Economic abuse is an urgent issue that remains invisible in both philanthropy and corporate responsibility, the CEO of the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment argues. Addressing this injustice will strengthen families, communities, and the entire economy, she writes.
The philanthropic sector in Canada has made major commitments to climate action, equity, and innovation. Many corporations are eager to show strong environmental, social, and governance values, even as parts of the ESG world face backlash, especially in the United States. Yet there is one urgent issue that remains invisible in both philanthropy and corporate responsibility: economic abuse.
Economic abuse is the use of money, credit, and essential financial systems to control, isolate, or harm a person. It can include coerced debt, credit sabotage, blocked access to assets, interference with employment, and restrictions on transportation, utilities, food, and medical care. It is violence that leaves no physical injury but destroys a person’s economic life for years.
Based on research conducted by the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) in 2021, 96% of domestic violence survivors in the national capital region also experienced economic abuse. Sixty percent lost their jobs for reasons related to abuse. These numbers show the scale of the problem, but they do not show the lived reality behind them.
What economic abuse looks like in real life
A woman entered our centre with a stack of bills she had never seen before. Her partner had taken out several credit cards in her name and spent every dollar. Because the debt was linked to her identity, her credit score collapsed. She could not rent an apartment, open a bank account, or even sign up for a phone plan without being asked to pay thousands of dollars she did not borrow. She escaped violence, but she remained trapped in debt.
Another survivor shared that her partner demanded receipts for every purchase. He monitored every dollar, controlled all banking passwords, and blocked her access to joint accounts whenever she disagreed with him. He withheld money for food and medication and often cut her access to transportation so she could not leave the house. When she finally tried to leave, he froze every account and placed a hold on her government benefits.
Economic abuse is not only a personal crisis; it is a structural failure of our financial and social systems.
These are not rare cases. They are daily realities. As CEO of CCFWE, I see the impact of economic abuse every day. It is not only a personal crisis; it is a structural failure of our financial and social systems.
Equity without economic security is incomplete
Philanthropy has made strong commitments to equity, representation, and inclusion. These efforts matter, but equity is incomplete when economic security is ignored.
Canada’s financial systems have deep roots in colonialism and structural discrimination. Black, Indigenous, newcomer, and racialized communities have faced unequal access to credit, housing, fair wages, and essential services for generations. When economic abuse is added to this landscape, the result is systemic: intergenerational poverty, exclusion from economic participation, and long-term loss of economic mobility.
Most philanthropic investments still focus on downstream responses such as shelters, counselling, and short-term aid. These are essential but not enough. They do not address the structural drivers of economic exclusion. Without investing in systemic solutions, philanthropy risks reinforcing the inequities it aims to solve.
The economic cost of neglect
Ignoring economic abuse has major economic consequences:
Workplace productivity: Survivors managing coerced debt or financial sabotage often miss work, underperform, or leave their jobs entirely. Employers lose skilled staff, and productivity declines.
Consumer markets: Women drive most household spending. When financial control blocks them from the economic system, their purchasing power falls. This weakens industries across the entire economy.
Reputation and ESG: As ESG commitments face more scrutiny, ignoring economic abuse exposes organizations to reputational and regulatory risk. It signals that equity commitments are surface level rather than rooted in real change.
Innovation gaps: Banks, telecommunications companies, utilities, housing providers, and credit systems are all places where economic abuse occurs. Survivor-informed innovations such as safe account structures, flexible verification processes, credit repair pathways, and fraud safeguards can reduce harm and drive progress.
Economic abuse is both a justice issue and a major market inefficiency.
Government attention is rising, but investment is not
For the first time, the Government of Canada has begun to recognize economic abuse as a national concern. Recent federal announcements have acknowledged coerced debt, financial control, and the need for stronger protections for financial consumers. Economic abuse has been included in national gender-based-violence conversations and in commitments to safer financial systems.
This is an important shift. It signals that the issue is real, widespread, and urgent. But government recognition alone is not enough. Without strong investment from philanthropy and the corporate sector, survivors will continue to face barriers and front-line organizations will remain underfunded.
Government attention should be a starting point for action, not the finish line.
A blueprint for action
This moment offers a real opportunity for philanthropy to show bold leadership.
Support survivor-led solutions
Innovations must be shaped by lived experience. Survivors understand the risks, barriers, and gaps in the system. Their leadership should guide policy change, program design, and financial tools.
Fund long-term work
Short-term grants cannot address structural problems. Multi-year funding is essential for recovery, innovation, leadership development, and systems change.
Embed equity frameworks into strategy, design, and evaluation
Anti-colonial and justice-centred approaches must be woven into every stage of planning and decision-making. Equity cannot be an optional side project.
Build cross-sector coalitions
Economic abuse crosses sectors. Solutions must bring together banks, utilities, telecoms, governments, non-profits, and community partners.
Ground decisions in research and data
At CCFWE, our policy lab is gathering national data on coerced debt, institutional failures, and financial system gaps. Early findings show inconsistent verification processes in banks, safety gaps in telecom systems, and a lack of coordinated referrals for survivors. This evidence can guide meaningful action across sectors.
The burnout factor
The lack of investment in economic abuse also harms the equity sector itself. Many survivor-led organizations are founded and led by racialized women. They carry heavy caseloads, offer national leadership, and navigate complex systems with limited resources.
Burnout is real. Leaders and staff are stretched to their limits. This weakens the entire movement.
Philanthropy cannot expect systemic change without investing in organizational stability, leadership development, and sustainable infrastructure. Equity cannot be built on exhaustion.
From blind spot to bold vision
At CCFWE, we are building the first survivor-led infrastructure in Canada dedicated to addressing economic abuse. We have launched a policy lab, expanded national research, and forged partnerships across multiple sectors. Our work shows what is possible when philanthropy invests in areas that have long been ignored.
But we cannot transform this issue alone. Philanthropy and corporations now face a choice. They can continue to overlook economic abuse, or they can step forward with courage and vision.
Economic abuse is not a side issue. It is central to equity, prosperity, and justice. Addressing it will strengthen families, communities, and the entire economy.
This is not charity. This is a commitment to dignity, stability, and shared prosperity. Survivors cannot wait. And neither can Canada.
