Impoverished women experience high rates of violence by male partners.
Notably, women receiving public assistance face significantly higher rates of violence than other low-income women from the same neighborhoods. Sweeping policy changes in almost every public support system during the past few years, including TANF, child support enforcement, public housing, and the criminal justice and child welfare systems, have only exacerbated the complexity and difficulty of the lives of economically poor battered women and their children. This article reviews what has been learned from these efforts, and highlights two key strategies. The FVPF s Economic Independence Initiative has initiated several projects to support, organize and empower women in their local communities. In Germantown, Philadelphia, the FVPF is supporting the efforts of low-income women to organize activities within their neighborhood that address the impact of overlapping domestic violence and poverty.