Journey from domestic violence to self-reliance: A case report from a tertiary care crisis center.
Maimoona Ahmed, Mumtaz Fathima
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A 32-year-old married woman with two children experienced prolonged physical, emotional, and economic abuse by her husband, who had alcohol dependence. Debt from a self-help group loan intended to support the family’s livelihood was transferred to her, deepening her financial dependence and her husband’s control. After severe physical violence displaced her from the marital home, she sought help at a hospital-based crisis center. Crisis intervention, counseling, legal guidance, child welfare support, and employment assistance helped her achieve financial independence, obtain safe accommodation, and begin steps toward legal separation.
What made this case unusual
The case draws attention to debt transfer as economic abuse: a livelihood loan became the survivor’s liability and reinforced coercive control.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Assessment of domestic violence should include economic abuse, including debt imposed on a survivor, as well as physical and emotional harm.
Why it matters
The case illustrates how a hospital-based crisis center working across counseling, legal, child welfare, and employment services can support safety and self-reliance.