It is no surprise that the incidents of domestic violence are on the rise in part due to the current worsening economic situation.

High unemployment and rising foreclosures have led to economic stress that has affected millions of families.  The stress has led to the hike in calls to domestic violence hotlines. 

The National Domestic Violence Hotline conducted a survey from November 12 to December 31, 2008 asking the callers on the hotline about the connection between financial issues and the level of domestic violence in their household. 54% affirmed that there was a change in their financial situation and 64% stated that the abusive behavior increased during the past year.

It’s obvious that there is a relationship between financial crisis and incidents of domestic violence.  Physical abuse is one symptom of domestic violence, but economic abuse becomes more apparent during times of economic stress.

Women need to recognize the signs of economic abuse.  The abuser will use economic abuse to control their partner.  Some of the signs include controlling the person’s paycheck, limiting their access to checking and savings accounts, forcing the victim to sell assets which are in their name, destroying the victim’s credit rating by putting utilities in the victim’s name and not paying the bills, using the victim’s credit cards without their permission which further destroys their credit, not allowing the victim to work and harassing them at work to the point it jeopardizes the victim’s employment.

As the economy gets worse the tactics above may be employed by a woman’s partner. It is important that all women secure their financial independence and for women in domestic violent relationships it is a matter of survival.