Kerry Washington is the brand ambassador for the Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse Campaign, which raises awareness for financial abuse, a tactic domestic abusers use to gain leverage over their victims.
Financial abuse typically involves a victim’s limited access to funds, preventing them from getting out of an abusive situation. Career sabotage or putting the person in debt is another tactic an abuser may implement in the efforts to silence a victim.
“I think people just aren’t as aware of financial abuse,” Washington said. “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.”
To help raise awareness, Washington helped to design a line of limited-edition purple purses. Only 500 purses were produced and most will be given to charities and used for fundraising.
“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.
For more information, visit Purplepurse.com and check out Washington’s public service announcement for the Purple Purse Campaign below.