le

ve l B

ar ri

er s

an d

Fa ci

lit at

o rs

t o E

m pl

o ym

en t

fo r

Su rv

iv o rs

o f IP

V .

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ri er

s to

E m

pl o ym

en t

Fa ci

lit at

o rs

t o E

m pl

o ym

en t

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vi du

al

M en

ta l h

ea lt h

(e .g

., de

pr es

si o n,

a nx

ie ty

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um a

& P

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/t ra

um a)

C ri

m in

al b

ac kg

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a nd

s el

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m a

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l h ea

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rp er

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lt Ex

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in g

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r o le

m o de

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t he

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m ar

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m a

bu si

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m em

be rs

Sa fe

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in ti m

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ne rs

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pp o rt

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em be

rs Po

si ti ve

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m o de

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en to

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fo rm

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.g .,

em pl

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ce p

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in g

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(c o n ti

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m pl

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ch ild

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sh el

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es o lv

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l c as

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ew er

c o ur

t ap

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ct ur

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ve rt

y D

is cr

im in

at io

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.g .,

se xi

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ac is

m ,

tr an

sp ho

bi a,

h o m

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a) So

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c ul

tu ra

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am e

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en ti ty

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is su

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at io

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o ve

rt y

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ea se

d fu

nd in

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en t

pr o gr

am s

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ea se

d ac

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t o e

m pl

o ym

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pr o gr

am

R ai

si ng

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ch al

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in g

so ci

al a

nd c

ul tu

ra l

no rm

s ar

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d vi

o le

nc e

an d

ge nd

er in

eq ui

ty

T a b

le 2

. co

n ti

n u

ed

Tarshis 23

Discussion

The article aims to explore and conceptualize the experiences of employ- ment-seeking survivors of IPV. It is based on data collected from the study and emphasizes the unique experiences of employment-seeking survivors of IPV including experiences of oppression and contextual barriers and sup- ports. The article also builds mid-level theory and outlines implications and recommendations for practice.

A key contribution of this study is its social ecological (CDC, 2020) view of employment-seeking, which recognizes both the internal and the broader societal impacts of violence on employment. This study adds to the previous research by considering the unique experiences of employment-seeking sur- vivors at the individual, relational, community, and structural levels. These dimensions intersect and interact with one another to produce specific, indi- vidual instances of economic abuse and barriers to employment that are per- vasive across all dimensions. The study findings also confirm previous research that highlights barriers to employment and expands on them by comprehensively describing the multiple barriers and supports needed for survivors to secure employment (Chronister & McWhirter, 2004, 2006; Davidson et al., 2012; Lantrip et al., 2015). This study builds on the research by systematically conceptualizing multilevel barriers and facilitators at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and structural) levels which directly relate to employment-seeking. It also identifies over 30 barriers to employ- ment at each level (see Table 2). Some of the most pervasive barriers occurred at the intrapersonal level include depression, anxiety, trauma, low self- esteem, and lack of confidence. In line with previous research, nearly all survivors spoke about the impact of IPV on their self-esteem that influenced employment-seeking processes (Albaugh & Nauta, 2005; Davidson et al., 2012). All survivors who were able to find employment reported that getting a job was a significant factor in improving their self-esteem and overall well- being. This suggests there is a bidirectional relationship between self-esteem/ well-being and finding employment.

At the interpersonal and community level, some of the most significant facilitators that assisted survivors in finding employment included interper- sonal relationships (e.g., peers, mentors, role models, healthy relationships) and community supports available through community employment pro- grams. For example, job training programs that provided résumé assistance, interview preparation (e.g., mock interviews), interview attire, job placement assistance, and internship programs were considered very valuable to survi- vors. Survivors also discussed how confidence and self-esteem can be nur- tured through various relational experiences (e.g., leaving abusive

24 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

relationship, forming positive relationships, connecting with peers). This study highlights the importance of peer support among survivors seeking employment which is consistent with previous IPV research (Postmus et al., 2018; Tolman & Wang, 2005). Interestingly, community resources such as public assistance was considered both a barrier and support to finding employment, a view that has also been documented in research (Peled & Krigel, 2016; Meisel et al., 2003; Staggs et al., 2007). Some survivors dis- cussed the benefits of programs such as childcare assistance, food stamps, and housing that addressed immediate needs while seeking employment. However, other survivors described the challenges of public assistance pro- grams including program restrictions and constraints, as well as the stigma associated with being a welfare recipient.

Another key contribution of the study is the intersectional perspective (Hill Collins, 2000) into the employment-seeking experiences of survivors of IPV which has been missing in the research yet recommended by previous studies (Davila et al., 2017; Edwards et al., 2015). This study included expe- riences of women who identify as a racial minority, immigrant, trans, and/or queer, and explored how they are impacted by larger sociopolitical contexts. The research highlights insights on the multiple intersections of oppressions (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia) and intragroup differences of survivors which is influenced by other dimen- sions of identity (Crenshaw, 1989; Mizock & Mueser, 2014).

This intersectional lens illustrates the pervasive systemic racism (social, political), and employment discrimination (e.g., overlooked for jobs, over- representation in low paid service jobs) also adds to previous research. It also provides insight into experiences of immigrant survivors and their com- pounded and intersecting oppressions related to race, class, citizenship, lan- guage, and cultural perspectives when seeking employment. All participants in this study spoke English, but many as a second language, a factor that often further marginalized them during the search for employment. Without English proficiency, the benefit of work experience in the United States, or recog- nized educational credentials (e.g., degrees from non-Western countries), survivors faced even greater barriers to attaining living wage employment.

Queer and trans survivors described additional experiences of intersecting stigma while employment-seeking as a result their identities. The theoretical concept of intersectional stigma found in public health research explains how discrimination is experienced differentially by people at the intersection of their race, class, gender, and sexuality, among other parts of their identities (Logie et al., 2019). This approach may be particularly useful for understand- ing the experiences of diverse employment-seeking survivors of IPV. Insights from the few trans survivors that participated in the study found they faced

Tarshis 25

widespread forms of employment and workplace stigma through harassment and discriminatory policies which mirror previous research (Mizock & Mueser, 2014). Strikingly, employers and prospective employers explicitly and implicitly discriminate against trans women by not hiring them for jobs they are qualified for or by conveying negative attitudes, behaviors, and per- ceptions towards them at work. Trans survivors also described fewer employ- ment opportunities, most of which were limited to certain employment sectors (e.g., beauty industry, sex work, housekeeping, healthcare) due to the pervasive stigma against trans women. For sex workers in particular, it can be difficult to transition from sex work to the mainstream labor market without practical training, education, and IT skills.

Implications for Theory, Practice, and Research

While there has been a decisive call to enhance research, policies, and pro- grams to meet the employment needs of survivors of IPV, to date there has been insufficient attention to career counseling and employment-related interventions in social work practice and research. There is a strong need for empirical research to further develop a knowledge base to inform IPV research, policy, and practice. The current study expands on existing IPV and employment conceptual models by considering an intersectional and social ecological perspective to deepen an understanding of employment-seeking. The social ecological model is frequently employed in IPV and a significant practice model that examines individuals within contexts of their social dimensions and applicable in employment-seeking contexts (CDC, 2020). It is also recommended that researchers, service providers, and policymakers consider multilevel employment interventions that address intersectional forms of stigma. Specific interventions include career counseling, career development and planning, education and training, and community efforts such as raising awareness and challenging employment discrimination related to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia.

Several policies are also very beneficial to IPV survivors. The Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) and Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) offered protection to those particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation (Ortega & Busch-Armendariz, 2013; Tahirih Justice Center, 2017). Legislation such as VAWA and TVPA are important to intersectional IPV services especially for female survivors that are also immigrants, LGBTQ and offer additional protection and support. It is also important to note that US policies at the structural/societal are of importance such as paid parental leave, equal pay, and increasing the minimum wage and valuable to IPV survivors. Policies and interventions should also be cognizant that for

26 Journal of Interpersonal Violence

some survivors in crisis (e.g., recently leaving abuse), finding employment may be delayed until they have established safety and stability.

Existing IPV services need to better understand the experiences of women with varied social locations in order to help them find living wage, and safe and stable employment. For example, current employment-related interven- tions have not been able to fully integrate the needs of trans and queer survi- vors into mainstream IPV services. These findings suggest that IPV service providers should extend and expand employment support services to address barriers and intersecting stigma of survivors with differing identities and experiences. They may also consider a trauma-informed lens to employment- service provision that attends to racial and gender trauma. A better under- standing of intersectionality and intersectional stigma can also inform the development and implementation of population-specific programs and poli- cies to better meet women’s needs.

Limitations

While the study is one of the first to explore IPV and experiences of oppres- sion of survivors who are job-seeking, there are limitations to the research. One limitation is the small yet diverse sample size (n = 16). While this study provides important information, these findings are not generalizable to other populations. All survivors lived in a major urban center that is rich in resources and program opportunities; thus, these findings are limited to women in resource-rich areas. Also, despite capturing the varied social loca- tions of survivors, purposive sampling with too many categories such as immigrants, heterosexual, queer, cisgender/trans may limit the ability to draw definitive conclusions about women with those specific IPV identities. Another potential limitation is that since survivors were recruited from IPV agencies, it is possible that survivors referred were at a more stable time in their lives (e.g., not in emergency or crisis shelter). All survivors had left their abusive partners and many had secured employment or were actively job- seeking and engaged in services. This could contribute to influence their dis- cussions about self-confidence and empowerment.

Conclusion

This study focuses on the complexity of employment-seeking from the narra- tives of 16 survivors of IPV and explores how their experiences are shaped by abuse, social identities, and structural inequities. This research extends knowl- edge on IPV by exploring the multidimensional experiences of survivors and builds theory on the intersecting experiences of employment-seeking and

Tarshis 27

violence. Findings highlight the interplay between intrapersonal, interper- sonal, community, structural barriers, and intersectional stigma in employ- ment-seeking, as well as supports necessary to help survivors find employment, including recommendations for employment services. This study consolidates insights from survivors to inform IPV practitioners, advocates, and research- ers on the intersecting challenges seeking employment and specific barriers and supports needed to help them secure safe employment.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The author is grateful for funding support from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) doctoral award.

ORCID iD

Sarah Tarshis https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6373-590X

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Author Biography

Sarah Tarshis, MSW, is a postdoctoral fellow at Carleton University School of Social Work. Her research interests focus on intimate partner violence (IPV), employ- ment, trauma, and social work education and practice. Her research and program development are informed by over 10 years of community-based practice in Canada and the US.

Articles/Tlapek et al, 2021, A Process to Identify and Address Barriers to Providing Financial Capability Programming to Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894211031484

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services 1 –13 © The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/10443894211031484 journals.sagepub.com/home/fis

Special Issue Article

Introduction

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) have a pressing need for services to strengthen their economic situation, which can ultimately reduce their vulnerability to abuse. Domestic and sexual violence (DSV) agencies are capable of providing financial capability and asset building (FCAB) programming, or interven- tions which can help survivors strengthen finan- cial life skills and economic self-efficacy as an

1031484 FISXXX10.1177/10443894211031484Families in SocietyTlapek et al. research-article2021

1MSW, MID, PhD, assistant teaching professor, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA 2LMSW, CRAADC, research assistant, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA 3MSW, LCSW, PhD, assistant professor, University of Texas at Arlington, USA

Corresponding Author: Sarah Myers Tlapek, assistant teaching professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri, 729 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO 65211-4470, USA. Email: [email protected]

A Process to Identify and Address Barriers to Providing Financial Capability Programming to Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Sarah Myers Tlapek1 , Leslie Hannah Knott2, and Rachel Voth Schrag3

Abstract Financial dependence on an abusive partner is a threat to long-term safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. This study piloted a process to identify and address barriers to implementation of financial capability and asset building (FCAB) programming for survivors in one domestic and sexual violence agency. A tiered implementation approach included (a) a participatory diagnostic evaluation with clients (n = 10), staff (n = 10), and stakeholders (n = 3); (b) an expert panel to prioritize the barriers and propose implementation strategies; and (c) the development of a tailored action plan. The formative evaluation identified limited staff financial knowledge, self-efficacy, and incentives as barriers. The tailored action plan included research-tested implementation strategies: (a) conduct ongoing training for staff, (b) identify “champions,” and (c) change the record system. Monitoring and evaluation of the action plan is ongoing; the process provides a replicable method for social service agencies to improve FCAB programming and to ultimately improve economic conditions for clients.

Keywords financial capacity, human capital, social capital, intimate partner violence, financial capability, financial literacy, service provision, abuse/neglect/violence

Manuscript received: February 15, 2021; Revised: May 10, 2021; Accepted: June 15, 2021

Disposition co-editor: Christine Callahan, Jin Huang, and Margaret Sherraden

2 Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

important means of achieving independence and maintaining safety and well-being (Ah Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Postmus et al., 2015). Yet, FCAB programming is not consistently being implemented, creating a gap in service for clients. There is little to no research examining the reasons behind the failure to provide FCAB programming, although implementation sci- ence provides ample tools for evaluating chal- lenges to implementation. This case study addressed these important gaps in research and practice knowledge, describing the process by which we adapted a procedure from the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) to apply a tiered implementation approach to enhancing uptake of FCAB programming in the novel setting of one DSV agency (Curran et al., 2008). The process piloted in this case study for assessing determinants of practice and making recommendations for programming will con- tribute to the development of a model for more effective and sustainable implementation of FCAB interventions in the context of IPV ser- vice agencies.

Background/Literature Review

Researchers estimate that one in three women experience physical violence, stalking, or rape from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011). IPV, also known as domestic violence, is defined by a pattern of abusive behavior used by a partner to exert con- trol over the other. IPV carries long-lasting and serious consequences for survivors including poor physical and mental health, drastic disrup- tions to daily functioning, material hardship, housing instability, and lower financial earning potential (Adams et al., 2012; Black et al., 2011). Women who have experienced IPV are more likely to have faced eviction from their homes, have been homeless, have had utilities turned off, and have faced food insecurities within the past year (Tolman & Rosen, 2001).

Economic IPV

Some abusive partners exert control over a woman’s financial resources, attempting to

make her financially dependent by withholding money, sabotaging credit, or disrupting employment or education; one recent study found that 93% of IPV victims living in a domestic violence shelter experienced eco- nomic abuse (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012; VothSchrag et al., 2020). Women who have been economically dependent on an abusive partner are less likely to leave an abu- sive relationship, their risk of mistreatment may be greater, and they may experience nega- tive consequences such as mental health prob- lems, relationship difficulties, or material hardship (Postmus et al., 2012, 2013; Voth- Schrag et al., 2019).

FCAB for IPV Survivors

Social work’s person-in-environment concept acknowledges that focusing on individual behavior is not enough to promote well-being; individuals are embedded within social insti- tutions, and change efforts must target both (Kondrat, 2013). Therefore, many scholars and practitioners have adopted the FCAB approach to addressing poverty and inequal- ity: working to increase access to financial opportunity by changing institutions while simultaneously continuing efforts to assist individuals (Huang et al., 2017). The goal of FCAB interventions is for people to develop both (a) the ability and (b) the opportunity to improve their financial well-being (Johnson & Sherraden, 2007; Sherraden, 2013). Accordingly, FCAB programs or interven- tions typically focus on strengthening one or both of these.

Researchers who study financial strength- ening for IPV survivors rarely use the termi- nology of FCAB (with a few exceptions, for example, Sanders, 2013); however, a review of existing evidence on financial interventions indicates that they include both ability- and opportunity-strengthening interventions (Ah Hahn & Postmus, 2014). Ability-strengthen- ing interventions work to build financial knowledge and skills and often involve train- ing with a standardized curriculum for finan- cial literacy which incorporates knowledge related to financial abuse and economic rem-

Tlapek et al. 3

edies specifically aimed at IPV survivors. Per- haps the most widely implemented of these is the Allstate Foundation’s Moving Ahead Cur- riculum, formerly known as Purple Purse; the curriculum covers financial basics, the essen- tials of financial abuse, credit, and financial planning and has been found to improve financial knowledge and behavior and reduce financial strain (Postmus et al., 2015; Postmus et al., 2013). The REAP (Realizing your Eco- nomic Action Plan) curriculum, which was developed to provide financial literacy educa- tion in the context of IPV, poverty, and oppres- sion, has also been used in IPV-focused agencies and has been found to be effective at enhancing survivors’ financial self-efficacy (Sanders et al., 2007; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). Research on programs to increase sur- vivors’ opportunities to act in their own finan- cial interest is more limited, but several studies support the efficacy of interventions to improve access to financial services and to accumulate assets (Sanders, 2014; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006).

Study Significance/Gaps in Knowledge

Researchers have identified economic vulner- ability as an issue of concern for female IPV survivors, particularly in rural areas (Bender, 2016; Sanders, 2014; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006). Yet, despite widespread recognition of the impact of economic dependence and abuse in the lives of IPV survivors and significant efforts from national advocacy organizations, there has been limited implementation of FCAB programming in DSV agencies (state coalition staff, personal communication, Feb- ruary 2, 2021). Implementation science is the systematic study of methods that promote the implementation into practice of research- tested interventions and has been used to improve professional practice in health care settings (Baker et al., 2015; Eccles et al., 2009). However, there has been little effort to date to employ implementation science to improve DSV service provision (Edmond & Voth Schrag, 2017; Iverson et al., 2020).. This gap between research and practice means that many women are not receiving potentially

life-saving assistance. Thus, this study addresses that gap with a novel collaborative implementation research case study in a DSV agency setting.

Quality Enhancement Methods, Process, and Results

This research study received approval from the relevant Institutional Review Board. All participants gave written consent to partici- pate in the study.

Intervention

FCAB programming for IPV survivors is defined here not as one manualized evidence- supported treatment; rather, in this study, we operationalize FCAB programming for survi- vors as the agency’s provision of any of a num- ber of interventions from a menu1 of interventions supported by empirical research. In this deci- sion, we are influenced by the voluntary, survi- vor-centered model of service provision which is central to practice in many DSV agencies (Davies & Lyon, 2014). This model emphasizes partnership between survivors and advocates (nonclinical DSV agency staff) in which diverse survivors with a variety of experiences and needs develop their own goals for service and engage in those services on a voluntary basis. The approach is influenced by a theoretical ori- entation to a feminist empowerment frame which assumes that economic abuse is a way to assert masculine privilege with the goal to estab- lish control and break down a victim’s autonomy and self-efficacy (Stark, 2007); therefore, inter- ventions with survivors should aim to “undo” the use of power and control (Wood et al., 2020). Accordingly, we hypothesize that for agencies using a survivor-led approach, implementation efforts should aim for changes in the way DSV service agencies offer a range of FCAB inter- ventions rather than one single evidence-sup- ported treatment.

Procedure and Design

The adoption of evidence-based practices may be influenced by a number of facilitators

4 Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

or barriers, collectively referred to as determi- nants of practice. Identifying determinants of practice and developing a tailored action plan composed of planned strategies to address them is a common method shown to improve professional practice (Baker et al., 2015). One established process for doing this was pub- lished under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Quality Enhancement Research Ini- tiative (QUERI) (see Curran et al., 2008). Our single-site, nonexperimental design case study provides a description of piloting this approach in a DSV agency. We expanded the QUERI-tiered implementation approach pro- cess into three distinct phases: (a) a participa- tory diagnostic evaluation, (b) convening of an expert panel, and (c) the development of a tailored action plan. A manuscript describing a final phase to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the action plan is forth- coming.

Setting

The DSV agency partner in this study (hereafter referred to as “the Agency”) is a not-for-profit, private 501(c)(3) domestic violence agency that provides safe shelter, crisis hot line services, intensive case management, counseling, court advocacy, referral services, and education pro- grams. The agency is located in a small semi- urban center with three primarily rural counties as its service area and frequently serves both residential and nonresidential clients from a mix of rural and urban settings. The Agency hires between 20 and 25 part-time and full-time staff. For the current study, agency staff and leadership self-identified limited FCAB pro- gramming as an area for study in a researcher– practitioner partnership and remained engaged throughout the research process.

At the start of the study, in 2018, the Agency did not provide any standardized ongoing programming for FCAB. Regarding economic advocacy, Agency staff discussed clients’ financial needs in a number of differ- ence contexts (e.g., residential/emergency shelter, nonresidential, and case management) but without a defined service model nor tar- gets for economic advocacy. Although a stan-

dardized intake form noted potential needs related to employment, housing, and financial needs (such as transportation or childcare) and “budgeting,” other needs such as financial safety planning were not included.

Phase I: Participatory Diagnostic Evaluation With Clients, Staff, and Stakeholders

The first phase of the study was to complete a participatory diagnostic formative evaluation of the Agency between March and September 2018. We followed expert guidance to improve the identification of determinants of practice during the formative evaluation by using a structured method of assessment such as an exhaustive checklist of determinants of practice (Flottorp et al., 2013) and multiple methods to solicit information including brainstorming, interviews, and structured group discussions (Baker et al., 2015; Krause et al., 2014).

Sampling/population. Twenty-three staff, cli- ents, and stakeholders of the Agency partici- pated in the formative evaluation. Agency leadership assisted with identifying partici- pants. During a staff meeting, Agency leader- ship informed Agency staff of the study and the voluntary nature of participation. Stake- holders were community members with some previous or current affiliation or employment with the Agency, who were invited to volun- tarily participate in the study. The research team attended two sessions of a weekly ther- apy group to explain the study’s purpose and procedures to clients who self-selected to vol- untarily participate.

The majority of participants (87%) were Caucasian, 9% were African American, and 4% Hispanic. All participants identified as female. Participating staff (n = 10) and stake- holders (n = 3) had worked at the Agency for a mean of 5 years and had 8 years of experi- ence in DSV work on average. Clients of the residential program (n = 3) had an average stay of 4 months; nonresidential clients (n = 7) had been affiliated with the Agency for a mean of 20.8 months.

Tlapek et al. 5

Measurement. Guides for the focus group dis- cussion and the in-depth interviews with staff and stakeholders were based on interview guides by Krause et al. (2014), adapted using multiple rounds of review from Agency lead- ership. For use in brainstorming determinants of practice, the research team also developed a checklist of potentially relevant determi- nants (Krause et al., 2014) based on Flottrop et al. (2013) with consideration of concepts from the widely utilized Consolidated Frame- work for Implementation Research (Damsch- roder et al., 2009). The final checklist included 24 determinants of practice organized into five categories (see Table 1 and Supplemental Appendix A).

The client interview guides were based on an assessment of FCAB programming con- ducted in a neighboring state (VonDeLinde, 2002). The interview guides aimed to assess client needs around FCAB as well as previous experiences with FCAB programming from DSV agencies with questions such as: “What worries you most about your money needs?” and “What, if any, help have you received for your needs around money?”

Procedures and data collection. After planning meetings with the Agency leadership, the research team conducted a focus group dis- cussion with Agency staff from residential and nonresidential services (n = 8). The focus group began with an open brainstorming ses- sion on barriers and facilitators to FCAB pro- gramming and then participants were provided

with the checklists of common determinants of practice to prompt additional discussion. The focus group was audio recorded and lasted approximately 60 min.

In-depth interviews with staff (n = 2) and stakeholders (n = 3) used the same format (open-brainstorming, checklists, discussion) as the focus group discussion. Each interview was audio recorded and lasted between 30 and 60 min. In-depth interviews with residential (n = 3) and nonresidential (n = 7) clients of the Agency explored clients’ own financial needs and worries and the effectiveness of agency programming to address each of these. In addition, the research team reviewed the outline of the modules in the Purple Purse curriculum to prompt discussion on the rele- vance of each topic. Clients gave written con- sent, and interviews between 20 and 40 min in duration were audio recorded. All staff, stake- holder, and client participants in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews received a gift card for their participation.

Analysis. The research team conducted a rapid qualitative analysis of the formative evalua- tion data from the structured group discus- sion and individual interviews using NVivo 12 technology (QSR International Pty Ltd, 2018). Each transcript was given a unique identification number. Informed by theoreti- cal frameworks and the literature review to provide relevant context, the research team reviewed transcripts as they became avail- able, using an inductive approach to thematic

Table 1. Determinants of Practice Assessed by the Formative Evaluation.

Categories of determinants Examples of specific factors in each category

Characteristics of the intervention Quality of evidence, Cultural appropriateness, Feasibility, Compatibility, Effort

Staff factors Knowledge about intervention, Skills to implement, Intention and motivation, Self-efficacy

Client factors Client needs, Client beliefs and knowledge, Client motivation Agency factors Leadership support, Availability of resources, Incentives, Agency’s

learning climate External factors Legislation, Funder policies, Influential people, Network support

Source. Adapted from Damschroder et al. (2009) and Flottorp, Oxman, Krause, Musila, Wensing, Godycki-Cwirko, & Eccles (2013).

6 Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

analysis to identify salient themes. These transcripts and themes were cross-checked to develop consensus. Themes and information were organized into patterns which were reflective of the domains of the checklist of determinants (Curran et al., 2008; Krause, et al., 2014).

The research team then created tables of barriers and facilitators for each category (i.e., intervention, client, staff, agency, and external factors) (Curran et al., 2008). These tables mapped the formative evaluation results onto the determinants of practice, with each deter- minant including a definition, quote, and explanation of how the factor had been identi- fied in the formative evaluation data (see Table 2 for an example).

In addition to the barrier and facilitator tables, the research team also organized the 22 determinants of practice identified in the formative evaluation into a matrix which included columns for “likely impact” and “priority ranking,” and which included sev- eral potential implementation strategies for each determinant, identified from a pub- lished compilation (Powell et al., 2015). Experts recommend using a systematic method for the complex task of matching implementation strategies to identified deter- minants of practice in behavioral health research; our process was influenced by key principles of Intervention Mapping as we sought to incorporate theory, evidence, and stakeholder data into each recommendation for potential implementation strategies (Powell et al., 2017).

Results. The barriers and facilitators to the implementation of FCAB programming at the Agency are summarized here by type of fac-

tor. Detailed results of the formative evalua- tion are available as a Supplemental Table.

Intervention factors: The successful and effective implementation of an FCAB interven- tion depends heavily on its timing, sequencing, and delivery. Three key factors related to the intervention were identified as influencing the implementation of FCAB programming: feasibility, the timing/sequencing of program- ming, and the delivery person. Regarding fea- sibility, clients and staff noted the complexity of client schedules and lives and the difficulty of adding new commitments and reported that logistics matter to facilitate participa- tion in any programming. Regarding timing/ sequencing, clients and staff believed that uti- lization of programming will be more likely if it is presented at the right time (i.e., when it’s most needed). Similarly, clients must be in the right “frame” of mind to hear/receive this kind of help: in the early stages of help- seeking some clients may feel overwhelmed emotionally and cognitively and unable to dis- cuss economic concerns. As one client noted, “Especially when you come out of a situation like this, your head’s a mess.” Finally, partici- pants noted that for both financial literacy and economic advocacy, the person delivering the intervention matters. However, there was no clear consensus on the “right” delivery per- son, although all agreed that knowledge of the content was necessary. Some indicated belief that clients work best with staff they trust while others preferred external stakeholder involvement.

Client factors: Financial capability program- ming must address both clients’ real and per- ceived needs and must be responsive to varying

Table 2. Example Items From Barriers and Facilitators Table for Development Panel.

Determinant Flottorp et al. definition Results Quotes

Staff knowledge about financial empowerment

The extent to which the staff have pre-existing knowledge or expertise about economic empowerment

Staff lack knowledge about financial capability, particularly around more complex topics (four participants)

“I mean, I don’t even understand it . . . . Mortgage applications, investments, insurance, banking. I don’t know anything about those.” (Staff member)

Tlapek et al. 7

levels of client knowledge and readiness. The key client factors identified as influencing the implementation of FCAB programming were related to client needs and client knowl- edge. Implementation is unlikely to be suc- cessful unless the intervention responds to the clients’ needs. Nearly half of participants indicated that financial literacy programming or advocacy may not get at the fundamental problem experienced by many clients: insuf- ficient financial resources. Staff and clients also noted that many clients perceive that other nonfinancial needs are more pressing. One staff member noted, “when they’re at the shelter, they have so many other issues . . . finances, I think, are at the bottom of their list.” Several staff also reported their percep- tion that some clients are not aware of their need for FCAB interventions.

Client beliefs and knowledge have the potential to act as a barrier to implementation when client financial literacy is extremely low; differences in client knowledge levels may also act as a barrier. Several staff who had provided financial literacy programming in the past reported that it was complicated by clients’ wide range of educational back- grounds and existing financial knowledge/ practices. Clients reported desiring instruction tailored for their level of knowledge; as this client explained: “Don’t just hand me a pam- phlet and tell me, ‘Here you go!’”

Staff factors: Staff’s own limited financial literacy and self-efficacy is a barrier to deliver- ing FCAB programming. Although a number of staff reported examples of working with clients on financial matters, they identified limited financial knowledge, skills, and self- efficacy as key factors limiting the implemen- tation of FCAB programming at the Agency. Many staff members indicated that reluctance to discuss financial topics with clients came from their own lack of confidence: “I’ll admit myself, I’m not very savvy at doing numbers.” There were mixed reports regarding staff moti- vation: Some staff appeared highly motivated but felt constrained by limited skills. Others were hesitant, noting that their workload and other obligations compete with time for FCAB programming. Conversely, results indicated

that staff factors were potential facilitators to implementation: Clients perceived Agency staff as helpful and motivated to provide assis- tance, and participants noted that certain staff members would excel at FCAB programming with the appropriate training.

Agency factors: Culture and climate are condu- cive to learning, yet organizational factors may limit FCAB programming. In identifying agency fac- tors influencing implementation, participants largely noted facilitators such as leadership support, learning climate, and the availabil- ity of resources. Staff participants expressed overwhelming consensus that agency leader- ship supported evidence-based programming, promoted a positive learning climate in the Agency, and were motivated to support staff in new programming areas. Yet, client and staff responses indicated that certain organizational factors to promote FCAB programming may be missing; for example, one staff member noted: “There are no disincentives, but the only incentive I have is the gratification,” some clients felt that FCAB programming was not offered proactively, and other staff noted lim- ited human resources as a barrier to implemen- tation of FCAB programming.

External factors: External support for FCAB programming is available in limited quantities and underutilized. Most of the external fac- tors influencing implementation identified in the formative evaluation acted as barriers. Participating staff indicated that the support for FCAB from the state coalition could be stronger, as there had been very limited com- munication on this topic in recent years. Staff also indicated an interest in peer networks or learning communities to provide a forum for questions, feedback, ongoing knowledge, or updates regarding financial literacy curricula.

Phase II: Convening of an Expert Panel to Prioritize Determinants of Practice and Propose Implementation Strategies

Once the formative evaluation data had been analyzed and organized into the matrices, we

8 Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

convened an interdisciplinary team to review the findings of the formative evaluation and make recommendations for a tailored action plan (Curran et al., 2008). This interdisciplin- ary team consisted of staff from the Agency (n = 2), research expert in implementation sci- ence (n = 1), intervention-area content experts (n = 2), and the research team, as recom- mended to improve the likelihood that evi- dence-based interventions selected will fit with the agency (Curran et al., 2008).

The research team sent the agenda, tables and matrices of formative evaluation results, and background documents on the process for matching implementation strategies to the members of the development panel by email prior to meeting in person. The meeting of the development panel took place in a location central to all participants and lasted approxi- mately 2 hr. The process began with a review of barrier and facilitator tables and discussion of the determinants of practice identified in the formative evaluation. After discussing these results, the panel examined the matrix of the 22 determinants of practice. To guide the pri- oritizing of determinants, each item on the list was examined for feasibility and the perceived impact of addressing it; the suggested imple- mentation strategies were also discussed. Based on the matrix and ensuring panel dis- cussion, the panel highlighted five determi- nants of practice as important to address: (a) staff financial skills, (b) staff financial self- efficacy, (c) (dis)incentives for FCAB pro- gramming, (d) connections to other agencies doing similar programming, and (e) connec- tions with influential external stakeholders.

Acknowledging the multilevel influences on implementation, the panel of experts hypothesized that the most impactful changes in FCAB programming implementation would likely result by targeting changes in the characteristics of the individuals involved (staff financial knowledge and self-efficacy) and processes (intake forms and processes that limit economic advocacy). The develop- ment panel meeting was audio recorded. The process of incorporating the panel’s recom- mendations into a tailored action plan is described in the next section.

