Founder of Ottawa-Based Women’s Charity Wins National Changemaker Award
Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment Founder Meseret Haileyesus named a 2021 L’Oréal Women of Worth Honoree and awarded $10,000
OTTAWA, Feb.22, 2021 – When a woman wants to leave an abusive relationship, her financial situation is a critical factor in her ability to do so. Abusers know this, which may partly explain why 95 percent of women who experience intimate partner violence also experience Economic Abuse.
Economic Abuse—which occurs when a domestic partner interferes with a partner’s access to finances, employment or social benefits, such as fraudulently racking up credit card debt in their partner’s name or preventing their partner from going to work—has a devastating effect on victims and survivors of domestic partner violence, yet it’s rarely talked about in Canada.
Meseret Haileyesus, Founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE), has been tirelessly working to change that. Through the CCFWE she seeks to educate the public about Economic and Financial Abuse and help survivors rebuild their financial independence.
Today, Haileyesus was recognized for her critically important work by L’Oréal Paris Canada, which named her a 2021 Women of Worth Honoree in its fifth annual Women of Worth program. The program selects 10 remarkable women making an extraordinary difference in their community through philanthropic work and awards them a $10,000 financial gift.
Haileyesus was inspired to found the CCFWE after observing how organizations from women’s shelters to financial institutions lacked the resources to identify or help survivors recover from Economic Abuse. Now, she wants to fill that gap and give domestic abuse survivors the tools to work toward financially independent futures and mental wellness. “I believe that Economic Abuse is a systemic problem in our society which we are severely lacking the infrastructure to address,” she said.
Haileyesus is grateful to L’Oréal Paris Canada for the generous grant. “With your support, we will empower more Canadians to know how to identify and respond to Economic Abuse, whether the victim is you, your sister, your friend, your colleague, your client or your constituent.”
One of the 10 honorees will be named the 2021 National Honouree and receive an additional $10,000 grant towards her non-profit. Canadians can cast their vote until March 4, learn more about the program, and read about past and present nominees here.
ABOUT CCFWE: Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about Economic Abuse and working with policy makers, survivors, and financial institutions to help Domestic Abuse survivors heal, build resiliency and lead healthy, independent lives. Watch the CCFWE Women of Worth award video here.
