Working Towards Economic Equity for Domestic Violence Survivors
Domestic violence can take on many forms—and financial control is one of them, with 94-99 percent of domestic violence survivors experiencing economic abuse. A new report lays out four key issues that survivors face when overcoming economic barriers, including housing insecurity and lack of access to public assistance. In New York City, many organizations offer services that help survivors overcome these issues by establishing financial security and facilitating opportunities, including many that are part of the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative.
Intimate partner violence (IPV), also known as domestic violence (DV), is a multifaceted public health problem, and the effects can be wide-ranging. While increased recognition of this epidemic has begotten more services, visibility, and platforms for survivors, there remains a research and policy gap on one of the most challenging hurdles survivors face: money and future financial opportunities. Acknowledging this knowledge gap, IPV organizations across New York State collaborated with survivors and advocates to create a report, “Reinvesting in Economic Justice, Equity, and Solidarity for Survivors in New York City,” to begin to build change.
The report highlights that 94-99 percent of interpersonal violence (IPV) survivors experience economic abuse. Economic abuse can mean behaviors or tactics that control a person’s access to economic resources; for instance, this might look like preventing a partner from getting a job, stealing their income, and taking out credit cards in their name without their consent. The report emphasized four key issues related to systemic economic barriers that survivors face: housing insecurity, coerced debt, restricted access to public assistance programs, and a lack of “solidarity economy.” A solidarity economy is an economic framework that emphasizes working together toward increased social value as opposed to purely financial gain; in this context, it means centering the experiences of survivors by valuing cooperation, mutualism, social and racial justice, and democracy in its decision-making. These issues are more pressing than ever, as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many inequities and economic disparities across groups. Since the pandemic, approximately 83-91 percent of advocates in New York City said survivors had trouble paying bills due to loss of employment/income, receiving or keeping public benefits, and receiving stimulus checks. The report provided specific recommendations to build economic equity across the four key issues identified from calls with survivors.
Since the pandemic, approximately 83-91 percent of advocates in New York City said survivors had trouble paying bills due to loss of employment/income, receiving or keeping public benefits, and receiving stimulus checks.
Although additional work needs to be done on a systemic level to ensure economic security for survivors, there are many organizations in New York City working on addressing these gaps. In partnership with ISLG, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) invests in community programs to increase services to underserved communities. Among the co-authors of the report are CJII grantees Urban Resource Institute and New York City Anti-Violence Project.
Across many areas of impact, CJII grantees work to uplift the voices of survivors, some examples include:
Sanctuary for Families’ Career Readiness Training Program
Sanctuary for Families (SFF) serves survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and gender-based violence; they offer a Economic Empowerment Program, which is a comprehensive training program that aims to equip survivors to pursue careers. In doing so, survivors can break the cycle of poverty, homelessness, and abuse. The curriculum includes an intensive and holistic Career Readiness Training Program (CRTP) that prepares survivors to enter the workforce by teaching them how to search for jobs, write a resume, craft cover letters, and practice for interviews. A version of this training is also available in Spanish, coupled with an English as a Second Language class.
The program also offers survivors a range of opportunities, including literacy skills, professional development, and advanced IT training to help them find living-wage, career-track work. Through their newfound skills and confidence, CRTP participants can pursue educational aspirations, stable employment, secure housing, and overall, a better quality of life for themselves and their families.
Children’s Aid’s Family Wellness Program
Children’s Aid helps to rebuild strong and healthy families affected by intimate partner violence (IPV) by providing trauma-informed care and support to the whole family. Their Family Wellness Program provides free trauma-informed services to families residing in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx. Therapists and case management staff with expertise in the intersection of IPV, trauma, and child welfare are available to support families with involvement in the child welfare system. Their services include short-term intervention and counseling, group counseling, case management, and economic empowerment.
