According to the latest US census in 2020, one in four households with children are funded and run by a single parent, of those, 80% of them are headed by women. South Carolina, when compared to the rest of the nation has a proportionately high percentage of single women as heads of households, with some estimates showing that it is among the top states, scoring significantly higher than the national average.

Among all single household heads, women earned close to 88% of what men did in 2019. The median income of households headed by single women was considerably lower, less than $50,000 than that of those households headed by men, which was $62,000. In the state of South Carolina, single person household’s median average is 16% lower than the US average. South Carolina’s single female household average is not only well below married, and men, it is even less than single women without children. Currently, although Aiken tends to earn close to the national income average at $95,355, the poverty rate is nearly 16%.

Additionally

• Women earn 76 cents for every dollar a man earns

• At the current rate, women will not receive equal pay until 2088

• 28.8% of employed women work in low-wage jobs

• Men are 2.4 times more likely

When there is a crisis in a single woman headed household, there are very few resources to help a population that is already underserved and underfunded. Once more, when a woman goes from a male headed household to a single woman-led one, their standard of living reduces immediately and severely, leaving her with very few resources for sustainability in the interim.

The Stats

According to recent statistics, 37.3% of female-led families live in poverty in the state of South Carolina. The poverty level is a construct created by the federal government that sets a minimum annual income for individuals. The original poverty level was set 2018 at $13,064 for single people younger than 65, and $25,465 for a family of four with two adults and two children. While it is an important measure, it is outdated and narrow. It considers the cost of food as a proportion of families’ expenses. Still, it doesn’t account for geographical differences, and other cost of living markers such as child care, housing, transportation, and medical costs. 

One landmark study showed that more than 50 million households struggle to pay for necessities such as food, health care, and housing—despite only 16 million being classified “in poverty.” Another study found that based on an adjusted inflation measure, at least 3.2 million more people live in poverty than are counted below the federal poverty line. That has a severe impact on families who are trying to attain assistance from federal and state programs. With COVID and the state of the economy presently, more families are slipping into the gray area between what is legally considered poverty and the reality of the impoverished.

Women experience higher rates of poverty than men. In 2018, 12.9 percent of women lived in poverty when compared to 10.6 percent of men. Women of nearly all races and ethnicities face higher rates of poverty than their male counterparts. 

Unmarried mothers have higher rates of poverty than married women. Almost one in four unmarried mothers live below the poverty line, making them 31.1 percent of those living in poverty. 

According to recent statistics, 37.3% of female-led families live in poverty in the state of South Carolina. The poverty level is a construct created by the federal government that sets a minimum annual income for individuals. The original poverty level was set 2018 at $13,064 for single people younger than 65, and $25,465 for a family of four with two adults and two children. While it is an important measure, it is outdated and narrow. It considers the cost of food as a proportion of families’ expenses. Still, it doesn’t account for geographical differences, and other cost of living markers such as child care, housing, transportation, and medical costs. 

One landmark study showed that more than 50 million households struggle to pay for necessities such as food, health care, and housing—despite only 16 million being classified “in poverty.” Another study found that based on an adjusted inflation measure, at least 3.2 million more people live in poverty than are counted below the federal poverty line. That has a severe impact on families who are trying to attain assistance from federal and state programs. With COVID and the state of the economy presently, more families are slipping into the gray area between what is legally considered poverty and the reality of the impoverished.

Women experience higher rates of poverty than men. In 2018, 12.9 percent of women lived in poverty when compared to 10.6 percent of men. Women of nearly all races and ethnicities face higher rates of poverty than their male counterparts. 

Unmarried mothers have higher rates of poverty than married women. Almost one in four unmarried mothers live below the poverty line, making them 31.1 percent of those living in poverty. 

Divorce and Domestic Violence

According to statistics, domestic violence can worsen a woman’s economic standing causing them to lose an average of 8 million days of paid work per year. A study done in 2016, found that about one in four women to almost half of all women experiencing homelessness reported that domestic violence was the immediate cause. Financial costs to survivors of domestic violence can also increase if they need to address the trauma experienced or disabilities acquired as a result of the violence. Once more, in terms of emotional abuse, which has a heavy prevalence of economic control and dependence, women face losing it all to get out of their abusive circumstances. Often, they are left to care for children without the proper resources like food, shelter, and necessities.  These facts are part of a cycle of violence that perpetuates women’s economic insecurity. 

