99% of US domestic abuse survivors experience financial abuse, and it is one of the top reasons they can’t permanently leave their harm doer. That’s a fairly arresting fact, and is why when London Law Collective was approached to provide pro bono support and specialist advice to FinAbility we didn’t hesitate.

FinAbility is a US-based nonprofit that gives survivors of domestic abuse (physical, financial, emotional), methods and support to become financially independent so that they can move on with their lives. Survivor-led, they use their backgrounds in tech and finance so that they can build digital tools that make financial education and resources accessible to survivors through a trauma-informed lens. Their aim is a future where everyone has the financial security to live free from abuse and thrive.

FinAbility has a series of policies in place to help protect its staff. These policies relate to areas such as whistleblowing, anti-violence, confidentiality, and safeguarding. Their anti-violence policy for example ensures that FinAbility staff feel able to report any violent, threatening or intimidating behaviour, in the knowledge it will be investigated thoroughly and dealt with.

That’s where London Law Collective helped. Our work involved reviewing and making suggested updates to these policies and providing a range of international best practice suggestions so that the organisation can improve its policies in the future.

25% of women and 14% of men in the US will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, so we are delighted that we can help FinAbility in a small, but important way, and look forward to continuing our work with them in the future.