Recognizing financial abuse can be an important step toward getting support and rebuilding financial independence. Warning signs include restricted access to money, interference with employment, and debts created in a partner’s name. Understanding these patterns can help you recognize concerns in your own relationship or support someone close to you.
Abstract
Financial abuse involves using money and financial resources to control a partner and limit their choices. It can affect people across social and educational backgrounds, with consequences that continue after separation. Equal access to financial information and money, shared decisions, and mutual respect are key features of a healthy relationship. In Israel, professional support, banking assistance, and Paamonim’s financial guidance program for women in shelters help survivors address financial difficulties and prepare for independent living.
Understanding Abuse in Intimate Relationships
Abuse can occur during a relationship, during separation, or after a relationship has ended. It affects people across all communities and social backgrounds.
The common thread running through its many forms is controlling, intimidating, and humiliating behavior that restricts one partner’s freedom to act and make decisions. Most often, the person affected is a woman. Abuse takes a heavy toll on survivors, their families, and society, making recognition and prevention essential.
This description is based on the definition developed by Red Lines, a collective impact initiative led by Sheatufim, an Israeli social change organization.
The Hebrew source cites approximately 200,000 women in Israel as experiencing abuse and states that one in five women experiences some form of violence. It also attributes to the World Health Organization an estimate that the actual number is four times higher. These figures and their attribution require verification before publication.
The source further describes abuse as a leading cause of physical injury among women aged 15-44 and states that women remain in abusive relationships for an average of more than ten years. These claims also require supporting sources before publication.
Over the years, several Israeli legislative initiatives have sought to define financial abuse explicitly in law. These include initiatives associated with Zehava Galon in 2015, Gila Gamliel in 2017, Avi Nissenkorn in 2020, Gideon Sa’ar in 2021, and Merav Cohen in 2023. At a Knesset committee discussion in January 2026, government representatives reported that earlier legislation addressing financial abuse had not been enacted and that a broader definition of domestic violence was being considered.
In 2016, the Bank of Israel’s Banking Supervision Department, together with the Association of Banks in Israel, banks, and social organizations, introduced a voluntary banking assistance charter. The initiative was designed to help women experiencing abuse who were living in shelters and transitional housing. By providing banking services adapted to their circumstances, it aims to make the path toward financial independence more accessible.
Who Experiences Abuse, and What Can It Look Like?
Abuse crosses boundaries of education, occupation, income, and location. It can occur in any home. The Hebrew source states that approximately one-third of women experiencing abuse hold at least a bachelor’s degree, although this figure requires a supporting source.
Emergencies can increase the risk of domestic abuse and the demand for help. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel’s State Comptroller reported an approximately 800% increase in calls to the Ministry of Welfare’s 118 helpline in May 2020 compared with May 2019. This figure describes calls for assistance, rather than an equivalent increase in the number of incidents.
Abuse can be physical, sexual, spiritual, emotional, or financial. It can also involve the misuse of legal proceedings to intimidate or control a partner.
Why Can It Be So Difficult to Leave?
Women face many barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. Some have been made to feel responsible for the abuse. Others have had their confidence undermined and worry about how they will manage on their own or whether anyone will want a relationship with them in the future.
Promises that things will change may encourage hope, while repeated abuse can become normalized or minimized. Threats can create fear for a woman’s life, and not knowing where to turn can deepen a sense of helplessness.
Shame, concern for children, and uncertainty about managing childcare alone can make leaving even harder. Financial dependence adds another barrier. When a partner controls the household’s money, a woman may have no funds of her own to support a move to safety.
What Is Financial Abuse?
Financial abuse involves preventing someone from accessing, using, or making decisions about money, assets, and financial resources to which they are entitled.
At its core, financial abuse is about control. An abusive partner may restrict access to a bank account, checks, or a credit card, creating dependence on them for everyday needs. This can reinforce a pattern of fear and control within the relationship.
Warning Signs to Recognize
Within a pattern of control, warning signs may include:
- Restricting a partner to an allowance and controlling how it is spent.
- Hiding money or financial information.
- Moving or concealing assets and savings.
- Pressuring a partner to sign loan agreements or guarantees, including business guarantees, while controlling the money.
- Preventing a partner from working.
- Taking a partner’s wages or other money they are entitled to receive.
- Registering a business in a partner’s name as a means of shifting financial responsibility onto them.
- Taking money from a partner’s wallet without permission.
- Demanding receipts and change for every purchase.
- Making financial decisions without involving the other partner.
- Monitoring a partner’s spending as a means of control.
- Taking control of a partner’s bank account, credit cards, or checks.
- Denying access to a bank account or financial information.
- Creating debts in a partner’s name.
- Requiring a partner to ask for money regularly because they have no independent access to it.
What Does a Healthy Financial Relationship Look Like?
In a healthy relationship:
- Both partners have access to financial information.
- Both partners have access to money.
- Decisions about major expenses are made together.
- Financial decisions involve both partners and reflect mutual respect.
The Financial Impact Can Continue After Separation
The consequences of financial abuse do not necessarily end when a relationship ends. Survivors may face reduced earning capacity, legal proceedings, a lack of money for basic needs, and obstacles to rebuilding their financial future.
Withholding child support can create further hardship. Financial insecurity may also increase the risk of returning to an abusive relationship.
What Can You Do?
If you recognize these warning signs in your relationship, seek professional support.
If you notice similar patterns affecting a friend or family member, offer support and help them connect with professional assistance.
How Paamonim Supports Women Rebuilding Their Lives
Paamonim, an Israeli nonprofit that helps individuals and families manage their finances, offers a dedicated program called Paamonim BeTzmicha, meaning “Paamonim in Growth.”
The program provides financial guidance to women living in shelters for survivors of domestic abuse, many of whom face extensive financial difficulties.
Some participants experienced financial abuse and were excluded by their partners from managing the household’s finances. As a result, they may have had little opportunity to gain the knowledge and practical experience needed to manage independently.
Others carry debts arising from loans or guarantees their partners placed in their names. All are navigating complex personal circumstances that can leave them with limited energy and capacity to address financial matters.
These difficulties come on top of challenges often faced by women raising children on their own. These may include finding adequately paid employment, limited professional training, gaps in work experience, and restricted working hours because of childcare responsibilities.
Rebuilding a Sense of Control
The program aims to help each participant gain a sense of order and control over her finances, address her debts, and plan for life after leaving the shelter.
The guidance addresses two time frames:
- Immediate needs: Assessing and organizing the participant’s financial situation when she enters the shelter.
- Longer-term planning: Developing an individual financial plan for the transition from the shelter to independent living.
By the end of the guidance process, participants report that they understand the principles of budgeting and sound financial management. They develop a personal plan for their future finances, including identifying the minimum income they will need to cover their expenses after leaving the shelter.
Where to Find Help
If you think you may be experiencing abuse, professional support is available.
The following services and short telephone numbers are for people in Israel:
- 100: Israel Police, for emergencies and immediate danger.
- 118: Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs helpline, for information, assistance, and referrals.
- 1218: Dedicated assistance line for men experiencing domestic abuse.
- 1202: Sexual assault support helpline, answered by women.
- Local domestic violence prevention and treatment centers: Accessible through municipal social services.
- Na’amat: An Israeli women’s organization offering advice and support.
The Ministry of Welfare lists 118 and the dedicated 1218 line as routes to assistance for people experiencing domestic abuse. The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel operates the 1202 sexual assault support line.
If you are outside Israel, contact a domestic abuse support service in your country. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
You are not alone. You deserve safety, respect, and support.