This brief by Assistant Professor Kameri Christy-McMullin at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville School of Social Work, discusses approaches, goals, and strategies for increasing economic access and financial literacy for girls and women, particularly survivors of domestic violence.
Practitioners are all too aware that women experience many different types of domestic violence, including physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse. For survivors, domestic violence often starts in one’s teenage years and continues through the life span.
Social workers learn about domestic violence survivors’ experiences by listening to their stories, co-creating safety plans, and reviewing the Power and Control Wheel (PCW). Ultimately, a major reason why survivors feel hopeless, as well as why they believe they lack good options, is also consequently the reason they cannot escape an abusive relationship—economics.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security 