In the State of South Carolina, you can sue for divorce stating the grounds of abuse. Yet, proving domestic abuse is very difficult without documentation. Also, there are many forms of abuse such as financial and emotional abuse, which are not recognized as abuse, and therefore, many women are not eligible to leave abusive relationships specifically for lack of resources. Those who do not have proof of physical abuse often will not qualify for services from domestic abuse centers.

The Gender Wealth Gap

Women are less likely to have the savings and wealth necessary to weather financial shocks and provide for themselves and their families. The gender wealth gap is formed by numerous factors, including the fact that women earn less than men and are more likely to be denied mortgages and be overcharged for them. Also, women who are offered mortgages are more likely vulnerable to predatory lending, have more debt, and have a harder time building wealth. Many women are also responsible for being the primary caregiver in the household, therefore, they have a harder time getting upper-level management jobs and frequently miss work due to issues related to being a single parent. Some caring for young children often take home less than minimum wage when accounting for childcare, job necessities, and transportation.

Women are more likely to be single mothers than men are to be single fathers, which perpetuates poverty. Among parents with children younger than 6, 25 percent of mothers work part-time and 35 percent are out of the labor force compared to just four percent and five percent of fathers, respectively. Many women forfeit their financial future and security to raise their children. When they find themselves single; they have nothing to fall back on or sustain their living situation. When divorce is a factor, they also face heavy court costs and the additional financial burden of custody suits.  

Divorce and Women’s Poverty

The average divorce lawyer's fees, which includes child custody cases, are between $7,500 and $15,000, with the retainer fee alone for a divorce without child custody being $2,000 to $5,000. The average retainer fee for child custody is $3,500 to $5,500. Therefore, when women are put in a position to fight for the custody of their children, the stakes are much higher and their financial security takes a much greater hit. 

Child custody cases usually require a guardian ad litem. The cost of a guardian ad litem is between $150-$250 per hour with a retainer fee that ranges from $500 to $2,000. The guardian ad litem is also chosen by the court and is almost exclusively a lawyer. The court then mandates the parties to pay for the charges of the guardian ad litem. Overall, the average cost of a custody battle can range from $5,000 to $40,000 some reaching as much as $75,000 to $100,000.

The Financial Fallout of Divorce for Women-Led Households

According to data, the average woman’s standard of living goes down on average 41% after divorce. The average man’s standard goes down on average 10%. A contested divorce can take up to 12 months or more, over which time there are continual additional costs.

According to South Carolina law, there is a one-year separation period for divorce. During that one year, there is no such thing as desertion. Although either party can seek an Order of Separate Support and Maintenance if they live apart, they have to seek the help of a lawyer. Since there is no such thing as “desertion” as grounds for divorce in South Carolina, technically, you have to fight to get child support before the one-year filing, which only further adds costs to your legal fees.

According to the NIH, large and persistent gender differences emerged long-term whereby women's disproportionate losses in household income and associated increases in their risk of poverty and single parenting. The findings suggest that men's disproportionate strain of divorce is transient, whereas women's is chronic. Also, many studies show that women and men tend to negotiate the terms of divorce differently, with women caring more about the "care" of all parties and often sacrificing their well-being when left without adequate counsel.

Limitations to Obtaining a Child Support Order

To receive child support, you have to find and serve the noncustodial parent, which usually takes less than three months, but it can take much longer if the non-custodial parent can’t be located, avoids being served, or lives out of state. In the meantime, women have very few resources to help. 

In cases where a woman feels that the safety of your children is in question, she has to agree to forego child support to suspend child visitation. If she obtains sole custody of her children, regardless of the reason, she relinquishes her child support payments. She has to choose to either protect her children in cases where visitation is dangerous or get monetary support from her ex-spouse.

Sole custody is considered very difficult, as courts prioritize arrangements that allow children to have a relationship with both parents. One needs to demonstrate that sole custody is clearly in the child's best interest, usually only granted in extreme circumstances like parental abuse, neglect, or severe instability with the other parent. Women are often forced to go with visitation schedules that are not in the best interest of the child because they don't have the resources or finances to continue with their court cases.

Special Circumstances of IVP and Abuse for Women

According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 48.4% of women in the United States have been the victim of psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. In 2012, a study revealed that the prevalence rate of emotional abuse in intimate partner violence is around 80%.

Domestic Violence is characterized by physical, sexual, emotional, economic, psychological, or technological actions or threats of actions or other patterns of coercive behavior that influence another person within an intimate partner relationship according to the United States Department of Justice.

