The #1 obstacle to a survivor’s long-term safety is financial insecurity. This means that we cannot disrupt the cycle of intimate partner violence in the U.S. until we move beyond the current focus on crisis response and prioritize policies that support financial security and long-term safety for survivors and their families. That is, we must prioritize policies that support survivor wealth.
Our National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map and Scorecard (Policy Map and Scorecard) acts as both a resource and a roadmap for action. For each state, the map outlines the existing laws impacting a survivor’s ability to build and maintain financial security, and provides state-specific policy recommendations that will ensure that all survivors have access to the financial resources and support they need to thrive and live free from abuse.
Provides accessible and plain language information about the laws in each state that impact a survivor’s ability to build financial security
Evaluates how well each state supports survivors in building financial security based on these laws
Offers state-specific and survivor-centered policy recommendations for how each state can better prioritize financial security for survivors
Provides quick and easy ways for users to take action, contribute to the policy-making process, and engage with state lawmakers to pass policies that better support survivors in their state
The short answer is: everyone! Our tool is perfect for:
Folks who want to learn more about the laws in their state and how they compare to others across the U.S.
Folks who want to take action and advocate for better and more supportive policies for survivors in their state
Elected officials and those working in legislative offices
Survivors who are interested in learning more about, and getting engaged in, the policy-making process in their state
We’ve designed this tool to work for you – so feel free to use it in whatever way feels right!
The National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map and Scorecard evaluates legislation in each state that has either been passed or enacted. While we understand that there are an endless number of policies and issues that impact survivors’ ability to build wealth, we’ve selected policies that we have determined are most directly linked to a survivor’s ability to build and maintain financial security. This is a living tool, which means it will be regularly updated and expanded. Be sure to read the full methodology to learn more!
The National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map And Scorecard. FreeFrom, May 11, 2021. https://mapandscorecard.freefrom.org. Current as of: December 15, 2023.
We evaluated each state based on whether and to what extent its policies aligned with and provided the same protections as our set of model policies, the characteristics of which are included in each state’s scorecard. The scorecard only includes state-level policies and does not capture local policies or those that can only be addressed on the federal level.
While survivors’ ability to build financial security is impacted by a wide range of policies, we chose the twenty-one policy categories currently included within our scorecard after determining that they were most directly connected with survivors’ ability to protect their assets and build and save wealth.
While practice and policy may differ, the scorecard only measures policies as they are codified in state laws.
Full Methodology