Eleventh-hour negotiations could decide the fate of legislation to make it easier for survivors to cancel debt caused by their abuse.
Eleventh-hour negotiations could decide the fate of legislation to make it easier for survivors to cancel debt caused by their abuse. ·  View in browser
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Eleventh-hour negotiations could decide the fate of legislation to make it easier for survivors to cancel debt caused by their abuse.
By Chris Bragg

Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to narrow a bill to protect domestic violence survivors from being held financially responsible for debt incurred as a result of their abuse, according to the bill’s Assembly sponsor.

The bill would make it easier for survivors to get out of “coerced debt,” defined as nonconsensual credit-related transactions that occur in the context of a violent relationship — for example, an abuser forcing someone to sign credit card applications or take out loans under the threat of violence.

It’s extremely common for survivors of intimate partner violence to face this kind of economic abuse, advocates say, and it can have long-term financial consequences that may lead them to stay in an abusive relationship.

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Staying Focused is compiled and written by Alex Arriaga
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