A financial coach’s response to: How to Spot the Signs of Financial or Economic Abuse and What to Do.

by Sarah Brill, Financial Coach at Claro Money.

New research from Lowell, a credit management company, has revealed that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of financial abuse. In the UK, 12.2% (one in eight) adults experience economic abuse in their lifetime from a partner or family member. Worryingly, 4.2 million of them are women. Given this is a current and widespread issue, it is key to understand how to spot the signs of this form of abuse and what to do about it.

What is economic abuse?

Economic abuse (also known as financial abuse) is recognised as a form of domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and is defined as by the Home Office as: ‘behaviours that interfere with an individual’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources such as money, transportation and utilities’.

Economic abuse is designed to limit someone’s freedom, by interfering with their money and finances, as well as things that money can buy such as essential products or services like: education, transport, food and clothing.

Economic abuse can happen in a number of ways, but it tends to fall into three different categories of behaviours:

Sabotage, which affects how you acquire money or economic resources
Restriction, of how you use money and economic resources
Exploitation, of how you maintain economic resources
It can have ruinous consequences for the victim, both immediately and in the future. Therefore, it is key to recognise and spot the indications of financial abuse, to prevent it from happening or worsening.

How to spot economic abuse

Economic abuse can look like:

Preventing someone from looking for, accepting and maintaining employment or education, or refusing you access to your bank account.
An abuser could restrict or control how or when your money is spent, dictate what you can buy, or control the use of property such as a phone or car.
The exploitation of economic resources might look like misusing money in a joint bank account, building up debt in your name (sometimes even without your knowledge), and refusing to contribute to household costs such as rent, mortgage repayments or bills.
However these are just some examples; economic abuse can be more difficult to identify than other forms of abuse such as physical, emotional, and verbal, because economic abuse doesn’t always link directly to money.

For example, an individual could be running up speeding tickets in their partner’s name, whereby they receive the financial burden and points on their license. Other examples could include refusing to pay child maintenance, prolonging the joint sale of a property, or restricting access to essentials, such as taking food from the home without permission.

How to prevent economic abuse

The best way to avoid economic abuse is to maintain your own economic independence from the very outset of a relationship.

Opening a joint account with your partner works for many couples, but always ensure that you also have your own account, which is just yours and no one else is able to access.

Avoid handing over complete control of shared finances.

Be aware of the implications involved in joint financial products – such as mortgages.

Never take out debt on behalf of someone else.

Try to build up and maintain some savings of your own, if you can, held in an account only you have access to, in case you ever need to leave the relationship.

What do about it / How to help

If you think that a person you know and love may be a victim of economic abuse, it is key to highlight ways that you can help. Although, it’s important that we don’t jump to conclusions and assume someone is being abused – bombarding someone with lots of questions could cause stress and trigger distressing moments for the individual.

Do keep in mind that this is a sensitive topic and victims of abuse are not always ready for help.

If someone asks for help, refer them to a place where they can get professional support such as:

The Financial Support Line for Victims of Domestic Abuse is run by Money Advice Plus in partnership with Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA). It offers specialist advice to anyone experiencing domestic abuse who is in financial difficulty. – https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/financial-support-line/