Phase III: Development of a Tailored Action Plan

A tailored action plan is developed to respond to determinants of practice identified in the forma- tive evaluation and consists of a set of imple- mentation strategies, that is, “methods or techniques used to enhance the adoption, imple- mentation, and sustainability of a program or practice” that are frequently combined for a “package” approach (Proctor et al., 2013). This step was conducted via meetings between the research team and Agency leadership. Selected content experts from the development panel also contributed feedback to draft versions of the tailored action plan via email and phone calls. The research team first reviewed the tran- script of the development panel meeting and the notes from the discussions regarding the priori- tization of determinants of practice.

In considering potential implementation strategies for the action plan, the research team considered the implementation strate- gies initially included in the matrix for inclu- sion; other strategies suggested by the development panel during discussion were also considered. Priority was given to strate- gies which were feasible for the Agency given available human and financial resources and which target the Agency’s organizational readiness to implement programming and individual staff knowledge and actions.

Three strategies were selected for the action plan: (a) conduct ongoing training, (b) identify agency staff “champions” to promote implementation from within the agency, and (c) change the record system (intake forms and case notes). The strategy of ongoing train- ing was included to address both staff finan- cial knowledge and staff financial self-efficacy. Per recommendation from one of the content experts on the development panel, the research team identified publicly available training materials developed by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (2015), Your Money Your Goals: A Financial Empowerment Toolkit for Social Services Programs for all staff training under the tailored action plan.

The second strategy, to identify “champi- ons,” refers to the practice of identifying key

Tlapek et al. 9

staff members within an agency who are likely to have particular need or use for the proposed intervention and who will therefore be willing to learn it first and then “champion” or promote it among their colleagues (Damschroder et al., 2009). In the case of the Agency under study, a case manager and the housing case manager were proposed as their positions frequently require advocacy with clients around financial support needs. Agency leadership agreed these individuals should receive FCAB-related pro- fessional development opportunities in an ongoing fashion.

The third strategy was selected to address the challenges in motivation and incentives around FCAB and economic advocacy. The development panel recommended modifica- tions to the intake form used regularly in case management, hypothesizing this would remind agency staff to ask about financial issues and increase the likelihood of staff offering economic advocacy. All DSV agen- cies in the state are encouraged to collect outcomes data once per month by sampling clients who are receiving services at the time; for Strategy 3, the Agency agreed to add new FCAB-related questions to the out- comes survey: Items included questions regarding satisfaction with help recognizing the signs of financial abuse, and help with budgeting, saving, or setting financial goals. Finally, the Agency agreed to create a new service category, Financial Literacy Educa- tion, in the database used to collect data on service provision.

Discussion

Results presented here from the first three of four total phases of this implementation case study indicate that it is feasible to apply imple- mentation science methods to examine the uptake of FCAB programming in a DSV agency setting. The process described here highlights what implementation research looks like in a real-world agency setting where pro- gram activities, staffing, and even a global pandemic (COVID-19) may affect research activities. The nascent application of imple- mentation science to work with IPV survivors has largely been in large, institutional settings

(Iverson et al., 2019, 2020), yet we demon- strate that it is possible to develop an action plan, tailored to a small agency setting, which addresses the barriers to implementation spe- cific and unique to the context. Similarly, we show that it is possible to adapt the QUERI process to respond to real-world challenges (Curran et al., 2008).

Implications for Practice

The final phase of the study, to implement, monitor, and evaluate the tailored action plan, will provide important data on the preliminary effectiveness of implementing the recommen- dations of the development panel. Regardless of those outcomes, our process thus far allowed our team to identify a number of determinants of practice which facilitate the implementation of FCAB programming in this setting. Although specific to the agency under study, these findings may have potential implications for agencies seeking to improve FCAB service provision, regardless of engagement in the implementation process outlined here. Many of the determinants of practice are likely rele- vant to other DSV agencies, and a number of these may also be relevant for other service agencies outside of the DSV sector, particu- larly small, community-based agencies which tend to have flat organizational structures and minimal broader oversight.

Notably, facilitators include clients with interest in strengthening FCAB, motivated staff, strong leadership, an agency culture and climate conducive to learning and new pro- gramming, and community support for the agency. Innovative FCAB programs for survi- vors have recorded similar factors (e.g., com- mitment to knowledge, strong leadership) as essential to their success (Sanders & Schna- bel, 2006). Survivor-serving agencies with one or more of these facilitators may be better prepared for introducing new FCAB program- ming or strengthening any that exists. Several of these concepts (e.g., culture and climate) have been operationalized for other settings (e.g., Lehman et al., 2002), and these mea- sures may be incorporated into future research to further quantify the factors which affect FCAB implementation in DSV settings. To

10 Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

additionally improve future studies, research- ers should follow expert guidance for more systematic matching of strategies to determi- nants of practice (Powell et al., 2017).

The study also identified substantial barri- ers to the implementation of FCAB program- ming, such as inappropriate timing of implementation, programming not meeting clients’ actual financial needs (e.g., income), logistical barriers such as childcare or trans- portation, limited staff knowledge and self- efficacy, workload constraints, and limited resources. At face value, it appears these are common barriers to FCAB work for any social service agency setting. However, survivors of IPV frequently face unique financial chal- lenges related to their partner’s level of control of and access to joint or solely held financial resources, requiring specialized knowledge on the part of IPV advocates (Adams et al., 2008). Advocates report the need for their own finan- cial literacy (Silva-Martínez et al., 2016), and many may be making less than some of the survivors they are helping, and may face chal- lenges with their own economic security (Wood et al., 2019). For these small programs, addressing staff financial self-efficacy could entail looking to raise staff salaries to achieve salary parity with other social service fields or address shortfalls in benefits such as health insurance or retirement savings (Wood et al., 2019). Regardless of survivor-serving agen- cies’ ability to identify and address barriers through the development of a tailored action plan, agency leaders and staff should take advantage of a number of publicly available resources that address organizational and staff capacity to provide FCAB programming (see http://nnedv.org, http://casaj.org, or http://free- from.org).

Several of these barriers have been identi- fied as challenges not only for FCAB pro- gramming with survivors (VonDeLinde & Correia, 2005) but also in settings with other populations. For example, social work educa- tors named similar barriers to providing finan- cial education, such as competing priorities and lack of preparedness (Hageman et al., 2021). Additional research is needed to exam- ine the contribution of implementation sci- ence to improving FCAB programming within

other community-based or social movement- based sectors, such as services for immigrants/ refugees or LGBTQIA+ service agencies.

Limitations and Future Research

Although we determined that it is possible to apply implementation science methods to a DSV setting, we also identified several factors which may make this more or less feasible. We observed in this case study that the agen- cy’s strong leadership and commitment to the continual quality improvement were motivat- ing factors for their ongoing participation in the research. Similarly, staff were highly com- mitted to their own professional development, particularly when it enabled them to improve client well-being. Stakeholders such as com- munity volunteers were accessible and moti- vated to promote FCAB for clients. Barriers to the feasibility of the research which are limitations of the study included relatively high staff turnover and small sample sizes for a case study site. Future research should antic- ipate this as a frequent feature of research in DSV service agencies, and more systemati- cally measure and document the impact of these factors on the process and findings.

Another limitation is that the formative evaluation identified barriers which were not addressed by the tailored action plan. For example, formative evaluation participants noted that clients may be either unaware of their need for FCAB intervention or unable to prioritize FCAB in the face of other stressors and challenges; our tailored action plan to increase staff financial literacy and opportuni- ties to promote FCAB programming likely had little impact on these barriers. Research- ers have noted that clients as well as advo- cates are often unaware of the extent to which financial matters are an insidious component of interpersonal violence and may therefore be unaware that FCAB programming is needed or helpful (Christy et al., 2020; Sand- ers, 2013). It may therefore be necessary for agency leadership and advocates to raise awareness and provide education around eco- nomic abuse in IPV prior to introducing financial education or other FCAB program- ming.

Tlapek et al. 11

Finally, we invite additional research examining the unique challenge of scaling up FCAB programming under the voluntary, sur- vivor-led model unique to DSV agencies. Potential questions to explore include (a) the utility of examining the implementation of a menu of services, as we have done here, ver- sus one evidence-based treatment; (b) the challenge of making systematic efforts to increase programming while simultaneously honoring client autonomy and self-direction; or (c) the challenges and opportunities for FCAB implementation efforts within other service sectors that are highly localized and lack significant oversight from formal gover- nance structures, accrediting bodies, or pro- fessional associations.

Conclusion

Human service agencies, such as DSV agen- cies, are ideal venues for helping vulnerable individuals and households build FCAB (Sherraden et al., 2019), and many agencies and state DSV coalitions are actively seeking to improve FCAB services for survivors. Our study illustrates one approach which can be replicated to assist human service organiza- tions to provide more effective and sustain- able implementation of FCAB interventions. Our process—which acknowledges the vol- untary, survivor-led service model; invites the participation of stakeholders from begin- ning to end; and is adaptable to real-world DSV settings—can be one important tool for agencies seeking to promote a range of FCAB programming for individuals who have sur- vived IPV and their families.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our agency partners, Dr. Tonya Edmond, Angela Schultz, Dr. Byron Pow- ell, and the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence for their contributions to the study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: This work was sup- ported by University of Missouri Research Council Board (Grant number: URC-18-071).

ORCID iD

Sarah Myers Tlapek https://orcid.org/0000- 0002-9443-3020

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Note

1. Within domestic and sexual violence (DSV) agencies, the focus on survivor-led approaches necessitates continual focus on creating oppor- tunities for survivors to engage with services and service providers while always centering the survivor’s agency and choice over their own service trajectory. Thus, we advocate for a “menu” approach: agencies must provide a range of evidence-based services that can enhance survivors’ financial capability while also allowing individual clients to dictate their own engagement with each service based on their unique safety plan and context (Davies & Lyon, 2014).

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Articles/Voth Schrag et al 2019 Understanding Pathways within IPV- Economic Abuse, Economic Hardship, and Mental Health.pdf

Understanding Pathways within Intimate Partner Violence: Economic Abuse, Economic Hardship, and Mental Health Rachel J. Voth Schrag , Sarah R. Robinson, and Kristen Ravi

School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

ABSTRACT The consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the mental health and economic well-being of survivors can be devastating. Economic abuse, a form of emotional abuse in which an intimate partner uses tactics of economic control, is an emerging area of research and practice. However, few studies have explored the impact of economic forms of abuse on the mental health of survivors or the role of eco- nomic hardship in this relationship. The current study explored the pathways between economic abuse, economic hardship, and mental health symptomology. Four hundred thirty-five female community college students were randomly selected to participate in a web-based survey containing validated measures of exposure to intimate partner violence, including physical, sexual, and economic abuse, as well as economic hardship, PTSD, and depression. Analysis included bivariate correlations, hierarchical regression analysis, and mediation analysis. Economic abuse was significantly associated with both depression and PTSD symptomology, when controlling for key covariates. Mediational analysis demonstrated that experiences of economic hardship partially mediated the rela- tionship between economic abuse and mental health. These results highlight the impact of economic abuse on the mental health of survivors and well as the importance of services including economic advocacy, education, and direct resources for survivors.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 22 July 2018 Revised 23 October 2018 Accepted 30 October 2018

KEYWORDS Intimate partner violence; economic abuse; economic hardship; posttraumatic stress disorder; depression

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a worldwide epidemic that impacts at least one in four women over their life course (Black et al., 2011). The criminal justice system and many IPV scholars have focused on the prevalence and consequences of physical assault by an intimate partner as a defining feature of IPV. However, the definition and conceptualization of IPV has been expanding as scholars, advocates, and survivors have worked together to articulate a broader understanding of IPV. This framework places coercive control as the central characteristic of abusive relationships, and suggests that understanding a range of forms of abuse, including economic abuse (tactics that hinder economic self-sufficiency and harm economic self-efficacy

CONTACT Rachel J. Voth Schrag [email protected] School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, 211 S. Cooper, Arlington, TX 76019, USA

JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA 2019, VOL. 28, NO. 2, 222–242 https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2018.1546247

© 2018 Taylor & Francis

through financial exploitation, economic control, and employment sabotage), as crucial components of a broader understanding of the experiences of IPV survivors (Adams, Bybee, Sullivan, & Greeson, 2008; Dutton & Goodman, 2005; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012; Sanders, 2015; Stark, 2007).

The consequences of physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse at the hands of an intimate partner are far-reaching and long-lasting. At the national level, they include 1300 deaths and 2 million serious injuries yearly, with one in three female victims of murder killed by an intimate partner, compared to three percent of male murder victims (Fox & Zawitz, 2007; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). Survivors face substantially increased risk of mental health challenges including post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, increased rates of economic hardship, and decreased employment (Adams et al., 2008; Black et al., 2011; Golding, 1999; Jeweks, 2002). The monetary costs of IPV to society include $5.8 billion annually in lost productivity, physical, and mental health care costs, along with expenditures for legal and court costs (Max, Rice, Finkelstein, Bardwell, & Leadbetter, 2004). Survivors of IPV lose approximately 8 million days of work per year, the economic equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs (NCIPC, 2003). IPV also creates serious barriers to establishing or maintaining economic indepen- dence for survivors. These barriers are all the more challenging because women cite economic dependence on their abusive partner as a primary limiting factor in establishing safety outside of an abusive relationship (Adams, Greeson, Kennedy, & Tolman, 2013; Tolman & Rosen, 2001). While the association between experiences of IPV and later economic challenges is well established, the specific influence of the tactics of economic abuse, and the pathways through which these tactics influence survivors’ mental health and economic outcomes is less understood. To address this gap, the current study explores the mediational impact of economic hardship on the link between economic abuse and mental health (depression and PTSD symptomology) among a community-based sample of women.

Economic abuse

Scholars have identified economic abuse as comprising tactics that hinder economic self-sufficiency and harm economic self-efficacy through financial exploitation, economic control, and employment sabotage (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012). These include preventing or limiting work or school hours, stealing income or cash gifts, harassment at work or school, damaging her credit history, and dominating family finances through demanding receipts, prevent- ing her access to money, or making unilateral decisions (Adams et al., 2008;

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Stylianou, 2017; Sanders, 2015; Voth Schrag, Edmond, Tlapek, & Auslander, 2017).

The prevalence of economic abuse in clinical populations of IPV survivors has been documented by Adams et al. (2008) and Postmus et al. (2012). These studies found, respectively, that 99% of sheltered IPV survivors and 98% of IPV service-seeking women reported economic abuse as an aspect of their abusive relationship. Less is known regarding economic abuse in the general population, though studies are beginning to provide some indica- tions. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey asked a nationally representative group of women if they had ever had a partner who stole money from them, with 22% responding affirmatively (Black et al., 2011). Further, data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study has been interpreted as indicating a general population prevalence of economic abuse between 14% and 16% (Postmus et al., 2012; Voth Schrag, 2015).

Evidence is mounting of the financial impact of economic abuse. Studies document intimate partner’s efforts to interfere with employment, steal or spend women’s money, and sabotage women’s credit (Adams et al., 2013, 2008; Sanders, 2015; Riger, Ahrens, & Blickenstaff, 2001). These behaviors are linked to employment and housing instability, increased use of public assistance, greater material hardship, and increased economic dependence on abusive partners (Adams et al., 2013; Goodman, Smyth, Borges, & Singer, 2009; Voth Schrag, 2015). However, studies evaluating pathways through which economic abuse and subsequent economic challenges influence other survivor outcomes are lacking.

Economic abuse and mental health

Substantial evidence underscoring the mental health impact of IPV exists, demonstrating strong and persistent links between IPV exposure and depres- sion, PTSD, substance use, suicidality, and anxiety disorders, among others (Bonomi et al., 2009; Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman, 2013; Mechanic, Weaver, & Resick, 2008). Scholars have identified a set of key factors driving these links, including the impact of IPV on social and community support, and the association between experiencing IPV and experiencing other trau- matic events. Studies demonstrate that abusive partners may seek to isolate survivors from protective factors that support mental health, including social support and community resources (Goodman & Smyth, 2011). Social support and access to resources has been shown to decrease negative outcomes for survivors of IPV (Coker et al., 2002; Kamimura, Parekh, & Olson, 2013). It has been associated with better health and mental health outcomes, as well as increased quality of life and improved functioning for survivors (Coker et al., 2002). Further, experiencing IPV victimization is known to be associated with higher rates of experiencing other types of trauma (e.g., child

224 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

maltreatment), which can also drive mental health impacts (Bender, Cook., & Kaslow, 2003).

However, only a few studies have evaluated the impact of economic abuse on survivor mental health (Stylianou, 2018). Nancarrow, Lockie, and Sharma (2008) found that among Australian women, those who reported economic abuse were 4.7 times more likely to show signs of depression than others. Similarly, Antai, Oke, Braithwaite, and Lopez (2014) found that economic abuse was a linked with an increased risk of suicide and was found to be a stronger predictor of psychological distress than other forms of IPV. Using a secondary data set from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study, Voth Schrag (2015) found that exposure to economic abuse was linked with over two times the risk of meeting the clinical cutoff for depression symptomology. In the only study to date evaluating the association between economic abuse and mental health outcomes using standardized measures for both economic abuse and mental health, Stylianou (2018) used hierarchical regression analysis to understand the association of forms of IPV with depression. In this sample of women who were seeking IPV related economic services, when included together with other forms of IPV, only economic abuse was significantly associated with the extent of depression symptomology. Stylianou (2018) posits that this association may be due to the way that economic abuse can create eco- nomic dependency and upend plans and efforts aimed at increasing eco- nomic stability. She argues that:

Economic abuse, therefore, may have a range of cascading impacts including preventing the victim from leaving the abusive relationship, preventing the victim from gaining and/or maintaining economic opportunities, impacting the victim’s ability to financially care for his or her children, and destroying the victim’s economic foundation. Given the uniqueness of economic abuse and the impact economic abuse has on the longer-term financial capabilities of IPV victims, it is possible that the additional financial hardship created by economic abuse – that is not created by other forms of abuse – may explain the strong relationship between economic abuse and depression. (p. 389)

However, this hypothesis has not been tested. The relationship between economic abuse and mental health has not been evaluated using validated tools outside of service-seeking samples, and there is no known study asses- sing the impact of economic abuse on PTSD symptomology to this point. Attending to these questions outside of service seeking samples (e.g., outside of shelter or counseling agencies) is important because shelter samples often overrepresent the most extreme examples of violence and coercion, which community samples capture a wider range of relationships and experiences (Johnson, 2006, 2011). Exploring key pathways within a non-shelter/non- service seeking sample can extend what we know from the most serious IPV situations to a broader population of survivors.

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Theoretical framework

Trauma theory can inform those seeking to understand the relationship between forms of IPV and later mental health outcomes. In the current study, it informs the predicted mediated pathway between economic abuse and mental health symptomology. Trauma theory recognizes the mental health impact of exposure to terror and/or fear, identifying the subsequent physical and mental health sequelae frequently associated with exposure to traumatic stress (Becker-Blease & Freyd, 2005; Herman, 1992; Tseris, 2013). Critically, trauma theory recognizes that the cause of traumatic reactions is not a maladaptation within the individual who is experiencing the reaction, but within the traumatic environment. This suggests that exposure to forms of IPV could lead to serious mental health challenges, which could be partly influenced by the range of economic hardships faced by survivors dealing with economic abuse (Haaken, 1998; Tseris, 2013). Thus, a mediated rela- tionship could be identified in which experiences of economic abuse could impact survivors’ economic wellbeing, and through that deepen the extent of trauma related mental health challenges.

Research aims

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between economic abuse and mental health symptomology, and how this relationship is influ- enced by experiences of economic hardship. It first aims to understand the extent to which economic abuse contributes to mental health symptomology. Then, it seeks to determine if economic hardship will mediate the relation- ship between economic abuse and mental health symptomology. The study hypothesizes:

(1) Economic Abuse will be associated with increased depression and PTSD symptomology, controlling for the effects of other forms of IPV.

(2) Extent of economic hardship will partially mediate the relationship between economic abuse and depression.

(3) Extent of economic hardship will partially mediate the relationship between economic abuse and PTSD.

Method

Participants and procedures

As part of a larger study reviewing the IPV and sexual assault service needs of community college students (see Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2018a, 2018b), a simple random sample of female students was recruited from a roster of

226 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

currently-enrolled community college students who attended one of four campuses in a large Midwestern city during the Fall 2015 semester. Selected students were approached via their college e-mail accounts to participate in a survey which included validated measures of forms of IPV, mental health indicators, and other key constructs. Fifteen percent of ran- domly selected female students opened a recruitment e-mail, 56% of those opened the survey link, and 84% of those consented to participate. After screening out participants based on eligibility criteria (age, gender, having been in an intimate relationship in the past 12 months), and removing those who did not complete the survey past the initial demographic screen, the final sample comprised of 435 individuals. Participants were given a $20 gift card as an incentive, and all procedures were approved by the IRB of the sponsoring University and the IRBs of the community colleges prior to the start of data collection. All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

No statistically significant differences were observed between the sample and the larger campuses demographics on age, race, or student status. Participants also reflected the demography of community college women nationally. On average, they were 27 years old (SD = 9.9). Forty-three percent were considered “full time” in the fall 2015, and 58% identified as white, while 27.4% of respondents self-identified as Black or African American. Approximately 80% of the respondents were working for pay at the time of the survey, with an average of 24 hours of work per week (SD = 16.8), and 31 (SD = 12.14) hours per work for those who reported working for pay. They had an average of one child at home (SD = 1.2), and the plurality (31.3%) reported their relationship status as single (though having had an intimate partner in the past 12 months). Of those currently in a relationship, 27% reported dating, but not living with a partner, 21.2% were married, 16.8% were dating and living with their partner, 3.5% were separated or divorced, and .23% were widowed.

Measures

The survey included standardized measures for key constructs, as well as a comprehensive demographic questionnaire.

Economic abuse The Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA) (12) has been previously validated with IPV survivors and has been identified as a promising measure for widespread use of understanding economic abuse across populations (Postmus, Hoge,

JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA 227

Breckenridge, Sharp-Jeffs, & Chung, 2018). It is measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = very often) and assesses the frequency of specific behaviors over the past 12 months. It has demonstrated good internal and test-retest reliability (Adams et al., 2008–30 item version). It includes 12 items assessing three domains: economic exploitation (normed sample alpha = .81), employment sabotage (alpha = .80), and economic control (alpha = .84) (Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon, 2013). Subscales have pre- viously been used independently, and the full scale has been summed as a global measure of economic abuse (Stylianou et al., 2013). In the current sample of community college women, the overall SEA scale alpha was .86, while subscale alphas were .81 for economic control, .68 for work sabotage, and .68 for economic control. In the current analysis, the full SEA-12 is used as a global measure of economic abuse.

Physical & sexual intimate partner violence The Abusive Behavior Inventory (revised) (ABI(R)) includes 25 items with three factors- physical violence (9 items), emotional abuse (13 items), and sexual abuse (3 items). It is measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = very often) and assesses the frequency of specific abusive behaviors over the past 12 months. It was normed on a community-based sample of over 400 female IPV survivors and has been used along with the SEA 12to evaluate multiple forms of IPV together (Postmus, Stylianou, & McMahon, 2015; Stylinaou, 2018). In the current sample of community college women, the subscale alphas were .89 for physical IPV, and .71 for sexual IPV. The emotional IPV subscale was not used in the current analysis because a number of items overlap with the domain of economic abuse (e.g., “how often has your partner prevented you from having money of your own?”).

Economic hardship The Economic Hardship Index (EHI) was previously used with a version of the SEA to look at relationships between economic abuse and material hardship among service-seeking IPV survivors, the EHI is a checklist mea- sure of 13 forms of material hardship, including difficulty finding stable housing, eviction, food insecurity, and utility disconnection (Adams et al., 2008). Respondents are asked to report if they have experienced various forms of hardship in the past year, and a total summed score is obtained. Adams et al. (2008) found the EHI to have a reliability coefficient of .86 in a sample of IPV survivors. In the current sample of community college women, the scale alpha was .88.

Depression symptomology The Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-SF) includes seven items and has been demonstrated to have strong internal and test–

228 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

retest reliability in the general population (Levine, 2013). Multiple studies have found the reliability coefficient to be clustered around .80 (Levine, 2013). It assesses the frequency of symptoms using a 4-point Likert scale from 1 (rarely or none of the time) to 4 (most or all of the time). The CES- D-SF was scored continuously. In the current sample of community college women, the scale alpha was .85.

PTSD symptomology The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a diagnostic tool for PTSD using the DSM-5 criteria. It includes 20 items that capture the key domains of PTSD, including arousal, avoidance, intrusion, and negative cognitions or mood (Weathers, Litz, Keane, Palmieri, Marx, & Schnurr,, 2013). In various samples, the PCL-5 has demonstrated reliability in the high .80s and low .90s. The PCL uses a five-point Likert response set (0 = not at all to 4 = extremely) to assess the extent to which specific PTSD symptoms have bothered the respondent in the past month. The PCL was scored continuously. In the current sample of community college women, the overall scale alpha was .96.

Key control variables

Number of traumatic life experiences The Life Events Checklist-5 (Adapted) is an accompanying tool to the PCL, which captures the types of trauma experienced by study participants (Weathers et al., 2013). The LEC-5 assess the extent to which respondents have experienced multiple types of trauma over their lifetime. In order to reduce participant burden, the LEC-5 was shortened to include the nine items that focused on interpersonal and community level violence (experien- cing sexual violence, witnessing community violence, life threatening injury, etc.). For the current analyses, the number of different types of traumatic experiences that a respondent reported having ‘happened to me” is summed and used as an indicator of extent of trauma history.

Use of community resources A checklist of campus-based and local community resources was developed in consultation with community college staff and advocates. The checklist included 11 types of community resources, including on campus resources such as the campus counseling center, and off-campus resources including mental health counseling, alcohol or substance use services, food assistance, and housing assistance. Respondents were queried about their use in the past 12 months.

Extent of social support The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (Short) (ISEL-S) includes three subscales representing dimensions of social support, including appraisal

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support (advice/encouragement), belonging support (physical presence, emo- tional support) and tangible support (provision of physical help and needed items) (Payne et al., 2012). The current analyses use each subscale separately to capture control for these facets of support. The ISEL-S has demonstrated reliability coefficients clustered around .80 for the full scale and all subscales (Payne et al., 2012). In the current sample, subscale alphas were .76 for appraisal support, .71 for belonging support, and .66 for tangible support.

Data analysis

Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted between all study variables, and hierarchical regression analyses were employed to understand the contribu- tions of various forms of IPV (physical, emotional, sexual, and economic) to mental health symptomology. Two sets of hierarchical regression analyses were run to understand the contribution of economic abuse and other forms of IPV to depression and PTSD symptomology, with one model controlling for demo- graphic indicators, the next including physical, sexual, and emotional IPV, and the final model including economic abuse. Next, mediation analyses were used to evaluate pathways through which economic abuse and economic hardship influence the extent of PTSD and depression symptomology. These analyses used the techniques outlined by Hayes (2018), allowing for the coefficient and confidence intervals to be estimated for each pathway through the use of boot- strapping, and the estimation of the total mediated effect for each model. Both mediation models controlled for the other relevant covariates: age, number of lifetime traumas, and extent of appraisal social support.

Results

Bivariate correlations

Bivariate correlations were conducted between economic abuse, physical, and sexual IPV, mental health indicators (depression and PTSD symptomology), economic hardship experiences, and key sociodemographic characteristics and covariates. Table 1 illustrates the univariate statistics for each of these items as well as the correlation results. Economic abuse was significantly and moderately correlated with both physical (r = .48, p < 0.001) and sexual (r = .45, p < 0.001) IPV. Economic hardship was significantly correlated with economic (r = .24, p < 0.00), physical, (r = .15, p < 0.01) and sexual (r = .18, p < 0.001) IPV. PTSD symptomology was significantly correlated with eco- nomic abuse (r = .33, p < 0.001), physical IPV (r = .24, p < 0.001), and sexual IPV(r = .29, p < 0.001), as well as economic hardship (r = .27, p < 0.001). Similarly, depression symptomology was significantly correlated with eco- nomic abuse (r = .29, p < 0.001), physical IPV (r = .24, p < 0.001), sexual IPV

230 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

Ta b le

1. Bi va ri at e co rr el at io n s b et w ee n ke y st ud

y va ri ab le s.

M ea n (S D )

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12

1 Ec on

om ic A b us e

1. 19

(.3 7)

– 2

Ph ys ic al IP V

1. 09

(.3 1)

.4 8 ** *

– 3

Se xu al IP V

1. 15

(.4 8)

.4 5 ** *

.4 5 ** *

– 4

Ec on

om ic H ar d sh ip

2. 80

(3 .8 )

.2 4 ** *

.1 5 **

.1 8 ** *

– 5

PT SD

19 .1 2 (1 8. 32 )

.3 3 ** *

.2 4 ** *

.2 9 ** *

.2 7 ** *

– 6

D ep re ss io n

6. 78

(5 .0 0)

.2 9 ** *

.2 4 ** *

.2 6 ** *

.2 4 ** *

.6 5 ** *

– 7

A g e

27 .0 6 (9 .8 8)

.0 4

.0 2

.0 1

.0 5

− .1 5 **

− .1 7 ** *

– 8

N um

b er

of ch ild re n

.9 5 (1 .2 5)

.0 5

.0 8

− .0 7

.1 3 *

− .0 7

− .0 3

.1 8 ** *

– 9

Tr au m as

1. 30

(1 .7 4)

.1 0 *

.0 8

.1 1

.2 1 ** *

.2 8 ** *

.1 4 **

.0 7

.0 4

– 10

Re so ur ce s A cc es se d

2. 06

(2 .3 4)

.1 0 *

.0 2

.0 6

.1 3 **

.0 9

− .0 3

− .0 2

.0 5

.0 2

– 11

A p p ra is al

Su p p or t

9. 08

(3 .0 9)

− .2 5 ** *

− .0 8

− .2 2 ** *

− .1 8 ** *

− .3 1 ** *

− .3 6 ** *

.0 2

.0 0

− .0 6

− .0 9

– 12

Be lo n g in g Su p p or t

8. 26

(2 .9 4)

− .2 0 ** *

− .0 3

− .1 7 ** *

− .1 2 *

− .3 0 ** *

− .3 5 ** *

.0 4

.0 8

.0 0

− .0 7

.6 4 ** *

– 13

Ta n g ib le

Su p p or t

8. 92

(2 .7 1)

− .2 1 ** *

− .0 9

− .1 5 **

− .2 7 ** *

− .2 6 ** *

− .3 0 ** *

− .0 5

.0 5

− .0 3

− .1 6 **

.6 9 ** *

.6 7 ** *

*p < .0 5* *p

< .0 1* ** p < .0 01

JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA 231

(r = .26, p < 0.001), and economic hardship (r = .24, p < 0.001). Among the key sociodemographic and covariates, economic abuse was also positively correlated with number of lifetime traumas (r = .10, p < 0.05), number of community resources accessed in the past year (r = .10, p < 0.05) and was negatively correlated with extent of appraisal (r = −.25, p < 0.001), belonging (r = −.20, p < 0.001), and tangible social support (r = −.21, p < 0.001).

Hierarchical regression analyses

Next, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors, physical and sexual IPV, economic abuse, and mental health indicators. The findings for the analyses for depression symptomology are found in Table 2. The step 1 model, which controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and key mental health cov- ariates, was statistically significant, R2 = .23, F (12, 360) = 8.99, p < 0.001. In step 1, age (β = −.18, p < 0.01), number of lifetime traumas (β = .16, p < 0.01), number of resources accessed (β = −.09, p < 0.05), appraisal social support (β = −.22, p < 0.01), and belonging social support (β = −.17, p < 0.05) were significantly associated with depression symptomology. In step two, physical and sexual IPV were added to the model. The step 2 model was statistically significant, R2 = .27, F (14, 358) = 9.55, p < 0.001. This model had

Table 2. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for the impact of demographic character- istics, forms of IPV, and exposure to economic abuse on extent of depression symptomology.

