When Employment Opportunities Become Targets of Abuse

Economic abuse extends beyond controlling bank accounts, restricting household spending, or accumulating debt. It can also involve deliberately undermining a woman's ability to get a job, advance professionally, or achieve financial independence.

For women with children, access to dependable childcare can determine whether they can attend an interview, participate in training, or accept a job. When an abusive partner deliberately withholds childcare support, disrupts childcare arrangements, or uses parenting responsibilities to restrict employment, childcare becomes another instrument of economic control.

The SOFEI Group has witnessed how these barriers affect women's opportunities, and how targeted financial assistance can help overcome them.

Through the AFEI Giving Circle, SOFEI supported a mother experiencing abuse who needed childcare assistance while pursuing employment. An AFEI Grant helped cover childcare expenses so she could attend job interviews. That support helped her secure a career with a livable wage.

Her experience illustrates a fundamental principle of economic empowerment: sometimes the financial assistance that changes a woman's future is not money for the job itself, but the resources that make pursuing the job possible.

In another situation, a woman receiving services from SOFEI experienced employment sabotage during a job interview. Her partner insisted on transporting her to the interview. While she was meeting with the prospective employer, he entered the office and confronted staff, complaining that she was taking too long.

His offensive behavior disrupted the professional environment, and the woman did not receive the job.

This example demonstrates how an abusive partner can interfere with employment opportunities even when a woman has the qualifications, motivation, and determination to work.

The consequences can be devastating. Losing an employment opportunity can mean losing access to income, benefits, professional development, and the financial resources needed to build an independent future.

These experiences underscore why economic empowerment initiatives must recognize the relationship between financial resources, childcare, employment access, and personal safety.

Financial independence is not simply about helping women find jobs. It also means identifying and removing the barriers that keep them from pursuing and sustaining meaningful employment.

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