Thank you for supporting the 2022 Power of the Purse.

Financial abuse, while less commonly understood, is one of the most powerful methods of keeping a survivor trapped in an abusive relationship and deeply diminishes the victim’s ability to stay safe after leaving an abusive partner. Research indicates that financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases.

Surveys of survivors reflect that concerns over their ability to provide financially for themselves and their children were one of the top reasons for staying in or returning to an abusive partner.

Financial abuse is devastating; the damage can last for months, years, and even decades.

Power of the Purse is a fundraising campaign that takes place in October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. YWCA Yakima’s Domestic Violence Services & Programs provide life-saving services to victims of domestic violence in the Yakima County. Services include emergency shelter, legal advocacy, case management, support groups, financial assistance and more. For survivors, Power of the Purse is freedom: freedom from control; freedom to choose their own paths; freedom from abuse.