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Kerry Washington Joins The Allstate Foundation to Spotlight Finances As A “Weapon of Choice” Used by Domestic Violence Abusers

Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress and advocate Kerry Washington has joined with The Allstate Foundation to raise awareness about domestic violence and the critical role that financial abuse plays in domestic violence situations. Washington is serving as the national ambassador for Allstate Foundation Purple Purse, the signature initiative that gets Americans motivated to combat domestic violence.

Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress and advocate Kerry Washington has joined with The Allstate Foundation to raise awareness about domestic violence and the critical role that financial abuse plays in domestic violence situations. Washington is serving as the national ambassador for Allstate Foundation Purple Purse, the signature initiative that gets Americans motivated to combat domestic violence.

Kerry Washington - Lioness MagazineWashington’s role as ambassador includes designing a limited-edition purple purse that will be distributed among community leaders, Allstate agency owners, Purple Purse community partners that work directly with survivors, celebrities and media to raise awareness for the cause. The purse represents the center of a woman’s financial domain and purple is the color of national domestic violence awareness. The Allstate Foundation is also distributing Purple Purse charms through Purple Purse Challenge participants to attach to a bag or purse and show support year-round. Washington also filmed a special Public Service Announcement featuring the purse and creating a call to action for Americans to get informed and involved.

“A purse is where a woman’s power lives. I am really proud of this bag, and having the opportunity to design a fashion statement that carries such an important message,” said Washington. “Financial control is almost always a weapon of choice for abusers because when a victim’s access to cash is taken away or her credit is destroyed or even her employment is jeopardized, it becomes nearly impossible for her to leave.”

“The Allstate Foundation wants to make it acceptable—even fashionable—to talk about domestic violence. Only by pulling back the curtain and getting involved can we ensure that victims can escape to a safer and brighter future,” said Tom Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of Allstate. “It shouldn’t take a high-profile incident in the news for us to rise up and take a stand against domestic violence. For far too long, this issue has remained in the shadows. We need to stop enabling criminals – by not letting money be a weapon of choice that, when combined with physical abuse, becomes a living nightmare for so many women in America.”

 

The Allstate Foundation also released the results of a survey, Silent Weapon: Domestic Violence and Financial Abuse, to understand the attitudes Americans have about violence in relationships and the financial control that usually accompanies physical abuse.

Findings from the survey include:

An Unknowing Public

  • Nearly eight in 10 Americans (78 percent) say they have not heard much about financial abuse as it relates to domestic violence. Additionally, Americans think that financial abuse is the least likely (3 percent) form of abuse to be recognized by an outsider.
  • Sixty-five percent don’t believe that their family or friends would know if they were in a financially abusive relationship and 70 percent can’t say they would know how to help them.
  • Only 39 percent of women have taken steps in their own relationship to protect themselves from financial abuse.

Millennial Reflections

  • Nearly 40 percent of Millennials say their parents talked to them about domestic violence, compared to a smaller percentage of older Americans, including 23 percent of Gen X’ers and 18 percent of Baby Boomers.
  • Nearly 70 percent of Millennial women view domestic violence as a serious issue facing the country, compared to just 55 percent of Millennial men.
  • Older Americans, aged 69 or older, view issues related to financial abuse more seriously than the Millennial generation. Seventy-two percent of older Americans believe that not allowing a partner to have access to funds is considered domestic violence, versus just 58 percent of Millennials. By a similar margin, 73 percent of older Americans believe that running up debt in a partner’s name should be considered domestic violence, compared to 55 percent of Millennials.

Multicultural Distinctions

  • Hispanics (51 percent) and African Americans (49 percent) are twice as likely to see domestic violence as a serious problem among people they know than their white, non-Hispanic counterparts (25 percent).
  • Hispanic parents (58 percent) and African American parents (52 percent) have discussed domestic violence more frequently than white non-Hispanic parents (43 percent).

For additional information on the survey visit www.purplepurse.com.

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