Survivors and legal aid groups press Judiciary Committee to create civil remedies for coerced debt

Lawmakers on the Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard sustained testimony urging passage of bills (H.16‑94 and S.11‑47) that would give survivors of economic abuse a civil legal pathway to address coerced debt.

Lived witnesses described partners who used coercion, fraud or threats to obtain credit and then left survivors liable for thousands of dollars in debt tied to housing, cars or business expenses. Attorneys and advocates said the debts often bar survivors from obtaining housing, jobs or other basic services and that current consumer‑protection remedies are inconsistent and often slow.

"Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse that traps survivors in dangerous relationships and blocks their ability to leave," said Sanai Enriquez of Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts coalition against sexual and domestic…