The Family Wellness Program used CJII funding to expand capacity for individual and group services as well as to develop an economic empowerment component to the program. For families impacted by IPV, economic empowerment services are key to addressing barriers that survivors face. Notably, the Family Wellness Program supported two worker cooperatives: Brightly Cleaning Cooperative and NannyBee. The Brightly Cleaning Cooperative is staffed and collectively owned by FWP participants, along with people from other organizations who share profits among themselves and benefit from their labor and success of the business. This also provided survivors with the opportunity to become an entrepreneur as a co-owner and build their economic independence. Similarly, NannyBee is a network of worker-owned cooperatives that provided childcare to FWP participants, removing the economic burden of finding childcare while working and seeking support.
NYC Anti-Violence Project’s LGBTQ Survivor Access Program
Marginalized LGBTQIA+ and HIV-affected people are more likely to experience interpersonal violence and economic insecurity. Fifty percent of transgender individuals experience domestic violence and 29 percent experience poverty. Creating programs that aim to increase their economic stability can, in turn, reduce vulnerability to violence and promote overall well-being. New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) serves LGBTQIA+ and HIV-affected survivors of crime and violence, including people who are transgender, gender non-confirming, of color, immigrants, and youth. Through CJII funding, AVP’s LGBTQ Survivor Access Program expanded by providing legal, clinical, and community organizing services, as well as to improving language access, all of which were impacted by the political landscape after the 2016 election. Additionally, their Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) works to improve survivor outcomes by providing free workforce development services, including financial counseling, job readiness assistance, and career planning. Clients enrolled in the EEP also receive comprehensive legal counseling and participate in workshops to promote their financial literacy.
Fifty percent of transgender individuals experience domestic violence and 29 percent experience poverty. Creating programs that aim to increase their economic stability can, in turn, reduce vulnerability to violence and promote overall well-being.
Urban Resource Institute’s Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program (TI-APIP)
Through CJII, the Urban Resource Institute (URI) runs a Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program (TI-APIP), one of the many comprehensive URI programs and services that reach some 40,000 individuals each year. TI-APIP focuses on changing the behavior of partners who cause harm, with a focus on survivor safety and intervening against future abuse to reduce recidivism and break cycles of violence. The program includes trauma-informed exploration of self and interpersonal impacts, healthy community, and accountability. URI expanded their APIP services to also work with people charged with an IPV offense in Manhattan Criminal Court. This program aligns with URI’s belief that preventing IPV requires a “multi-pronged approach” with economic resources, coordinated community response, personal insight, and growth. TI-APIP works with participants to identify abusive behavior, patterns that influence behavior, and promote healthier habits and communities.
Based on research from the report, there is correlation between rates of poverty and violence. URI’s TI-APIP adjusts the traditional APIP approach by being trauma-informed, economically accessible, and responsive. Unlike previous APIPs in New York City, this program is free of charge and includes other holistic services such as case management, trauma-specific counseling, and referrals to job readiness and housing support. APIPs typically use court reporting and fees to ensure program participation. However, URI’s program does not rely on fees, which can increase financial stress on participants, and offers free services after a participant completes their mandate. Providing free and holistic programming is a direct way to address how economic factors create barriers for both people who cause harm and survivors.
In addition to TI-APIP, URI offers a comprehensive Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) for adults and youth in its domestic violence and homeless families shelters. The program empowers clients with the resources and tools to create safe, stable futures and break intergenerational cycles of poverty.
These CJII grantees are working towards addressing economic barriers in communities; however, economic challenges faced by survivors must be considered in policy development. As identified in the report, firstly, policy must make services robust, flexible, and accessible to all survivors. Second, survivor equity and solidarity need to be placed at the center of economic development. This includes survivors’ principles of care, coordination, and community building. Third, institutionalized racism must be addressed as it directly connects to current barriers faced by survivors. Lastly, survivors must be included in government planning and policy. Directly engaging the affected community in programming, economic and social policy is how organizations in New York City and beyond can take the equitable approach to addressing systemic issues.
Photo by Cultura Allies on Adobe Stock.