Depression Symptomology Step 1: Demographics and

Covariates Step 2: Physical and Sexual IPV

Step 3: Economic Abuse

Variable B SEB B SEB B SEB

Age −.14** .09 −.12* .09 −.14** .09 Race (White) Black −.02 2.14 −.03 2.08 −.05 2.04 Other .03 2.27 .02 2.24 .03 2.23

Number of children −.05 .77 −.05 .75 −.06 .74 Rel. status (single) Married −.02 2.63 −.00 2.59 −.00 2.49 Dating, living together .06 2.43 .06 2.34 .06 2.31 Dating, not living together −.04 2.36 −.03 2.40 −.04 2.31

Number of traumas .29*** .68 .25*** .64 .28*** .57 Resources accessed .08 .46 .09 .45 .07 .42 Appraisal support −.19** .40 −.17* .42 −.16* .41 Belonging support −.14 .49 −.15 .49 −.12 .49 Tangible support −.04 .49 −.01 .50 −.02 .49 Physical IPV .13** 3.67 .07 4.38 Sexual IPV .11* 2.05 .06 2.28 Economic abuse .17** 2.94

Statistics Model R2 F (df) p R2 Δ F(df) Δ p Δ

Model 1 .24 8.30 (12, 364) 0.00 Model 2 .28 10.75 (14, 362) 0.00 .04 9.89 (2, 362) 0.00 Model 3 .32 14.93 (15, 359) 0.00 .03 17.19 (1, 359) 0.00

*p < .05**p < .01***p < .001

232 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

a statistically significant increase in R2 over model 1, R2 Δ = .04, F (2, 358) = 9.55, p < 0.001. In this step, extent of physical (β = .15, p < 0.05) and sexual (β = .11, p < 0.05) IPV were both associated with increased depression symptomology. The final step (step three) added economic abuse to the model. This model had a statistically significant increase in R2

over model 2, R2 Δ = .03, F (1, 358) = 9.55, p < 0.001. In this model, the previously significant sociodemographic and covariate items remained sig- nificant, however, extent of physical IPV (β = .07, p > 0.05), and sexual IPV (β = .05, p > 0.05), were no longer significantly associated with depression symptomology. Extent of economic abuse (β = .17, p < 0.01) was significantly associated with increased depression symptomology.

The findings for the analyses for PTSD symptomology are found in Table 3. The step 1 model, which controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and key mental health covariates, was statistically significant, R2 = .24, F (12, 364) = 8.30, p < 0.001. In step 1, age (β = −.14, p < 0.01), number of lifetime traumas (β = .29, p < 0.001), and appraisal social support (β = −.19, p < 0.01), were significantly associated with PTSD symptomology. In step 2, physical and sexual IPV were added to the model. The step 2 model was statistically sig- nificant, R2 = .28, F (14, 362) = 10.75, p < 0.001. This model had a statistically significant increase in R2 over model 1, R2 Δ = .04, F (2, 362) = 9.89, p < 0.001. In

Table 3. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for the impact of demographic character- istics, forms of IPV, and exposure to economic abuse on extent of PTSD symptomology.

PTSD Symptomology Step One: Demographics and

Covariates Step Two: Physical and Sexual IPV

Step Three: Economic Abuse

Variable B SEB B SEB B SEB

Age −.18** .03 −.16* .03 −.18** .03 Race (White) Black −.00 .56 −.00 .54 −.02 .53 Other .02 .63 .01 .65 .02 .64

Number of children −.04 .21 −.05 .21 −.05 .21 Rel. status (single) Married −.05 .79 −.03 .78 −.04 .76 Dating, living together −.06 .64 −.05 .61 −.05 .60 Dating, not living together −.02 .67 −.01 .67 −.02 .66

Number of traumas .16** .16 .12* .16 .15** .14 Resources accessed −.09 .11 −.08 .10 −.10* .10 Appraisal support −.22** .12 −.19** .12 −.19** .12 Belonging support −.17 .12 −.18** .11 −.16* .11 Tangible support −.05 .12 −.02 .12 −.02 .12 Physical IPV .15* 1.16 .07 1.32 Sexual IPV .11 .57 .05 .64 Economic abuse .17** .86

Statistics Model R2 F (df) p R2 Δ F(df) Δ p Δ

Model 1 .23 8.99 (12, 360) 0.00 Model 2 .27 9.55 (14, 358) 0.00 .04 9.55 (2, 358) 0.00 Model 3 .30 9.64 (15, 355) 0.00 .03 13.90 (1, 355) 0.00

*p < .05**p < .01***p < .001

JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, MALTREATMENT & TRAUMA 233

this step, extent of physical (β = .35, p < 0.01) and sexual (β = .11, p < 0.05) IPV were both associated with increased depression symptomology, along with the previously significant covariates. The final step (step 3) added economic abuse to the model. This model had a statistically significant increase in R2 over model 2, R2 Δ = .03, F (1, 359) = 9.55, p < 0.001. In this model, the previously significant sociodemographic and covariate items remained significant, however, extent of physical IPV (β = .07, p > 0.05), and sexual IPV (β = .06, p > 0.05), were no longer significantly associated with PTSD symptomology. Extent of economic abuse (β = .17, p < 0.01) was significantly associated with increased PTSD symptomology.

Figure 1. Mediation model for the impact of economic hardship on the relationship between economic abuse and depression symptomology. a path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on economic hardshipb bath: regression for the impact of economic hardship on depressionC path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on depression (inclusive on the mediated impact of economic hardship)C prime path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on depression (exclusive of the mediated impact of economic hardship)

Figure 2. Mediation model for the impact economic hardship on the relationship between economic abuse and PTSD symptomology. a path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on economic hardshipb bath: regression for the impact of economic hardship on PTSD symptomologyC path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on PTSD (inclusive of mediated impact of economic hardship)C prime path: regression for the impact of economic abuse on PTSD (exclusive of the mediated impact of economic hardship)

234 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

Mediation analyses

The results of these analyses demonstrated that economic hardship mediated the relationship between economic abuse and mental health symptomology, with both models controlling for covariates found to be significant in pre- vious regression analyses (i.e., age, number of lifetime traumas, and appraisal social support). (See Figures 1 and 2.) Figure 1 depicts the potential mediat- ing impact of economic hardship on depression symptomology. Results indicated that the relationship between economic abuse and economic hard- ship was statistically significant (b = 1.75, t = 3.97, p < .001), as was the relationship between economic hardship and depression symptomology (b = .21, t = 2.95, p < .01). The direct effect of economic abuse on depression remained significant in the full mediation model when the mediational effect of economic hardship was included (b = 2.72, t = 4.27, p < .001). The significance of the total effect was tested using Hayes’ (2018) recommenda- tion of bootstrapping with 10,000 simulations and the resulting confidence interval was 1.87–4.30. The overall mediation model was statistically signifi- cant, demonstrating a partially mediated relationship between economic abuse, economic hardship, and depression. Additionally, a significant indir- ect effect of economic abuse on depression symptomology through economic hardship was evident, ab = .36, (Bootstrapped CI .08, .77). Economic hard- ship accounted for approximately 12% of the total effect Pm = .12.

In the model testing the mediating impact of economic hardship on the relationship between EA and PTSD symptomology, (Figure 2), the relation- ship between economic abuse and economic hardship was statistically sig- nificant (b = 1.74, t = 1.44, p < 001.), as was the relationship between economic hardship and PTSD symptomology (b = .85, t = 3.34, p < .001). The direct effect (c1 path) of economic abuse on PTSD symptomology remained significant in the mediation model after the addition of the media- tion effect of economic hardship (b = 10.68, t = 4.82, p < .001). Bootstrapping with 10,000 simulations was used to test this effect, and the 95% confidence interval was 6.32 to 15.04. Thus, the overall mediating model was statistically significant, and a partially mediated relationship between emotional abuse, economic hardship, and PTSD symptomology was identified. A significant indirect effect is present between economic abuse and PTSD symptomology through economic hardship, ab = 1.48, (Bootstrapped CI .40, 2.93). Economic hardship accounted for approximately 12% of the total effect Pm = .12.

Discussion

In line with previous studies, higher levels of economic abuse were associated with increased depression and PTSD symptomology (Antai et al., 2014;

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Nancarrow et al., 2008; Stylianou, 2018; Voth Schrag, 2015). Among those who reported any experiences of economic abuse, 46% met the clinical cutoff score for depression and 25% met the clinical cutoff for PTSD. This relation- ship remained in the hierarchical regression models which controlled for exposure to physical and sexual IPV. In line with the findings of Stylianou (2018), economic abuse was the only form of IPV to maintain a significant relationship with depression in the final model.

Along with depression, the current study is the first to evaluate the link between economic abuse and PTSD. The strong and persistent link between economic abuse and PTSD symptomology points to the fact that experiencing economic abuse and the risk of economic insecurity (especially for survivors for whom economic security is linked with abuse, power, and control) can be traumatic. It can lead to fear of both physical and emotional danger and may be on-going even for those who are ‘safe’ from IPV in the present (Eriksson & Ulmestig, 2017). Mental health professionals should be aware of any potential economic trauma triggers being experienced by their clients. For IPV survi- vors, the on-going nature of violence, abuse, and coercive control, including after the ‘official’ end of an abusive relationship, creates unique a mental health risk. While many trauma survivors such as combat veterans or those who have experienced a violent accident may attain a state of physical and emotional safety after a traumatic event, survivors of IPV may face on-going threats, as well as continued violence and coercive control (Herman, 1992; Stark, 2007). This can impact survivor’s ability to reach a safe ‘posttrauma’ mental and physical state and may impact the utility of current PTSD treatment modalities that emphasize recognizing the participants’ current state of safety (Edmond, Boland, & Yu, 2013; Mechanic, 2004). IPV service providers need to be able to work with survivors to help them access effective, evidence-based treatments for depression and PTSD. However, these treatments are often expensive. Survivors with IPV histories that include economic abuse as a significant component may face unique economic challenges, and thus substantial diffi- culty in accessing such care. Organizations and practitioners should identify strategies to increase access to evidence-based therapies, including expanding the provision of evidence-based trauma treatments within violence against women service agencies, where they have seen limited uptake to this point (Edmond & Voth Schrag, 2017).

Those providing mental health services for survivors of IPV need to be aware of the consequences of economic abuse, as well as potential economic trauma triggers, such as reviewing a credit report or evaluating banking options which have been substantially impacted by experiences of economic exploitation or control. Validated screening tools for use in research and practice are needed to help identify survivors’ experiences, as many tactics of economic abuse may be less overt than physical or sexual violence (Stylianou, 2018; Voth Schrag, Edmond, Tlapek, & Auslander, 2017). Once these

236 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

experiences have been identified, systems of care must be resourced to respond in survivor centered ways which take the unique relationship and economic dynamics of a survivors’ life in to account. Given the current findings, developing strategies to help advocates and counselors build eco- nomic sustainability into safety planning and long-term treatment planning could have positive effects for both the survivors’ mental health and their long-term economic stability and safety from abuse (VonDeLinde, 2016).

It is also important to note that, while the majority of the effect of economic abuse on depression and PTSD symptomology was direct, the study also observed a significant indirect effect of economic abuse on mental health symptomology through economic hardship. These findings underscore that the tactics of economic abuse uniquely contribute to increased experiences of hardship, even in non-service seeking populations. While mental health inter- ventions will be critical for addressing the emotional and psychological impacts of living in dangerous and abusive environments, direct economic interventions will also be critical in supporting survivors’ efforts to build economic security and long-term economic safety. Practitioners working with survivors need other tools, including survivor centered economic advocacy, economic educa- tion, and options for directly providing for the basic needs of survivors and their children (Goodman,Smyth, Borges, & Singer, 2009; Postmus, Hetling, & Hoge, 2015; VonDeLinde, 2016). Survivor-centered economic advocacy addresses both safety and economic security in the advocacy relationship, with strategies like credit building, budgeting, and economic planning inter- woven with other tasks of safety planning (VonDeLinde, 2016).

Economic education programs tailored to the needs of survivors of IPV have also been demonstrated to enhance survivor’s economic self-efficacy and build their capacity to address the economic consequences of economic abuse (Postmus, Stylianou, et al., 2015). Strategies for providing directly for the needs of survivors and their children will be critical in addressing the consequences of economic abuse. Goodman et al. (2009) identify strategies including state run flexible cash assistance programs, employer provided bridge funds, short-term loans, and vacation payouts as options for survivors in crisis. They point out that working with advocates to build these strategies into everyday advocacy, as well as engaging local and state officials to ensure compliance with child support and wage garnishments, creates a range of options for survivors at economically vulnerable points in their path to long- term safety. Finally, these strategies for supporting individual survivors could be buttressed by efforts at systems change, including expanding IPV policies that are designed to bring justice for survivors of IPV and prosecute offen- ders to include recognition of the tactics of economic abuse and provide strategies for addressing economic damages systematically. Similarly, consis- tent policies are needed to protect employees for discrimination based on

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their status as IPV survivors, including for those who have experienced tactics of economic abuse that might impact their on-going employability.

Limitations

This study has a number of methodological and measurement limitations that should be considered. First, while there were assumptions based on theory and previous evidence made in the specification of the study’s mediational model, cross-sectional data were used, making it impossible to control for reciprocal relationships. Future longitudinal work is needed to assess the extent to which these relationships hold up over time, and to consider the potential for eco- nomic hardship experiences and mental health symptomology to create a self- reinforcing cycle for survivors of IPV. These are also all self-reported measures. Future work should aim to gather triangulated data on IPV experiences and economic outcomes (e.g., credit scores, financial records). Additionally, while the demographics of survey respondents are similar to the overall student bodies of the campuses from which students were recruited, there is still a chance that study participants vary in systematic ways from study nonparti- cipants on unmeasured dimensions. Further, while community college students look more like the general population in terms of economic, social, racial, and age diversity than other populations of college students, they share the distinc- tion of attending school, which may influence how they experience their economic situation, as they are in the process of working toward a degree or credential which could increase their economic stability going forward (AACC, 2014). Future work in other populations will extend and validate these findings. Finally, the measure of economic hardship does not differentiate between joint hardships (i.e., hardships experienced by all members of a family unit) and individual hardships (e.g., if a survivor and their partner have both experienced a telephone disconnection, or if only the survivor’s phone was disconnected). This would add depth to these findings, as only a minority of respondents were currently living with an intimate partner.

Conclusion

Survivors of all forms of IPV face serious challenges in addressing the far- reaching consequences of coercion and control in their lives. The current study has underscored some of these consequences for survivors of economic abuse. It points to the necessity of equipping advocates to help survivors navigate complex systems, including mental health and financial service systems, which can be difficult to navigate and expensive to enter. Such work is critical however, because of the deep impact that economic abuse and subsequent economic hardship can have. It can lead to serious mental health consequences

238 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

while also deepening survivors’ economic dependence on their abusive part- ners, ultimately limiting available routes to safety and security.

Disclosure of interest

Rachel Voth Schrag, Sarah Robinson, and Kristen Ravi all declare that they have no conflicts to report

Funding

The study was supported by a grant from the New York Community Trust: Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation to Rachel Voth Schrag, Principal Investigator.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

ORCID

Rachel J. Voth Schrag http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5273-9905 Kristen Ravi http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1198-014X

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242 R. J. VOTH SCHRAG ET AL.

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  • Abstract
  • Economic abuse
  • Economic abuse and mental health
  • Theoretical framework
  • Research aims
  • Method
    • Participants and procedures
    • Measures
      • Economic abuse
      • Physical & sexual intimate partner violence
      • Economic hardship
      • Depression symptomology
      • PTSD symptomology
    • Key control variables
      • Number of traumatic life experiences
      • Use of community resources
      • Extent of social support
    • Data analysis
  • Results
    • Bivariate correlations
    • Hierarchical regression analyses
    • Mediation analyses
  • Discussion
  • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • Disclosure of interest
  • Funding
  • Ethical standards and informed consent
  • References

Articles/Voth Schrag et al 2021 Experiences With Help Seeking Among Non Service Engaged Survivors of IPV Survivors Recommendations for Service Providers.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220963861

Violence Against Women

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Research Article

Experiences With Help Seeking Among Non–Service- Engaged Survivors of IPV: Survivors’ Recommendations for Service Providers

Rachel J. Voth Schrag1, Kristen Ravi2, Sarah Robinson1, Elyssa Schroeder3, and Diana Padilla-Medina1

Abstract Engaging with formal intimate partner violence (IPV) services can buffer the impacts of violence and reduce future risk. Many survivors do not access or engage with such services. However, much of our knowledge related to the experiences and perspectives of IPV survivors comes from samples drawn from those seeking formal services. Qualitative interviews with 23 survivors of violence who are not currently engaged with formal IPV services were conducted, focused on the process and outcomes of choosing to seek help. Themes emerged within the categories of formal help-seeking experiences, informal help seeking, and recommendations for providers.

Keywords service engagement, help seeking, intimate partner violence, access

An estimated 22.3% of American women and 14% of American men have experi- enced severe physical intimate partner violence (IPV; Breiding et al., 2014). The consequences of IPV for survivors include death, harm to physical and mental health,

1University of Texas at Arlington, USA 2University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA 3University of Georgia, Athens, USA

Corresponding Author: Rachel J. Voth Schrag, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, 211 S. Cooper, Arlington, TX 76019, USA. Email: [email protected]

2021, Vol. 27(12-13) 2313–\ 2334

reduced economic security and educational attainment, housing instability, and increased risk of future violence victimization (Iverson et al., 2013; Jewks, 2002; Brewer et al., 2018; Voth Schrag, Wood et al., 2020). Accessing IPV services, includ- ing programs providing emergency shelter, transitional or other subsidized housing supports, advocacy, counseling, and children’s services, has been demonstrated to buffer the impacts of violence and reduce future risk (Bennett et al., 2004; Macy et al., 2013; Rivas et al., 2015). However, much of our knowledge related to the expe- riences and perspectives of IPV survivors comes from samples of services-engaged survivors (Hart & Klein, 2013). Nevertheless, many survivors do not access these services as they cope with the consequences of IPV (Kaukinen, 2004). This study seeks to understand experiences and perspectives about seeking help among survi- vors who are not engaged with IPV services.

Background

Services Access

Some estimates suggest that up to 75% of those who have experienced IPV seek infor- mal (family, friends) or formal (shelter, law enforcement) help (Kaukinen, 2004; Sabina & Ho, 2014). Kaukinen (2004) found that more than half of those who sought help related to IPV did so from a family member or friend, whereas one third reported to police or law enforcement, and less than 25% sought help from medical or psychi- atric services. In a study of individuals enrolled in a specific health plan in the United States, 36% of those reporting IPV had sought medical care, whereas 19% sought legal services (Duterte et al., 2008). In that study, those who reported exposure to more severe violence, those who were currently married, and those who did not think their children had witnessed violence were less likely to seek services (Duterte et al., 2008). Among a random sample of Canadians, 80.5% of women and 57.1% of men who reported experiencing IPV had disclosed their experiences to at least one informal helper (e.g., friends, family); however, far fewer had sought formal support (Ansara & Hindin, 2010). In this study, 11% of women sought assistance from IPV shelter or housing supports, 14.3% sought help from a crisis center or hotline, and 7.6% sought help from victim’s services, whereas 47.2% sought help from health service providers. Among men, 22% sought help from a health professional, whereas 3.8% sought help from a crisis center (Ansara & Hindin, 2010).

Survivors have a range of places to turn for support in the face of violence. Data demonstrate that survivors often seek out a range of supports over time, and may be more likely to approach informal or ancillary services1 prior to engaging formal IPV service providers (Hart & Klein, 2013; Moe, 2007; Morrison et al., 2006). Informal support provided by family and friends may include access to tangible resources (e.g., financial, transportation, or housing help), emotional support, creating a feeling of connectedness, and providing advice and encouragement (Payne et al., 2012). Scholars have found that access to these forms of support can decrease the negative impacts of IPV, including reducing rates of mental health challenges and economic

2314 Violence Against Women 27(12-13)

disruptions (Kaukinen, 2014; McNally & Newman, 1999; Voth Schrag, Ravi et al., 2020). For survivors, increased support is linked to higher rates of continued help seeking as well as improved outcomes across domains (Coker et al., 2002; Dougé et al., 2014; Kamimura et al., 2013; Van Wyk et al., 2003). Seeking and receiving help for experiences of IPV, including help from family, peers, and formal services, have also been linked to better posttrauma outcomes for survivors and an increase in overall well-being (Folger & Wright, 2013).

The decision to seek help for experiences of IPV is influenced by factors at the individual, interpersonal, and sociocultural levels (Liang et al., 2005; Mookerjee et al., 2015). Liang and colleagues (2005) developed a helpful framework for thinking about the decision-making process of survivors of IPV. It recognizes that individual, family, and sociocultural dynamics influence and shape each step of the help-seeking process, as survivors develop an understanding of exactly what the “problem” is, make a deci- sion to seek help for that problem, and consider what entity (individual, agency) from which to seek help.

Barriers to Seeking Help

Survivors point to a range of social barriers that stand in the way of their access to resources. These include barriers created by abusive partners (e.g., jealousy, minimi- zation, intimidation, isolation, threats); fear for family members—both fear of the con- sequences for family members (e.g., the impact of a shelter stay on children) and fear of the potential negative reaction of family members; and anticipated negative reac- tions from communities or peers (Dunlop et al., 2005; Hart & Klein, 2013). Survivors also report experiencing shame or stigma related to facing IPV and wanting to keep experiences quiet to protect themselves and their partner and family from negative social, emotional, immigration/status, or economic consequences (Fry, 2001). Fugate and colleagues (2005) also note that some survivors may avoid seeking help because they think that working with service providers will necessitate them ending or leaving a relationship. Along with social barriers, survivors have identified challenges that include a lack of knowledge related to services availability or eligibility, and logistical barriers, including cost, child care, transportation, timing, or the location of services (Bauer et al., 2000; Fry, 2001; Fugate et al., 2005; Hart & Klein, 2013; Lewis et al., 2005).

Survivors may seek help only once, or survivors may explore multiple options and routes for obtaining needed assistance in the face of coercive control and minimization (Morrison et al., 2006). Critically, survivors often reach out not with a focus on leaving an abusive partner, but rather on coping with their experiences of violence, and they may not disclose the violence they are experiencing as they seek help for related dynamics (Beeble et al., 2010; Dunlop et al. 2005; Moe, 2007).

Knowledge of available services is a critical component of accessing resources. Many survivors only learn about the availability of civil protective orders from police or other criminal justice system workers after they or a third party make a domestic

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disturbance call related to the violence (Logan et al., 2006). Similarly, a study of shel- ter residents revealed that nearly a quarter found out about the existence of the shelter within the 2 days prior to shelter entry, and another quarter found out about it within the month previous to shelter entry (Lyon et al., 2008). Knowledge of service avail- ability is one component influencing survivors’ decision making around accessing ser- vices. Survivors’ perceptions around services is also critical. Survivors who perceive that they will be expected to end their relationship, reside in specific locations (e.g., shelters), cooperate with other services (e.g., criminal justice), or participate in religiously based programming may choose to forgo services (Dunlop et al., 2005). Similarly, structural barriers within service agencies, such as requirements related to income eligibility or sobriety, or lack of accessibility related to language, disability, or identity can all create insurmountable barriers for survivors in search of help (Hart & Klein, 2013; Hilton et al., 2004; Moe, 2007; Moe & Bell, 2004).

Research Aims

A great deal is known about the decisions that survivors make related to seeking and engaging with IPV services. However, much of our knowledge comes from samples recruited from within IPV service agencies. It is possible that survivors who have made the choice not to engage with services have different experiences and percep- tions that shape their thinking about services. This study seeks to shed light on the experiences and perceptions of survivors who have not fully engaged with voluntary IPV services. It seeks to understand survivors’ experiences with seeking help (for- mally and informally), and to gather survivors’ perspectives on how formal services can better promote access, availability, and effective connection.

Method

Study Procedures

Interviews were conducted with health care or ancillary service (e.g., substance use, mental health, clinic-affiliated parenting groups) patients who had never sought services from the voluntary IPV service sector (e.g., shelter, advocacy, counseling, or other services from IPV service agencies), who had left IPV services before fully engaging (i.e., participants may have called a hotline or visited a program once, but had not participated in ongoing programming), or who had participated in the past but were not currently service engaged. With the help of medical and ancillary service providers, participants were recruited for semistructured interviews focused on their reasons for seeking/not seeking IPV services, and their hopes and desires for future experiences.

From May to November 2018, in collaboration with the state domestic violence coalition, members of the research team reached out to medical and ancillary (e.g., nursing, midwifery, medically affiliated substance treatment) service providers to

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invite IPV survivors and others close to survivors to participate in the study. Although assistance with recruitment was sought from providers all across a large state in the American southwest, most participating providers are affiliated with two major hospi- tal systems and one clinic in a major metropolitan area in that state. Both systems serve patients from both rural and urban areas. The study was part of a larger planning pro- cess led by the state domestic violence coalition, aimed at gathering data to support agencies and policy makers in planning. Other aspects of the project were conducted by research teams from throughout the state. They included interviews with service- seeking survivors and advocates, interviews with immigrant survivors and teens, and analyzing a range of publicly available data to create a picture of services needed and accessed at a county-by-county level.

Because survivors of IPV who are not currently service engaged are a hidden popu- lation, difficult to identify and safely recruit for research, members of the research team engaged in both active and passive recruitment strategies. Active recruitment involved more than 15 visits to group programming (parenting groups, substance mis- use groups, and prenatal education groups) by team members to share information about the study and invite participation, as well as the provision of detailed recruit- ment scripts to key providers to use in one-on-one interactions with patients they thought might be appropriate for the study. English- and Spanish-language posters were also distributed and displayed in common areas (including waiting rooms, rest- rooms, and on community bulletin boards) across sites with information about the study and contact information for the study team. Written materials related to study participation were also provided to medical staff to share with patients. Potential par- ticipants were informed that the study focused on understanding individuals’ choices related to accessing and engaging with formal social services as a result of relationship problems or family violence. After a potential participant indicated interest by reach- ing out to the study team, they were contacted by a team member and provided with additional background information and completed a consent process. Depending on the location from which they were recruited (not all locations could provide confiden- tial interviewing space for the study period), participants were given the choice of participating in person or over the phone. Interviews were scheduled at a time of the participant’s choice.

Human Subjects Review and Confidentiality

The institutional review board of the sponsoring university approved all study proce- dures prior to the beginning of data collection. Limited identifying information was collected to reduce the risk of breach of confidentiality, and the team obtained a waiver of documented informed consent, as well as a waiver for the collection of certain iden- tifying information to further ameliorate this risk. Participants were given a wide range of choices regarding the times and places at which they could participate to maximize their options for safe participation, and all interviews occurred in private spaces within health care or similar environments, or over the phone.

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Data Collection

In collaboration with leaders from the state domestic violence coalition and the broader state plan research team, a semistructured interview guide was developed, including open-ended questions with accompanying prompts. The interview guide was put through a process of forward and backward translation by a team of native Spanish speakers, who were available to conduct and translate interviews in Spanish. All inter- viewers for this project were master’s or PhD-level social workers with social work practice experience with survivors and families facing IPV, and all were supervised by a PhD-level researcher with 15 years of experience in IPV service research and prac- tice. Two available interviewers were native Spanish speakers. Examples of semistruc- tured questions include the following: “Who have you told about the violence you have experienced? What was that like?” “Were you involved in other services or sys- tems as a result of the violence (like law enforcement or child protective services [CPS])? How did you work with them?” “Have you ever sought help from an agency or organization for a relationship problem like domestic violence? Why not?/How did that go?” and “Have you ever tried to use services at any other domestic violence agencies and been unable to? What was that like?” Participants received a small incen- tive (US$20 gift card to their choice of certain stores) as a “thank you” for their time and participation. Gift cards were provided in person, by mail, or by email depending on the preference of the participant.

Data Analysis

After gaining verbal informed consent and explicit permission to audio tape the inter- view, study team members audio recorded interviews and then transcribed them ver- batim, before uploading deidentified quantitative data into an online database system for cleaning and analysis. All audio files were immediately deleted from recording devices after being uploaded to an encrypted and password-protected server. If a participant declined audio recording, interviewers were trained to document to the best of their ability the general themes and any keywords or phrases used in response to open-ended questions. Interviews lasted between 30 min and 1 hr.

Two master’s-level coders first engaged in a process of holistic narrative analysis focused on identifying overarching themes within individual survivor narratives, as well as documenting inconsistencies, discrepancies, and places where questions were misunderstood or misinterpreted within the text. Next, categories and themes were developed collaboratively through a process of inductive and deductive coding by a team of three researchers who are trained in qualitative methods as well as knowledge- able about IPV survivors and services (Padgett, 2008). Each member of the research team identified themes that emerged from each of the categories, and exemplar quota- tions were identified to support the themes. Each transcript was reviewed by at least two research team members, and the team came to consensus on the final coding structure. To maximize the inclusion of survivor voices to the greatest extent possible, quotations are left in the exact words of the participant and notations are made where

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slight alterations were necessary for narrative flow. Additional information that may shed light on a quotation or theme was only included if it did not jeopardize the ano- nymity of the participant. Strategies employed to enhance rigor include the use of multiple independent coders, expert review of emerging themes with advocates from the state domestic violence coalition, investigation of negative cases (e.g., the theme “positive interactions” was initially identified as a negative case of the negative inter- actions with service providers that were more dominant in early coding; the team then went back to the early transcripts and found support for an additional code, reflecting increased complexity in survivor experiences), and ongoing memoing by members of the research team (Padgett, 2008).

Description of Participants

A total of 36 individuals participated in semistructured interviews. Of those, 23 self- identified as survivors of IPV by endorsing an experience of at least one behaviorally specific IPV tactic (e.g., hitting, slapping, kicking; isolation from family or friends), and were included in the current analysis. See Table 1 for a description of the included participants. The current sample was racially diverse, with more than 30% of partici- pants identifying as Latinx and almost 35% identifying as African American. All but one participant identified as female, and all participants had at least one child (M = 2.7, range = 1–6). Participants were nearly 30 years old on average (M = 29.8 years, range = 18–48 years).

Results

Three categories related to help-seeking experiences were identified from the survivor interviews. The first category, formal help-seeking experiences, included positive interactions and negative interactions. The second category, informal help seeking,

Table 1. Description of Participants (n = 23).

Variable M (range) % (n)

Race Latinx 30.4% (7) African American 34.8% (8) Native American 8.7% (2) White 17.4% (4) Other/Multiracial 8.7% (2) Age 29.8 (18–48) Gender identity Female 95.7% (22) Male 4.3% (1) Number of children 2.7 (1–6)

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included positive interactions, negative interactions, and having never disclosed. The third category, recommendations for providers, included reflections around provider approach and resources.

Formal Help Seeking

Theme 1: Positive interactions. Several survivors discussed having positive experi- ences when they sought help from formal service providers. Survivors shared that they had positive experiences with ancillary service providers, including homeless service providers, mental health professionals, parenting classes, and legal services. These services often provided important formal support related to their experiences of IPV, but this support happened outside of the voluntary IPV service sector.

Several survivors also discussed the positive experiences that friends had with IPV shelters or other IPV-specific services. One survivor relayed the details of her friend’s experience at an IPV shelter, stating, “They helped her with Section 8 [and] she got her own apartment. She’s doing good. . . . They paid for her an apartment for 6 months. . . . Now she has an apartment with her and her son.”

Other survivors shared their positive experiences with ancillary service providers. For instance, a 26-year-old African American survivor shared her positive experience receiving services from a psychiatrist saying, “My primary doctor directed me to a psychiatrist at that time and I feel they are doing a really good job.” Several survivors shared that they found it helpful to discuss their current or past relationship and prob- lems they are having. One survivor, a 32-year-old Latinx woman stated, “It wasn’t until I got out of the relationship that I did go look for help for some sort of counseling because I needed to let it out.” Another survivor described feeling “relief and a little less stress when I go away from the groups. The people in them are in similar situa- tions and you don’t feel judged.” One survivor, a White 20-year-old, recalled the com- prehensive services she received in a homeless shelter saying, “They provided me with food, a place to sleep, room, (unclear). They had psychologists. They had counselors who talked to me. . . . They had everything.”

Several survivors discussed positive experiences with help they received from law enforcement and the legal system. A 48-year-old African American survivor shared that she called the police and had a positive experience obtaining an order of protec- tion. She stated that she obtained the initial order of protection 3 or 4 years ago and after returning to court several times, was granted a lifetime order of protection.

Theme 2: Negative interactions. Although some survivors reflected on positive expe- riences, more recounted the negative experiences they had with formal service pro- viders. These experiences fell into three subthemes: (a) feeling blamed and punished, (b) service providers who were dismissive and disengaged, and (c) service providers who could not help or would not help.

Blamed and punished. Several survivors reported that both IPV and ancillary service providers blamed them for the IPV they experienced. For example, a 28-year-old

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Latinx survivor reported that she once reached out to an IPV shelter and was blamed for her situation. She stated,

I did [seek help] once, the time that I was homeless, and they blamed it on me. Yep . . . they blame you for it. And blame you for rape or abuse. [They said] I shouldn’t have put myself or my kids in that situation.

Several survivors felt that CPS blamed them for the violence, making them less likely to reach out to any group that reports to CPS. A 29-year-old White survivor felt she was being blamed by CPS, saying, “CPS has the authority to punish however instead of it being case by case circumstantial it’s kind of just you did wrong, this is what you have to do.”

