The Analysis Comment


Coping with financial abuse


Domestic abuse can often have a significant financial aspect, but a code of practice for lenders may be one step forward


Sandra Horley Chief executive of Refuge Sandra_Horley@refuge.org.uk


There have been important strides


made in how the credit industry – and society in general – responds to people who experience debt. Efforts to understand the personal


circumstances that can lead to debt are becoming much more commonplace. Yet the stigma attached to indebtedness persists doggedly.


Victims of violence Imagine you are a woman who has experienced domestic violence. One in four women experience such abuse, but this huge cohort is one of the most stigmatised groups in our society. Imagine if your ex-partner left you with


£13,000 of debt. He falsified your payslips and took out loans in your name. You had to give up your job, too, when the


injuries from the physical violence, that you endured, became too severe to hide. This is the reality for thousands of women


today. Our specialist services support 4,500 women and children fleeing domestic violence on any given day. Last year, 30% of our clients had experienced financial abuse.


behaviour on the part of the abuser designed to control


whatever form it takes, is systematic,


Domestic abuse, in patterned


indebtedness is one of the many tools a perpetrator might use to ensure their grip remains vice-like


their partner;


In many forms Our research, conducted in partnership with The Co-operative Bank as part of our My Money, My Life campaign, found that 18% of all adults had experienced financial abuse in a relationship, with the majority of victims being women.


12 Financial abuse in relationships takes


many forms. A perpetrator may force his partner to hand over her wages every month, or he may give her such a measly allowance that she cannot buy food or nappies. She may be prevented from going out shopping alone or forced to provide receipts for every penny she spends. Women who experience domestic abuse


are systematically isolated from family, friends and society. Financial abuse – and the financial


exclusion that comes with it – adds another layer to that isolation. Domestic abuse, in whatever form it takes,


is systematic, patterned behaviour on the part of the abuser designed to control their partner; indebtedness is one of the many tools a perpetrator might use to ensure their grip remains vice-like. Financial independence, or lack of it, can


mean the difference between being trapped with a violent and dangerous abuser, or escaping to a place of safety.


Code of practice Thanks to the My Money, My Life campaign, the British Bankers’ Association has recently agreed to explore the


introduction of a sector wide code of practice, which would provide a framework for banks to support victims of financial abuse. Of course, it is not just banks that come into contact with victims;


the credit industry coming together to consider how it might respond better to victims would also be very welcome. CCR


www.CCRMagazine.co.uk January 2017


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