Financial Abuse Recovery

Savvy Ladies is pleased to offer you this authentic VIDEO series to help you build a financial roadmap and help you identify and learn strategies to achieve financial independence. 

We have created a new financial literacy and support program explicitly focused on the needs of women who are currently in and/or recovering from financial abuse. 

Savvy Ladies is a nationally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in NYC whose mission is to empower women through financial knowledge and champion the advancement of self-reliant, financially educated women.  Savvy Ladies was created in 2003 by Stacy Francis, a finance industry professional who witnessed the impact of women’s financial insecurity when her grandmother remained in an abusive marriage due to financial dependence.

Financial abuse of women often takes place in the context of domestic abuse and makes women feel even more isolated and trapped.  Women lost ground during the pandemic in terms of financial independence due to the disproportionate impact on their employment, while at the same time, domestic violence was seen to increase. 

These online learning tutorials are to help identify and educate on preventive, recognition, and rebuilding strategies specifically for women experiencing or at risk for financial abuse. Our goal is to help women recognize signs of financial abuse and help avoid future abusive relationships while directly assisting women to achieve financial independence and escape domestic violence.  

Watch Savvy Ladies leaders and partners speak on the importance of this project down below and access the entire video series on financial abuse recovery for free here.

“I wanted to change the way women think and educate themselves about money after witnessing a female family member become a victim of physical abuse and rendered powerless by financial instability. Working in the financial industry, I was continually coming across women whose lack of financial well-being made them vulnerable to a range of emotional, personal, and financial consequences. All women, even from the most varied backgrounds, need to learn how to take control of their finances to attain economic self-sufficiency and the life they envision for themselves.”

– Stacy Francis, Founder Savvy Ladies

What is Financial Abuse?

Financial abuse of women often takes place in the context of domestic abuse and makes women feel even more isolated and trapped. Agencies have reported significant increases in domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, women also have lost ground in terms of financial independence due to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women’s employment and caregiving responsibilities.

By the Numbers

• Financial abuse occurs in 99% of abusive relationships and is the number one reason victims stay in or return to abusive relationships.
• More than 10 million people are abused each year in the U.S.
• Financial abuse is one of the most powerful methods of keeping a survivor trapped in an abusive relationship and deeply diminishes the victim’s ability to stay safe after leaving an abusive partner.
• Surveys of survivors reflect that concerns over their ability to provide financially for themselves and their children.
• Financial abuse occurs across all socio-economic, educational, and racial and ethnic groups.

Contact Our Free Financial Helpline

Savvy Ladies is committed to changing these statistics. With the help of Savvy Ladies, these videos, and our Free Financial Helpline, women can start to learn how to make their own choices about money. To learn the importance of financial planning to protect against economic hardship and proactively build a stable future. We aim to ensure every woman has a financially secure and productive life for herself and her children.