VHA Social Work

Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program (IPVAP) - VETERANS & PARTNERS - What Is IPV?

Financial abuse is an often overlooked form of IPV in which one partner controls the other partner’s economic resources. ^1*

The financial cost of IPV exceeds $5.8 billion dollars each year ^2*

IPV Financial Abuse could include the following: ^3*

• Controlling how a person spends his or her money
• Withholding money
• Stealing money, credit, property or identity from a partner
• Forcing a partner to overspend on credit cards
• Prohibiting a partner to open a bank account or a credit account
• Preventing the partner from working or making it difficult to maintain employment

Employment Issues:

Individuals impacted by IPV may experience physical and mental health issues that make it difficult to find or maintain employment, as well as continue their education. ^{4*, 5*,6*, 7*}

Housing and Employment Instability:

Women Veterans who experience IPV are 3 times more likely to have housing instability due to intimate violence and it is the primary cause of homelessness in women. As many as 50% of homeless women who experience IPV either lose their jobs or leave the workforce (NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2002). 

Are you experiencing these or other financial concerns?

Additional Resources: 

• General Financial Assistance: United Way 2-1-1 24/7 confidential and free information on community resources, including financial assistance. www.211.org/ *
• Financial Assistance for Victims of Crimes: Office for Victims of Crime https://www.ovc.gov/help/index.html; As a victim of a crime, you may also be eligible to apply for financial compensation. Contact your local Victim Advocate for assistance in applying.
• Financial Literacy Resources: National Network to End Domestic Violence Learn how to rebuild your finances after financial abuse. https://nnedv.org/resources-library/moving-ahead-financial-management-curriculum/*
• Medical Assistance:  Face to Face Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery for injuries on the face, head, and neck from intimate partner violence. ncadv.org/about-us/our-programs/cosmetic-surgery*
• Give Back a Smile: Dental assistance for adults who have experienced dental injuries from intimate partner violence or sexual assault. aacd.com/aboutGBAS*
  

References
1. Adams, A.E., Beeble, M.L. (2018). “Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Well-Being: Examining the effect of economic abuse on women’s quality of life.” Psychology of Violence. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000174
2. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of intimate partner violence against women in the United States. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipvbook-a.pdf 
3. Tisdale, S. (2016). Breaking the Chains of Financial Abuse. Black Enterprise, 46(6), 52-55. https://black-enterprise.vlex.com/vid/breaking-the-chains-of-632160557
4. Moe, A. M., & Bell, M. P. (2004). Abject economics: The effects of battering and violence on women’s work and employability. Violence Against Women, 10, 29–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801203256016
5. Raphael, J. (2000). Saving Bernice: Battered women, welfare, and poverty. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400094
6. Riger, S., & Staggs, S. L. (2004). Welfare reform, domestic violence, and employment: What do we know and what do we need to know. Violence Against Women, 10, 961–990. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801204267464
7. Swanberg, J., Logan, T., & Macke, C. (2005). Intimate partner violence, employment, and the workplace. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 6, 286–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838005280506

return to top