Other survivors discussed being punished by shelters. A 48-year-old African American survivor recalled her experience of being “kicked out” of shelters. She stated she has been homeless 5 times while attempting to flee IPV and has lived in both home- less shelters and IPV shelters. She stated that she stayed in an IPV shelter for a few days, but was told to leave after staying out all night because a family member was in a car accident. Another survivor reported that a counselor at a homeless shelter sexually harassed her, causing her to leave the shelter and return to an abusive relationship.

Service providers were dismissive and disengaged. Some survivors felt that service providers were either dismissive of their IPV experiences, or acknowledged that the survivor experienced IPV but did not seem to think it was worth addressing. For instance, one survivor, a 30-year-old Latinx woman, stated, “I feel like they could try a little harder. You kinda tell them the situation and then they are like ‘ok’ and then just look over it.” Similarly, a survivor talked about trying to inform police and CPS about her situation, stating that

I would reach out for support, but I would get scared or nervous and shut down and I would be like “never mind” and then that was it. They would leave it alone. No one would try to get me to open up to get more help.

Other survivors shared similar experiences with CPS workers who did not make needed referrals to IPV or ancillary services.

Service providers could not help. An important theme emerged related to challenging first interactions with service providers. A number of survivors who reached out for IPV services shared that the agency’s inability to address their first concern created a disconnect, disrupting their contact with the agency in the future. One survivor shared that she was unable to get the help she needed (legal assistance) without disclosing more about the situation than she wanted to, leading her to delay seeking additional help until later in the relationship. Others spoke of the impact of an initial inability to access shelter, due to waitlists or beds being full, on their service use trajectory. Survivors shared,

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So when I reached out to a shelter and there was a waiting list, with my lack of support that was my only option and they can’t help me right now maybe it is just meant for me to be in this situation so I just stayed where I was at. I don’t really know. I just feel like if they had more options available instead of just saying “there’s a waiting list right now” or “we are unable to help you.” They didn’t give any other resources, that was just it.

[T]hey took the statement from the police officer and they took my statement and then they put me in a waiting room with other girls until there was a bed available and I was thinking why do I have to sit here and wait for a bed when my bed is available so I just walked out and came home.

Several participants shared similar, frustrating experiences with the legal system or law enforcement. For instance, a 20-year-old multiracial survivor shared her negative experience attempting to file a restraining order and being told that “as long as he is not sending me bodily threats, they can’t put a restraining order on him.” Another survivor reported frustration because when she sought help from law enforcement, she was told that “they would say they had to catch him in the act.” A 34-year-old African American survivor had a similar experience stating, “The police would never do nothing because he would be gone or he would be in the process of being around so, they couldn’t do nothing about it or they didn’t do nothing about it.” She also shared that even when the police caught him hitting her and another partner, the police “still didn’t do nothing about it. Cause since we had kids with him, they felt that he had a right to see his kids.” For many survivors, the limitations of systems (including limited resources, limited legal frameworks, limited ability to act, or limited empathy) prevented a first attempt at seeking help from turning into long-term service engagement.

Informal Help Seeking

Theme 1: Positive interactions. When survivors reflected on positive aspects of seeking informal help, two subthemes emerged: (a) receiving emotional support, and (b) receiving material support and accommodations. Survivors reported that these forms of support were crucial, and came from family, friends, their current partners, employ- ers, and their religious communities.

Emotional support. Many of the survivors stated that they felt supported by their family members. A 19-year-old Latinx survivor stated that individuals in her support system “help me with my kids, talk to me one-on-one, and give me good advice.” Several survivors shared about the support they received from friends. A few survivors shared that they had friends in similar situations and that they supported each other. For example, one survivor shared,

One of my friends went through this a year ago. I taught her what I went through and she taught me what she went through. She is one of my friends I really didn’t tell but she seen it and that is what she goes “you need to leave while you can. You gotta think about your daughter.” (28-year-old Native American survivor)

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Similarly, a 32-year-old Latinx survivor, shared that she receives support from other friends who have been in similar situations, and that together they created an informal support group for IPV survivors, whereas a 37-year-old African American survivor shared that her friends pray together and support each other spiritually.

Material and social supports. Several survivors discussed receiving material support and accommodations from informal sources, also highlighting the ways that receiving this support can be complicated. For instance, a 20-year-old White survivor stated that her mother offered to let her stay with her, but she thought that her mother wanted to sabotage the relationship, so she chose not to accept that help. She explained,

[My mom] always told me to go with her and she would help me. That I wasn’t supposed to be living like that, but I never believed her. I thought she was just against my ex-partner. I never listened to her until now that I got out of jail.

Several survivors reported that their employer was understanding and flexible regarding changes they needed to make to their schedule due to the abuse. For instance, one survivor stated, “Anytime I have any schedule issues or issues getting to work. They make sure they can help me . . . they will work around my schedule” (30-year-old Latinx survivor). In the same vein, a different 30-year-old Latinx survivor stated that her work was very supportive of her and adjusted her schedule to meet her needs, and even that her employer did not let her quit when she tried.

Survivors also shared how disclosing to friends or family provided them opportuni- ties to save money and prepare for a new life. For instance, a 28-year-old Native American survivor stated that she experienced verbal abuse and that she saved up her money and left. She elaborated saying, “Me and my friend. I told her what I was going through and we both saved up and we got an apartment for both of us and I left.” A 34-year-old African American survivor who experienced physical IPV reported that she saved money and kept it from her abusive partner by giving it to her parents to keep for her so she could access it after she left.

Theme 2: Negative interactions. Other survivors shared about the negative experiences they had when they sought help from family and friends. This primarily manifested in a sense of being unsupported, blamed, or disbelieved, particularly by family. For example, one survivor stated her family would say,

“If you didn’t run your mouth or you didn’t have an attitude you wouldn’t be put through this kind of stuff.” They just really didn’t seem to care to me. We have been split up for a year now, but they still keep him around. He is still invited to family BBQs before I even get invited. (30-year-old Latinx survivor)

A 33-year-old multiracial survivor stated that her family does not listen to her because they think she has an intellectual disability. She explained, “[When] everybody says that you are retarded so they aren’t going to listen to you anyway.”

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Theme 3: Never disclosed. A substantial minority of respondents shared that they had never disclosed their experiences of IPV to any informal support. In reflecting on this choice, survivors tended to talk about feeling ashamed about the violence, and about a belief that they were or should be able to help themselves without engaging others.

Ashamed. One of the reasons that survivors did not disclose the abuse was because of feeling ashamed. A 32-year-old Latinx survivor shared, “I experienced [it] while I was dating in high school and then moved in with him and it got worse. I just couldn’t tell anyone. I don’t know. I felt shame. Shameful.”

Helped themselves. Several participants explained that they did not seek help because they were able to help themselves. One survivor stated that she did not want to seek outside help because she did not want to “open up a rainstorm over something I can handle in house.” A 28-year-old Latinx survivor shared that she helped herself by learning self-defense. Others felt that the abuse they were experiencing “wasn’t a continual thing” and that they could manage on their own. For example, one survivor shared that her experience of violence was not serious enough to warrant disclosing because it always seemed to improve over the course of a day. She said, “Just that it would always get better before the day was over or I wouldn’t look too much on it after it happened.”

Recommendations for Providers

Survivors had a great deal to share related to how they would like to be able to interact with services in the future.

Theme 1: Provider approach. Many survivors shared how they would like providers to engage with them, their overarching advice included the following: (a) Listen, be proactive with IPV information and take it seriously; (b) give support and validation; (c) keep children with parents; and (d) raise awareness.

Listen, take it seriously, and follow up. Several survivors spoke about wishing provid- ers would listen to their stories, take them seriously, and take steps to follow up after a survivor has disclosed their experiences of abuse. For instance, a 30-year-old Latinx survivor wished that providers would acknowledge and address survivors’ experiences instead of “just taking it [the disclosure] and saying ‘OK’ and brushing it under the rug.” A 23-year-old survivor stated that providers need to “follow up” with survivors after they had shared their experiences, rather than expecting survivors to disclose or take the lead to center their violence experience over and over. Overwhelmingly, there was a sense from these interviews that participants did not feel that their situations were taken seriously by service providers, particularly ancillary service providers, and that survivors thus did not or could not trust those providers to respond effectively when they made the choice to disclose.

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Survivors also spoke to the idea that providers need to ask about IPV more than once because survivors may not disclose right away. Survivors reported feeling scared, embarrassed, or having difficulty trusting a provider at first. They under- scored the importance of continued, provider-led follow-up. One survivor described this pointedly, saying,

When you are talking to someone who has been abused, they won’t come out and say it right away because it is hard for us to trust that person just yet or to let it out. We still might be embarrassed about it. So, maybe talk to them a little bit longer and that way maybe you can get to what is going on in their life, not just “Here’s this. Go look for it.” (32-year-old Latinx survivor)

Give support and validation. Many of the survivors discussed the importance of service providers offering emotional support. Several survivors recommended that service providers take a compassionate approach. A 28-year-old Latinx survivor summed it up by saying she wanted providers to “make us feel safe and not blame us.” Furthermore, a 20-year-old White survivor stated that she wanted service providers to be “confident in people and understanding [of] people. Sometimes it is really hard for a survivor to [acknowledge] she is being abused. . . . In my case, I felt guilty about it and it was ok or that I deserved it.” Another survivor, a 29-year-old White woman, provided a similar view when discussing her recommendations for CPS. She stated bluntly, “It’s very much by the book,” and felt that CPS workers should acknowledge “extenuating circumstances.” To provide effective support, survivors recommended that service providers receive education about IPV and how to engage with survi- vors. One survivor, a 30-year-old Latinx survivor, shared her experience of learning that verbal and financial violence were a form of manipulation. Another survivor was shocked to find out how common IPV is. In each case, survivors talked about the power of being validated by “professionals” and feeling less alone.

Keep children with parents. Many survivors had co-occurring involvement with CPS. One of the most resounding refrains heard from survivors was that families should be kept together and that their children should not be removed from them. For instance, one survivor urged service providers to more thoroughly assess the situation saying,

I believe CPS could do better by actively look into the situation before they just snatch children out of their homes and away from the people they have known all their lives. I’ve seen people much worse that are actually harming their children. They aren’t helping. (31-year-old White survivor)

Raise awareness. Several survivors recommended that service providers work to increase awareness about IPV and the services available at voluntary service agencies as well as in ancillary settings. For instance, a 30-year-old Latinx shared that after her experience with IPV, she began telling other survivors where they could go to get help.

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She shared her experience of talking to other survivors about IPV, and recalled, “Most of the time [survivors] have never heard of those things. It was their first time hearing about it and a lot of time it was single mothers who had been in those situations or worse.” From this experience, she concluded that even where helpful services exist, they are not well-enough known in her communities.

Some survivors also recognized the potential impact of IPV education in schools. An 18-year-old African American survivor spoke to this point, stating, “having people who go into like schools and things like that and talk to young girls and boys about it because we were never like really educated about it in high school but we always knew it was there.” Another survivor suggested that schools could be a place to provide outreach to survivors of IPV because they often have children who attend school.

Theme 2: Resources. Survivors spoke at length about the resources that they would have liked to receive had they been more engaged with voluntary IPV services, as well as their experiences obtaining those resources from other service providers, including CPS and legal, child protective, and homeless services. Participants frequently cited help applying for Medicaid, housing, daycare, job training, and education as key needs. One survivor noted that often what was “on offer” did not match her perceived current needs. She shared that the shelter where she stayed provided help with obtain- ing an ID and an order of protection, but what she really needed was assistance with finding housing, and that this was one factor preventing a deeper engagement with services for her. Another survivor shared her frustration about receiving referrals for resources, but not having the transportation to obtain them. She said,

They tell us there is a lot of services out there that would help us but they don’t, they won’t take us, they kind of want us to get there on our own and a lot of people don’t have a way to get there . . . and a lot of [survivors] are threatened in their home to where they can’t even leave their home to go get help. (28-year-old Latinx survivor)

In addition, several survivors shared their experiences of long wait times for referrals for resources. For instance, survivors shared that they experienced long wait times for housing support and mental health services, and that these waits represented serious disruptions in their efforts to achieve safety.

Discussion

Much of the literature surrounding services access and engagement comes from sam- ples of services-involved survivors. But data reflect that the majority of IPV survivors do not ultimately engage with services. Because evidence suggests that engaging with services such as advocacy, counseling, and shelter can increase survivor safety and reduce the long-term consequences of experiencing IPV, this study sought to amplify the voices of survivors who have not consistently accessed services. It sought to develop knowledge to inform the structures and practices of IPV and ancillary ser- vices, as well as increase understanding of the role of informal supports in the lives of nonservice-seeking survivors.

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Many of the themes identified in these data are similar to studies of service- engaged survivor populations; however, we highlight some specific barriers survi- vors may face when seeking help. In particular, themes related to emotional and interpersonal dynamics that serve as barriers or facilitators to accessing help are largely consistent with previous studies. Participants shared feelings of shame and blame that reflect clearly documented patterns among service-engaged survivors, including participants’ sense of personal shame, as well as their fear of the reactions of others in their lives (e.g., Ting & Panchanadeswaran, 2009; Watt et al., 2008). Conversely, themes speaking to service provider interactions as barriers to service engagement emerged strongly with this population but are less frequently reflected in studies among service engaged survivors. Studies have previously identified the bar- riers created by a lack of compassion in response to an initial response disclosure (e.g., Dichter et al., 2015); however, the current project throws into particularly stark relief the specific damage that occurs when providers cannot meet the needs of survi- vors when they initially reach out for help. Similarly, these data suggest that negative interactions during the initial phases of services engagement (e.g., upon first contact or entering shelter, or with initial law enforcement or medical personnel) can be the barrier that prevents an initial attempt at connection from solidifying into ongoing services engagement.

Importantly, although many participants had never sought services from IPV ser- vice agencies, that did not necessarily mean they had never disclosed their experi- ences of abuse to any formal “helper.” In fact, many survivors shared that they had made attempts to access services, including disclosing to law enforcement and health workers, but that they had been rebuffed or dismissed at their initial point of contact, leaving them mistrustful of the ability or desire of service providers to meet their needs. Professionals often point to “siloing” among different service sectors (Mason et al., 2017), highlighting differences in perspective, practice, and structure between health and human service sectors (e.g., medical, legal, child protective, and IPV- specific services). However, survivors disclosing experiences of violence may view “formal” services, both from IPV service providers and ancillary providers, as a large monolith, with negative experiences in one sector generalizing to reflect the outlook or capacity to help of all potential services. It is critically important for survivors to experience support and help in their initial interactions and disclosures to service providers, as these interactions may set the tone not only for their ongoing engage- ment with that specific provider or sector, but with any formal service.

Many participants built on their informal networks and individual capacity to deal with their experiences of violence without engaging formal helpers. Many were confi- dent in their ability to manage their circumstances and preferred to deal with chal- lenges independently, often both because they feared the consequences of involving others in their challenges and because they doubted the ability of formal services to meet their unique needs. Formal service providers can both honor survivors’ strengths and remarkable ability to cope and be willing and able to come alongside survivors in their efforts without detracting from the work toward physical and emotional safety that survivors have already done.

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Limitations

It is important to consider the limitations of the current data before evaluating the implications of this work. First, these survivors come from a single state in the American southwest and are shaped by the challenges of accessing services in that context. Legal and systems-level policy issues at the state level have shaped their experiences, which may manifest differently for survivors in other contexts. In addi- tion, although these survivors were explicitly recruited from outside of IPV service settings, they were recruited through medical and ancillary services, and as such, were engaged with some sort of helping system. Their experiences may be distinct from survivors who are completely disengaged with all helping systems, and future research should explore that population. Furthermore, these interviews aimed to collect rich qualitative data from a diverse but limited group of survivors of IPV. In the future, these assumptions should be tested quantitatively in larger samples, including studies of nonfemale-identified survivors and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, inter- sex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) survivors. In addition, studies should expand beyond documenting and describing these challenges to testing systems-level interventions to reduce barriers to service entry and enhance survivors’ access to effective services across systems.

Implications for Service Providers

One of the most striking and resonant themes emerging from the survivor voices captured over the course of this project was a final request of and for service provid- ers: “just follow up, compassionately.” When survivors, especially those who have not previously taken the step of engaging with community helpers, take the anxiety- producing step of beginning to disclose histories of violence, they are asking for understanding, follow-up, and some sort of response. Many survivors shared how anxiety-producing that initial disclosure can be, and their hope that helpers will meet them in that moment. As one survivor shared,

Sometimes with me, I would reach out for support but I would get scared or nervous and shut down and I would be like “never mind” and then that was it. They would leave it alone. No one would try to get me to open up to get more help. I just feel like certain services or counseling when people come to them, if they understood that they get scared sometimes because they don’t know what is going to happen, they should do a little bit more to continue to help you so you can open up to accept that you need the help.

Feelings that providers were willing to connect with them around their experiences of violence can go a long way toward increasing survivors’ willingness to continue to engage. For providers, especially those in ancillary services, it is important to ensure that all those who come into contact with the public receive training and support to reduce their fear of talking about IPV. Proper training can increase the chance that, when a survivor begins to open the door, the provider feels comfortable walking

2328 Violence Against Women 27(12-13)

through it, rather than implicitly or explicitly shutting it in their face. Significantly, a number of survivors talked about feeling that they had disclosed experiences of IPV in hope of receiving help, or even just receiving acknowledgment, and it being ignored or brushed past. For ancillary providers, an important piece of training may be how to recognize a disclosure of abuse when it is happening, recognizing that survivors may share about violence in veiled language or disclose part but not all of their experience, and that it is the responsibility of the helper to identify the disclosure and reciprocate. Evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) proto- cols can help institutionalize these practices in ancillary service settings (Gilbert et al., 2015; Nelson et al., 2012). For example, a randomized controlled trial investigating the Women Initiating New Goals of Safety (WINGS) SBIRT intervention for identifying and responding to IPV among substance-using women on probation led to a signifi- cant increase in receipt of IPV services, social support, and IPV self-efficacy among participants at the 3-month follow-up (Gilbert et al., 2015).

Survivors made it clear that they expect to be able to receive help (and especially accurate information) in whatever system they are engaged with, and when this does not happen, it decreases their likelihood of engaging with any system in the future. For family violence service agencies and coalitions, it is critical to work alongside a range of systems, including CPS, criminal justice, medical, housing, and religious groups, approaching all of them as potential points of initial entry and potential points of dis- connect or disruption. Rather than viewing systems as siloed and distinct, with differ- ent cultures, different values, and different services, it is important for IPV service providers to consider that survivors might view the vast array of services available to them as a single formal response system, with the strengths and weaknesses of one part of the system reflecting on the whole. The insights provided by these survivors also point to the potential benefit of working to develop the skills of all bystanders, particularly informal supports such as friends, family, and coworkers, to support and safely intervene with those around them. Partnering with schools, churches, and work- places to educate individuals about IPV myths and facts, as well as services available in the local community, can benefit both that institution and the community at large. For example, university faculty may receive information about IPV and sexual assault services as part of their formal Title IX obligations but may use that information in an informal capacity as a friend or family member.

IPV service providers can often be conflated in the minds of the public with law enforcement entities or other systems such as CPS. IPV service providers should be prepared to respond to survivors who have had previous negative experiences with these systems or who opt not to access the criminal justice system. This would include examining how survivors come into IPV services within an agency and working to create a diversity of options for survivors where services are mandated, such as in the case of CPS requirements.

The results of the current study also highlight the importance of survivors receiving help that meets their own perceived needs during their first engagement with service providers. Where there were long waiting lists, full shelters, or a mismatch between survivor need and type of service available at the agency/service in question (and a

2329Voth Schrag et al.

failure to warmly identify and make a connection to other services that could address that need), the disconnection from formal services was often permanent. Being helpful the first time, whether that means providing a small amount of flexible funding, hav- ing an open bed at shelter, getting connected to health or mental health services, or simply making a “warm hand off” to an IPV service provider that includes a recogni- tion that the survivor has disclosed abuse and an emotionally supportive response to that disclosure, is critical to increasing and maintaining service connections. Even when services are full, IPV service provider staff who are initial points of contact for survivors, typically hotline advocates, can safety plan around immediate needs and reiterate the ability of the survivor to reengage whenever needed. Service providers can utilize network-oriented practices that equip survivors to consider the full range of their informal supports and co-create strategies to reach out to those supports (Goodman & Smyth, 2011). They can also examine safe strategies to shift the onus of seeking services and following up from the survivor to the system.

Survivors sometimes shared about seeking help that the system with which they were interacting could not or would not provide (e.g., wanting law enforcement to respond in ways that were against agency policy, practice, or the law). It is notable that in these cases, survivors often talked about feeling that they had not experienced the help they wanted because they were not believed or trusted by the helpers with whom they interacted. For helpers in these cases, rather than moving on with the work at hand, taking a few minutes to explain why things are not going to go as the survivor wants could make a significant difference in their long-term engagement with a wide range of formal services. For example, if an abuser’s behavior does not meet the legal definition of abuse or stalking, the service provider should take the time to explain when the behavior would be illegal in nature and how the survivor can effectively report it. This might mean things take a little more time on the front end, but it could well be worth it if it means survivors get effectively connected with services. For police, CPS, and other ancillary helpers, having team members whose job is to support survivors and give accurate information about the systems with which they are engaged (e.g., crime victim service advocates or IPV advocates co-located in CPS) can help meet this challenge.

The reflections of this group of survivors, who have not had the same interaction with formal IPV services as many of those reflected in the literature, also highlight the continued need for messaging campaigns to shape public knowledge and beliefs about IPV. Fear of shame, stigma, and blame from the community, along with a lack of awareness of the availability of services and the steps to access them, combined to shape the decision making of some survivors. Primary prevention campaigns that address the root causes of IPV and reject victim blaming can be important in shaping expectations for survivors as well as preventing violence in the first place. By increas- ing survivors’ sense that their community supports and values them, they may reduce barriers to service access, linking survivors with services that can enhance their safety and ultimately serve as conduits of both primary and secondary prevention of vio- lence. Educational and awareness efforts can also provide important support to infor- mal helpers. Having friends or family who provide emotional support and help

2330 Violence Against Women 27(12-13)

survivors link to and engage with services is an important pathway to service entry, but this requires informal helpers to know the signs of abuse, the kinds of services avail- able, and how to access them.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Texas Council on Family Violence for their support and feedback.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded in part by the Texas Council on Family Violence.

ORCID iD

Diana Padilla-Medina https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1958-4969

Note

1. The term “ancillary services” is used to refer to non–intimate partner violence (IPV)- specific service providers who may come into contact with survivors as they deal with the challenges of life. Examples include (but are not limited to) medical, law enforcement, legal professionals, CPS, or welfare workers.

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Author Biographies

Rachel J. Voth Schrag, PhD LCSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Her research focuses on secondary and tertiary prevention strategies for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly community-based survivor-centered services. She holds an MSW and PhD from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been working in research and practice capacities in the field of IPV intervention and prevention for 15 years.

Kristen Ravi, PhD LMSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. Her research focuses on the intersection of children’s exposure to IPV and emotional–behavioral disabilities.

Sarah Robinson, MSW, is a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington. She has experience working with survivors of IPV and victims of crime. Her research primarily focuses on service provision and utilization, with particular interest in the impact of the built environ- ment (i.e., the structure, location, and design of service agencies) on survivors’ ability to access services and service outcomes.

Elyssa Schroeder, MSW, is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia. Her research interests include trauma interventions, survivor-driven responses, human trafficking, domestic violence, and the health and wellness of helping professionals.

Diana Padilla-Medina, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington and U.S. Fulbright Scholar. Her areas of expertise include Latino adolescent dating violence, IPV, and adolescent decision making.

2334 Violence Against Women 27(12-13)

Articles/Voth Schrag, 2019 Experiences of Economic Abuse in the Community, Listening to Survivor Voices.pdf

Original Article

Experiences of Economic Abuse in the Community: Listening to Survivor Voices

Rachel J. Voth Schrag 1

Abstract Economic abuse (EA) comprises tactics of intimate partner violence (IPV) which undermine survi- vors’ economic self-sufficiency and self-efficacy. Evidence is strong that survivors of IPV who have accessed formal services have experienced a wide range of EA tactics. However, there remains a gap in our understanding of EA experiences for survivors who have not sought IPV services. Thus, this article presents the findings of qualitative interviews with a group of women attending community college (n ¼ 20) who screened as having experienced intimate partner violence in their current or most recent relationship but who have never sought formal IPV services. Four themes emerged: (1) economic control, (2) economic exploitation, (3) economic manipulation, and (4) the economics of safety. The voices of these survivors highlight how EA is a critical issue for social workers in IPV service agencies, along with those who interact with IPV survivors in a range of other settings. Empowering social workers to identify the tactics and impacts of EA could lead interventions aimed at supporting survivors and begin undoing the economics of abuse.

Keywords economic abuse, financial security, intimate partner violence, safety

Economic abuse (EA) is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) which includes tactics aimed at

undermining the economic self-sufficiency and self-efficacy of an intimate partner (Adams, Sulivan,

Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, Murshid, & Kim, 2012). Documented

tactics of EA include disrupting work or school, destroying or fraudulently using credit in an

intimate partner’s name, and controlling shared finances though preventing access to funds or

exerting other forms of unilateral financial control (Adams et al., 2008; Ericksson & Ulmestig,

2017; Postmus et al., 2012; Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2017). Evidence is strong that survivors of IPV

dwelling in IPV shelters, accessing transitional housing, or seeking economic support services have

long histories of EA experiences, with studies identifying 99% of sheltered IPV survivors and 98% of service-seeking women as survivors of EA (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2012). A recent

1 School of Social Work, University of Texas–Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rachel J. Voth Schrag, School of Social Work, University of Texas–Arlington, 211 S. Cooper, Arlington, TX 76016, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 2019, Vol. 34(3) 313-324 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0886109919851142 journals.sagepub.com/home/aff

systematic review of the literature on EA found remarkable consistency across studies in the inclu-

sion of economic control, economic exploitation, and employment sabotage as key aspects of EA for

various populations of survivors around the world (Postmus, Hoge, Breckenridge, Sharp-Jeffs, &

Chung, 2018).

However, there remains a gap in our understanding of EA experiences for survivors who have not

sought IPV services. Building a deeper understanding of the experiences of these survivors is critical

to understanding the true impact of EA and is an essential step in developing effective community-

level prevention programming. However, to this point, the majority of scholarship and theorizing

related to the experiences and impact of EA for survivors has been with the subset of survivors who

have sought assistance from formal IPV service agencies. To begin to bring the voices of survivors

dwelling in the community and not in contact with IPV service agencies into the conversation, this

article presents the findings of qualitative interviews with a group of women attending community

college (n ¼ 20) who screened as having experienced IPV in their current or most recent relationship but who had never sought formal IPV services. Interviews included a focus the women’s economic

experiences, and the particular focus of this study is on their reflections related to economic control

and coercion by their intimate partner. This study asks: How are nonservice engaged community

dwelling survivors experiencing EA?

Background

Evidence underscores IPV’s negative impact on the employment, education, earnings, and long-term

stability of survivors (Adams, Greeson, Kennedy, & Tolman, 2013; Goodman, Smyth, Borges, &

Singer, 2009; Voth Schrag, Ravi, & Robinson, 2018). The pathways through which these impacts are

carried are varied. It is thus the obligation of service providers and scholars to deepen our under-

standing of this interplay (Brush, 2004). The current study seeks to contribute by highlighting the

voices of survivors who have not sought services from traditional sources.

EA

There is significant quantitative evidence for the impact of EA on survivors of IPV across life

domains. Studies have linked tactics of economic control, economic exploitation, and work and

school disruption to housing and employment instability; increased material hardship; and increased

economic dependence (Adams et al., 2013; Goodman et al., 2009; Voth Schrag, Robinson, & Ravi,

2019). Studies have also demonstrated the way that past experiences with EA can impact survivors

for years after the end of a relationship due to ongoing issues with debt, employment, and credit

(Toews & Bermea, 2017; Ulmestig & Eriksson, 2017). Evidence is also mounting for the physical

and mental health consequences of EA, with demonstrated correlations with increased risk of

gastrointestinal syndromes, pelvic problems, and psychosomatic symptoms as well as mental health

impacts including increased suicidality, higher rates of psychological distress, and heighted risk of

depression (Antai, Oke, Braithwaite, & Lopez, 2014; Stockl & Penhale, 2015; Stylianou, 2018; Voth

Schrag et al., 2019). Importantly, Antai, Oke, Braithwaite, and Lopez; Stylianou (2018), and col-

leagues (2019) all identified a unique contribution of EA to mental health symptomology above and

beyond experiences of other forms of IPV.

Along with this quantitative work, scholars have sought to bring survivor voices to the center of

the conversation around the impact of EA. In interviews with IPV survivors who were referred for

economic support services, Sanders (2015) explored survivors’ experiences with EA. Salient themes

for this high need population included monetary control, the role of economic dependence in leave/

stay decisions, economic conflict as an “impetus to abuse,” abuse in the form of disruption of

314 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(3)

employment or education, the role of debt and credit, abuse through stealing or destroying property,

the long-term aftermath of EA, and creative financial strategies employed by survivors.

Many IPV survivors do not access formal services, such as domestic violence shelters or IPV-

specific counseling agencies, yet they still experience a wide range of adverse impacts from vio-

lence. In a nationally representative survey, nearly half of survivors reported having specific service

needs (such as medical, legal, and advocacy help) that were not met (Breiding, Chen, & Black,

2014). Survivors who face forms of IPV but do not seek services may have a unique set of

experiences and subsequent service needs due partly to differences in the economically abusive

behaviors they have experienced. However, little is known regarding the perceptions of such survi-

vors regarding their experiences or impacts of EA.

Coercive Control Theory (CCT)

Our growing conceptualization and understanding of the role of EA in the lives of survivors is

deepened and extended when EA is viewed through the lens of CCT because of CCT’s emphasis on

how IPV destroys the survivor’s autonomy (Arnold, 2009). CCT points to the central role of power

in IPV, outlining how an abusive partner gains microcontrol over their partner using a range of

coercive tactics, which critically can include, but is in no way limited to, violence. CCT recognizes

the ultimate “aim” of IPV as the breakdown of a survivor’s autonomy and self-efficacy, an aim

which may be achieved via tactics including threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, and physical

violence (Dutton & Goodman, 2005; Stark, 2007). CCT provides a framework for understanding the

economic instability facing survivors of IPV, as an abusive partner may use tactics of power and

control to increase a survivor’s economic dependence on the abusive partner, thereby enhancing an

abusive partner’s overall control of the survivor’s life (Postmus et al., 2012; Stark, 2007).

Method

Sample Selection

Study participants (n ¼ 20) were recruited from among participants in a larger sequential mixed- methods study of female community college students (see Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2018 and Voth

Schrag et al., 2019). One aim of that study was to have the analytical power to assess relationships

between experiences of victimization and various outcomes in a group where there was little data

available to estimate the extent of IPV victimization (community college students). Because of this,

the decision was made to limit the recruitment to female identified students in order to maximize the

likelihood of observing a wide enough range of IPV experiences to have analytical power. A simple

random sample of female community college students was recruited via their campus based e-mail

address from four campuses of a community college system in a Midwestern metropolitan area. Con-

sented participants who were eligible for the study (those who were at least 18, identified as female, and

had been in an intimate relationship in the past 12 months) completed an online quantitative survey (n¼ 435). Standardized measures used in the quantitative survey included the abusive behavior inventory

(ABI), which screens for domains of IPV including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse (Postmus,

Stylianou, & McMahon, 2016). An ABI score above a cutoff point established in the literature was

utilized to indicate a positive screen for IPV in the participant’s current or most recent relationship.

Participants for the current study were purposively recruited from among those who both screened

positive for experiencing IPV and indicated that they were willing to be contacted to complete a follow-

up interview. Among all 20 participants, none indicated they had previously received community-based

IPV services on a checklist of community resources included in the quantitative survey. Initial recruit-

ment e-mails were sent to 70 potential participants and 27 students contacted the study team by e-mail or

Voth Schrag 315

phone to discuss participation. Twenty participants eventually completed an interview. The institutional

review boards of the community colleges and the sponsoring university approved study protocols prior

to data collection.

