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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Nearly all domestic violence victims also face
3financial abuse, and there is a new push to shine a light on
4this invisible form of abuse; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Intimate partner violence costs the country an
6estimated $8.3 billion each year in mental health and medical
7care and lost productivity from paid and household work;
8victims of domestic violence bear tremendous additional costs
9over their lifetimes from dealing with the criminal justice
10system and incurring losses related to health problems and work
11productivity; some studies estimate those costs at more than
12$100,000 for women and $23,000 for men; and
 
13    WHEREAS, An abuser might destroy the victim's credit by
14taking out cards in the partner's name and racking up debt,
15ruining the victim's ability to get an apartment or a car; an
16abuser might empty joint bank accounts; the abuser often
17micromanages the family's money, allotting the victim an
18allowance and demanding approval of every purchase; other
19abusers sabotage victims' employment by refusing to let them
20use the car or disrupting them at the workplace; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Financial abuse has few specific programs or laws
22to address it in the U.S. but new financial abuse legislation

 

 

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1in the U.K. and Australia could serve as models for change
2here; advocacy groups and foundations in the U.S. have recently
3launched campaigns aimed at raising awareness about this
4little-known aspect of domestic violence; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The United States is far behind when it comes to
6recognizing financial abuse; we need to understand that other
7forms of abuse, not just physical harm, are significant and
8should be criminal; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
10HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11we urge more attention be directed to the financial aspect of
12domestic abuse, and that laws and policies be crafted to help
13those victims of financial abuse.