Strengthening Access to Financial Resources for Economic Abuse Survivors

Coinciding with National Woman Abuse Prevention Month and Financial Literacy Month (FLM), the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) will be raising awareness on domestic Economic Abuse prevention and response from November 1st to November 30th, 2023.

This year’s HELP US RISE (Our Month of Action) campaign is themed “Financial Inclusion of Economic Abuse Survivors,” and our tagline is “Strengthening Access to Financial Resources for Economic Abuse Survivors. During the month, our messaging will be framed around what current barriers exist that hinder women from accessing financial services and potential solutions for fostering economic equity.

Be part of the change!

Join our advocacy movement today. By advocating for change, supporting survivors, and raising awareness, we can collectively end the cycle of domestic Economic Abuse. Explore our website, get informed, and take action. Together, we can make a difference.

Did you know?

• Economic Abuse is too big of an issue that is rarely talked about and often goes unnoticed.
• Economic Abuse is experienced by more than 96% of women who experience intimate partner violence.
• Economic Abuse can have a profoundly devastating effect on women: it impacts mental health. It impedes a woman’s ability to leave an abuser, subsequently prolonging the time she is vulnerable to harm. Unfortunately, there remains a lack of knowledge on the prevalence, nature, and characteristics of how economic abuse is experienced in Canada. According to CCFWE’s National study on service provider insights in Canada, 63% of social service providers do not have specific training for staff to assist clients experiencing abuse. Studies have shown that 1 in 4 women experience financial abuse even after they’ve left an abuser.
• Economic Abuse often leaves victim-survivors without financial resources, employment, knowledge of existing support services, and housing and deeply in debt.

What is Help Us Rise?

Help Us Rise is a national awareness campaign whose overall goal is to raise awareness and empower survivors of Economic Abuse to access the economic resources they need, free themselves from financial abuse, coerced debt, financial crime, and post-separation abuse, and attain economic empowerment.

In the fourth year of #HelpUsRise2023, our primary focus is to enhance awareness on multiple fronts and amplify the voices of immigrants, newcomers, refugees, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour and service providers. The goal is to emphasize that ending Economic Abuse is intricately connected to putting a stop to domestic violence and eliminating barriers related to economic resources and financial literacy. However, we understand that Economic Abuse extends beyond these aspects.

We firmly believe that this national campaign will encompass shifts in people’s attitudes, alterations in social norms within relationships, and structural changes in policies, practices, and resources meant to support victims and survivors.

Survivors urgently need your help, Download the help us rise 2023 Social Media Toolkit! Take Action Now!

Why the campaign?

• Economic Abuse, a pervasive yet often overlooked form of domestic violence, disproportionately impacts women, immigrants, refugees, indigenous, and gender-diverse individuals. Nearly all survivors of GBV experience Economic Abuse (94-99%).
• The rising inflation, which is increasing the cost of living, coupled with the shortage of affordable and off-market housing options, escalating food prices, and overburdened assistance programs, can trap victims in a cycle of abuse, making them reluctant to leave.
• Systemic barriers, including racism and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, significantly impede access to economic resources, the justice system, custody battles, housing, banking, and employment. These systemic obstacles often overwhelm many BIPOC women compelling them to return to their abuser.
• It’s a crucial component of Canada’s National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and address Economic Abuse through early identification, prevention, and enhanced response.
• To mobilize survivors, families, educators, policymakers, financial institutions, credit unions, social service providers, consumer lawyers, private sectors, governments, educators, policymakers, financial institutions, essential service providers (e.g., utilities, hydro, telecomms), other private sectors, and governments. Together, we aim to take decisive action and pledge to End Economic Abuse through the initiative of “Strengthening Access to Financial Resources for Economic Abuse Survivors.”

When?

Coinciding with National Woman Abuse Prevention Month and Financial Literacy Month (FLM), the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) will be raising awareness on domestic Economic Abuse to empower survivors from November 1st to November 30th, 2023.