Interview Protocol

A PhD-level social worker with previously interviewing experience as a qualitative researcher, as

well as a history of practice in the area of IPV services conducted the in-depth semistructured

interviews. They occurred in the winter and spring of 2015–2016 in a place of the participant’s

choice and were 60 min long on average. Informed consent was obtained at the start of each

interview, and each participant received a US$25 gift card as a thank you. Interviews were captured

via audio-recording, and word-for-word transcripts were used for data analysis. The semistructured

interview guide was developed and pilot tested with the input of a community advisory board of IPV

survivors and service providers. The finalized guide included questions and prompts designed to

gather rich data regarding economic factors impacting survivors’ relationships including “How

has [the relationship/the IPV] impacted you financially” and “What sort of financial challenges

have you faced?”

Data Analysis

Transcripts were first reviewed in their entirety, with the aim of identifying and flagging any

discontinuities in the text such as contradictions in the narrative or situations in which a question

was misunderstood (Lehrner & Allen, 2008). The Dedoose qualitative data analysis platform was

used to track and organize the analysis, as well as to facilitate memo writing, which was used to

document issues raised by this first round of holistic analysis and link memos with specific sections

of text. Memoing continued throughout the analysis to document the process and identify key

themes and codes. After the initial holistic analysis, two coders, both PhD-level social workers with

experience and training in qualitative methods, worked independently to review all 20 transcripts.

One coder has a history of work with IPV services, while the other has a background in another area

of social work. They independently developed categories and themes using content analysis, includ-

ing “coding down” from preestablished categories from the literature and “coding up” from themes

that emerged inductively (Padgett, 2010). Following the first round of coding, the second indepen-

dent round sought to refine the analysis. This included a focus on identifying and winnowing down

thin codes, while identifying key themes and continually referencing understandings gained through

the initial holistic round of analysis (Charmaz, 2006; Padgett, 2010). Finally, the two independent

coders came together to develop a mutually agreed upon understanding of the codes through

negotiation to consensus. The analysts considered negative cases, identifying a group of participants

(n ¼ 7) who largely reflected positively on their intimate relationship, though they may reference examples of microeconomic control within that generally positive frame. Methods for qualitative

rigor employed included analyst triangulation with multiple coders and analysts from various

standpoints reviewing the data (Patton, 2002). Secondly, expert audit review was employed when

a third PhD-level social worker with a history of work in violence against women service agencies

who had not been part of the initial analysis examined transcripts toward the end of data analysis as

an independent audit of the themes developed (Patton, 2002).

Description of the Participants

Participants’ average age was 27.9 years (SD ¼ 10.2), with almost three semesters of schooling (mean ¼ 2.8, SD ¼ 2.6). Most had at least one child in the home, and about half were currently living

316 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(3)

with their partner. Participants were racially diverse (35% white, 40% black, 10% Asian, 10% Latina, and 5% multiracial). See Table 1 for more information on the sample.

Results

Participants reflected on their current and previous relationships, and a set of themes related to

economic control and abuse emerged coming out of those reflections. Participants were asked

general questions about the role of finances and abuse in their intimate relationships. The

interviewer used probing questions to explore dynamics including income, debt, and

decision-making where those issues emerged. Four themes, each of which was reflected fre-

quently and equivalently strongly across the interviews, emerged from these discussions: (1)

economic control, (2) economic exploitation, (3) economic manipulation, and (4) the economics

of safety.

It is also noteworthy that these 20 women represent a range of ages, economic experiences, and

relationship stages. While there was nearly universal agreement that economic issues play an

important role in intimate relationships, the kinds of relationships represented were varied, and the

extent of economically abusive behaviors varied as well. Further, while all participants screened

“positive” for IPV in their current or most recent intimate relationship based on their score on the

ABI, the severity of abuse and the perceptions of the participants on the health of these relation-

ships varied. Importantly, 7 of the 20 perceived their relationships as flawed but as a fundamen-

tally positive force in their life When reviewing the transcripts and meanings developed from these

seven interviews, we paid special attention to these cases to understand how they informed or

detracted from the emerging themes, treating them as potential negative cases (Patton, 2002).

However, across these seven interviews, there were still many examples provided of behaviors

which scholars have termed “economic abuse,” including heavily monitoring spending (e.g.,

Table 1. Participant Demographics.

Variables Qualitative Sample (n ¼ 20), Mean (SD), Range

Age (years) 27.9 (10.2), 18–50 Number of semesters @ Community College 2.8 (2.6), 1–11 Number of children in the home 1.0 (1.3) 0–5 Monthly individual income US$1,014 (US$764.6) US$0–2,700

Sample % (n)

Full-time student 40 (8) Race

White 35 (7) Black/African American 40 (8) Asian 10 (2) Multiracial 5 (1) Latina 10 (2) Other 0 (0)

Relationship status Single 25 (5) Dating, not living together 25 (5) Married 15 (3) Dating, living together 30 (6) Separated/divorced/widowed 5 (1)

Note. n ¼ 20.

Voth Schrag 317

demanding to see receipts for small purchases) and stealing money. These “negative cases” inform

the analysis by highlighting the presence of economically abusive tactics in relationships that

might fall outside of many individual’s notions of what constitutes IPV.

Economic Control

Participants reflected on partners exerting microcontrol over finances, including finances that, from

the participant’s perspective, should be jointly held resources. Economic control was reflected in

situations where a partner severely limited a student’s say in or knowledge of their economic

situation or where they placed barriers in front of a student’s use of joint resources. Examples

included partners who withheld needed funds, made unilateral decisions regarding family finances

even after the participant requested input, or who otherwise limited participant’s access to economic

resources. These experiences of loss of economic control left participants feeling diminished,

dependent, frustrated, and often unsure how to proceed. One participant described the day-to-day

experience like this: “It was like if I needed something . . . . Let’s just say I need some soap and toothpaste and some deodorant. He won’t give me the money.” Another participant described how

experiences of economic control impacted her perception of her relationship overall, reflecting that

economically controlling behaviors felt like a statement by her partner of his ultimate authority. She

shared,

We always seemed to get into fights, because it was like, “You know how much money we have, so you

can spend the money, and you kind of give me an allowance. . . . So yeah, it’s more of a comfortable

feeling for me, because of course he would always say he’s not doing it intentionally to make me feel a

certain way, or to make me feel like he’s the person in charge, and only him.”

Another student reflected on how economic control impacted her relationship with her highly

physically abusive partner. He wanted to push her away from her desired academic field, sharing

that at one point she had needed to retake a few classes to get into her desired program, and he

considered cutting off funding for her education so that she could not enroll. She shared,

That was a big question about whether I would be able to retake those classes to go back to grad school or not.

That was something we needed to talk about, and he could have said no, and I wouldn’t have been able to go.

Economic Exploitation

Participants who shared reflections about experiences of economic exploitation spoke about partners

who stole or insisted on spending a student’s money or other valuable economic resources without

their consent or agreement or who put excessive pressure on the student to “consent” to sharing

economic resources. Often participants reflected on being unsure of the line between how people

share resources in a loving relationship and when a partner is asking too much or contributions

become uneven or unfair. Participants reflected on these experiences across a range of relationship

types, from long-term marriages to short-term dating partners. One participant, who was in a

relatively short-term abusive relationship and who never lived with or otherwise financially

entangled herself with her partner, nonetheless experienced this form of exploitation. She talked

about the reverberating impact of many small acts of exploitation over time, reflecting:

He would say, “Can you pay for it because I don’t have it.” Or, “Can you pay for the gas because we’re

taking my car.” Or, “Can I just borrow this from you?” and then never giving it back kind of thing. I felt

too pressured to not say no . . . . That was a big thing for 6 months or so, which is part of the reason why

I’m going to community college because I’m so broke because that’s part of it.

318 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(3)

Another participant reflected on how the economic patterns in her long-term relationship with a live-

in boyfriend became financially toxic for her over time. She shared that her partner would often ask

for money or for her to buy him things as a sign of her “love.” Additionally, she shared:

I started working, I wasn’t working a ton at first, I was working 20 hr a week, or something normal like

people in school do. When I started working 30, 35 hr a week when I was still in school, I was spending a

lot of money. Actually, a lot of money to, when he would just ask for it, I would just say, “Okay, that’s

fine.” I now realize that I should’ve never done that because that was mine and I worked for it.

Another form of economic exploitation was specific to those students who had longer term

economic relationships with their partners. Several participants discussed ways in which their

partners created increased economic vulnerability for their family unit through excessive

unwanted spending (i.e., continued problem gambling or substance use after the student has

expressed concern regarding the economic impact) or through taking out substantial additional

loans that the participant was unsure about or downright opposed to (e.g., a partner who spent loan

money on things other than the express purpose of the loan). Reflecting on how her partner’s

economic choices was impacting her, one participant noted that, because of his spending and

expectations for her to support the family, she had

to take out extra [personal school] loans [so] that we can live on in the winter . . . . Loans are never fun,

but it’s like, let’s pay our house payment with this school loan so that we can get through.

Another participant reflected on the economic cost of her partner’s drug and alcohol use, and how

that contributed to her feeling trapped in both the relationship and limited in her future economic

choices.

Economic Manipulation

A number of participants spoke about how their intimate partners used economic strategies or

economic realities to gain control in the relationship and limit the survivor’s options for self-

sufficiency or independence. For example, one student shared that her abusive ex-partner threatened

to leave her soon after she had dropped out of the workforce to go back to school (a decision they had

come to jointly as a good pathway for their family), and just as they had moved into a new home with

a substantial mortgage. This caused her to drop out of school to ensure that she could continue to

provide for her children in the case that he followed through on his threat. Reflecting on her decision

to drop out then, she said

My kids’ dad actually was going to leave us. He said he was going to leave us. We were buying a

house. We had some things going on, and I knew that I couldn’t afford it on my own.

The Economics of Seeking Safety From Violence

Several participants recognized that economic realities were playing determining roles in their

choices around seeking safety in the face of abusive relationships. One shared that she was choosing

to stay in a relationship that she knew was dangerous because for her, economic insecurity out-

weighed other considerations. She said:

I know for me personally, [the barrier to leaving my abusive partner is] just having money. I only get paid

so much to work at the chocolate factory. I’ve been driving the same car since I did in high school, so 5, 6

years now. I can’t really afford a new one. I could not afford to live on my own at all.

Voth Schrag 319

Another participant reflected that the choice to stay with her abusive partner was the only thing

allowing her to finish school while providing shelter and food for her family. She was making a

calculated choice to trade off current safety for future security. A number of other participants

reflected that economic dependence was a current or past reality, but that these experiences were

motivating them toward future economic independence.

Discussion

Findings from the current study highlight that survivors of IPV across a range of relationship types

and levels of “severity” are impacted by economically coercive and controlling tactics. With some

exceptions, these are not dramatic stories of extreme exploitation. Instead, when put together, they

tell a story of encroaching power and control which constrain opportunities, entrench abusive

patterns, and deepen cycles of dependence. Participants in the current study articulated dynamics

of economic control, exploitation, and manipulation which all influenced their decision-making on

their economic and safety futures (Figure 1). These findings are largely consistent with emerging

evidence from research with survivors who have sought assistance from IPV service agencies (e.g.,

Postmus et al., 2012; Sanders, 2015), who evidence suggests may have histories of more extreme

IPV than these participants who have not sought services from IPV service agencies (Flicker et al.,

2011). The current results correspond with and generally support the themes found by Sanders

(2015) in a population of women who were seeking help for dealing with the economic impact of

IPV on their lives. In particular, they the two most salient and frequently endorsed themes from

Sanders’ study: monetary control and lack of access to financial resources and economic dependence

and the role in staying or leaving.

Consistent with CCT, participants highlighted how their partners exerted microcontrol over

finances, limiting their perceived available choices and causing them to doubt their ability to live

safely and independently (Stark, 2007). Participants were clear on the ways in which these economic

tactics (control, exploitation, and manipulation) were having direct impacts on their decision-

making related to their relationships as well as their economic futures. A primary implication from

these interviews is that, for these women, the tactics of EA are a major vector for coercive control in

their intimate relationships. This was true for women with a range of perspectives on their relation-

ships overall, from some who felt strongly that their relationships were violent and unhealthy to

others who had mainly positive feelings.

These findings highlight how social norms related to gender and financial roles contribute to this

form of coercion, providing justification for creeping control and muddying lines between partner-

ship and abuse. Participants talked about how they often felt cared for by initial examples of

economically controlling behavior, which were viewed as being chivalrous. In many ways, these

The Economics of

Safety

Economic Control

Economic Exploita�on

Economic Manipula�on

Figure 1. Economic abuse: Emerging themes.

320 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(3)

findings highlight how EA is a “silent” but deeply impactful form of IPV. Importantly, while it may

be easier to identify and conceptualize the potential impact of EA in established “adult” relation-

ships which include financial ramifications such as joint debt or joint assets, these interviews

highlight that EA can be a force even in relationships that don’t included these entanglements. For

these newer relationships, it may be difficult to distinguish between a partner who is simply pro-

viding financial accountability and one who is excessively monitoring their partner’s spending

versus financial accountability, the way that these dynamics are context and relationship specific.

This could cause specific challenges with measurement. It requires scholars and practitioners to

hold both the tactics being used and the relational context (e.g., length of commitment, age of

participants, and existence of other forms of coercive controlling behavior) in mind. Going

forward, researchers should seek to understand the trajectory of EA, from witnessing EA as

children, through experiences of economic coercion in teen dating violence, to experiences of

EA in adulthood (Voth Schrag, Edmond, Tlapek, & Auslander, 2017). It is also important to

recognize that, while the current data come from female identified study participants who reflect

on the intersection of their gender identity and economic control, the gendered nature of IPV—and

economic control in particular—is nuanced and will look differently for different individuals. In

relationships that flip societal scripts surrounding gender, money, and power, including lesbian,

gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) relationships and heterosexual relationships in

which female identified partners use economically controlling tactics, the experiences, meanings,

and impacts of EA could be substantially different. Continued work to understand these distinc-

tions, and how those distinctions should guide social work practitioners in their work with clients,

is critical.

Limitations

There are a number of limitations to consider along with these conclusions. Participants were drawn

from among women attending community college, and as such they may face economic realities

unique to their status as students. Continued work is needed to illicit the perspectives of survivors of

IPV from across populations. Male and nonbinary survivors, survivors in same-sex relationships,

and those who possess significant wealth may all have different experiences with the interplay

between economic power and intimate relationships. For effective intervention and prevention,

future work is needed to understand the contexts and experiences of unique communities. The aim

of these interviews was to collect deep data from a small group of survivors. Extensions which seek

to quantitatively document the extent, impact, and effectiveness of interventions for EA are clearly

needed in order to identify modifiable factors which could be the target for practitioners and policy

makers. Future work could also benefit from examining the impact of the economic standing of the

participant on their experiences and perceptions of EA.

Implications for Community Practice

EA is a critical issue for practitioners serving in IPV service agencies, along with those who

interact with IPV survivors in a range of social work roles including in health care, education,

mental health, and child welfare. As a sometimes silent and creeping form of abuse, it can be easily

overlooked by survivors and service providers alike. The current study highlights the need for

social workers to be aware of and screen for these dynamics, particularly in cases without obvious

financial entanglements. Empowering advocates to identify the tactics and impacts of EA opens

the door for education, advocacy, and systems change which can support survivors and begin to

undo the economics of abuse.

Voth Schrag 321

In a recent systematic review, Hahn and Postmus (2014) identified a set of emerging best

practices for those working with IPV survivors dealing with the economic fallout of abuse. These

include effective information and screening processes (MacMillan et al., 2009), programs aimed at

enhancing survivor financial literacy (Sanders, Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007), programs such as

Individual Development Accounts (Sanders, 2014; Sanders & Schnabel, 2006) and other asset and

capability building efforts (Sanders, 2013), and individualized advocacy programs (VonDeLinde,

2016). Each of these interventions could be implemented within or outside of IPV service agencies.

Given that participants in the current study were not accessing IPV services, developing novel

dissemination and access strategies to reach a wider population could have important social benefits

going forward. Social workers outside of IPV service agencies could look to some of these best

practices as strategies to serve all clients, but they might be uniquely beneficial to those among their

caseloads who are dealing with IPV.

For practitioners in IPV service agencies, the current findings underscore the critical role of

economic advocacy in their menu of services for survivors. True survivor-centered economic advo-

cacy requires advocates in IPV service agencies to work with survivors to understand their current

economic situation and the causes of that situation. Then, the survivor and advocate can work

together to develop an individualized plan (VonDeLinde, 2016).

There is also a clear call for the inclusion of EA in violence prevention work. Several participants

reflected on economically exploitative or controlling experiences they had as teenagers, while others

indicated that they had ambivalence or felt unsure about where a healthy economic partnership in

which two people may have different roles becomes more dangerous and exploitative. Teen dating

violence prevention efforts should include examples of economic coercion to encourage youth to

think about and discuss healthy economic boundaries, and broader public health style campaigns

should address these issues along with other types of IPV.

Conclusion

The voices of these 20 survivors highlight how pervasive EA is and shed light on the experiences of

survivors outside of service settings. For the survivors, economic control, economic exploitation,

and economic manipulation all contribute to the economics of safety.

Empowering social workers who encounter survivors outside of IPV service settings to identify

the tactics and impacts of EA could expand the reach of services aimed at supporting survivors and

begin to undo the economics of abuse.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or pub-

lication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-

tion of this article: Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation, New York Community Trust.

ORCID iD

Rachel J. Voth Schrag https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5273-9905

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Author Biography

Rachel J. Voth Schrag is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.

Her research focuses on secondary prevention of intimate partner violence through the promotion of effective,

accessible, and desired survivor centered services.

324 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(3)

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Articles/VothSchrag et al, 2020 Understanding school sabotage among survivors of IPV from diverse populations.pdf

https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219862626

Violence Against Women 2020, Vol. 26(11) 1286 –1304

© The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1077801219862626

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Research Article

Understanding School Sabotage Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence From Diverse Populations

Rachel J. Voth Schrag1 , Tonya Edmond2, and Anne Nordberg1

Abstract Higher education is an important pathway to safety for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Recent work documents tactics of school sabotage (behaviors aimed at sabotaging educational efforts) identified by school staff and IPV advocates. However, the perspectives of current students who are IPV survivors are unexplored. As part of a multiphasic study, 20 semi-structured qualitative interviews with community college students who reported current or recent IPV were conducted. Identified tactics included disrupting child care, emotional abuse tied to school, and using manipulation to limit access to campus or resources. Identified impacts include preventing focus, diminished academic achievement, emotional or mental health challenges, and instilling a desire to overcome.

Keywords intimate partner violence, dating violence, academic achievement, higher education, coercive control

Background

The consequences of physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse at the hands of an intimate partner are far-reaching and long-lasting. At the national level, intimate partner violence (IPV) is a factor in 16.5% of all homicides in the United States, with

1University of Texas at Arlington, USA 2Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA

Corresponding Author: Rachel J. Voth Schrag, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, 211 South Cooper Street, Arlington, TX 76019, USA. Email: [email protected]

862626VAWXXX10.1177/1077801219862626Violence Against WomenVoth Schrag et al. research-article2019

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a cost to society in terms of medical and mental health care and lost productivity of US$8.3 billion annually (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Rivara et al., 2007). Survivors of IPV face substantially increased rates of mental health dis- orders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disor- ders, along with increased rates of economic hardship and decreased employment (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008; Black et al., 2011; Golding, 1999; Jewkes, 2002). IPV has been identified as a major barrier to employment, and survivors cite economic dependence on their abusive partner as a primary limiting factor in estab- lishing safety outside of an abusive relationship (Adams, Greeson, Kennedy, & Tolman, 2013; Kimerling et al., 2009; Tolman & Rosen, 2001).

Given its role in enhancing women’s economic security, higher education is an important pathway to safety and stability for survivors of IPV (Adams et al., 2013; Pandey & Zhan, 2007). However, it has been suggested that those seeking to maintain power and control over their partners can undermine this educational pathway through various forms of school sabotage, defined as behaviors aimed at sabotaging a survi- vor’s efforts to gain educational credentials (Sanders, 2015; Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2017). Recent work has documented tactics of school sabotage identified by school staff and IPV advocates. However, little is known regarding the tactics and dynamics of school sabotage from the perspective of current students who are survivors of IPV. To fill this gap, the current study documents the perspectives of 20 female community college students who are survivors of IPV surrounding the tactics and impacts of school sabotage in their lives and the lives of their classmates.

School Sabotage

School sabotage is defined as coercive controlling tactics that directly affect a survivor’s efforts to obtain educational credentials (Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2017). Studies have identified such tactics as a serious barrier to the successful completion of educational programs, and ultimately the economic independence and safety of survivors (Brush, 2004; Raphael, 2000; Sanders, 2015). In a study of IPV advocates and college staff, Voth Schrag and Edmond (2017) identified dis- ruption of financial aid, physical violence or stalking at school, disruption of aca- demic efforts, and inducing guilt related to academic efforts as tactics of school sabotage. Practitioners further identified decreased emotional well-being, decreased self-efficacy, and academic impacts including dropping out and loss of focus as the consequences of such tactics, with partners responding to women’s educational efforts with jealousy, resentment, and insecurity. Similarly, Collin- Vézina and colleagues (2006) suggest that abusive partners may demean educa- tional goals in an effort to prevent academic success. Finally, Sanders (2015) qualitatively explored the coercive controlling experiences of women receiving services from an IPV service agency, finding that the partners of service recipients frequently prevented or disrupted their employment or education as a means for furthering their own power and control. However, no studies to date have investi- gated these dynamics with in a sample of current students.

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IPV Among Collegiate Women

Data suggest 22% of college women have experienced IPV during their collegiate careers (Hossain, Memiah, & Adeyinka, 2014). Identified consequences of IPV and sexual assault for collegiate survivors include increased risk for PTSD, depression, and substance use (Overup, DiBello, Brunson, Acitelli, & Neighbors, 2015; Zinzow et al., 2010), as well as increased risk for future victimization (Walsh, DiLillo, & Messman-Moore, 2012). A number of national studies looking at the dynamics of abuse have found a nonlinear relationship between IPV and education (Breiding, Black, & Ryan, 2008; Coker et al., 2002). For example, Breiding et al. (2008) found that women who started, but did not complete college, are more likely to have experi- enced IPV than either high school graduates, who did not go on to any college, or college graduates. While initial data suggest a link, the extent to which IPV was a direct barrier to college completion for these women needs additional attention (Mengo & Black, 2016). Kaukinen (2014) underscores this point in her systematic review of risk and protective factors for dating violence in college when she points to the lack of data regarding the link between dating violence and students’ academic engagement.

Obtaining higher education can be an important pathway toward economic stabil- ity, employment, and increased lifetime earnings, and has been demonstrated to be particularly impactful for women (Adams et al., 2013; Cancian & Meyer, 2000; Pandey & Zhan, 2007; Pandey, Zhan, & Kim, 2006). Data from the 2009 U.S. Census underscores the importance of higher education for women in particular. As analyzed by Adams and colleagues (2013), “When compared with women with less than a high school education, women’s earnings increased by 57% with a high school degree, 81% with some college education, 181% with a college degree, and 318% with an advanced degree” (p. 3284). For IPV survivors in particular, access to the economic resources that come along with higher education can expand their opportunities, increase their self-sufficiency, and buffer against dependence on an abusive partner. With these potential benefits at risk, attention to factors that may affect survivors’ retention and success in higher education is clearly warranted (Adams et al., 2013; Raphael, 2000).

Coercive Control Theory

Attention to tactics of school sabotage is especially warranted within a Coercive Control Theory (CCT) framework of IPV. CCT outlines how an abusive partner obtains micro-control via a range of coercive tactics, including but not limited to violence. It identifies the breakdown of a survivor’s autonomy and self-efficacy as the ultimate goal of such tactics, which include threats, intimidation, psychologi- cal and verbal abuse, and physical violence (Stark, 2007). CCT is particularly applicable when seeking to understand the tactics and impacts of school sabotage because of its emphasis on the destruction of women’s autonomy (Postmus et al., 2012). As argued by Arnold (2009), “Coercive control subverts this process of self-determination and undermines women’s personhood” (p. 1434).

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CCT posits that IPV survivors will have lower levels of economic stability com- pared to other women, as an abuser uses various tactics to increase her economic dependence, enhancing control over all aspects of her life (Postmus et al., 2012; Stark, 2007). Given that women who are pursuing higher education are engaging in activities explicitly designed to enhance their economic independence and long-term security, CCT suggests that schooling may be a “critical period” for survivors in the face of coercive control. Student-survivors are obtaining new skills, seeing their identities and goals shift, and enhancing their economic power through education. This disrupts cycles of abuse and dependence, and may cause abusive partners to take additional steps to undermine the educational success of survivors to prevent their increased autonomy. While theory, advocates, and school personnel all suggest the existence of school sabotage in the lives of survivors of IPV, no study to date has sought to explic- itly understand the perspectives of students who are survivors of IPV.

Research Questions

Given the importance of survivor voices in anti-violence work, and the need to develop frameworks and interventions that support those seeking to enhance their economic power through education, the current study asks the following questions: (a) What tactics of school sabotage do survivors identify? (b) What do survivors perceive as the impacts of school sabotage?

Method

Sample Selection

Participants in the study (n = 20) were part of a larger multiphasic mixed-methods study of female community college students, which sought to assess their experiences and needs around IPV, and aimed to provide information to support campuses in addressing the needs of student-survivors. Using a list of all student e-mail addresses, credit-seeking female students from four campuses in one Midwestern metropolitan area were randomly recruited to complete an online quantitative survey (n = 435), which included the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI; Postmus, Stylianou, & McMahon, 2016). At the end of the survey, they were asked if they would be willing to participate in a follow-up qualitative interview. Interview participants for the cur- rent analysis were purposively recruited from among those who indicated willingness to be contacted and who indicated experiencing IPV in their current or most recent relationship based on their ABI score being above the preestablished cutoff (n = 112). Initial recruitment e-mails were sent to 70 potential participants. Following this e-mail, 27 students contacted the study team by e-mail or phone to discuss participation, and 20 eventually participated in an in-person semi-structured interview. To protect par- ticipant safety, participants were only contacted using their school-assigned e-mail address, and only those who indicated a willingness to be contacted were included in recruitment. Furthermore, in all public communication the study was described as an

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investigation of factors influencing the college experience for female community col- lege students, without mention of IPV. The Institutional Review Boards of the spon- soring university and the four participating community colleges approved the study protocol prior to the beginning of data collection.

Interview Protocol

A PhD-level researcher who has experience in both IPV services and qualitative methods conducted all 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews. They took place at a location of the participant’s choice in the winter and spring of 2015-2016, usually a private space on the community college campus or in the participant’s home, and lasted 60 min on average. Informed consent was obtained from each participant prior to the start of the interview, and a US$25 gift card was offered to compensate partici- pants for their time. Interviews were audio-recorded, and de-identified transcripts made from the audio files were used for data analysis. The research team developed an interview guide based on a literature review and the results of the quantitative por- tion of the study. That guide was then pilot tested and refined with a community advisory board of IPV survivors, and included questions and prompts designed to gather rich data regarding survivors’ experiences. The guide covered domains includ- ing experiences with IPV while in school, resource use, need for services, and per- spectives on the educational journey.

Data Analysis

Analysis began with a study team member with extensive experience working with survivors of IPV reviewing transcripts in their entirety, with attention to any disconti- nuities in the text such as contradictions in the narrative or situations in which a ques- tion was misunderstood or a participant was unable to answer (Lehrner & Allen, 2008). Memo-writing was used to document discrepancies identified or issues raised by this first round of holistic analysis. Memo-ing continued throughout the analysis to docu- ment the process of interaction with the data and to identify key emerging themes and codes. Two PhD-level coders, one with extensive experience with survivors of IPV and one with experience and training in qualitative methods but no history of work or study with IPV survivors, worked independently to review all 20 transcripts. They developed categories and themes, exploring themes emerging from the data using content (occur- rence of specific ideas) analysis. Analysis included a combination of “coding down” from preestablished categories based on key research questions and themes from the literature, and “coding up” from themes that emerged inductively as concepts arose from the qualitative data (Padgett, 2010). Dedoose qualitative data analysis software was employed for ease of coding and to print coding reports, as well as to organize data and track memos. After initial coding was complete, a second round of focused coding sought to refine the analysis, winnowing down or aggregating thin codes while identi- fying key themes, continually referencing any discrepancies and understandings gained through initial holistic analysis (Charmaz, 2006; Padgett, 2010). After two independent

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rounds of coding, the two coders came together to review their work and develop a mutually agreed-upon coding scheme through negotiation to consensus. Conclusions were drawn based on the themes arising from the data. Toward the end of data analysis, a final study team member who had not been part of the initial analysis examined tran- scripts as an independent audit of the themes developed. Along with key themes, sub- themes and definitions, exemplar quotations that represent key ideas were identified for use in reporting.

Description of the Participants

Mirroring national averages for community college students, interview participants were 28 years old on average (M = 27.9, SD = 10.2; AACC, 2016). They were on their third semester at community college (M = 2.8, SD = 2.6), and most had children currently at home (n = 12). The sample was racially diverse, including 40% who iden- tified as African American, 35% who identified as White, and 25% who identified as another racial group. Participants had a range of current relationship statuses, with 30% having broken up in the past year, 25% currently dating but not living together, and 45% living with their partner.

Results

Tactics of School Sabotage

When asked how their partner helped or hindered their schooling, participants identi- fied a range of coercive controlling tactics related to education that were occurring in their relationships. Themes included partners purposively disrupting child care, expressing feelings of jealousy or resentment regarding the student’s new skills, emo- tional abuse tied to school or failing to be supportive, and using threats or manipula- tion to limit a student’s access to campus or other needed resources.

Disrupting child care. Students shared a variety of experiences with partners who actively made it harder to balance being a student and caring for young children. Tac- tics ranged from repeatedly failing to follow through on previously agreed upon plans to being absent as a caretaker and explicitly expecting the student to juggle parenthood and school without assistance. One student shared about her struggles in trying to return to school after the birth of her child stating,

It was really hard going back because he was like “you’re only taking two classes, why can’t you do all of this?” He didn’t understand why I can’t study or do my papers with her there crawling in my lap. I can’t even take [a] shower or go to the bathroom, how am I supposed to do a paper?

Another student talked about needing to take semesters off because her abusive part- ner wouldn’t help with child care. She said,

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I kind of stayed home a lot more, reduced the classes that I would take, because we had four semesters. . . . Sometimes I would take off winter, and not go for summer. . . . [I asked if] he could give a little more of his time or help or whatever and his suggestion was that I sign my parental rights over to him. Which really didn’t make any sense.

Academic jealousy. A common theme arose that survivors’ partners were threatened by, or jealous of, their advancement through school, and anxious or mad at the thought of their increasing academic and vocational qualifications. One student felt that her boy- friend was intimidated by her desire to learn, and that this led to many of the chal- lenges in her relationship. She stated

I think part of it, he just felt intimidated. . . . We didn’t really talk about it. I just think it made him feel like what he was doing wasn’t good enough, even though that was his decision not to do that. He still felt like I was making him look bad, which says more about him . . .

Similarly, one participant talked about how the emotional abuse in her relationship intensified after she went back to school, stating that “He said that he was happy, but you can tell when someone says that they’re happy for you, and they see that you’re trying to better yourself, and they don’t want you to be.” Along the same lines, a sur- vivor said,

Sometimes I feel like he feels . . . I don’t want to say . . . I don’t know. I don’t know if he feels left out, or if he feels like, with me being in school, that I’ll be smarter, and that getting a career I would make more. . . . That’s why I feel like he’s jealous or he feels threatened or feels like I think I’m better than him.

Emotional abuse/lack of support. Survivors talked about the direct verbal and emotional abuse they experienced that was tied to their schooling. For example, one student talked about her partner always telling her she was going to fail before important tests, and another talked about receiving constant and sometimes threatening text messages while in class. Another stated,

It was so frustrating because my classes were interesting and I felt like I was learning but because of time, not getting assignments in or not getting to tests or whatever and that really, really affects grades. Then when I wasn’t getting any support from him, he said that he did not care whether or not I went to school, so I was like, “I have to be really selfish and move on and get it done.”

Along with these abusive tactics, survivors also talked about how a healthy intimate relationship can be a critical buffer against the emotional and psychological difficul- ties of school. For some, their partners’ use of emotional abuse was a double loss—not only did they have to deal with the abuse, but they were missing this important poten- tial support. Students shared that they felt a positive relationship could help offset the stress and challenges of student life, so being in a challenging relationship affected

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them doubly. A good example comes from the student who reflected on her partner telling her that she was going to fail before major exams. She deeply wished that instead he was saying good luck and telling her she was going to do great. Similarly, a student reflected on a previous abusive relationship and a current relationship she defined as much better:

I never felt safe in my bad relationship, and I do now. I feel more safe when I’m with him than when I’m not. That’s definitely probably the biggest difference. I’m not on my toes, I’m not worried ever, and that’s the greatest difference, and probably the most important. I feel 100% comfortable. . . . When I get up in the morning, like, today I was like, “I’m so tired. I don’t really want to go to class.” Got up, and my boyfriend had texted me, and he’s like, “I hope you have a good day at school.”

