ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 1: Domestic violence
7
My money, my life
N
early one in five British adults
say they have experienced
financial abuse in an intimate
relationship, according to a new
ethical campaign launched by the
Bank and Refuge, the national
domestic violence charity.
The ‘My money, my life’ campaign
raises awareness of the true scale of
financial abuse for the first time, as it
occurs within intimate relationships,
where financial control, exploitation or
sabotageareused tocontrol aperson’s
ability to acquire, use and maintain
financial resources. We carried out the
UK’s largest study to date in this area in
order to understand the prevalence of
financial abuse in intimate relationships
in the UK. We are campaigning for the
banking industry to come together
to ensure there is adequate and
consistent support for the victims of
financial abuse in relationships.
Key findings
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One in five UK adults is a victim
of financial abuse in a relationship
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Half of victims experience a
partner taking financial assets
without permission
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For women, financial abuse rarely
happens in isolation – 86 per cent
experience other forms of abuse
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A third of financial abuse victims
suffer in silence, telling no-one
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Six out of ten victims of financial
abuse are women
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One in three people know
somebody who has been
financially abused.
The Co-operative Bank and Refuge,
are calling for industry-wide agreement
to support people who experience
financial abuse in their relationships.
What is financial abuse?
Financial
abuse
in
intimate
relationships is a way of controlling
a person’s ability to acquire, use
and maintain their own money and
financial resources.
Financial abuse is a form of domestic
violence. According to financial abuse
expert, Nicola Jeff-Sharp from the
Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit
(CWASU) at London Metropolitan
University, it is best described as an
example of intimate partner violence.
Domestic violence involves a pattern
of behaviour that one person uses
to control, undermine and obtain
power over another person. Domestic
abuse can include physical, sexual,
psychological/emotional and financial
abuse. More simply, financial abuse is
a current or former partner controlling
someone’s ability to acquire, use
or maintain financial resources by
preventing victims from earning or
accessing their own money.
Examples include:
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Stealing money from a partner
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Preventing a partner from
accessing their own/joint account
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Damaging possessions which
then have to be replaced
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Insisting benefits are in their name
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Putting debts in a partner’s name
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Stopping a partner from going to
work.
This abuse can also continue post-
separation.
Lifting the lid on financial
abuse
One in five UK adults is a victim of
financial abuse in a relationship
The ‘My money, my life’ campaign
seeks to establish, for the first time,
the true scale of financial abuse as it
occurs within intimate relationships in
the UK. While other forms of domestic
violence are well documented, the use
of money to exercise power within a
relationship is not yet fully recognised.
Yet the impact of this form of abuse
– where financial control, exploitation
or sabotage are used to control a
person’s ability to acquire, use and
maintain financial resources – can be
both devastating and long-lasting.
Our campaign launches with the
publication of a new research report
Money Matters – research into the
extent and nature of financial abuse in
relationships in the UK
. The research
report combines a study of over
4,000 adults with academic analysis
and qualitative research interviews
undertaken with 20 survivors of
domestic abuse who had accessed
Refuge’s specialist services.
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Financial abuse against women is
more likely to start at key life stage
events compared to men, for
example, when moving in with a
partner, getting married or having
a baby.