This year’s Help us Rise Campaign is themed “Financial Inclusion of Economic Abuse Survivors,” and our tagline is “Strengthening Access to Financial Resources for Economic Abuse Survivors. During the month, our messaging will be framed around what current barriers exist that hinder women from accessing financial services and potential solutions for fostering economic equity.

What is new on the November 26th Economic Abuse Awareness Day (EAAD) in Canada and beyond?

In Canada, CCFWE, in collaboration with women’s service organizations, women, financial institutions, advocates, and our global partners, will raise awareness of Economic Abuse with a focus on the Financial inclusion of Economic Abuse Survivors through strengthening and increasing access to financial resources for Economic Abuse Survivors. Our efforts will target migrant women, refugee women, and women from newcomer communities.

Globally, In collaboration with our global partners, including the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) in Australia, Good Shepherd in New Zealand, Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) in the UK, the Institute for Social Development and Justice in South Africa, and Women’s Spirit in Israel, we have jointly submitted a policy recommendation to the United Nations. This recommendation outlines actionable steps to transform responses to Economic Abuse on a global scale. Please find the attached submission here. Learn more about our global effort here.

How to get involved

This month is a chance for everyone: victims, survivors, settlement workers, advocates, financial institutions, law enforcement, supporters, social service providers, policymakers, and political leaders to unite in our work to recognize the system change that is needed in order to end Economic Abuse and empower survivors to regain their future.

Ways to engage and support the campaign?

1. Support and share our petition here, to proclaim November 26th as National Economic Abuse Awareness Day in Canada.
2. Register and participate in the Financial Futures Summit: https://ccfwe.org/financial-futures-summit-event-nov-16th-2023/.
   Use our resources and materials to train your staff on ending Economic Abuse.
3. Sign our pledge to fight Economic Abuse and learn how to become an advocate for Economic Justice within your social circles and local communities. In previous campaigns, over 135 organizations from all across Canada have signed the pledge.
4. November 26 is Economic Abuse Awareness Day (EAAD). Help us recognize this day within your networks, at home, and work & communicate with all your stakeholders through regular and social media channels. Use our Social Media Toolkit to show support and share your message about this day. Contact us to access the proclamation for your respective city and acknowledge your Mayor’s support.
5. Share the Help Us Rise Campaign on Social Media in November. Discuss Economic Abuse on your organization’s social media channels in November using the campaign promotional messages in our social media toolkit. 
6. Download the 2023 Help Us Rise campaign Social Media Toolkit and customize the campaign messages to share on your social media platforms and raise public awareness on the nature, scope, and impact of Economic Abuse to a larger audience, including women who might experience or are at risk of experiencing Economic Abuse.
7.  Take a picture or record a video of yourself highlighting any of the Help Us Rise 2023 Campaign messages. Make sure to tag @CCFWE and #HelpUsRise2023.
8. Use the Help Us Rise Campaign advocacy messaging to conduct an interview with a news outlet, host a Facebook live, Instagram live, or a Twitter Space engagement by calling on the public to take action and champion the empowerment of Economic Abuse survivors.
9. Educate others. Use CCFWE Education Materials and tools to educate others and host workshops or discussions on Economic Abuse.
10. Download our Economic Abuse Screening Tool, designed for service providers who work with survivors of domestic abuse.
11. Use the HelpUsRise Campaign draft to write a letter to your MP, MPP, Mayor, governor, or your bank asking them to proclaim November 26 as Economic Abuse Awareness Day and to show public support for victims of Domestic Economic Abuse.

Get ready to do the system change work on social media throughout the month of November! Use our awareness materials and create content that brings awareness to Economic Abuse, shows support for survivors, and makes a commitment to ending Economic Abuse.

Survivors urgently need your help. Download the help us rise 2023 Social Media Toolkit! Take Action Now!

Learn more 2022 Campaign
Learn more 2021 Campaign
Learn more 2020 Campaign

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