In Australia, more than one in six women will experience economic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
International Economic Abuse Awareness Day aims to shine a light on this form of abuse, which is often hidden.
This year the theme is Counting the Cost, to highlight the immense and life-long consequences of economic abuse for survivors.
Modelling by Deloitte reveals this form of abuse alone costs victim-survivors in Australia $5.7 billion a year, however the consequences are more far reaching.
Tara, a survivor of domestic abuse, puts it this way:
“Over the course of the relationship, he’s cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars and it’s not even just the actual dollar figure. It’s what is costs you in your future life. I can’t just go and get a home loan now because I’m a former bankrupt. All the time I spent in family courts is time that I’ll never get back. That’s what it really costs. I think that it’s difficult to explain to people that you can’t put a dollar figure on what it costs you mentally and emotionally.”
Economic abuse rarely occurs in a vacuum. More than 78% of people experiencing domestic violence experience economic abuse as part of the broader pattern of controlling and abusive behaviour, leaving them few options to support their safety.
While anyone can experience economic abuse, women between the ages of 30 to 49 and women with a disability or long-term health problem experience the highest levels of economic abuse. One in ten women in Australia say a partner has forced or pressured them to hand over their savings or other assets.
Economic abuse can include a range of behaviours such as:
• controlling a victim’s access to cash and bank accounts
• keeping a person from having money needed to buy food, clothes or other necessities
• demanding receipts for every dollar spent or otherwise unreasonably monitoring spending
• sabotaging study and/or employment
• not contributing to household bills or putting all bills in the victim’s name, leaving them to pay them
• forcing or pressuring a person to hand over their income or savings
• stealing, damaging, or destroying another person’s belongings
• forcing a partner to take out debt they didn’t want
• taking out loans, or buying something on credit, in the victim’s name without their knowledge
• hiding financial information and assets
• forcing a person to claim government payments they’re not entitled to
• demanding further or exorbitant dowry payments
• making a person work in the family business without pay or legal employment conditions
• making a person sign business documents they don’t want to, or misrepresenting documents to gain their signature
• manipulating finances to avoid or reduce child support payments.
If you are concerned that you or someone you know may be experiencing financial abuse, there are online resources that can help. The Financial Safety website has information about different types of economic abuse, steps you can take, and a directory of support services.
You can find out more about economic abuse by visiting the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) website, which includes a financial safety checklist in eight languages. CWES also provides a money clinic service which delivers free, confidential support for women experiencing financial abuse. Money clinic facilitators are female financial abuse specialists with qualifications in financial counselling. They help victims of economic abuse to assess what their options might be depending on their financial circumstances.