Introduction

The negative consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) are well documented in the empirical literature, and include not only physical injuries but also mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lowered self-esteem, and a diminished sense of self-efficacy (Perez et al., 2012; Sutherland et al., 2002). Domestic violence shelters were established to provide women fleeing IPV with emergency housing, psychological counseling, and legal assistance. Over the past three decades, shelter staff have developed a variety of additional programs, expanding the services offered to residents to include transitional housing and relocation services, educational programs, drug and alcohol treatment, and employment assistance (Macy et al., 2009; Sullivan, 2012). Increasingly, domestic violence advocates and researchers are urging service providers to focus more attention on providing programs that economically empower victims (Goodman & Epstein, 2009). These domestic violence experts recognize that financial instability and the threat or actual experience of poverty, in addition to the negative mental health impacts of IPV, are among the factors that motivate women to return to abusive partners, thus increasing the risk of revictimization (Brush, 2011; Farber & Miller-Cribbs, 2014; Goodman & Epstein, 2009; Hamby & Bible, 2009; Moe & Bell, 2004; Pruitt, 2008). Economic empowerment programs, then, may be an important component of tertiary prevention. Economic empowerment has three dimensions:

• • Financial literacy—the knowledge and skills necessary to make sound financial decisions and acquire resources;

• • Economic self-efficacy—a person's beliefs about and confidence in their ability to achieve financial security and economic success (regardless of how they define “success”);

• • Economic self-sufficiency—an individual's ability to independently meet the needs of daily life. (Postmus, 2010)

Postmus (2010, p. 1) maintains that “economic empowerment programs and economic advocacy strategies represent efforts to help survivors gain or regain their financial footing during and after abuse.” Such assistance may be especially critical for women who have experienced various forms of economic abuse and exploitation—women whose partners, for example, kept them from going to work or harassed them at work; hid financial information or resources; stole money or property; or ran up debt on joint credit cards (Adams et al., 2008; Postmus et al., 2015; Sanders, 2014). Furthermore, there is evidence that economic empowerment programs not only help to financially stabilize women who have experienced abuse, but also have health benefits (Glass et al., 2014).