Controlling access to and time for school. A frequently mentioned tactic was abusive partners who would actively disrupt a student’s studying or keep her from having access to materials or campus. Students frequently reported that their partners made it difficult to study at home, demanding attention and disrupting household functioning in ways that required the survivor’s attention. One student talked about how the increase in time she spent at school in fall and spring would be mirrored in increased fighting in her relationship, stating,

The more I got into school as the semester started moving on and moving on, every fall and spring I’m at school, so that’s less time I could spend with him. In the summertime everything would go fine, but as soon as school would start back up here would come the arguments.

Similarly, a student discussed how her partner would accuse her of cheating during the time she was at school or working on school projects, stating,

It takes away a lot of time from your social life. You have homework. I don’t have a computer at home, so my life is at this school. . . . I have to come here to use the computer or go somewhere to work and everything. He couldn’t understand that. It’s always I’m sneaking off, seeing somebody. I just got sick and tired of that.

Impacts of School Sabotage

Participants identified several ways in which these experiences of school sabotage affected their lives. Impacts identified by multiple participants included preventing focus on homework or affecting concentration, facing diminished academic achieve- ment, dealing with emotional or mental health challenges, and creating a desire to overcome.

Impacting focus in school and class work. Students talked about the ways that experienc- ing abuse, particularly psychological abuse related to school, affected their ability to concentrate, both in class and when studying or doing homework. One student talked about it this way:

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If we argue that morning or the night before, I’m still very upset, so I’m not really concentrating. Or if we’re texting back and forth, I’m not being able to concentrate in school . . . and you can always feel the buzzing . . . and I’ll get upset, and then want to respond.

Another said “I try not to let it cause such a distraction, but sometimes it does. If we argue or something, about something that I don’t agree that he’s doing, then I come to school and try to work, it just doesn’t work.” One student said “I think that was really what kind of distracted me from school, and made it a little difficult,” while another noted, “[relationships] can be hard and get in the way of things. . . . It was hard to study. It was terrible.”

Diminished academic achievement. A number of participants talked about how experi- ences of IPV had direct impacts on their academic progress, including having to drop out for a semester or longer, or dropping classes to decrease the burden of school on their life. They also talked about delaying going back to school or not doing as well as they felt was possible in coursework due to ongoing abusive situations. One student talked about a friend whose situation mirrored her own, stating,

She, as a kid, was really into school and really into learning, and whenever she got into an abusive relationship she stopped going to college. I think she was going to . . . and she actually moved back here because her partner forced her to essentially. She came back here and she dropped out for a couple semesters and ended up going back after she got out of the relationship.

Another participant talked about her experience going to school while dealing with the academic impacts of abuse, and how it affected her choice to drop out for a period, saying “I felt that it just came to the point where I had to take a break because I was not emotionally stable enough to even think about school or any- thing, you know?”

One participant reported that she dropped out of school three times while dealing with and eventually leaving an abusive relationship. She reflected that it not only affected her time to completion and path toward her desired career, but also added additional barriers because she had to address her poor academic record when she returned. She stated,

My GPA was just garbage. It was awful because I took a break twice but I didn’t finish those semesters out. It was just bad, so most places I would have needed a better GPA to transfer, which makes sense because mine was not good. I made a plan to take classes at the community college and then, when my GPA was good, apply to another nursing school.

Another student commented on how the repeated experience of being told she should give up affected her academically, stating, “School is challenging and you need sup- port throughout, at all times. It can be very stressful, too. If you’re on the verge of

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wanting to give up and someone keeps telling you to give up, then you’re more likely to just stop.”

Emotional impacts. Many students talked about the emotional impact of school sabo- tage in terms of reduced self-confidence in their academic and personal self-efficacy, lowered self-esteem, and feelings of worry, depression, and anxiety. One student talked about somatic symptoms, stating “I had a lot of headaches. I couldn’t focus when I tried to, and . . . I’m getting sleepy.” Another reflected on how her abusive relationship shaped her feeling of academic self-efficacy, sharing that “I was in this relationship, I definitely felt like going to college would be pointless because I didn’t feel like I was going to get anywhere with it. I felt like I wasn’t going to get anywhere with anything I did.” Along with feeling less capable, students reflected on the increased anxiety caused by their partners and how that anxiety bleeds over into school. One student shared that she felt anxiety about others in school learning about her situation, and felt internal pressure to prevent others from knowing about her abu- sive relationship, stating,

It’s a lot of stress that you have to deal with. It’s a lot of emotions that you have to control even to the point of where when we do activities at school, you talk about stuff like this. It will be touching. You know how you don’t want everyone to be in your business, so you try to make up lies about something.

Another survivor talked about hiding the emotional scars so no one at school could see them:

It was a challenge. It was hard. It was stressful. It was a show to me. I had to put up a show for them. No one ever knew how I was, because how I smiled when I went to school, how I participated, how I was so in to my work. You would never think that a person like that is . . . When you leave out of school you think that, “Oh, she’s happy. She does this. She does that.” You would never think that I’m a person that had to cry myself to sleep sometimes or worry about if I let my baby go with him, because it’s like if you’ll hit me, no matter if she’s a baby, if she does something to tick you off, what would you do to her? Those are the things that I thought about.

Desire to overcome. A final “impact” of school sabotage that students reflected on is that their partner’s tactics were a catalyst for change in their lives. Many used their experiences as survivors/students as motivation to overcome abuse and start on a new path. One student talked about using her partner’s frequent demeaning of her academic ability as motivation to do better. She shared: “In my . . . class that he had said that I was going to fail, I wrote down on the front page of it, you’re going to fail that class, just from what he said. I just wanted to be like, fuck you.” Another stated “It’s just been like I’m going to prove you wrong. I know that everybody thinks that I can do it and I know I can.” Many talked of biding their time in their current relationship—recognizing that while they were in school was not the right time for leaving, but that when they had their degree their power would increase and so would their chance of leaving successfully. One survivor said,

1296 Violence Against Women 26(11)

If we were to actually live apart, I don’t know how I could do school and work because I could not trust him. Right now, that’s probably the reason we still live together because it’s beneficial. It’s a big deal for us to stay together and live together so I can go to school. It’s more stressful but it’s just a period. That’s how I look at it.

Additional Theme: My Supportive Partner

In reviewing the interviews as a whole, a final salient theme arose: a minority of sur- vivors had many positive things to say about how supportive their partners had been of their academic efforts. Students talked about these partners encouraging them when they felt discouraged, picking up household tasks to allow them work time, or helping them study. One student talked about the emotional support provided by her partner this way:

If I’m just getting so frustrated with homework, he tells me to take a break, do something else and then go back to it, because I do get stressed out pretty easily and very quickly if I don’t understand something, I’m not getting it immediately. If I take a break and then I come back to it, it’s a lot easier. I know he helps me with that a lot. He calms me down. He’s the one that says, “Take a break. You need to calm down.” He is very positive in my educational area.

Another talked about her family support this way: “In my situation, everybody in my family is supportive. Husband is big . . . I tell them I need to work on homework or schoolwork they’re good. They move on and do their own thing. . . . I couldn’t imagine not having the support.”

The main findings and themes emerging from this study are summarized in Table 1.

Discussion

Students identified a range of tactics, including partners who disrupted child care, expressed feelings of jealousy surrounding the student’s new skills or knowledge, were unsupportive or hostile during difficult times in school, and used threats or manipulation to limit a student’s access to campus and resources. Women were clear that their partners’ attitudes and actions had a direct impact on their emotional and academic well-being, and that these impacts not only affected their current well-being, but also affected their ability to enact their plans for a safe and economically stable future. These findings underscore that survivors are clearly able to articulate how their partners take active and deliberate steps to prevent their academic success and perpe- trate acts of academic abuse.

These observations regarding the dynamics of school sabotage are clearly in line with an understanding of IPV rooted in coercive control theory. Evan Stark (2007) highlights the similarities between survivors of IPV and other “capture crimes” (i.e., hostages), suggesting that hallmarks of both types of crimes are isolation and con- straints on individual liberty. Stark (2007) points out the “structural dimensions of battering that allow controllers to regulate a woman’s behavior, including isolating

Voth Schrag et al. 1297

them from sources of support, taking their money; depriving them of . . . necessities; . . . closing off opportunities for escape, communication, or transportation” (p. 205). Considering severe IPV as a capture crime provides a clear rationale for including discussion of forms of IPV such school sabotage in legal proceedings, and underscores the necessity of describing and documenting these tactics in both scholarly literature and outlets designed for broader audiences. These efforts should highlight how tactics of school sabotage constrain both current freedoms and survivors’ efforts to shape a safe future, and underscore the link between tactics that control a survivor’s autonomy and the threat of physical violence.

However, it was also clear that not all abusive partners are perpetrating such acts. Even among women who reported a range of other abusive behaviors perpetrated by their partners, a sizable minority had many positive things to say about their part- ners’ academic support and encouragement. One potential reason for this difference could be differences in the types of IPV that were being captured in the sample, with some participants experiencing relationships that could be characterized as situa- tional couple violence while others were experiencing dynamics that resembled inti- mate terrorism (Johnson, 2008). School sabotage could be viewed as a quintessential tactic of an intimate terrorist, who seeks to control not only the present but also the survivor’s potential future. If this is true, dynamics like school sabotage may demar- cate more severe forms of IPV and serve as an important warning sign of risk and lethality.

The findings have important implications for IPV advocacy. Advocacy has long been a core service provided both in shelters and by other community-based IPV ser- vice agencies (Macy, Giattina, Sangster, Crosby, & Montijo, 2009). Survivors who participate in IPV advocacy have reported greater levels of social support, enhanced access to community resources, and greater quality of life, as well as decreased levels of victimization (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Evidence regarding the dynamics of school sabotage suggest a need to develop advocates’ skills in educational advocacy and aca- demic safety planning (Davies & Lyon, 2014). Empowering advocates with informa- tion about the nature of school sabotage along with tools for addressing the impacts of academic disruption could be an important step in moving community and school based IPV services forward. The development of educational safety plans to address specific tactics such as destruction of homework, constraining access to class/campus,

Table 1. Summary of Qualitative Findings.

Tactics of school sabotage Impacts of school sabotage Additional theme

•   Disrupting child care •   Expressing Jealousy •   Emotional sabotage/lack 

of emotional support •   Disrupting access to 

materials and campus

•   Diminished focus on school •   Decreased academic 

achievement •   Emotional harm •   Instilling a desire to 

overcome

•   Partners who may  use abusive tactics in other life domains can be key supports to students in their academic efforts

1298 Violence Against Women 26(11)

and emotional manipulation could be important tools for advocates in their work with survivors. Participants reported making individualized and tactical decisions regard- ing staying, leaving, and disclosing their situation to best meet their needs for both safety and educational success. Advocates in community-based and educational set- tings can turn to work such as Jill Davies’ (2009) Advocacy Beyond Leaving to gain additional tools for working with survivors who may be making a strategic choice to stay in a relationship for the duration of their educational journey. Recognizing that getting out of an abusive situation may not be a survivor’s top priority will help build a stronger alliance between survivor and advocate and open up new avenues for safety planning and strategizing.

Likewise, it will be important for educational institutions to learn about the tactics of school sabotage and the steps they can take to support survivors in their classrooms. On-campus resources, such as Title IX offices and counseling centers, can support students in identifying and acquiring needed accommodations and services to address the tactics and impacts of school sabotage. This could include supporting survivors in finding child care or transportation arrangements that are not dependent on an abusive partner, or working with faculty to consider accommodations related to destruction of books or homework. In this work, attempting to prevent unintended consequences will be critical. Many faculty and staff are mandated reporters under Title IX. Given that many participants were choosing to stay for strategic reasons, ensuring students have access to confidential resources that put them in the driver’s seat regarding disclosure should be a priority (Holland & Cortina, 2017).

The pathways through which IPV and school sabotage impact survivors’ educa- tional outcomes also require additional investigation. The current findings point to partners directly undermining students’ attendance and scholastic efforts, as well as the deeper emotional and mental health impacts of living with abuse. The psychology literature also suggests that beyond such direct sabotage, survivors may also face neu- robiological consequences that can slow progress and hamper educational efforts. A substantial literature underscores the link between trauma and deficits in short-term memory, which is a key component of the learning process as new information is digested (Bremner et al., 1995; Shear, 2002; Uddo, Vasterling, Brailey, & Sutker, 1993). Trauma cues have been demonstrated to have a unique main effect on memory, with students less able to perform important learning tasks in the wake of such trau- matic reminders (Kolts, Lombardo, & Faulkner, 2004). Study participants talked about their partner’s constant text messages in class being a distraction or source of emo- tional pain. This suggests that such actions could also be directly affecting their ability to learn in class. Advocates must be able to normalize these challenges and work with the survivors to develop an academic advocacy plan that helps them manage the emo- tional and psychological impacts along with the direct tactics of sabotage.

One factor that impacts the mental health of IPV survivors specifically is the ongoing nature of IPV, both while in and after leaving the relationship, which creates additional mental health risk. While many trauma survivors, such as combat veterans, may attain a state of safety after the traumatic event (i.e., a deployment or specific vio- lent incident) has passed, survivors of IPV face ongoing stalking, harassment, threats,

Voth Schrag et al. 1299

and physical and verbal violence (Herman, 1992). This prevents achieving a safe “post- trauma” mental and physical state, and limits the usefulness of many current PTSD treatment modalities that emphasize recognizing the participants’ current state of safety (Edmond, Boland, & Yu, 2013). Given that survivors in this study talked about making strategic choices to stay in dangerous relationships to obtain educational credentials, the usefulness of such trauma interventions for this population deserves careful consideration.

As coercive control theory becomes a critical framework for understanding the experiences of survivors, scholars should investigate the coercive controlling tactics of IPV across life domains and intersections of identities. Work on collegiate IPV seeks to influence intervention and prevention strategies on college campuses and make recommendations regarding educational policy. Among participants in the current study, discussions of abusive tactics were often more similar to what survivors have said in the past about employment or workplace abuse than what other groups of stu- dents have said about campus-based violence (Moe & Bell, 2004). Taking an expanded lens requires scholars to move the discussion beyond the Greek system, alcohol cul- ture, residence halls, and on-campus bystanders, to better relate to college students for whom these are not salient domains.

Doing so could have a cascade of benefits for survivors and the educational institu- tions with which they interact. Higher education comes with increased economic power, enhanced professional opportunities, a wider and more diverse social network, and ultimately a key pathway to long-term safety and security for survivors. For insti- tutions of higher education, school sabotage presents a real threat to retention and completion, and thus to the mission and bottom line of the institution. Building pre- ventive dollars in on the front end, seeking to identify and support survivors who may be at risk of dropping classes or dropping out, would be beneficial to institutions and survivors alike.

For community colleges in particular, the current study reveals that students may benefit from institutions providing the supports that will allow them to be successful in the face of various challenging life situations. Institutions can focus on developing support systems that address the unique needs of their students, including building programming specifically for survivors into universal resources (child care, financial support programs) and thinking about alternative methods for service provision for online and part-time students, among others. For policy makers, a broad interpretation of Title IX and the Campus SaVE act that allows for such a universalist approach to campus-based services would allow for community colleges to better meet the needs of survivors and nonsurvivors alike.

The current study also suggests that alterations in state-level Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) policy could be uniquely supportive to survivors seeking to further their educational credentials. The welfare reform legislation of 1996 sig- nificantly curtailed the available support for postsecondary education for single mothers with children to a maximum of 12 months, and focused on the work-first approach to poverty reduction (Pandey, Zhan & Kim, 2006). For the survivors in this study, states that place work requirements excluding higher education on access to

1300 Violence Against Women 26(11)

public assistance benefits including child care vouchers and cash aide are missing an opportunity to promote survivors’ safety and their long-term economic viability. Welfare policy that takes a long-term view toward decreasing poverty should include supports for those who desire to gain educational credentials, rather than placing time limits on education that may promote drop out. While an educational path out of poverty may not be workable or useful for all, a policy that actively limits educational attainment is short sighted. Some states have opted into a Domestic Violence Waiver program, which allows TANF workers to waive some requirements (including work requirements or limits on child care assistance) for survivors of IPV (Postmus & Hahn, 2007). Expansion of these programs in light of evidence that abusive partners may use coercive controlling tactics such as child care disruption to impact survivors’ educational efforts could be an important state-level step to support survivors in their educational ambitions.

Limitations

When considering these implications, important limitations should be noted. First, it is important to keep in mind that participating students were all attending community college in the same Midwestern metropolitan area, and as such they reflect the demo- graphics of such institutions. Compared to 4-year campuses, they are older and more are living with long-term partners and engaged in the task of parenting. Because of this, their risk profile and experiences are likely different than younger students. Community-college women constitute a unique population, and their relationship dynamics may be similarly distinct from “traditional” college women, as they are less likely to be “going away” to college, more likely to be in long-term relationships, more likely to have financial dependents, and more likely to be single parenting, all of which could have important implications for their experiences of IPV (Kaukinen, 2014; Mullin, 2012; Voth Schrag, 2016; Voth Schrag & Edmond, 2018). For campuses, this points to the need for further work to untangle these issues and how they relate to the development of effective prevention and intervention techniques for diverse groups of students.

These interviews aimed to collect rich data from a small group of students. Future work that seeks to quantitatively document the prevalence and tactics of school sabo- tage among the general population of students is needed. Such work could begin the process of understanding how school sabotage does or does not fit within established typologies of IPV, and start to identify key risk factors which could be useful to prac- titioners and policy makers who are seeking to effectively target intervention and pre- vention dollars.

Conclusions

The opportunity to pursue higher education can be a “golden moment” for breaking out of the isolation and cycles of dependency that often accompany IPV. Building new social networks while gaining critical economic leverage can disrupt patterns of power

Voth Schrag et al. 1301

and control, if these changes are able to take root and thrive. But coercive control theory also sheds light on the ways in which aiming to obtain higher education puts survivors of IPV at unique risk, as abusive partners may retrench and double down on controlling tactics in the face of a survivor’s new empowerment. By understanding, addressing, and preventing school sabotage, scholars, institutions of higher education, and their community partners have an opportunity to make an important contribution to the well-being and safety of students.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was funded by the Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation.

ORCID iD

Rachel J. Voth Schrag https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5273-9905

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Author Biographies

Rachel J. Voth Schrag, PhD, LCSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Her research focuses on secondary prevention of intimate partner violence through the promotion of effective, accessible, and desired survivor-centered services.

Tonya Edmond, PhD, LCSW, is professor and associate dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Edmond focuses her research on testing the effectiveness of interventions for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and intimate partner violence. She is committed to strengthening services for survivors through research and teaching to advance the development of trauma-informed systems of care and the implementation of evidence-based trauma treatments.

Anne Nordberg, PhD, is a member of the faculty of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. A trained anthropologist with a joint PhD in Anthropology and Social Work, she has extensive experience in qualitative research within criminal justice system populations. Dr. Nordberg teaches PhD-level courses in qualitative methodology.

Articles/Warren, Marchant, Schulze et al, 2019 ecomonic abuse to eempowerment - piloting financial lit program with DV victims.pdf

Original Article

From Economic Abuse to Economic Empowerment: Piloting a Financial Literacy Curriculum With Women Who Have Experienced Domestic and Family Violence

Amy Warren 1

, Trudi Marchant 1 , Darcee Schulze

1

and Donna Chung 1

Abstract Economic abuse as a form of men’s violence against women has only been recently recognized as a form of violence in its own right. It is known to further exacerbate the detrimental long-term impacts of domestic and family violence on women and children. There is evidence to suggest the effectiveness of financial literacy programs in mitigating some of these impacts and improving women’s financial well-being in the longer term; however, there are very few domestic violence– informed, empirically evaluated programs internationally. This article reports the findings of a specialist domestic violence financial literacy curriculum, which was developed and piloted in Western Australia using pre–post measures and focus groups. These findings suggest that such financial literacy programs delivered in refuge settings have effective short-term outcomes among women. Lessons learned from the pilot and the implications for future implementation and scaling up of programs and research are also discussed.

Keywords domestic and family violence, economic abuse, economic empowerment, financial literacy

Economic abuse is increasingly recognized as having a significant effect on women while living

with a violent partner and after separation. Perpetrators use economic abuse to maintain power and

control over women, impacting on their ability to leave and their experience of poverty once they

have left. The importance of economic well-being to the capacity of women and children to rebuild

1 School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia,

Australia

Corresponding Author:

Amy Warren, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley,

Western Australia 6102, Australia.

Email: [email protected]

Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 2019, Vol. 34(4) 498-517 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0886109919868828 journals.sagepub.com/home/aff

their lives following violence has been recognized in Australian literature and social policy (Cortis

& Bullen, 2016; Kutin, Russell, & Reid, 2017; The National Council to Reduce Violence Against

Women and their Children [NCRVWC], 2009).

Although it is known that domestic and family violence (DFV) may be experienced by both

women and men, this project focused on women in recognition of the fact that they are not only more

likely to experience violence (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018) but that the

impacts of that violence are likely to be more severe and, in the case of economic abuse, far-

reaching. This article reports the findings of the pilot of a Western Australian (WA) financial literacy

and confidence-building program for women who have experienced DFV. The term “domestic and

family violence” has been chosen over the term “intimate partner violence,” as DFV also includes

acts of violence and coercion within the extended family, which in the Australian context is a more

accurate reflection of Aboriginal women’s experiences (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009; NCRVWC,

2009). This is important in this research as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and

women participated in the study.

Literature Review

Economic abuse is defined as “behaviours that control a woman’s ability to acquire, use and

maintain economic resources, thus threatening her economic security and potential for self-

sufficiency” (Adams, Sullivan, Bybee, & Greeson, 2008, p. 564). There are four types of econom-

ically abusive behaviors: preventing acquisition of economic resources, preventing use of or con-

trolling access to economic resources, refusal to contribute, and exploitation of women’s resources

(Macdonald, 2012). Economic abuse was previously considered to be a form of psychological abuse

(Stylianou, Postmus, & McMahon, 2013), and as such, it has been a less well-understood form of

DFV (Russell, Kutin, Green, Banks, & Di Iorio, 2016).

All forms of DFV have been found to lead to long-term financial hardship (Cortis & Bullen,

2016; Morgan & Chadwick, 2009; NCRVWC, 2009); however, economic abuse is known to

further exacerbate women’s financial insecurity (Adams et al., 2008; Camilleri, Corrie, &

Moore, 2015; Corrie & McGuire, 2013; Russell, Kutin, et al., 2016). Economic abuse has

been linked to economic dependency (Adams et al., 2008), which is known to prevent women

from leaving abusive partners (Corrie & McGuire, 2013; Cortis & Bullen, 2015; Sanders,

Weaver, & Schnabel, 2007). For women who are able to separate, experiences of economic

abuse are likely to have impacted their finances, employment, and accommodation (Braaf &

Barrett Meyering, as cited in Macdonald, 2012, p. 3), and further economic abuse is often

perpetrated post-separation (Camilleri et al., 2015; Corrie & McGuire, 2013; Sharp-Jeffs,

2015). When women leave, they often have no choice but to rely on government income

support (Adams et al., 2008), which is usually inadequate for the level of assistance required

to recover from violence and achieve financial independence (Cortis & Bullen, 2015). Eco-

nomic abuse, and also DFV more broadly, is therefore associated with poverty and home-

lessness and is known to have significant impacts on women’s physical and mental health

(Adams & Beeble, 2018; Adams et al., 2008; Corrie & McGuire, 2013; Braaf & Barrett

Meyering, as cited in Macdonald, 2012, p. 3).

A literature review conducted by Hahn and Postmus (2014) found that there are two common

approaches to working with women who have experienced economic abuse: financial literacy and

asset-building programs. Asset-building has been suggested as potentially effective in building

economic security and safety for women who experience abuse (Shobe & Dienemann, as cited in

Hahn & Postmus, 2014, p. 88); however, there has been some criticism of this approach as poten-

tially encouraging relocation rather than an increase of assets (Richards & Thyer, as cited in Hetling

& Postmus, 2014, p. 135). Asset-building programs, such as microloans and Individual

Warren et al. 499

Development Accounts, are utilized in the United States but are yet to be implemented in Australia

(Cortis & Bullen, 2015).

Financial literacy programs have been identified as having the potential to increase the financial

security of women who have experienced DFV (Postmus, 2010; Sanders et al., 2007). These

programs are known to help women gain and regain confidence in their capacity to make informed

and responsible financial decisions that promote their financial well-being (Postmus, 2010; Sanders

et al., 2007). Financial literacy, or the knowledge and skills needed to discuss and make financial

decisions and plan for the future (Postmus, Plummer, McMahon, & Zurlo, 2013), has also been

suggested as a potential tool for the prevention of economic abuse, by informing women of the

importance of having their own finances while in a relationship (Russell, Stewart, Kutin, & Rankin,

2016). Several financial literacy measures have been developed, such as the 13-item scale developed

by Postmus, Hetling, and Hoge (2013).

Evidence points to the importance of designing specific programs for women who have experi-

enced DFV, as generic financial literacy programs are unlikely to account for the effects of violence

on women’s financial confidence, specific safety concerns, or longer-term abuse women may

experience (Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Hetling, Postmus, & Kaltz, 2016; Russell, Stewart, et al.,

2016; Sanders et al., 2007). Programs should consider the lived experiences of women, including

their experiences of trauma and journey toward recovery, highlighting economic abuse, so that

women are able to recognize the signs of an economically abusive relationship and begin to think

about how they may try to safeguard themselves in future relationships, as well as understand the

detrimental effect past abuse has had on their well-being (Hetling et al., 2016; Russell, Stewart,

et al., 2016; Sanders et al., 2007). Research about specialist programs also indicates the value in

discussing societal attitudes toward money and expectations about how money would be managed in

a relationship compared with what had transpired (Postmus, 2010).

A primary aim of financial literacy curricula for women who have experienced DFV is confi-

dence rather than skill-building (Postmus, 2010; Sanders et al., 2007). Women who have been

subjected to a combination of coercive control, psychological abuse, and economic abuse are likely

to have had their confidence eroded and view themselves as poor financial managers due to the

abuse they have experienced and resultant financial hardship (Adams & Beeble, 2018). Many of

these women already have money management skills and have become adept at this through

managing what little money and other resources have been available to them.

A review of the literature found only one randomized control trial of a financial literacy program

for women who have experienced economic abuse. This program, Moving Ahead Through Financial

Management (MATFM), was funded and developed by the Allstate Foundation and the National

Network to End Domestic Violence in the United States and piloted with 457 women with 300

completers (Postmus, 2010). The findings indicated that participation in the program improved

women’s financial knowledge, literacy, and behaviors in both the short and long term (Hetling

et al., 2016; Postmus, Hetling, & Hoge, 2015). Two other US programs were also reported in the

literature. The first program, REAP (Redevelopment Opportunities for Women’s Economic Action

Program), was piloted using a quasi-experimental design with 64 women with 32 completers

(VonDeLinde & Correia, 2005). Although the program was found to have no significant impact

on women’s financial literacy levels, it was associated with an increase in participants’ confidence

managing money, which was considered a meaningful improvement in financial well-being

(Sanders et al., 2007). The other program, the Personal Economic Planning curriculum, was noted

by VonDeLinde and Correia (2005), though no evaluation data for this program could be found.

Within Australia, three financial literacy programs have been delivered and evaluated to women

who have experienced DFV in Victoria. The Purse Project was developed by the Women’s Infor-

mation and Referral Exchange (WIRE) and delivered to 79 women, 75 of whom provided feedback

(Makepeace, 2016). Most participants (79%) reported improvements in their confidence managing

500 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

money. At 3-month follow-up, most participants reported that the workshop had been useful;

however, 11% reported not finding the workshop useful at the time due to excessive debt or other significant crises.

The second program, Firmer Foundations, was delivered by Good Shepherd to 110 women. In

recognition that women experiencing DFV may not be ready to engage with financial literacy, the

program targeted women with financial issues more broadly, though it still used a “family violence

informed approach” (Panigale, Clapp, & Rosauer, 2016). More than 80% of participants reported improvements in their financial knowledge and confidence managing money, and staff reported

positive outcomes in terms of participants’ housing, social connection, family relationships, and

emotional well-being (Panigale et al., 2016).

The third program, MoneyMinded, is a financial literacy curriculum created by the Australia and

New Zealand Banking Group, which was recently expanded to include a module for women who

have experienced DFV. It was intended that this module would be piloted with clients from Berry

Street, a DFV organization in Victoria, though reduced staff capacity delayed this (Russell, Stewart,

et al., 2016). However, an evaluation of the generic MoneyMinded curriculum found that 75% of respondents had experience using the materials with clients who had experienced some form of

DFV, with many reporting positive outcomes (Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016).

Aboriginal Women and Economic Abuse

Australian statistics indicate that women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are

more likely to experience DFV and that the severity of that violence is likely to be greater, with

higher levels of injury and hospitalization compared with non-Indigenous communities (AIHW,

2016, 2018; NCRVWC, 2009). This is commonly understood to be the result of several systemic

issues, including dispossession from land and traditional culture, economic exclusion and

entrenched poverty, and inherited grief and trauma (Hovane, 2015; NCRVWC, 2009; Wilson

et al., 2017). These are thought to contribute to higher rates of substance misuse, stressors within

families, and living in remote communities, all of which heighten risk to DFV (Bryant & Willis,

2008).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are also likely to experience pressure from

family members, intimate partners, or other kinship relations to share their money, even at the

expense of their own economic well-being. Australian Indigenous cultures tend to be more

“collectivist” than non-Indigenous cultures, with money seen as something that is to be shared

among the extended family and community (Demothenous, Robertson, Cabraal, & Singh, 2006;

Godinho, 2014; Meston & Dreise, 2017; Wagland & Taylor, 2015). This involves an obligation

to share resources for the good of the entire family. Research has found that saving money can

then be viewed as “selfish” or “stingy” within this context (Demothenous et al., 2006). Further-

more, when money is shared, it is often done so without the expectation that it will be repaid,

with participants in one study talking about “giving” rather than “lending” money to relatives

(Demothenous et al., 2006).

For Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander women who have experienced DFV, such collectivist

ideals can exacerbate any financial hardship they are already experiencing. Regardless of whether

they can afford to, women are often still expected to contribute financially to the extended family. As

noted by workers from the Aboriginal DFV service in this study, in some families, failure to

contribute financially may result in a loss of entitlement to invaluable informal supports, such as

care for children, and/or being ostracized from the rest of the family.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also tend to be more transient and mobile than non-

Indigenous Australians (Charles-Edwards, Bell, Cooper, & Bernard, 2018). This may, in part, be

attributable to higher rates of homelessness among the Indigenous population, one of the main

Warren et al. 501

reasons for which is DFV (AIHW, 2016). This may also be attributed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people going to live with other family members and/or going back to country.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Women and Economic Abuse

There are mixed findings in regard to the prevalence rates of DFV among women from CALD

backgrounds (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). In Australia, the term “CALD” refers to people from

communities in which English is not the primary language, where cultural norms and values may

differ from that of the mainstream community (Sawrikar & Katz, 2008). Women from CALD

backgrounds are less likely to report their experiences of abuse to the police and may also

experience difficulties accessing mainstream DFV services due to concerns about the ability of

these services to understand their circumstances and respond appropriately (El-Murr, 2018; Mor-

gan & Chadwick, 2009). Language and citizenship barriers may also impact the accessibility of

services for these women, and low levels of English proficiency may be exploited by perpetrators

of DFV to maintain power and control (NCRVWC, 2009). In trying to determine prevalence rates,

CALD women may also be less likely to participate in population surveys due to limitations with

language and/or may not wish to provide information to a government authority (Mitra-Kahn,

Newbigin, & Hardefeldt, 2016).

Women from CALD backgrounds may have had limited access to and authority over family

money and less decision-making power with regard to budgets, family bank accounts, and spending

decisions (El-Murr, 2018; Women’s Health in the North, 2012). This is thought to be due to the

traditional patriarchal cultural practices and gender roles that may exist in particular cultures and

subcultures. For example, in many CALD families, the male partner or spouse is the head of the

family and makes all financial decisions without necessarily consulting or even informing the

female partner. Maher and Segrave (2018) argue that CALD women’s perspectives highlight that

it is not their status as CALD women making them vulnerable to abuse but rather it is the mechan-

isms of the state, particularly the service response systems and migration policies and legislation,

which create these vulnerabilities. This can be seen in cases of economic abuse, where women may

not have the right to paid employment or access to services and information, maintaining and

exacerbating the perpetrator’s abuse of power.