South Carolina is a state that doesn’t recognize mental cruelty or emotional abuse as grounds for divorce. According to the law, no matter how emotionally abusive your spouse may be, such as yelling, name-calling, shaming, etc., South Carolina will not recognize it as domestic abuse.

Abandonment/desertion as grounds for divorce can only be used after a period of one year, but most divorces are ranted on the ground of one year’s continuous separation, which does not give a woman any advantage in our. Less than one-half of one percent of divorces are granted on the ground of desertion. Unlike other states where emotional abuse can affect the terms of the final divorce settlement, such as child custody and alimony, South Carolina does not.

Women in South Carolina can not get orders of protection for abuse unless the abuse has one of the four following incidents: physically harms you or threatens to do so, causes you bodily injury, assaults you, or commits a sexual criminal offense against you.

The court requires contested divorce cases to pay for a guardian ad litem that is appointed by the judge. The expenses of that GAL can range anywhere from $7,300 to over $20,000. You can petition the court to review the fees and costs associated with the GAL, and the huge will ultimately decide how the fees are allocated based on financial situations.

According to statistics, on average it takes an abuse victim seven attempts to leave before they get away. Every time they are abused, however, the violence escalates. Psychological abuse is a stronger predictor of PTSD in women than even physical abuse, 7 out of ten women who are psychologically abused will display PTSD symptoms.

Over 15 million children in the United States live in households where partner violence has occurred at least once in the last year. 30-60% of perpetrators of domestic violence also abuse children in the household. Witnessing domestic violence has a negative impact on a child’s development, increasing the risk of interpersonal sill deficits, physiological and emotional problems such as depression and PTSD, and behavior problems.

Emotional abuse with children includes, continually ignoring or rejecting a child, forcing a child to do things by scaring them, constantly criticizing, humiliating or blaming a child, making a child feel different from other family members, withholding love, support, praise or attention from a child, bullying teasing, insulting or belittling a child, threatening abuse or threats to harm loved ones or pets.

Those who suppress their feelings to prevent others from getting mad at them are more likely to end up being abused. People who avoid conflict experience extreme discomfort if they believe that someone is mad at them.

Estimates cite that as many as 30% of parents claim parental alienation during divorce proceedings. Fathers are more likely to win custody cases when alleging parental alienation compared to mothers, even when abuse claims are present. Once more, judges have great discretion when interpreting parental alienation and it differs greatly in different courts.

Although reunification statistics state that there is a high probability of success, those estimates might be incentivized. A study found that when compared, those children who participated in a reunification program in childhood, children attended a program had significantly poorer current relationships with their non preferred parent, with no significant change in their overall mental health outcomes. Where abuse was alleged, all study participants experienced depression, anxiety, and stress. The research concluded that reunification programs are ineffective in reconciling parent-child relationship and do not significantly affect mental health symptomology in the long term.

Many experts and domestic violence advocates argue that it's a discredited, pseudo-scientific concept, often used as a tool to enable abusers to continue their abuse. Other experts persist in using the theory to recommend reunification in custody cases—and some judges still take claims of parental alienation very seriously.

Cons of reunification therapy include pressing a child to spend time alone with and embrace a parent accused of abuse, actually increasing conflict in the family, and traumatizing kids by forcing them to engage in therapy against their will. In 2022, the US Congress passed Kayden’s Law as a part of the Violence Against Women Act, which increases funding to states that have laws limiting the use of reunification programs in cases where there have been accusations of domestic violence.

Financial and Economic Abuse

Financial abuse refers to the control, exploitation, or sabotage of money, while economic abuse includes the control, exploitation, or sabotage of money and economic resources (such as food, transportation, and accommodation) more broadly. According to the National Library of Medicine (NIH), the research behind economic abuse as a form of violence against women is lacking and largely unaddressed. Intimate partner violence or (IPV) is a social problem that crosses race, culture, society, socioeconomic status, and geographic environments.

IPV has been recognized as one of the most serious human and social rights issues and undermines women's ability to function as a full member of society. According to statistics, 99 to 94 percent of women who experience intimate partner violence have the experience of economic abuse. Economic abuse involves behaviors that control a woman's ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources; thus, the abuse threatens women's Economic security and potential for self-sufficiency.

