Economic Abuse Is Domestic Violence, NYC Law Now Says

NEW YORK CITY — Economic abuse victims will be afforded all of New York City's protections for survivors of domestic violence, according to a new law.

Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill Monday that expands the definition of domestic violence to include financial abuse.

“We look at physical and mental abuse often, but we ignore the financial abuse,” he said.

“If you are trapped in your home because of your economics, you are being abused in many ways and this bill seeks to address that.”

New York City's Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination against people who experience domestic violence.

That law was designed to be a "brick wall" to support survivors, said Council MemberJustin Brannan, the lead sponsor on the economic abuse bill.

"But this was sort of a missing brick in that wall," he said.

Advocates pressed city lawmakers to fix that missing brick, Brannan said.

He noted that studies have shown the main reason victims of domestic violence stay in toxic relationships is because their tormentor's control over money.

“If someone’s controlling your money, it’s almost impossible to get out of that relationship,” he said.