Focusing on Palestinian mothers in Israel participating in a nonmandatory welfare-to-work program, the study addresses whether these women experience economic abuse from their intimate partner/ex-partner, as well as whether they perceive the program as an opportunity to escape economic abuse and move toward economic independence. Based on interviews of 26 mothers and three trainers, the findings revealed dual economic abuse: in the domestic sphere and at the structural level (the labor market and welfare laws). The findings also suggest that the assistance the women receive from the welfare-to-work program has been insufficient to extricate them from their abusive situation.
Keywords: Palestinian mothers in Israel; economic abuse; intersectionality; intimate partner violence; welfare to work.