It’s Not Survivors Who Need To Change, But The Systems Around Them
Written By: Julia Vellucci, CCFWE Social Justice Writer A total of 17 participants, who were refugee survivors, some from shared housing, balancing caregiving responsibilities, still navigating the emotional fallout of abuse and committed to rebuilding their financial lives, completed the post-training survey following the six-week Reclaim and Rise Financial Empowerment program. They came ready […]
Help Us Rise 2025: Tackling Economic Abuse and Housing Barriers to Prevent Femicide
Written By: Julia Vellucci, Social Justice Writer As The Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) calls for urgent action to address femicide, the most severe outcome of gender-based violence, often rooted in economic abuse, we must remind ourselves of CCFWE’s 2025 Help Us Rise Campaign. CCFWE is Canada’s only national non-profit focused on […]
A Turning Point for Financial Inclusion and Economic Justice in Canada
Written by Meseret Haileyesus, Founder & Executive Director, Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) and Co founder of International Coalition Against Economic Abuse (ICAEA) For decades, survivors and advocates have called for recognition of economic abuse as a form of gender-based violence. Economic abuse occurs when a person controls, exploits, or sabotages another’s access […]
Breaking the Silence: A Mother’s Fight for Her Children and the Truth
Gurpreet Singh is fed up with the legal system’s failure to protect families and shares her story to expose its flaws and show the relentless fight she faces as a mother. Singh has ADHD and depression but was misdiagnosed with just depression as research from the National Library of Medicine states many women are. […]
Not Just a Straight Issue: Economic Abuse in the 2SLGBTQ+ Community
Lauren Parcher (they/them) a registered social worker with the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) noted that economic abuse is often wrongly viewed as only occurring between a man and a woman, when in fact it can happen in any relationship. “People can’t identify an abuser as easily in same-sex relationships. So that’s maybe why […]
Leveraging Technology to Combat Gender-Based Violence and Economic Abuse
In today’s rapidly evolving digital age, technology has become an integral part of our lives. However, its impact isn’t always positive, particularly when it comes to gender-based violence (GBV) and economic abuse. While technology can serve as a tool for empowerment and connection, it can also be weaponized to control, monitor, and exploit individuals, especially […]
Reproductive Economic Abuse: The Intersection of Financial Control, Immigration, and Lost Autonomy
“I moved to Canada one year ago. I didn’t know anyone and depended on him for everything housing, money, even my immigration status. He wouldn’t let me use birth control. When I tried, he threatened to cancel my PR application. He said I owed him a child because he brought me to Canada. When I […]
Breaking Free: Katie Oppen’s Journey from Economic Abuse to Empowerment
As a woman in her 70s, Katie Oppen recalled how things were different back then, though not necessarily right as her husband discouraged her from attending university or working, forcing her to take low-paying side jobs and stretch her bachelor’s program to 15 years instead of four. “I met my husband in my first year […]
When Love Becomes a Debt: How Gifts Turn into Weapons of Economic Abuse
Beyond the Breakup: The Hidden Abuse Many Women Face As we observe Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the strength, resilience, and contributions of women throughout history, we must also confront the silent crime of economic abuse—a growing but often ignored form of post-breakup harassment. Many women, after leaving relationships, find themselves haunted by […]