Women In Britain Facing Growing Amounts Of Financial Abuse

Refuge, a charity against domestic violence recently collaborated with the Co-operative Bank to launch a study into financial abuse in Britain.

The findings were published in a report that revealed 1 out of every 5 adults in Britain are exposed to financial abuse during a relationship.

The abuse occur when one partner decides to have full financial control over the relationship, exploits the other partner for financial gain or bully them into stop working or stopping them from making any financial decisions.

The study revealed that just like most forms of abuse, individuals who suffer financial abuse also face emotions of shame and do not share their problems with anyone. Other forms of abuse include forcing the partner to ask for permission every time they spend money and having to provide proof of all expenses.

Financial abuse has different triggers but generally tends to happen when a couple decides to move in together, get married or have children. The study also showed that women in Britain are more expose to financial abuse than man and it has a serious impact on their emotions, lifestyle and future. Finance abuse is usually accompanied with other forms of abuse and together it can often put the individual in a precarious position between life and death.

Refuge has decided to start a new campaign called “My Money, My Life” and is calling on banks in Britain to recognize financial abuse and provide support to victims. The Refuge and Co-operative Bank report wants banks to train their to recognize signs of financial abuse and be able to respond in an appropriate manner so that they can offer assistance; develop a process that makes it easy for the victim to report their abuse easily and not have to repeat their story during different stages of the process and create material that educates the customer on the various forms of financial abuse, how to recognize the signs and how to deal with it.

In a statement, Sarah Pennells of SavvyWoman added:

Financial abuse is a real problem and one that many banks are reluctant to recognise. I’ve been contacted by dozens of women whose partner has run up debts on joint accounts when the relationship has been ending – and too often the banks wash their hands of the matter. I’ve also been contacted by women whose partner has forged their signature and left them with thousands of pounds of debt.