Teen Economic Abuse
Spill the tea on TEA: A Teen Leadership Opportunity
Help raise awareness about the unknown risks of academic sabotage, work interference, and financial control within unhealthy teen relationships. Teen Leaders, with the guidance and support of FUTURES staff, will plan, create, and implement a national dialogue strategy and social media education and awareness campaign to educate teens about the risks of this abusive behavior. The campaign will also offer teens strategies to help navigate economic abuse and coercion they may encounter in their own relationships to ensure they are able to pursue their career goals and financial independence.
Teens must live in the Charlotte, NC and San Francisco, CA metro areas, be available for a week-long training, and have reliable transportation to the training. Dates and locations:
- Charlotte, NC: July 24-July 28, 2023; 10am-4pm EST
- San Francisco, CA: August 7-August 11, 2023; 10am-4pm PST
Learn more about the leadership opportunity and APPLY today!
As 13 to 19 year-olds move toward adulthood and independence, they begin making decisions without parental or guardian involvement, have their first romantic relationships, hold their first job or internship, and start to handle their own money. This time of new responsibilities and experiences can be extremely challenging as teens begin to navigate the complexity of balancing their independence with forging close relationships. Experiencing abuse during these formative years can have lasting harm on future independence and well-being, particularly if such abuse impacts economic opportunity.
In 2021, in partnership with The Allstate Foundation and in collaboration with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Futures Without Violence launched a national survey better understand the academic, work, and financial pressures teens experience in their relationships. This first-of-its-kind study assessed the prevalence of various forms of economic abuse among teens, determined the impact abusive behavior has on their education, employment, and finances, and identified opportunities to enhance existing prevention efforts
Watch – Overlooked: Economic Abuse among Teen Dating Partners
Nearly 3,000 13 – 19 year-olds across the United States completed the survey in the summer of 2021. We found that economic abuse (educational, employment, and financial interference) is a common experience within romantic or dating relationships. These experiences were reported most frequently among youth who identify as gender diverse and among youth ages 15-17 (compared to older and younger adolescents).
Economic abuse is significant aspect of teen dating violence and has harmful impacts on educational attainment and success, employment opportunities, and financial independence.
Learn more! Review the research, download factsheets and the social media toolkit, and most importantly take action.
Sign up to stay informed on our efforts to end teen economic abuse:
