The Purple Purse: Kerry Washington Helps Women Gain Control of Their Purse Strings

Scandal star Kerry Washington is speaking out about a form of abuse that is not only rarely talked about, but it is also virtually unheard of by the general public, called financial abuse. Financial abuse is a form of domestic abuse or a tactic used to keep a person of lesser financial stability in an abusive or otherwise unhealthy relationship. Career sabotage or putting the person in debt are also often used as methods in which the abusers can be assured that their victims have no other recourse but to stay with them. 

 

Washington is the brand ambassador for the Allstate Foundation's Purple Purse initiative. The initiative is raising awareness about financial abuse and Washington took part in designing limited-edition purple purses to highlight the role of money in financially abusive relationships. "I think people just aren't as aware of financial abuse," Washington told the Huffington Post. "If a woman isn't even aware of the dynamics of financial abuse-what it looks like, what it is-she may not even know that that's part of the tools being used to control her and manipulate her and keep her trapped. When there is more information around it, people can begin to identify it and then get the help they need."

Only 500 purses were produced, and most will be used as fundraisers and given to charities, with the purses going to abuse survivors. "For me, one of the things I wanted to combine was this idea of elegance and classic traditional design, with something kind of funky and fashion-forward," Washington stated.

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