3 Women 3 Ways

FINANCIAL ABUSE: ONE WOMAN’S STORY When most people hear the words “domestic violence,” they think of broken bones and bruises. Some people are aware that intimate partner abuse comes in many forms, from verbally degrading a partner, to isolation, to all kinds of control. One of those forms of control is financial abuse. Unless you have experienced financial abuse and control, it is really hard to grasp the impact of it. Controllers control, and they can interfere with a woman’s ability to get to work, or look for a job, or interfere with her employer or work performance until she gets fired. Sometimes abusers apply for credit cards in the victim’s name without their knowing about it; sometimes they run up huge debts, or cancel accounts or credit cards without telling the victim. And often that control continues after divorce, after kids grow up, and even when the victim has no money to gain control over. That’s what happened with Coral Anika Theill, author of “BONSHEÁ Making Light of the Dark” which has been used as a college text. She is also a contributing writer for Leatherneck Magazine and Short Rations for Marines. Her October 2011 Leatherneck Magazine article, "Invisible Battle Scars: Confronting the Stigma Associated with PTS & TBI," is cited in the U.S. Army War College "Psychological Health Notes." She is a recipient of the Lester Granger Award from the National Montford Point Marine Association and a Writer's Award from iUniverse Publishing Company. Join us as Coral tells us her story of abuse during her marriage and her continued financial abuse after her divorce.