Experiences of economic abuse have been associated with a range of negative outcomes among victims, including difficulty in gaining or maintaining employment, difficulty in establishing economic self-sufficiency, increased rates of depressive symptoms, and decreased rates of psychological well-being. In addition, economic abuse experiences impact family outcomes by decreasing stable family formations, parenting practices, children’s behavior, and youth outcomes. Therefore, not only does the literature provide evidence for the impacts of economic abuse among IPV victims and their children, but it also documents the impact of economic abuse above and beyond other forms of IPV.

Studies have shown that many IPV victims suffer economic abuse by their partners. Recently, it has been recognized that economic abuse may also occur after separation. It is reported that over 75% of abused women experience economic abuse by their former spouses in terms of withholding financial resources like child support, health insurance, and other basic expenses. Men can use a variety of tactics to control their former spouses. Moreover, women are more likely to face economic hardships in post-separation life, which can lead to economic abuse. Longitudinal research has also found that women who experienced IPV were substantially likely to experience material hardship during the 9-year follow-up period. 

When custody battles are used as a means of further economic abuse women and children suffer when they don't have the resources to pay an attorney who will fight for fair equity and the welfare of their clients.

How These Circumstances Put Women at Risk for Poverty

Although poverty is defined at a certain income level, many live in poverty that do not reach the threshold. Many women, while waiting for their custody case to be resolved, live with few resources, have to take time from work, fight with lawyers, deal with not having access to savings until assets are settled, and live in constant fear of losing their children, their houses, and their ability to feed and clothe their children. Most of the stress remains solely on women while men usually carry on with their financial earnings without fault.

Paying for a lawyer is often not feasible for many women hoping to keep their homes and take care of their children. Due to a lack of resources, many are forced to fight battles for their children, which can put their financial future in ruins. Even worse, many are forced to settle for fewer assets when the children’s custody is threatened, or worse, not go for full custody even in cases of abuse because they don’t have the resources to fight anymore. That puts women and children in danger. When your funds are dwindling and you fear losing your home and livelihood, you often make rash and necessary decisions that aren’t in the best interest of you or your children. 

If someone were paying for a woman’s child custody legal fees, fewer children would be in jeopardy of harm, fewer women would be thrown into bad situations, and fewer households would slip into poverty.

Women's and Resources

Women should never be in a position where they don't have the resources to defend and protect themselves and their children. Whether there is an illness in the family, a major life event or loss, or divorce, as a society, we are obligated to help those who cannot help themselves. The CJB Outreach was created to provide a safety net so women and children can find security and stability.   

Foundations With Similar Goals

• Nurture Home Transitional Shelter

• Mental Health America

• Aiken Help Line

• United Way of Aiken County

• Victim Services

• Acts

The limitation that many of these programs have is that they assist women who are running from an abusive situation by providing them a safe haven. We believe that the best haven is to support them to stay at home and provide them with legal, medical, and financial resources to intervene in crisis until they can establish their household safely or restore it to safety. Through funding for…

• Mortgage relief and payments

• Legal assistance to help with domestic violence litigation (IPV including economic and financial abuse)

• Legal assistance for custody issues and resolution

• Aid for utility payments and living expenses paid directly to a provider

• Healthcare for uninsured women headed households

• Food and clothing assistance when necessary

• Educational training for more lucrative career growth

• Childcare assistance

• Internships and job placement position that work around and foster single mother’s schedules and limitations without sacrifice

Eligibility

• Assistance is granted through application and considered on an individual basis

• Provide legal fee assistance to women who are victimized and legal professionals who witness economic and financial abuse in divorce situations

• Resources are limited to provide a safety net and aid, while also helping to enhance their family situation to better the lives of themselves and their children

• This is a crisis-based intervention

Current Resources

There are very few resources for women who need legal assistance to fight custody battles. SClegl.org provides free CIVIL legal services for low-income residents. You have to be under the national poverty line or lower and it says “civil” so I don’t know the quality or type of legal services for family court. Therefore, you have to already be in poverty to receive assistance. Many who are can’t prove it because their tax information does not qualify them.

Other services are:

LawHelp.org offers free and low-cost legal aid in the form of legal representation, advice, and referral, again based on income.
SC Bar can offer pro bono services for those who cannot afford legal representation.
Scaccesstojustice.com offers pro bono advice, not legal representation, there are only certain occasions that will allow you to get legal representation.

• Termination of parental rights defendants

• Abuse and neglect defendants (emotional abuse is not considered abuse)

• Individuals facing criminal contempt where the possibility of incarceration is over 6 months

• Vulnerable adults (entitled to appointment of a guardian ad litem and an attorney)

• Juvenile defendants (when children are suing their guardian)