Refuge staff have reported that women from CALD backgrounds are increasingly escaping DFV

using Australian refuges, where they typically stay for longer lengths of time (Beryl Women Inc.,

2014). It is unknown what has contributed to this increase in CALD women entering refuges. Many

of these women are residing in Australia on partner visas, which become indeterminate after they

leave their partner, limiting their ability to work and access income support, and preventing them

from moving into independent, safe, and stable accommodation and ultimately achieving economic

independence (Segrave, 2017; Women’s Legal Services Australia as cited by, The Senate Finance

and Public Administration References Committee, 2016, p. 11).

The Intervention

The intervention consisted of a financial literacy curriculum, intended to be delivered by two refuge

workers in a group format, and a Financial First Aid document to aid refuge staff in identifying and

responding to economic abuse. Each of these is described in detail below.

The Curriculum

The Economic Empowerment for Women Experiencing Domestic and Family Violence curriculum

consisted of three modules developed in conjunction with the Women’s Council for Domestic and Family

502 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

Violence Services (WA). Module 1 introduced the concept of economic abuse and began to explore

participants’ relationship with and feelings toward money, drawing on materials from the Australian

Human Rights Commission, Good Shepherd, MATFM, and WIRE. Modules 2 and 3 focused more on

developing participants’ skills and knowledge around financial management and literacy. These modules

drew primarily on MoneyMinded materials and were supplemented with materials developed by

the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and other relevant local organizations.

In developing the program, we considered key findings from other evaluations and research

(Hetling et al., 2016; Makepeace, 2016; Panigale et al., 2016; Postmus, 2010; Postmus et al.,

2015; Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016; Sanders et al., 2007). MATFM found training refuge/shelter

staff as facilitators valuable as it meant the knowledge remained within the centre and could be

further developed in the future. We adopted a similar approach, using a train-the-trainer model to

embed knowledge about economic abuse into local women’s refuges. We also drew on the expe-

rience of existing programs by including in the curriculum the specific ways in which economic

abuse impacted on women’s financial security during and after the relationship. Evidence from

existing evaluations was valuable in shepherding the development of our program.

The importance of incorporating confidence-building in financial literacy programs for women

who have experienced DFV was highlighted in the literature. In recognition of this, the Economic

Empowerment curriculum included both education around financial literacy and management, as

well as the provision of spaces and opportunities for women to share their own experiences and

strategies. These experiences and strategies could then be validated by other participants and the two

group facilitators. It was for this reason that the evaluation measured improvements in financial

strain rather than financial literacy.

Considering Aboriginal and CALD women. Given the inclusion of an Aboriginal women’s refuge in the pilot, and the high proportions of CALD women in refuges, it was important that the needs of

Aboriginal and CALD women were considered in the curriculum. Cultural differences in how

money is thought about and managed were addressed through activities in Module 1, which allowed

women to consider their own relationships with money, as well as the behaviors that they would

define as being financially abusive. There were no right or wrong answers, instead women were

given time to reflect and explore why a behavior may or may not be financially abusive. It was also

important that the mobility of Aboriginal communities was considered in the development and

delivery of the curriculum. This was addressed through flexibility in when and how the program

was delivered. For example, the length and frequency of sessions was able to be determined by each

site, so as to be suited to their women, and the program was open to women outside of the refuge,

which also allowed for women who transitioned out during the program to continue participating.

Given the high proportions of CALD women in refuges, it was likely that a substantial number of

participants would be women who spoke English as a second or even third language and were

unlikely to have much, if any, access to money. The curriculum was written with this in mind and

pitched at a relatively low literacy level, so that it would be accessible to these women. The

flexibility of the curriculum addressed the likelihood that women from CALD backgrounds would

have limited access to money, in that activities could be approached from a more future-oriented

perspective (i.e., “what will you do once you have access to money?”).

Financial First Aid

Alongside the curriculum, we also developed a “Financial First Aid” document to aid refuge staff in

identifying and responding to economic abuse during intake, assessment, and case management.

This document included the Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA-12; Postmus, Plummer, & Stylianou,

2016) and some of the steps a woman may need to take to separate her finances and other resources

Warren et al. 503

from her partner. The aim of Financial First Aid is to begin to address some of the financial effects of

abuse, bridging any gaps between referral and meeting with a financial counselor, and to prevent any

further economic abuse from being perpetrated post-separation. Some of the content developed for

the Financial First Aid document was included in Module 1 of the curriculum, in recognition that the

women who participated in the pilot may not yet have gone through this in case management when

they first arrived at the refuge.

Pilot Implementation

The curriculum was piloted in three women’s DFV services in metropolitan Perth from November

2017 to April 2018. Each of these services provides crisis accommodation (refuge/shelter), Safe at

Home programs where women remain in the home with case management, and outreach programs

for longer term support. Four staff members from each of the services were trained in delivering the

curriculum, using a train-the-trainer format. Clients from each service were then invited to partic-

ipate in the program. Each site had a combination of refuge, Safe at Home, and outreach clients to

participate.

Method

This project utilized a mixed-methods approach, underpinned by an action research evaluation

methodology, as this was thought to be most appropriate for a pilot project of this scale. Consistent

with this methodology, feedback was sought from both staff involved in delivery and women who

participated in the program. Staff feedback was sought through one pre- and one postdelivery focus

group, which focused on their experiences of delivering the program, the effect of the program on

their own practice and on the women who participated, and any feedback on the content or delivery

that may be useful for future iterations. Participant feedback was sought through paper-based pre-

and postprogram questionnaires. The prequestionnaires asked only closed-ended questions, while

the postquestionnaires included open-ended questions regarding the content of the curriculum,

which is intended to inform future iterations of the curriculum. Prequestionnaires were administered

at the beginning of the first module, and postquestionnaires were administered immediately after

finishing the third module. Some participants, particularly those who did not speak English as a first

language, required assistance from refuge staff to complete the surveys. Participants did not receive

any incentives for participating. Ethical approval was obtained from both Curtin University and the

WA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee.

Given the similarities with the evaluation of MATFM (Postmus et al., 2015), a number of

instruments used in that research were identified and modified for use in this project. Modifications

included those required to make the instruments more appropriate for use in the Australian cultural

context as well as those required to suit the scale of the pilot. The focus group schedule for staff

feedback had minimal modifications, while the pre- and postintervention questionnaires for women

were reviewed and the elements of most relevance for the project were identified and adapted. These

included demographic information, the SEA, and instruments related to women’s experiences of

other forms of DFV, and any changes in financial strain.

Sample

Refuge staff. Twelve refuge workers (four from each service) were trained in delivering the curri- culum. These staff members worked across the three programs offered by their service (refuge, Safe

at Home, and outreach). Six of the twelve staff members trained in the curriculum provided feedback

in the postdelivery focus group.

504 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

Program participants. Eleven women participated across the three services (refuge, Safe at Home, and outreach). A 12th woman began the curriculum at one site but, having just entered the

refuge and still dealing with the immediate crisis of leaving her abusive partner, chose to

withdraw partway through. This woman’s preintervention data have been excluded from

analysis.

Measures

The SEA-12. The SEA-12 was used in this study to measure the frequency of economic abuse in participants’ most recent intimate relationship. The original scale was developed by Adams,

Sullivan, Bybee, and Greeson (2008) and consists of 28 items. The scale was later revised by

Postmus and colleagues (2016) to consist of 12 items on three subscales (SEA-12). These

subscales measure three of the four known types of economic abuse: Economic Control,

Employment Sabotage, and Economic Exploitation. Refusal to contribute is not specifically

measured on the scale, though some of this may be picked up through the Economic Exploita-

tion subscale. In addition, the SEA-12 does not consider economic abuse perpetrated post-

separation (e.g., withholding of child support payments). If participants answered rarely or

more frequently to any one of the items in the SEA-12, they have been included as having

experienced some form of economic abuse.

Measuring experiences of DFV. Women were also asked to provide some information on their experi- ences of other forms of DFV in their most recent abusive relationship. Within this relationship, they

were asked how often they experienced physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or psychological, social,

and spiritual abuse. Each form of abuse was presented in a separate question with a definition and

examples of such behaviors, to ensure that participants understood the different categories. Partici-

pants were asked to rank their experiences of each form of abuse in their most recent abusive

relationship using a 5-point Likert-type scale of “never” to “always.” If participants answered rarely

or more frequently to any of the questions about the forms of DFV, they have been included as

having experienced that type of abuse.

Measuring financial strain. Two items were included in both the pre- and postintervention question- naires to measure participants’ levels of financial strain (Hetling, Stylianou, & Postmus, 2015). Both

were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale of “never” to “always.” The first asked how often

participants felt worried or stressed about money; the second asked how often they experienced

symptoms of ill health as a result of worries about money. These items were used to compare levels

of financial strain before and after completing the program.

Data Analysis

The postdelivery staff focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed. This transcript, along with

notes from the predelivery focus group, was analyzed thematically by one of the researchers, while

pre- and postintervention data were analyzed using Excel and SPSS. To test the mean difference in

financial strain at pre and post, assumptions for a paired samples t-test were tested. Inspections of the

normality plots indicated the distribution in the sample violated the assumption for the normality of

this test, and so the nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test was used instead. This test is robust

against small sample sizes and skewed distribution.

Warren et al. 505

Results

Program Participant Questionnaires

Pre- and postintervention data were collected for the 11 women who completed the curriculum.

Preintervention data were also collected for the 12th woman who started the curriculum but later

withdrew. These data have been excluded from the findings. Demographic information for the

women who completed the program is presented in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, almost half of the participants were from CALD backgrounds and spoke

English as a second language, while three women identified as Aboriginal. Only three participants

had received qualifications after high school: two held trade certificates or had completed appren-

ticeships and the other had a postgraduate degree. Four participants did not complete high school.

All of the participants were unemployed, with 10 of 11 receiving their main source of income from

Table 1. Participant Demographics.

Age range 25–34 4 35–44 6 45–54 1

Residency Australian citizen 5 Permanent resident 3 Temporary resident 3

Ethnicity Australian 1 Aboriginal 3 Torres Strait Islander — Other

Arab (1) English (UK) (1) Indian (1) Maori (1) Sudanese (1) Thai (1) Zimbabwean (1)

7

First language English 6 Other 5

Source of income Employment — Centrelink benefits 10 Other 1

Number of dependents (children under the age of 18) No dependents 1 One dependent 1 Two dependents 1 Three dependents 1 Four dependents 5 Five dependents 1 Six dependents — Seven dependents 1

506 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

welfare payments. The remaining participant was not eligible to receive any welfare at the time of

evaluation due to her immigration status and, as such, was being supported entirely by humanitarian

funding. Participants’ income ranged from nil to $999 per week, with most earning less than $499

per week.

More than half of the participants had four or more dependents (children under the age of 18).

Some had other children, including two women who each had eight children, but only their depen-

dent children have been included, as it is likely that any adult children no longer reside with their

mother or would be considered as a client in their own right. Participants’ children, both dependent

and independent, ranged in ages from 8 months through to 21 years old. The number and age range

of the children presenting represents a significant barrier for the majority of the women attending

workshops in the first instance, but also attempting to address their financial insecurity by entering

or reentering the workforce in the longer term, after what may have been many years out of the

workforce due to full-time parenting responsibilities.

Experiences of economic and other forms of abuse. All of the women who participated in the study reported experiencing some form of economic abuse (see Table 2). More than three quarters of

women reported experiencing economic control and/or economic exploitation, while less than a

quarter reported experiencing employment sabotage. Unsurprisingly, all participants also

reported experiencing verbal, emotional or psychological, and social abuse. This is consistent

with existing research, which has found a high correlation between experiences of economic,

psychological, and social abuse (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2015; Sharp-Jeffs, 2015).

Eight women also reported experiencing physical and spiritual abuse, while six reported experi-

encing sexual abuse.

Table 2. Types of Abuse Experienced by Participants.

% Mean Score a

Financial abuse 100 2.99 Economic control 76.4 3.44 Employment sabotage 21.2 1.96 Economic exploitation 75.8 3.01

Physical abuse 72.7 3.2 Sexual abuse 54.5 1.91 Verbal abuse 100 3.91 Emotional/psychological abuse 100 4.45 Social abuse 100 4.27 Spiritual abuse 72.7 3.18

a On a scale of never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4), and always (5).

Table 3. Changes in Financial Strain.

Variable

Negative Ranks Positive Ranks Test Statistics

N Mean Rank N Mean Rank Ties T z Sig.

Money worries 7 4.07 1 7.50 3 7.50 �1.540a .124 Physical health 8 4.50 0 0 3 36 �2.714a .007*

*p < .05. a Based on positive ranks.

Warren et al. 507

Changes in financial strain. The impact of the intervention was determined by measuring changes in women’s levels of financial strain from pre to post. Financial strain was measured by asking women

about their money worries and the effect these worries had on their physical health. Before com-

pleting the curriculum, women reported a mean score of 3.82 (SD ¼ 0.82) for money worries, which remained the same at post (M ¼ 3.82, SD ¼ 0.87). In relation to physical health symptoms related to stress, women reported a mean score of 3.27 (SD ¼ 0.9) at pre, which decreased post-program (M ¼ 3, SD ¼ .63). Preprogram results show that participants’ scores on these measures were already high, with all women reporting experiencing money worries and physical ill health as a result of this at a

frequency of sometimes or higher.

Results showed that seven of the participants’ money worries decreased, one increased, and three

remained the same from pre to post (as shown in Table 3). This difference was not significant (p ¼ .124). Importantly, results indicated that the curriculum had a significant effect on participants’

health as a result of money worries, T ¼ 36, z ¼ �2.714, p ¼ .007. Relative to their preprogram rankings, eight participants’ self-reported symptoms of ill health related to money worries decreased

and three remained the same, resulting in a large effect size of r ¼�.96. When asked in the postprogram questionnaire if the curriculum had helped participants with any

previous anxiety about money, 10 of the women answered yes. The 11th woman declined to answer,

though her answers to the financial strain measures indicate that these improved as a result of her

participation in the curriculum.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants. Three of the pilot participants identified as Aboriginal. Encouragingly, all of these women rated the curriculum highly, reporting that they had learned a lot

from participating. Two women reported improvements in financial strain after participating in the

curriculum, while the third reported that her financial strain had remained the same, but noted that

the program had helped with her anxiety about money. Refuge staff reported that they were com-

fortable managing the specific cultural and emotional needs of Aboriginal women during delivery,

including being able to adapt the content and delivery as necessary. Though ideally, future iterations

of the curriculum will include Indigenous-specific modules and/or material, it is encouraging to note

that the pilot curriculum was helpful from the perspective of Aboriginal women and staff.

CALD participants. Emerging evidence in Australia indicates a growing proportion of CALD women residing in women’s refuges, largely due to immigration restrictions that prevent access to money.

Given this, it is unsurprising that almost half (n ¼ 5) of the pilot participants came from CALD backgrounds and spoke English as a second language. From the outset, the curriculum was designed

to be accessible to these women, taking into account their English proficiency and financial literacy

levels, which was done in consultation with the three refuges, as we did not have specific knowledge

about this prior to the pilot. Participant feedback was positive; three of the five CALD women

reported improvements in financial strain after participating in the curriculum. The other two CALD

women reported that their financial strain remained the same or increased, though both noted that

participating in the curriculum had helped with anxiety about money. As with Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander women, it would be ideal if future iterations of the curriculum included material

specific to CALD women, though it is encouraging that the pilot curriculum also seems to be

appropriate for this population.

Refuge Staff Focus Group

Six of the original 12 refuge staff trained in delivering the curriculum participated in the postdelivery

focus group. All refuge staff reported that the content of the curriculum was “really, really good” and

that all women benefited from participating. They noted that it was invaluable in introducing women

508 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

to practical options for managing their finances and planning for future financial independence in a

way that some had not previously thought possible. During the first module, refuge staff reported

that many of the women struggled to articulate long-term financial goals that they would like to work

toward. Staff attributed this to a number of reasons, such as being too consumed with more imme-

diate, or in some cases, more important financial and nonfinancial issues (such as child protection

involvement or health concerns). It was also noted by staff that some women who had been receiving

welfare payments for extended periods of time “couldn’t see past Centrelink [government income

support payments],” which prevented them from being able to articulate long-term goals or engage

with the more future-oriented curriculum content around home ownership and superannuation.

However, toward the end of the curriculum, staff could see that many of the women were starting

to think about what they would like for their future and the steps needed to achieve this, with many

identifying the need for additional training and education, in order to be able to enter or reenter the

workforce, start accumulating superannuation for their retirement, and be able to put aside money

for emergencies and other future expenses.

The curriculum included information on DFV as well as more generic financial education mate-

rials. Staff feedback indicated that these materials were well received, though it was noted that the

economic abuse material would be more effective if it was incorporated throughout the curriculum

rather than presented entirely in Module 1. As one staff member noted, “It depends on the group

you’ve got. [Talking about economic abuse and DFV in the first session] can sometimes be a little

confronting.” Another worker explained, “ . . . they sort of signed on for financial literacy . . . and then all of a sudden, we’re talking about how do you feel about money and domestic violence.”

A number of challenges to delivery were noted by staff. These have been discussed in more detail

below. Feedback in the staff focus group also highlighted some important lessons that can be learned

from this pilot.

Challenges to delivery. Staff identified a range of challenges in the delivery of the curriculum. In the predelivery workshop, many staff members expressed concerns about their ability to deliver the

curriculum in a group. There were a few reasons given for this; firstly, refuge staff tend to have

heavy workloads that do not always allow them to take on additional work, such as curriculum

delivery. Some staff also noted difficulties with recruiting and retaining women for other programs

they have run in the past. This is thought to be due to the volatility in women’s lives as a result of

their experience of DFV and the crisis in their accommodation and personal lives. As such, it was

thought that perhaps the curriculum would be easier to deliver during regular case management

sessions. However, ultimately, all three refuges decided to deliver the curriculum in a group setting,

as was originally intended.

In the postdelivery focus group, some staff noted concerns about groups that included women

who did not know one another beforehand. Staff from one refuge noted that all but one of their

participants came from the refuge and so,

they knew each other and were comfortable. And I think that was so important, that they were comfor-

table with each other . . . I don’t know that would go in a situation [with] people from very diverse sort of

backgrounds or [who] just don’t know each other.

Other staff reported that some women found it difficult to establish sufficient trust in the first

session to discuss sensitive personal issues such as their experiences of DFV and their financial

affairs. These concerns were exacerbated if women were still in crisis and/or highly anxious and

distressed. For women who were from the refuges, the notion of sharing their stories with other

participants were in contrast to guidelines given to them by the refuge. As noted by one worker, “to

make a harmonious house, we kind of tell them to keep to themselves, like, don’t take on other

Warren et al. 509

clients’ issues. So, we’re going against everything we tell them.” These issues required particular

attention to preparation of the women during the referral process, establishing clear ground rules

around confidentiality and the voluntary nature of divulging personal information, skill, and atten-

tion to inclusive group processes by workers; and staging the introduction of DFV and discussion of

personal finances according to the cohesion of the group. The workers’ skills and experience were

considered essential in managing this and supporting the women, including being available if

anyone became distressed and needed to leave the group.

It was also identified that staff turnover and shortages were a problem for the refuges, with at least

3 of the 12 staff trained in the curriculum known to have since left their organization, and another 4

being unavailable to assist with delivery of the curriculum. Furthermore, some staff experienced

anxiety around delivery, having little experience in facilitating groups themselves. Both posed

barriers to delivery, though some of this was resolved by having a dedicated project officer available

to codeliver with staff. This meant that only one worker was required for delivery rather than two,

which decreased the burden on the organization as a whole. Having assistance from someone

experienced in group facilitation and well versed in the curriculum also decreased feelings of anxiety

among staff.

Lessons learned from the pilot. Many refuge workers emphasized the importance of women feeling in control of the learning process and remaining “the experts in what their experience has been.” They

explained that their work with women is about “helping [them] to validate their experiences and

understand their experiences” and therefore explained that it was less important to teach women

about economic abuse than to open up a conversation about their experiences. However, the impor-

tance of naming domestic violence and economic abuse was also emphasized, as some women had

not yet recognized what they had experienced as abuse and lacked other ways of describing these

experiences. Most workers also noted that unless women could really relate to the content, they

would not be able to incorporate and integrate the information into their experience. In this sense,

staff were considered facilitators rather than didactic classroom teachers, leading women in the

discussion of the curriculum concepts, and providing them with the words and tools to understand

their experiences of economic abuse and build upon the strategies they were already using to address

these.

All staff recognized the importance of having two group facilitators, with one stating, “You’re

better off running groups with two cofacilitators, because if anything goes badly wrong, which it

does, and a person needs support, you need someone else to be there to take them out.” The expertise

of refuge staff in supporting women who have experienced DFV was noted as an essential skill in

delivering the curriculum, and they were seen as a crucial part of the facilitator team for such

programs.

It was widely agreed among staff that there were several difficulties presented by women’s

fluctuating availability and attendance, which they suggested could be addressed by flexible

arrangements, such as running the program at regular intervals during the year so that if women

needed to miss modules, they would be able to pick them up later in the year. A regular schedule

would also enable refuge and other women’s services to prepare and refer women in advance as the

program became more established.

Discussion

Although only a small pilot, this study indicates the potential effectiveness of a specific, DFV-

informed financial literacy curriculum delivered by staff in a refuge setting in economically empow-

ering women who have experienced DFV in WA. Feedback from both participants and refuge staff

on the content and delivery of the curriculum, as well as its short-term impact on women’s lives, was

510 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

overwhelmingly positive. The implications of these and important considerations for future pro-

grams and research are discussed in further detail below.

The Effect of the Curriculum on Women’s Lives

The results of this pilot indicate that the Economic Empowerment curriculum had a meaningful

effect on participants’ lives. Although the curriculum did not have any significant effect on parti-

cipants’ money worries, it did significantly decrease their physical health symptoms related to these

worries, increasing their overall well-being and thus constituting a meaningful effect. It is possible

that the curriculum may have more significant longer term effects, though unfortunately we could

not measure these in this study. Furthermore, money worries may also be impacted by external

factors that cannot be immediately addressed through the curriculum, such as the financial burden of

having to source alternative accommodation and managing existing debts and unemployment.

As noted previously, this curriculum, like others for women who have experienced DFV, focused

on building confidence (Postmus, 2010; Sanders et al., 2007) rather than building skill. This was

something that developed organically as a result of the program facilitators recognizing that the

women the program was targeting have often developed strong money management skills from

surviving with little to no access to money. Confidence was built by providing spaces and oppor-

tunities for women to share their own experiences, knowledge and strategies, and allowing these to

be validated by other members of the group. Although confidence was not measured in this study,

decreases in financial strain may be indicative of increased confidence; women may have experi-

enced less stress as their confidence managing money grew. This may warrant further exploration in

future research.

Future orientation has been noted in the literature as critical to gaining financial independence

and stability (Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016). Refuge staff feedback

indicated that participation in the curriculum facilitated many of the women to plan for their

futures in ways they had not previously thought possible. Women were particularly focused on

accessing training or education, in order to obtain future employment. This indicates that the

program increased participants’ future orientation and is consistent with previous research, which

found that MoneyMinded encouraged future orientation among women who had experienced DFV

(Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016).

The Refuge Setting

As noted by study participants, refuge staff are already significantly burdened by heavy workloads.

This is due to the complex nature of DFV, the intensive long-term support needs of women and their

children, and staff shortages due to high turnover and funding constraints and fluctuation as a result

of competitive tendering for service contracts. Adding the delivery of the Economic Empowerment

curriculum to their workload placed even more burden on staff. This was compounded by the

delivery model, which required two staff members serve as cofacilitators of the curriculum and

posed difficulties to implementation during the pilot period. Berry Street in Victoria had a similar

experience when piloting the DFV-specific MoneyMinded materials, with staff movements and

funding constraints delaying implementation significantly (Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016). In our

study, this challenge was partly mitigated through having a project officer available to act as one of

the cofacilitators at a particularly short-staffed site. This meant only one refuge staff member was

required for delivery, easing some of the burden on the whole organization. As such, this delivery

model may be better suited to the DFV sector than one that relies solely on refuge staff, although this

may vary over time. Regardless of the difficulties they experienced, refuge staff reported that their

involvement in the delivery of the curriculum was worthwhile. They noted that their expertise and

Warren et al. 511

experience in working with and supporting women was essential in how they approached the

curriculum material with the women. Having two cofacilitators to deliver the program was also

noted by participants as critical, as this allowed one facilitator to step outside of the group and

provide support to any participants who experienced distress. Despite the significant burden delivery

posed, staff were overwhelmingly supportive of the program in the refuge setting and were hesitant

to recommend any changes to delivery that did not include at least one refuge staff member as a

cofacilitator. This is an important consideration for future programs.

Staff members also reported a much stronger awareness of economic abuse patterns and effects

and an increased importance in discussing this with all women accessing the refuge during regularly

scheduled case management sessions.

Considerations for Future Programs and Research

The importance of using specially designed, DFV-informed financial literacy curriculums with

this population has been highlighted in the literature previously (Hahn & Postmus, 2014; Hetling

et al., 2016; Russell, Stewart, et al., 2016; Sanders et al., 2007). In this study, the curriculum

included both DFV-specific and more generic financial education materials. Results from the pilot

indicated that these materials were well received, though it was noted that the economic abuse

material would be more effective if it was incorporated throughout the curriculum rather than

presented entirely in Module 1. As such, it is recommended that future programs integrate infor-

mation on DFV and economic abuse with financial education content rather than presenting these

separately.

Unfortunately, despite plans for the curriculum to be delivered twice at each site to a total of 48

women, only 11 completed the curriculum. There were a range of factors that contributed to this,

including the unavailability of refuge staff and difficulties with recruiting women. Staff explained

that the difficulties recruiting participants were due to the trauma and upheaval associated with

escaping violence. The practical and emotional demands placed on women during this time may

include recovering from physical and sexual violence, finding stable accommodation and sourcing

adequate furniture and household effects, attending to children’s physical and emotional needs,

managing any involvement with child protection, legal matters (e.g., domestic violence orders),

seeking counseling or some other forms of mental health support, and for women from CALD

backgrounds, dealing with immigration issues. Although women are likely to be worried about

money during this time, as reflected in this study’s preintervention data, these other issues may

be prioritized over dealing with longer term financial problems. Given these competing demands, it

may be unrealistic to expect women to commit to 15 hrs’ worth of financial education within a short

period of time. Other delivery models, such as a rolling intake into programs or delivering modules

over a longer period of time, may be more accessible to these women.

It is important to note that a 12th woman entered the program but chose to withdraw partway

through. Staff from that site noted that this woman had only recently entered the refuge and

ultimately found it impossible to deal with the immediate crisis of leaving a domestic violence

situation and plan for her financial future at the same time. This is consistent with results of the

evaluation of the Purse Project, where 11% of participants reported that program had not been useful to them at the time due to the personal crises they were experiencing (Makepeace, 2016). This

indicates the need to incorporate some screening into the referral process for programs such as this to

ensure women are not referred until they are ready and able to engage with the program. Immedi-

ately after leaving an abusive relationship does not appear to be the most appropriate time; rather,

women should be referred once they are further along in the recovery journey and are not attending

to crises associated with leaving. Further research may be necessary to determine when in the

recovery journey is the best time for women to participate in financial literacy interventions. Such

512 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

research could then inform the development of screening tools, or the redevelopment of existing

tools, such as the Financial First Aid tool, to be used as a screening tool.

As shown in Table 2, only 21.2% of participants reported experiencing employment sabotage. Several women declined to answer the questions related to this subscale, as they did not work during

their abusive relationship and therefore thought the questions did not apply to them. This does not

mean that these women did not experience employment sabotage. Rather, if there was any employ-

ment sabotage, it was not recognized by participants. This may warrant some additional exploration

in future research projects. It is also important to note that the SEA-12, which was used to measure

economic abuse, has not yet been validated in the Australian context, and as such, the notion of

employment sabotage may not translate culturally.

Implications for Social Work

As feminist social workers, we are aware that the majority of women we work with experience poverty

and significant disadvantage as a result of existing sociopolitical structures. This project is an impor-

tant part of feminist social work practice that involved looking directly at women’s experiences with

money and security. The sociopolitical structures that disproportionately disadvantage women, par-

ticularly those who have experienced DFV, were acknowledged, but not condoned, in the curriculum,

so that women did not feel they were being blamed for their financial position. The benefits of this

project also extend to the refuge workers who were trained as facilitators. Refuge workers in Australia

are predominantly female and often low paid, due to funding constraints of DFV services, and most

importantly, these workers are disadvantaged by the same structures as all women. The train-the-

trainer model meant that workers also got to participate in the program during the facilitation training,

which has the potential to empower them in the same way women were empowered.

Conclusion

There is a great deal that can be taken away from the findings of this pilot study. Despite the

significant challenges posed to both refuge staff and women’s participation in the project, those

who were able to participate could see the value of the program and were enthusiastic about its use in

the future. These challenges, and the other data collected through this project, have raised questions

about the best method of delivering financial literacy education to women who have experienced

DFV in WA, including who should be responsible for delivering the program and in what setting, as

well as women’s readiness and availability for the program. Although some of these findings may be

applicable in other contexts, it is important that future programs consider their own local conditions,

including the DFV sector, workforce, and women who are accessing these services. It is also

important to note that this study only measured short-term effects of the curriculum on financial

strain; changes in financial literacy, confidence managing money, and longer-term effects were not

measured in this pilot and as such may warrant exploration in future research. Nonetheless, this

study is further evidence of the benefits of financial literacy education as a means of economic

empowerment, the importance to address economic abuse alongside other aspects of DFV, and the

contribution of such interventions in women’s recovery from violence.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Therese Smith (Project Officer, Women’s Council of Domestic

and Family Violence Services, Western Australia) in developing the Economic Empowerment curriculum as

well as the project reference group for providing guidance and feedback during this process. We also acknowl-

edge the refuge staff members and women who gave their valuable time to participate in this study and

contribute to the future economic empowerment of women who have experienced domestic and family vio-

lence. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Natasha Mahoney (Research Assistant, School of Occupational

Warren et al. 513

Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University) for her assistance with the analysis of pre- and

postintervention data.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or pub-

lication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-

tion of this article: This project was funded by the Western Australian Department of Local Government &

Communities (Women’s Interests portfolio) (104612).

ORCID iD

Amy Warren https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4620-7539

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Author Biographies

Amy Warren, BSW (Hons), is a research assistant in the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and

Speech Pathology at Curtin University. Her research interests are in family and domestic violence, elder abuse

and the intersections between the two.

516 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 34(4)

Trudi Marchant, BA (Hons), BSW, MHumanServ(Mgt&Policy), is a research assistant and sessional tutor in

the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology at Curtin University, WA. Her

teaching and research interests include human rights, social justice and political activism as they apply to

delivering equity for vulnerable people and communities with special interests in migration, the rights of First

Nations people, poverty and the rights of women and children.

Darcee Schulze, BSW (Hons), is a research assistant in the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and

Speech Pathology at Curtin University. Her research interests are in economic abuse and other forms of family

and domestic violence, child protection, reunification within families, and mental health.

Donna Chung, BSW, M.Pub.Pol, PhD, is a professor of social work and social policy in the School of

Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology and Curtin University. Her research interests are

primarily the areas of male violence against women, coordinated responses to family violence, the impact and

organisation of men’s behaviour change programs, homelessness, gender and sexuality, and social policy.

Warren et al. 517

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Articles/Wilkinson, 1998 Empowerment - theory and practice.pdf

Empowerment: theory and practice Wilkinson, Adrian . Personnel Review ; Farnborough  Vol. 27, Iss. 1,  (1998): 40-56.

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ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) In recent years, the term empowerment has become part of everyday management language.

ABSTRACT In recent years, the term empowerment has become part of everyday management language. However, there are

significant problems with much of the prescriptive literature on empowerment, in that there is little detailed

discussion of the problems employers may experience to implementing empowerment or the conditions which are

necessary for such an approach to be successful. It is assumed employees will simply welcome the new way of

working. Moreover, it is also assumed that empowerment is a universal solution appropriate to all organizations in

all circumstances. Empowerment itself is not seen in a contingent way. Such literature has also been criticized as

superficial and furthermore as trivializing the conflict that exists within organizations. FULL TEXT  

Adrian Wilkinson: School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: A version of this article will appear in Poole, M. (Ed.), IEBM Handbook of Human Resource

Management, to be published by International Thomson Publishing in 1998.

