House Judiciary Committee hears testimony on H.385 to create forced‑debt protections for survivors

Arlie Glisserman, policy director at the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, told the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 19 that H.385 aims to give survivors clearer, accessible relief from what the bill calls coerced or ‘forced’ debt. "We need comprehensive, clear, and accessible protections for victims of forced debt," Glisserman said, arguing the harm often stems from intimate‑partner abuse rather than the stranger‑based fraud addressed by existing laws.

Glisserman described how financial abuse—restricted access to accounts, coerced cosigning and use of a survivor’s credit—can trap people in unsafe housing and limit employment and education prospects. She gave two detailed examples: a survivor who was coerced to cosign an auto loan and later found her credit so damaged she could not secure housing repairs or move to safety, and another who estimated more than $15,000 in coerced credit‑card debt, requiring high‑cost borrowing to cover basic needs.

The witness outlined the bill’s proposed relief process: public notice and screening, a written statement describing the…