Leah Gjertson summarizes a workshop held on May 17, 2011, by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Social Security Administration and CFS on Exploring the Intersection between Financial Capability and Domestic Violence. The goal of the event was to bring together government officials, academic researchers, domestic violence practitioners and policy makers to explore how personal financial capability relates to domestic violence.

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This workshop is rooted in an important multi-sector conversation regarding the interconnected relationship between financial capability and domestic violence. This is a complicated issue, including significant variation in the circumstances of victims and the resulting variation in needs and appropriate intervention strategies. The solution appears to at least in part include providing victims access to applicable financial knowledge and skills, and sound products, while continuing to prioritize victim safety.

The workshop benefitted from the presence of the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, the White House Counsel on Women and Girls and a special appearance by the First Lady’s Chief of Staff.
Over the course of the day academic experts and leaders in the domestic violence field reviewed what is known about the relationship between domestic violence and economic well-being, reported evaluation results of promising programs and interventions, described training initiatives and identified areas for future research.  This brief summarizes the themes of the discussion.