I attended an excellent networking event recently, hosted by the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse. The event focussed on economic abuse and I was particularly struck by the presentations by Nicola Sharp-Jeffs and Jasbinder Kaur from an organisation called Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA).
I touched on the theme of economic abuse when I was writing Klaxon. Despite being an accountant, Louise allowed Mark to manage all their finances and it was only when she tried to leave him, that she realised how vulnerable this made her. However, in Klaxon, Louise still had a degree of economic independence, which safeguarded her against Mark's efforts to continue the abuse through the legal system and enabled her to give her son, Zach, some degree of protection.
Many victim-survivors do not have economic independence and perpetrators will continue to abuse them after they leave the abusive relationship. The resulting financial insecurity will have a devastating impact on their ability to rebuild their lives.
Surviving Economic Abuse was established 6 years ago. It advocates for greater awareness of economic abuse and encourages changes in professional practices, systems, policies, and regulations to recognize economic abuse and provide better support for survivors.
“Victim-survivors of domestic abuse are left with an average individual debt of more than £20,000”
(Surviving Economic Abuse).
Economic abuse is more than the control of someone’s finances. It refers to the control, exploitation or sabotage of money, finances, and economic resources (such as food, transportation and accommodation). It reinforces or creates economic instability, erodes self-esteem and confidence, and limits the victim-survivor’s ability to leave an abusive relationship.
Examples of economic abuse include:
taking over control of all bank accounts or credit cards and setting arbitrary limits on what the victim-survivor can spend
secretly putting someone into debt or forcing the victim-survivor to buy things they cannot afford
refusing to work or help generate income - leaving the victim-survivor with sole responsibility for outgoings
wrongfully taking benefits (i.e. child benefits or personal independence payments)
removing or controlling access to WIFI, electricity or heating
putting contractual obligations in the victim-survivor’s name, and gambling with family assets.
limiting access to, or spending on, sanitary products or medication
I met some of the SEA team at the event and I was impressed at how much they have achieved since they were established by Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs (their CEO) following her visits to US and Australia to learn about best practice in responding to financial abuse. Have a look at the SEA journey over the last five and a half years – it is inspirational.
Post Separation Economic Abuse
SEA was able to influence the drafting of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to name and define economic abuse in legislation AND ensuring that post-separation abuse is also criminalised.
This change in legislation came into force on 5th April 2023 and is significant because coercive or controlling behaviours do not stop when a victim-survivor leaves the perpetrator – we know that the victim-survivors who leave are often subjected to sustained or increased coercive or controlling behaviour post-separation and are statistically at the highest risk of homicide within the period immediately after leaving.
Economic control can escalate after separation or may only begin then - because when the perpetrator has been stopped from exercising other forms of controlling behaviour, controlling their former partner’s access to economic resources may be the only way left for them to continue to exert control.
Bright Sky App
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing any form of coercive control or domestic abuse, please look at the Bright Sky app which provides a huge amount of useful advice and links. You can set it up discretely on your phone, so it looks like a weather app or game.
Hidden Mobile Phone?
In case you are not aware, on Sunday 23 April, the UK government is testing an emergency alert service that will cause mobile phones to sound an alarm. For any victim or survivor of domestic abuse with a hidden phone, the sounding of that alarm could be dangerous. Please share this video, created by Refuge, with instructions on how to disable these alerts.
Niamh Bryan
Author biography: Niamh Bryan
PHOTO by Tim Samuel courtesy of Pexels
KLAXON is a new novel and thriller about a woman seeking to escape an abusive and dangerous relationship. This Blog seeks to highlight issues around domestic violence and the sources of help for its victims. If you would like to find out more and to get involved with the blog or the promotion of Klaxon through book clubs and other means, please contact the Klaxon team.
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