View or download a PDF of the letter here.

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) submitted a comment letter supporting a petition from the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to provide relief to victims of coerced debt under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The petition would provide critically needed relief to victims of coerced debt (a form of economic abuse) and further protect people who are survivors of intimate partner violence. Abusers commonly mislead their partners about loans, lie about paying bills, force their partners to share credit cards or co-sign for loans, and more as part of a strategy that undermines the financial stability of their victims and makes it harder to amass resources to seek safety and security. AFREF’s comment letter focuses on the structural racism that makes it harder for survivors to address coerced debt and makes the petition vitally important for Black, Indigenous, and Latine women.