Introduction

In recent years, the term empowerment has become part of everyday management language (Collins, 1994;

Cunningham et al., 1996; Hennestad, 1998; Wilkinson, 1998). It has also been associated with popular

management movements of the times such as human resource management (HRM) and total quality

management (TQM). Empowerment is regarded as providing a solution to the age-old problem of Taylorised and

bureaucratic workplaces where creativity is stifled and workers become alienated, showing discontent through

individual or collective means.

There are a number of problems with the existing prescriptive literature on empowerment. First, the term is used

very loosely and it is not always clear if we are comparing like with like. Second, it is rarely located in a historical

context: empowerment is seen as an entirely new phenomenon. Third, there is little detailed discussion of the

issues likely to arise when implementing empowerment or the conditions which are necessary for such an

approach to be successful. It is assumed that employers will simply welcome the new approach, seeing it as

beneficial to them and the organisation. The literature also takes a universalistic approach, regarding

empowerment as appropriate to all organisations in all circumstances. Fourth, the literature trivialises the conflict

that exists with organisations and ignores the context within which empowerment takes place (Marchington,

1995). In this paper we examine the roots of empowerment, examine why it came into prominence in recent years,

suggest a classification of empowerment, and discuss the evidence as to its impact.

The term "empowerment" is generally used to refer to a form of employee involvement initiative which was

widespread from the 1980s and focused on task-based involvement and attitudinal change. Unlike industrial

democracy there is no notion of workers having a right to a say: it is employers who decide whether and how to

empower employees. While there is a wide range of programmes and initiatives which are titled empowerment and

they vary as to the extent of power which employees actually exercise, most are purposefully designed not to give

workers a very significant role in decision making but rather to secure an enhanced employee contribution to the

organization. Empowerment takes place within the context of a strict management agenda. Empowerment

schemes tend to be direct and based on individuals or small groups (usually the work group), a clear contrast with

industrial democracy and participative schemes such as consultative committees which are collectivist and

representative in nature.

Empowerment in context

Taking a historical perspective, innovations at work group level can be seen as long-standing. Prior to the industrial

revolution, goods were made by craftsmen who had responsibility for the entire process. Up to the turn of the

century, automobiles were constructed by skilled craftsmen who planned production, solved design problems and

constructed the car as a unit (Gartman, 1978, p. 195). In the 1920s the ideas of F.W. Taylor, the father of scientific

management, were influential in getting management to break jobs down into small tasks and decide the best

method of carrying out each task using work study methods. Under this regime, workers had little discretion with

conception separate from execution, and brainpower was to be centred with management. The system was based

on worker compliance. While scientific management was very successful in terms of boosting productivity, there

was concern over the alienation of workers reflected in high labour turnover, absenteeism and conflict. The work of

Elton Mayo and the Human Relations School criticised Taylorism and suggested that involving workers had strong

business as well as moral benefits. Workers could be self-motivated and carry out good work without close

supervision (Rose, 1978).

With many problems apparent with traditional forms of work organisation there has been continuing interest in

getting workers more involved, although the type of initiative fashionable has waxed and waned over time. In the

1960s job enrichment was established as an alternative work paradigm, the aim being to provide meaningful work

for employees with some degree of control and feedback on performance (Buchanan, 1979). In short intrinsic

motivation was seen as critical to job satisfaction and jobs were to be enriched by reintegrating maintenance

tasks and providing some decision-making opportunities. Walton (1985) lists firms such as General Motors,

Proctor &Gamble and Mars as leaders in work innovation in the USA during this time. In the 1970s there was

greater interest in industrial democracy which emphasised workers' rights to participate, and legislative backing

for worker directives in much of Western Europe (excluding the UK) provided impetus for such structures. By the

1980s new forms of participation were developed less concerned with the concept of joint negotiation and with

much greater emphasis on employee involvement such as quality circles, team briefing and profit sharing as part

of a wider set of reforms in working practices. The key point about these schemes is that they did not challenge

management prerogative (Ackers et al., 1992; Marchington et al., 1992).

It was the late 1980s which saw empowerment emerge in its modern form. While earlier involvement initiatives

may have been empowering, empowerment needs to be seen in a particular business and political context. The

rhetoric of enterprise which reflected the shift to the political right in Western Europe and the USA underpinned the

new management approach (Legge, 1995). The discourse of empowerment fitted with notions of enterprise culture

with individuals seen as entrepreneurs taking destiny into their own hands no longer encumbered by bureaucratic

rules and union obstruction. Such ideas were advocated by the influential popular management writers of this

period, including Peters (1989) and Schonberger (1990) whose ideas popularised approaches such as TQM and

HRM. Peters ("involve everyone in everything; leading by empowering people") and Schonberger ("we want take

charge employees") both exhorted organisations to empower staff as mass production in a predictable

environment was no longer seen as the norm. A flood of books advocating empowerment began to appear (Byman,

1991; Foy, 1994).

In retrospect it could be argued that Peters and Waterman's much derided bestselling book, In Search of

Excellence, published in 1982, was influential in helping lay the foundations for the modern empowerment

movement. While many may not have read the book, their perceived wisdom and buzzwords became fully

dispersed within management circles. A central message was the need to move away from the hard rationalist

models driven by accountants and engineers to a more simple intuitive style of management. "Productivity

through people", "autonomy and entrepreneurship" summed up the new philosophy which when combined with

"the customer is king" provided the context for current empowerment ideas. The message was that successful

organisations focused on managing culture. Implicit in this analysis was the view that managers could unleash the

talents of individuals by dismantling organisational bureaucracy. Managers were exhorted to trust and involve

employees. Different forms of control were demanded. "Simultaneous loose-tight properties" referred to control

through shared values (customer service, etc.) with employees having greater discretion with regard to how they

carried out their jobs to meet these core corporate values.

By the late 1980s business thinking had become attracted by the notion of new modes of managing. It was argued

that markets were now more competitive (indeed turbulent and chaotic) partly owing to the globalisation of

competition and liberalisation by governments, and customers were becoming more demanding in terms of choice,

quality, design and service. In the private sector organisations were now targeting their products at niche markets

and attempting to respond swiftly to customer demands rather than selling mass-produced goods in stable

markets. Nor was the public sector immune from such pressures as privatisation and commercialisation which

increased pressure on them to meet various performance criteria. As a result the emphasis changed from utilising

economies of scale to more flexible, innovative and responsive organisations. This shift was variously referred to

as post-Fordism, flexible specialisation and lean production. The new management paradigm emphasised by

writers such as Drucker (1988) and Kanter (1989) include de-bureaucratisation (end of hierarchy and prescriptive

rules), and delayering, de-centralisation and the utilisation of project-based teams as part of a movement towards

a new knowledge-based organisation.

The new approach carried implications for people management and employers were urged to move away from an

approach based on compliance, hierarchical authority and limited employee discretion to one where there was

greater emphasis on high trust relations, teamworking and empowerment, with calls for employee commitment

and the utilisation of workforce expertise (Hyman and Mason, 1995; Walton, 1985). Furthermore, sectoral and

labour market changes shifted the balance of power to employers so as to facilitate the introduction of

empowerment and other employee involvement mechanisms, which changed work relationships on employers'

terms. Whereas the Scandinavian experiments were born of a political and economic context with a strong labour

movement and supportive government, the context of empowerment was quite different.

The quality movement was also influential during this period. While its principles had been developed by Japanese

companies in the late 1950s and 1960s, interest in the West peaked in the 1980s, and there appeared to be a

strong message of empowerment (Wilkinson et al., 1992). Under TQM, continuous improvement is undertaken by

those involved in a process and this introduces elements of bottom-up issue identification and problem solving. As

a result TQM may empower employees by delegating functions that were previously the preserve of more senior

organisational members and as a result institutionalise participation on a permanent basis (Hill, 1991, p. 541).

Thus supervisory roles are taken over by workers particularly in relation to quality control. Operators could use

their tacit knowledge of work processes to achieve substantially higher levels of quality, with the task of

management to create the conditions which would facilitate such efforts. However, operators' activity would be

confined to diagnosing improvements in their own work, not necessarily being able to implement these themselves

unless the organisation had also moved towards semi-autonomous working that combined authority with the

responsibility for work. Middle managers become facilitators, encouraging participation, teamwork and the

delegation of responsibility and accountability and this helps foster pride, job satisfaction, and better work. The

practice of continuous improvement is seen as increasing employee involvement in decision making, although

there is little discussion as to whether it is relatively low grade task-centred involvement or a more significant form

of participation and shared decision making. In practice there is a basic ambiguity in TQM in that, while employers

seek the commitment and empowerment of their employees, increased control over the work process is a

cornerstone of TQM (Hill and Wilkinson, 1995, pp. 14-16).

There is also a profoundly negative force which has driven the empowerment initiatives. In the 1980s and 1990s

rationalisation and downsizing were very much the order of the day. In this context empowerment became a

business necessity as the destaffed and delayered organisation could no longer function as before. In this set of

circumstances, empowerment was inevitable as tasks had to be allocated to the survivors in the new organisation.

Thus talk of enrichment and job satisfaction were very much secondary to simply getting the job done. The

business process re-engineering movement reflected these types of considerations.

The roots of empowerment

It is easy to assume empowerment is simply a new phenomenon in that standard texts on involvement and

participation make scant reference to the term (see for example, Brannen, 1983; Marchington, 1992; Poole, 1986).

Thus many accounts write as if empowerment is entirely a product of the times and do not see it in a historical

context. However, one could argue that, although empowerment in its current form reflects recent developments,

the basis and ideas underlying it go much deeper. Empowerment can be seen in many respects as a rejection of

the traditional classical model of management associated with Taylor and Ford where standardised products were

made through economies of scale and the division of labour, and workers carried out fragmented and repetitive

jobs. Economic man was seen as accepting a trade-off of high wages (extrinsic motivation) for poor quality of

working life.

Two broad sets of arguments have been used to justify the utilisation of empowerment. First, democratic

humanism which is usually seen as a response to the excesses of scientific management and problems of

alienation. Associated with enlightened managers, this view of human nature can be seen in the work of McGregor

and his Theory X and Theory Y constructs. While Theory X assumes employees dislike work and shirk

responsibility and are motivated purely by financial considerations, Theory Y takes a more positive view of human

nature, assuming employees would prefer to exercise self-control and contribute to the organisation so as to meet

their needs for self-actualisation. These sets of assumptions were also reflected in the work of humanist

psychologists such as Maslow with his model of the hierarchy of needs, and also Herzberg's motivation-hygiene

theory (Watson, 1995). Participation would satisfy human growth needs of self-actualisation and fulfilment and

through this mechanism increase motivation and performance. The socio-technical systems school stressed the

need to design technical and social components alongside each other to optimise the two and their influential

study of coalmining in Britain showed how work could be re-designed within the existing technical basis so as to

retain traditional features such as skill variety and a degree of autonomy (Trist et al., 1963). In the 1970s the

quality of working life (QWL) movement consolidated and developed these ideas and put them into practice, most

famously in the Swedish car plants such as Volvo at Kalmar. Furthermore it has been argued that developments in

the broader political and social environment including more educated workers has led to a higher level of

expectation concerning quality of working life (Cotton, 1993).

Second, there is an economic case for empowerment which is essentially pragmatic. It is assumed first that

workers have the opportunity to contribute to organisational success and as they are closer to the work situation

they may be able to suggest improvements which management would be unable to by virtue of their position in the

hierarchy. Empowerment would also increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover as workers feel more

committed to organisational goals. In addition, as workers are empowered this reduces the need for complex and

indeed dysfunctional systems of control, hence increasing efficiency. In the 1980s the new flexible organisation

paradigm reinforced such arguments. The move to customised products with flexible specialisation (Piore and

Sabel, 1983) and flatter and leaner structures was seen as the new route to competitive advantage and this meant

increasing focus on labour as a resource not just a cost. Furthermore, jobs were seen as far more complex than in

the days of scientific management and change much quicker. It was seen as vital to achieve greater flexibility

through the use of people. Rather than trying to control employees, they should be given discretion to provide

better service and achieve a higher standard of work. The argument emphasised the need for faster decisions in a

changing marketplace with employees closest to the customer/product best placed to make decisions concerning

related issues.

All these theories share a common assumption that workers are an untapped resource with knowledge and

experience and an interest in becoming involved which can be released by employers providing opportunities and

structures for their involvement. It is also assumed that participative decision making is likely to lead to job

satisfaction and better quality decisions and that gains are available both to employers (increased efficiency) and

workers (job satisfaction), in short an everyone wins scenario.

Classifying empowerment

A central problem in this field is that the term empowerment has been used very loosely by practitioners and

indeed academics. At its simplest, empowerment would commonsensically be associated with the redistribution

of power, but in practice empowerment is usually seen as a form of employee involvement, designed by

management and intended to generate commitment and enhance employee contributions to the organisation.

While some forms of employee involvement may provide employees with new channels through which their

influence is enhanced, employee involvement does not involve any de jure sharing of authority or power. With

employee involvement, the onus is on employers to involve employees or give employees the opportunity to be

involved. Empowerment in the context of its usage in recent years can be seen as reflecting this approach. It is

individualist rather than collectivist in its orientation, i.e. empowerment is based on individual workers or work

groups but not on larger groups such as trade unions. It encompasses direct involvement in work practices rather

than indirect. Financial participation and representative participation were not part of the agenda, rendering it

distinct from other forms of employee involvement, employee participation and industrial democracy. Thus a

distinction could be made between empowerment initiatives as defined above and initiatives which may empower

(the latter including industrial democracy).

The new rhetoric is significant. The term is associated with an upbeat view of management and the vague but

positive associations make the appeal immediate and extensive. But one needs to question who is empowering

whom and why, as well as examining to whom do the benefits (if any) belong? No doubt the empowerment

movement appropriates language from wider political movements - feminism, and the ecology movement where

empowerment is seen as a positive force, but a key difference is that these movements are rooted in the

oppressed, i.e. helping people to help themselves, whereas the empowerment movement is driven by those in

power, i.e. helping managers to manage the organisation (Hennestad, 1998).

Empowerment can be seen as a flexible and even elastic term (Cunningham et al., 1996; Lashley, 1997). It clearly

fits within the voluntarist tradition which left managers and workers (in practice reflecting power structures,

usually the former) to decide on a suitable approach for the organisation. Empowerment can also be seen as

different from the 1970s QWL movement which emphasised labour issues such as job satisfaction, absenteeism

and labour turnover. Indeed to some extent the 1970s participative movement had a negative aim: to keep

employers quiescent, i.e. make them conform to the contract (Ramsay, 1977) rather than the more recent

manifestation where a greater (i.e. beyond contract) commitment is sought. In contrast empowerment emphasises

more direct business considerations, such as quality, flexibility and productivity. It is management who empowers

employees and the initiatives have tended to cover direct workforce involvement over a relatively small number of

issues usually connected with the production process or service delivery, with the rationale that highly committed

and empowered staff were more likely to engage in a beyond contract effort, i.e. beyond the normal call of duty.

There has tended to be little union negotiation concerning the principle of the initiative (an empowerment paradox)

with design and planning excluding union involvement. In practice, however, issues arising out of the

implementation of empowerment often become industrial relations matters. For example job enlargement can

threaten traditional demarcation lines as well as raise remuneration issues.

What the quantitative growth of empowerment initiatives means for empowerment in practice is another issue.

There is a tendency in the existing literature to lump together all the various forms of empowerment (Lashley,

1997). No categorisation scheme for empowerment is entirely satisfactory as the boundaries between different

types are not clear and much depends on the definition adopted. With empowerment not existing as a single

unified entity, it can cover a very wide range of schemes, which in turn may involve a variety of diverse

management motivations. However, they are united by sharing a common assumption that employees' and

employers' interests are inextricably connected. They can range from the mechanistic (i.e. structural change) to

the more organic (concerned with attitudes/culture). However, taking account of these notes of caution we can

identify five main types, namely information sharing, upward problem solving, task autonomy, attitudinal shaping,

and self-management.

Information sharing

For employers to be empowered, information is a central component. There has been a great deal of interest in

recent years in management increasing downward communication to employees typically via newsletters, the

management chain or team briefing, which communicates organisational goals and the business position of the

organisation to win hearts and minds. The logic here is that employees will be more understanding of the reasons

for business decisions and as a result more committed to the organisation's action. Moreover, communication is

direct to the workforce rather than being mediated by employee representation or trade unions. Thus critics have

argued that such schemes incorporate workers and/or by-pass trade unions and is designed not to provide better

information to empower workers but convince them of the logic of management action and hence reduce the

scope for genuine empowerment, i.e. the opportunity to influence or change decisions.

In short, it may be a form of pseudo-participation (Pateman, 1970) with a move away from "you will do this" to "this

is why you will do this" (Wilkinson et al., 1993, p. 28).

It is also seen as important that employees should have the opportunity to express their views and grievances

openly and independently through a form of upward communication, rather than being able to raise only task-

related problems. Of course voice could be achieved through trade union organisation and collective bargaining,

through formally established grievance and disputes procedures but empowerment tends to favour individual

action through speak-up schemes which offer employees protection if their complaints are not heard

sympathetically. Employees may also be asked to collect information outside their immediate work group, perhaps

through cross-functional teams, as issues here may impact on their work. This introduces a horizontal

communication dimension. It is usually accompanied by a problem-solving aspect as well (see below).

Upward problem solving

Again there are various dimensions to this form of empowerment. Within the existing job this may involve

informing management of problems and letting them deal with them. A typical example in manufacturing would be

workers having the ability to halt the line because of production problems or defective material. In services

employees may be able to make customer-related decisions (e.g. replacing defective products). In short, there may

be greater autonomy and responsibility at the point of production or service delivery. Outside the job basic work

process itself is suggestion involvement (Bowen and Lawler, 1992), where workers make suggestions but

management decide whether to act on these, or more significant where workers have some autonomy through

quality circles/groups/teams, addressing problems and in some cases implementing improvements themselves.

This reflects Morton's (1994) idea that workers have two jobs: one is to carry out designated tasks and the other is

to search for improvements.

Task autonomy

At its most basic level this may mean removing inspectors from the production line as workers take on wider

responsibility, or it may involve the more significant restructuring of work units into cells (often around product

flows) teams or the creation of semi-autonomous work groups now commonly referred to as teamworking or self-

managing teams. This differs from job rotation, enlargement and enrichment in that the work group itself decides

details of production and work group norms to a much larger extent than the former job-restructuring schemes.

Such teams can have autonomy, concerning task allocation and scheduling, monitoring of attendance, health and

safety issues, the flow and pace of production and can also be responsible for setting improvement targets (Wall

and Martin, 1987). Teams can also have responsibility for the recruitment and training of temporary staff as well

as controlling overtime levels. Developing a cell-base team structure is seen as helping communication,

acceptance of change, and through peer pressure reduces the need for tight supervision and other forms of

external control. This then facilitates delayering. Such groups can have what psychologists term skill discretion

(solving problems with the knowledge of the group) and means discretion (choice in organising the means and

tools of work) (Cooper, 1973), but are still working within a structure determined by senior management and

remain focused on operational rather than strategic issues.

Attitudinal shaping

This sees empowerment as a psychological process and is often seen in the service industry (Jones et al., 1997).

There may be no change in work or organisational structure but employees are trained/educated to feel

empowered (a state of mind) and play a more confident role in their interaction with the customer. Internalisation

of the new values is seen as the key to new behaviour. Such initiatives have been criticised as "smile campaigns"

with critics arguing that the end result is a better apology than improved service.

Indeed there is some research that suggests that changing attitudes through education and programmatic change

is to misunderstand the process of change. It is changed behaviour that leads to changed attitudes rather than the

reverse. What matters is how management organise work so as to ensure new responsibilities, relationships and

roles, which in turn forces changed behaviour (Beer et al., 1990).

Self-management

This tends to be fairly rare in any real sense. Clearly self-managing work groups are a limited form of this approach,

but are constrained by working within certain limits set by senior management (e.g. self-managing in relation to a

set of work tasks). Ideally self-management should involve divisions between managers and workers being eroded

and decisions, rules and executive authority no longer set by the few for the many (Semler, 1989). Others have

referred to high involvement (Bowen and Lawler, 1992) where business information is shared and employees have

participation in wider business decisions.

Clearly these types may overlap as many initiatives incorporate several of these dimensions. For example,

information is important to empowerment in general and not just as a separate form. Similarly, a change in attitude

and self-efficacy is seen by some writers as at the core of any form of empowerment (Conger and Kanungo, 1988).

Discussion

There has been considerable criticism of the transformation thesis implying a shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism.

It has been pointed out that the pursuit of flexibility has not led to widespread multiskilling and indeed reflects

sectoral change and opportunism rather than strategic choice (Legge, 1995). Lean production as implemented has

strong elements of continuity with Taylorism. Nor have high trust relations appeared to be any more widespread

than in previous times, with commitment largely calculative. Thus the rosy picture of an everyone wins scenario is

hard to reconcile with much of what is reported to have been happening in the real world where downsizing, work

intensification and career truncation appear to have been prevalent.

Effectiveness can be examined from a number of perspectives, and much depends on how one sees management

motivation for the introduction of such initiatives. While there has been much discussion of empowerment from a

humanist perspective, there is no doubt that in the 1980s and 1990s management have regarded business

considerations as the primary force behind empowerment. Thus the empowerment agenda of the 1980s and

1990s is much more pragmatic and business-oriented than the QWL movement of the 1970s. Furthermore,

management have defined the redistribution of power in very narrow terms. The degree of participation offered by

empowerment is strictly within an agenda set by management and it tends not to extend to significant power

sharing or participation in higher level strategic decisions such as product and investment plans. It tends to be

within systems rather than over systems. It is also true to say that radical forms of empowerment are not on the

current empowerment agenda. While there have been business benefits arising from empowerment, it is often

difficult to disentangle the contribution of empowerment, given that it is typically part of a wider organisational

change process (TQM, BPR, etc.) with other changes such as new payment systems and new technology often

part of the package. In terms of whether it leads to greater worker influence the answer appears to be yes but

within heavily constrained terms (Edwards et al., 1997; Rees, 1996; Wilkinson et al., 1997a; 1997b).

The rhetoric of senior management, and the names given to their empowerment initiatives, sound superficially

similar when comparing organisations. Research suggests the need to move away from any simplistic or unilinear

conceptions of empowerment (Lashley, 1997). Not only is it the case that varying types of empowerment carry

different meanings, but also techniques with the same name, structure and processes may be experienced in very

different fashions by different workforces. As a result empowerment initiatives cannot be analysed in isolation

from the other organisation policies that impact on the employment relationship. In particular, attention must be

directed towards the work organisation, the nature of the workforce, existing technology and business strategy,

and whether initiatives are designed to create the climate in which changes in these areas can be introduced or

whether they are merely bolted-on in a context where wider changes are already under way. While the catalyst for

the introduction empowerment initiatives may have been the same at the most general level, i.e. intensifying

competitive pressure, the extent of these pressures may differ. In one organisation empowerment may be part of a

wider move to a more progressive and open style of management, while in another management may be forced

towards changes in work organisation and empowerment as part of an immediate and desperate struggle to

survive, with increased intensification and management by stress (Parker and Slaughter, 1993) the outcome, and

workers putting up with the new regime because of a fear of dismissal. In short one needs to analyse the real

terrain on which the empowerment initiative is operationalised.

However, the credibility and acceptance of any initiative is partly governed by the management's treatment of the

workforce. Studies point to the importance of supporting changes in human resource policy such as moves

towards single status in producing a conception among the workforce of an open management style and helping

to produce a more positive evaluation of management. Research on high performance work teams which

encompass empowerment identifies the context within which the teams operated as critical to their success.

Management had a clear vision of how the teams fitted in with the broader business strategy and this was shared

with all employees. Moreover, the teams were supported by a whole raft of other initiatives such as an open

management style, open plan layout, flexitime and the removal of clocking and a payment system based on skills

acquisition (Buchanan, 1994). Thus empowerment needs to be nurtured by the whole work environment within

which it operates. Teamworking is unlikely, for example, to be very successful with an individualised payment

system which cuts across the group ideal. While there is little evidence that traditional distrust is eliminated by

empowerment there may be greater loyalty within the reconstructed workgroups which may equally serve

management goals. Similarly, best practice theory implies that inter-related elements produced benefits not a

piecemeal approach. Key human resource practices included empowerment but also identified training, rigorous

selection, employee ownership and performance-related reward as critical success factors (Pfeffer, 1994).

Research is often polarised into those who report greater work effort and more demanding jobs and those who

report more job satisfaction, but there is evidence of both occurring simultaneously. Thus work could be more

satisfying with increased discretion over the work process but demands may also be more explicit and rigorous.

While traditional external controls such as supervisory attention may have been eradicated, sophisticated

measurement systems (technical control) monitor the performance of individuals and teams and peer pressure

(social control) also serves management's objectives. From this perspective empowerment is more significant as

ideology than as practice (Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992).

It is important to see empowerment in a wider context and reiterate that empowerment as defined by employers is

largely task-based and aimed at operational issues. It is taken for granted in much of the prescriptive literature that

employees will welcome and indeed be committed to the new approach. Indeed there is evidence that workers

welcome the removal of irritants (e.g. close supervision) and welcome the opportunity to address problems at

source as well as the ability to decide work allocation. However, there is also evidence that employees are not

sufficiently trained for empowerment in the West especially where empowerment is a result of downsizing.

Empowerment becomes abandonment (Adler, 1993). In contrast in Japan the success of job enrichment has been

attributed to newly hired workers being trained to do all the jobs on the line (a process taking six to 12 months), so

they understand the entire process and are better able to identify problems (Garvin, 1988). Another common

problem is that the decision-making process is not clear or developed, so that workers suggest ideas but

management are unable to respond adequately to these. These problems are partly the result of the need to adapt

to new production techniques and downsizing rather than enhancing empowerment per se. In other words

empowerment is not without costs both in terms of establishing a new approach to management (involving

training costs, costs of new reward and information systems) and in its operation (involving issues of integration,

consistency and unintended consequences) (Lawler, 1996). Thus the new paradigm of work organisation remains

an ideal, with elements adopted but in an ad hoc piecemeal manner. Some commentators have suggested that

employees' empowerment is making someone else take the risk and responsibility (Sisson, 1994, p. 15) previously

held by others without a commensurate improvement in their own terms and conditions.

However, the evidence indicates that employees are not cultural dopes (Hill, 1995, p. 50) and do not simply buy

into rhetoric in an unconditional way. Their support is dependent on trust in management and the perceived

benefits to themselves. Employees interpret, evaluate and (re)act towards managerial initiatives, and in its way

serve to audit in their own way the viability of managerial initiatives. Thus, while workers' representatives may be

becoming enmeshed in a management discourse which makes it difficult for them to challenge any management

strategy which is grounded in business logic, in reality they may oppose the initiative implemented and indeed may

subvert management goals (Roberts and Wilkinson, 1991). Thus it could be argued that, although management try

to limit empowerment, employees themselves may see the discourse as a resource in their struggles with

management to bring managers into line with workforce expectations (Rosenthal et al., 1997) and indeed may

question the extent to which they are treated and rewarded in the organisation as a whole, and the extent to which

they participate in key business decisions and hence construct their own agenda (Wilkinson et al., 1997a).

Because a passive view of the workforce is often taken, the potential variability of understanding of individual

initiatives consequent on diversity of industrial sectors is often overlooked. Thus, for example in the services

sector, moves towards empowerment may be seen by individual workforces as routine in the context of other firms

already providing such schemes; in manufacturing the situations may be very different. Indeed the differences

between the sectors suggest that the views expressed by the workforce towards empowerment initiatives is not

just a matter of degree; rather, the specific nature of employment relationships in the different sectors serves to

indicate whether or not such initiatives will involve immediate questions about the frontier of control. The

importance of such initiatives lies in the context of the translation of their supposed formal properties within the

real terrain of the organisation and workplace (Roberts and Wilkinson, 1991, pp. 408-09). Such a perspective helps

us to understand whether empowerment erodes other forms of involvement or participation. By restructuring work

responsibilities and making the team central to the workplace, as well as encouraging employees to identify with

managerial objectives, it can marginalise unions and in some cases is clearly intended to do so. From a business

perspective a concern in recent years is the implication in terms of a loss of management control. An individual

acting alone brought down a British Bank, Barings, and in other organisations such as Sears Roebuck,

embarrassing headlines resulted from employees using their initiative and subverting control mechanisms

(Simons, 1995).

The prescriptive empowerment literature suggests that the role of middle managers and supervisors changes from

holders of expert power to facilitators (or coaches). However, removal of expert power is often perceived as a

significant threat and participative management is seen as a burden to many middle managers and it is not

surprising that they do not universally welcome it (Denham et al., 1997; Marchington et al., 1992). Their sense of

anxiety is exacerbated by fears of job loss as levels in the hierarchy may be reduced as part of wider changes, as

well as possible reduction in status and increasing workload (Klein, 1984). Moreover some see moves towards

employee empowerment as soft management removing their authority over subordinates. However, research

suggests that opposition may owe more to the fact that they were not provided with the resources required, were

not sufficiently trained or were not evaluated on this in terms of performance appraisal and therefore did not see it

as of much importance (Marchington et al., 1992) and that the problem relates to systems and structures rather

than the personnel of middle management (Edwards et al., 1997). In other cases middle managers may feel that

they themselves gain influence over decisions taken elsewhere in the organisation that affect their work. Some

may also feel that it gives them a chance to show their initiative and so increase their career prospects despite

losing a degree of functional expert power.

In practice empowerment can be seen as depending contingently on other factors. For lower level employees,

empowerment in organisations with more flexibly specialised processes, which rely on employee skill, discretion

and organisational capabilities, is more likely to be associated with more influence over decisions than in

organisations where there are routinised and standardised processes that are capable of being tightly controlled

from above and where there is a tradition of such control. Empowerment in terms of identifying and solving

problems can be found in the latter environment, as was evident at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.

(NUMMI) - GM - Toyota joint venture in California, a Taylorised auto plant, but the scope for radical empowerment

appears to be limited (Adler, 1993). There is also clearly a paradox in the empowerment process in that, while

workers may be empowered to improve a process, once that change has been made it is standardised and hence

constraining.

Conclusion

Empowerment has arisen from the employee involvement initiatives of the 1980s and has been conceived in an era

where notions of industrial democracy were seen as old-fashioned. Empowerment has largely been aimed at

shopfloor workers with the twin goals of increasing productivity and commitment to employers' goals. While there

has developed a variety of forms of empowerment they share a common basis in being managerially driven and

hence within an agenda which allows for largely task-based empowerment. However, it needs to be recognised

that empowerment has different forms and should be analysed in the context of broader organisational practice.

The importance of these initiatives is in the context of the translation of their supposedly formal properties within

the real terrain of the workplace. Empowerment may not in practice dilute overall management control: rather it

can reconstitute the nature of such control. This does not mean that empowerment is without benefits to

employees. Nor while these benefits may be limited should they be dismissed as simply small beer. A pragmatic

approach needs to be taken. As Pfeffer (1994, p. 206) suggests with one should compare programmes not with

some ideal but with the situation that would exist in their absence. In other words, just because a programme does

not solve every problem or move the organisation all the way, particularly initially, to where it wants and needs to

be does not mean that it is a failure. A programme fails when it produces either no sustained change or else

change that is dysfunctional and ineffective. Some remediation of problems in managing the employment relation

is certainly better than nothing at all. Research should move to examining the conditions under which

empowerment is most effective and employee commitment to such schemes is enhanced.

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DETAILS

Subject: Theory; Quality circles; Workers; Job enrichment; Employers; Human resource

management; Employee empowerment; Total quality; Employment; Employee

involvement; Industrial democracy; Artisans; Empowerment

Business indexing term: Subject: Quality circles Workers Job enrichment Employers Human resource

management Employee empowerment Total quality Employment Employee

involvement Industrial democracy

Classification: 6100: Human resource planning; 2500: Organizational behavior

Publication title: Personnel Review; Farnborough

Volume: 27

Issue: 1

Pages: 40-56

Number of pages: 0

Publication year: 1998

Publication date: 1998

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Li mited

Place of publication: Farnborough

Country of publication: United Kingdom, Farnborough

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Management

ISSN: 00483486

e-ISSN: 17586933

CODEN: PRRVAQ

Source type: Scholarly Journal

Language of publication: English

Document type: Feature

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00483489810368549

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