CCFWE Domestic Economic Abuse and Injustice Summit

The Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment is proud to launch its first-ever Domestic Economic Abuse and Injustice Summit. The summit is dedicated to convening national and international experts to share their knowledge and research on Economic Abuse. The online space is one to create solutions for systemic change for Domestic Economic Abuse victims and survivors.

• Raising awareness about Domestic Economic Abuse, and its prevalence in Canada and internationally.

• Sharing Challenges and best-practice examples (or solutions) on financial resilience after Economic Abuse.

Why a Summit on Domestic Economic Abuse?

Did you know that up to 99% of domestic violence victims experience Economic Abuse during an abusive relationship? Abuse is not always physically visible – Economic Abuse is a seldom-talked-about, yet prevalent issue faced by survivors of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, violence against women, Indigenous women, and marginalized and diverse populations, and includes other forms of coercion and abuse that are not necessarily visible.

Domestic Economic Abuse includes but is not limited to, perpetrators maintaining control over financial resources, withholding access to money, or attempting to prevent a victim or survivor from working and/or attending school in an effort to create financial dependence as a means of control. Finances are often cited as the biggest barrier to leaving an abusive relationship and the main stumbling block preventing women from taking control of their own lives after separation. Victims and survivors are often forced to choose between staying in abusive relationships and poverty or even homelessness.

Above are the many reasons why we need to bring people together at this summit. We need to amplify that there is little in the way of solutions and bring these multiple stakeholders together to gain several perspectives and represent diverse voices. We aim to bring awareness through working with sectors that can help bring systemic change and end Economic Abuse, including financial institutions, governments and policymakers, social services, housing, and telecommunication sectors.

About the Organizer

The Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) is the only Canadian national non-profit organization in Ottawa, dedicated to addressing Domestic Economic Abuse. Our mission is addressed through advocacy, education, research, economic empowerment, and policy change. Our work is informed by up-to-date evidence and lived experience. We bring research, evaluation, practice, lived experience, and theory together to inform critical thinking, enhancing the field’s knowledge to better serve survivors and their families.

With the highest rates of Economic Abuse happening now in Canada, it is more important than ever that the CCFWE continue to engage with our partners and community stakeholders. This summit offers us the opportunity to show others what we are doing, particularly what is working to reduce the spate of domestic violence, and learn from others.

The program schedule can be found here

For more information, please contact Nathalie Martin, Director of Communications at nathalie.martin@ccfwe.org

Learn about Economic Abuse by signing our pledge and becoming an advocate in your community for economic justice.

The Domestic Abuse and Injustice Summit is supported by Women and Gender Equality Canada.