Ask the expert: What you might not know about domestic violence and money

The cost of domestic violence exceeds $8 billion every year. Economic abuse, a form of abuse that compromises survivors' economic well-being, is a major contributor to this cost.

For 20 years, Adrienne Adams, a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Psychology, has dedicated her career to understanding and addressing how money can be used as a tool of power and control in abusive relationships. Her research has been aided through her work as an advocate in a domestic violence shelter, where she witnessed the overwhelming economic barriers survivors faced when trying to find safety and rebuild their lives.

As a community psychologist, Adams focuses on research to inform actual changes in the lives of individuals, families and communities in positive ways. She uses social science research methods to get answers to important questions with implications for survivors’ lives.

Here, Adams shares three important insights about how money plays a role in domestic violence, as well as her ongoing policy and advocacy work.

How do domestic violence perpetrators use money to hurt their partners?

Economic abuse is one element of a broader pattern of tactics that perpetrators of domestic violence use to gain power and control over their partners. These tactics can include physical or sexual violence, emotional or verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, social isolation, reproductive coercion, stalking and surveillance, and even using institutions like the legal system to further harm a partner. Within this context, economic abuse involves behaviors that control a partner’s access to, use of, or ability to maintain economic resources. These behaviors harm the survivor’s economic well-being and limit their options for safety from abuse.

Economic abuse can take many forms, such as dictating spending, employment interference, damaging property, creating or transferring debt in the survivor’s name, denying access to savings, financial isolation, or theft. In some cases, an abusive partner may control all the money and make all the financial decisions. In other cases, an abusive partner may refuse to contribute to household bills, make the survivor take on debt to buy them things, or spend money earmarked for necessities on ‘extras’ like electronics or vacations.

They use tactics like coercion, fraud, sabotage and manipulation to impose their will on the survivor, thereby impeding their ability to make decisions for their own life. Some describe economic abuse as a liberty crime because it strips the ability from someone to direct the course of their own life.

How much financial cost results from abuse?

It’s expensive to be abused.

Firstly, there are the costs created by the abuser’s actions. Economic abuse can lead to lost wages and productivity when a partner prevents someone from having a job, hides car keys or disables the car so they can’t get to work, or harasses them at their job until they’re fired. Survivors can experience asset loss when property is damaged or destroyed, savings and retirement funds are stolen, or money is transferred from their accounts without consent. There are also lost opportunities when abuse disrupts work or education. It limits promotions and better job prospects down the road.

One of the biggest financial burdens we’ve documented is coerced debt, where an abuser uses fraud, coercion or manipulation to spend on credit cards, take out loans, or put household bills in the survivor’s name. In a recent study with women who divorced an abusive spouse, survivors in the sample collectively carried $12.5 million in coerced debt, with a median debt of $22,000 per person. This is a devastating financial setback that can take years to overcome.

Secondly, there are costs from seeking help and safety. Survivors often have to pay for relocation, legal fees, new housing deposits or security measures. Accessing services such as shelters, medical care, therapy and court proceedings also comes with costs. Fees, transportation, childcare and time away from work all add up.

Together, these costs show that abuse is not just emotionally and physically damaging, it’s also economically devastating. Financial harm is both a tool of control and a long-term consequence of abuse itself.

How does money keep domestic violence survivors in abusive relationships?

One of the most common questions people ask about domestic violence is, ‘Why don’t they just leave?’ But that question oversimplifies an incredibly complex situation. For many survivors, especially those who have experienced economic abuse, leaving isn’t just an emotional decision . . . it’s a financial one.

Leaving can mean walking away from your home, belongings, job, and community and starting over with little or nothing. Survivors have to ask themselves: How will I afford first month’s rent and a security deposit? How will I provide for my children? How will I rebuild when my savings are gone or my credit has been destroyed?

Research consistently shows that financial insecurity is one of the biggest barriers to leaving. In a study we did with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 73% of survivors said they stayed longer in an abusive relationship than they wanted to because of concerns about supporting themselves or their children financially.

Economic abuse directly contributes to this trap. By depleting money, sabotaging employment or ruining a partner’s credit and banking history, abusers make it inconceivable to start over. Survivors may find themselves with inadequate income or savings, burdened with debt, unable to open a checking account, denied housing because of bad credit, or unable to afford transportation to a new job.

Many survivors also face isolation from their support systems. Abusers often cut off connections with friends and family, leaving survivors without emotional or financial help when they need it most. And while loved ones may grow impatient, the reality is that leaving safely often takes time. Research has shown that it can take an average of five to seven attempts before a survivor is able to leave for good (Ferraro, 1997).

When all these factors combine — lack of money, debt, limited job options, damaged credit and no support network — staying may feel like the only way to survive materially and provide for oneself and one’s children.

What is the role of research, advocacy and policy?

The 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act added a definition of economic abuse, acknowledging it as a distinct form of domestic violence that requires specific intervention. At the state level, some legislatures have begun passing laws to address coerced debt, and some states have gone even further, enacting broader policies that recognize and respond to economic abuse as a whole.

These policy advances are the result of tireless work by advocates, survivors and service providers who have shared their stories and pushed for change. Research on economic abuse, including the studies I and others have conducted, has played an important role in this progress by providing the evidence base policymakers need to understand the scope and impact of the problem.

While there is still much work to do, this growing recognition marks a significant step forward in protecting survivors, holding perpetrators accountable and helping people rebuild their financial and personal independence after abuse.