Building A Safety Net Against Economic Abuse

Sabotaging her job. Refusing to work. Demanding she accounts for every cent. Destroying her credit. Restricting food, shelter, transportation, and medicine. These are just a few examples of economic abuse. It’s a form of domestic violence that affects most women in abusive relationships, the consequences of which often continue even after they exit their relationship.

Social entrepreneur Meseret Haileyesus founded the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) to build social, financial, and regulatory protections against economic abuse. She spoke with Ashoka’s Carolina Nieto about the important steps banks, utility companies, industry regulators, government, policy-makers, and all of us can take to build a more just financial system with survivors of abuse in mind.