When we started evaluating states on our National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map and Scorecard in 2021, the majority had a lot of work to do to prioritize supporting survivors’ financial security in state laws. In the two years since we launched the tool, we’ve seen a huge growth in policy work in state legislatures. Between 2021 and 2023, over 500 bills related to survivors’ financial security were introduced in state legislatures.
So far this year, 10 bills have been signed into law, creating new pathways to financial security and recovery from economic abuse, even in the most unlikely states:
- Idaho now allows survivors to be eligible for unemployment insurance;
- Minnesota created a paid family and medical leave policy that includes safe leave for survivors;
- New Jersey expanded sick leave policy, that includes safe leave for survivors, to school district employees;
- North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont established litigation abuse protections;
- Tennessee now has the most robust definition of financial abuse in the nation; and
- Utah allows a survivor who terminates a rental lease early to not be held to additional fees or future payments.
Here are four areas where we’re seeing the most momentum:
Litigation Abuse:
- Vermont, Rhode Island, and North Dakota have all passed and signed into law litigation abuse protections for survivors, and Massachusetts has introduced legislation on this topic.
- Rhode Island’s bill has among the most robust protections: in addition to preventing a harm-doer from abusive litigation and requiring them to pay associated attorney’s fees, the harm-doer will be ordered to pay additional damages such as transportation costs, lost wages, and childcare incurred due to the abusive litigation. Further, after a harm-doer is found to have conducted abusive litigation, for 5 years, the harm-doer will be given strict pre-filing instructions that require additional proof/standing for filing a motion.
Economic Abuse:
- We had a big win earlier this year when Tennessee became the third state to include economic abuse in its definition of domestic violence (making TN the state with the most robust definition of domestic violence in the US!).
- Following this, both New Jersey and New Hampshire have introduced expansions to their state’s definition of domestic violence. NJ’s will include coercive control, and NH’s will include economic abuse.
Rental Protections for Survivors:
- Six states – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Arizona – have all introduced bills related to rental protections for survivors.
Coerced debt protections:
- Following our win in California on the same issue last year, four other states – North Carolina, Connecticut, Minnesota, and New York – have all introduced bills that would allow a survivor to provide documentation to prove a debt was coerced and no longer be held liable to pay down that debt.
- Read more about the California bill in The Guardian
We all have a role to play in taking on a systemic issue like gender-based violence, and we’re going to need to put forward many solutions to create a safer, more abundant world for us all. We’re thrilled that policymakers across the country are heeding the call and joining us in this work to make healing and long-term safety accessible for all survivors.
