The Center for Survivor Agency & Justice released Guidebook on Consumer & Economic Civil Legal Advocacy for Survivors, a comprehensive resource for legal advocates. The purpose of the guidebook is to offer consumer and civil legal remedies and non-legal advocacy strategies rooted in the experiences of low income domestic violence survivors.
The 15-chapter publication includes a chapter written by the National Housing Law Project on housing protections for domestic and sexual violence survivors. The guidebook also includes topics like building and repairing credit reports, foreclosure defense, and dealing with criminal records and employment rights.
The guidebook notes that there is no safety for survivors of domestic and sexual violence without economic security. Abuse creates economic hardship and poverty that in turn restrict options for safety. Survivors of domestic and sexual violence experience short and long-term economic challenges. Safety has real costs, and survivors often contend with issues like coerced debt, ruined credit, loss of housing and employment, and identity theft that compound economic insecurity and risk of violence.
The guidebook is available at: http://bit.ly/2rvL7s7