2 days ago
Bronté escaped a life confined to the home, only to face a 'chasm' on the other side
Women who have experienced domestic violence are often at a disadvantage when it comes to their finances. Source: Getty, iStockphoto / Primipil The Humans of Purpose Academy provides training in digital tech skills for domestic violence survivors.
It aims to empower women to upskill and help them become more financially secure.
At the same time, changes to the Family Law Act recognise the financial impact of domestic violence on women affected by it. This article contains references to domestic violence. Bronté got married before her 18th birthday and was expected to stay home to take care of the house and family. She felt controlled by her husband, who she said "believed a woman's place is in the house, taking care of the children and maintaining the house". Bronté (not her real name) told SBS News she was not permitted to work or make financial decisions for her family. So when she left her husband after seven years of marriage, she was not in a good financial position.
Findings in a report by Australian researchers released in February highlighted employment and education gaps between the general population of women and those who have experienced domestic violence. It noted how these gaps contributed to a "large financial chasm", with victim-survivors having reported financial problems at higher rates than other women. Earlier this month Bronté celebrated a year in a job in digital marketing, something she said she could never have imagined herself doing a couple of years ago. But it was not a simple road to get there.
Bronté said she had thought about leaving her husband many times but she had been fearful about how she would get by financially, as he was the family breadwinner and she had not been allowed any role in organising the family's finances. "The fear of: 'I don't have any extra income, how am I going to manage the finances, all of the bills?' I never really had experience with that." After years of being controlled and abused, she took her two children and they escaped the situation.
While Bronté may have finally felt safe, she faced many challenges in trying to set up a new life. She said it was not only her finances that were lacking, she also did not have a great deal of confidence and no real experience to put on a resume. "There had been a lot of mental and emotional abuse, nothing I ever did was good enough, lots of name-calling, my self-esteem had plummeted massively," Bronté said. "I found myself stuck in a trauma fog," she said. By the time she reached a point where she felt she had the capacity to look for work, she had a work gap of more than a decade. "I think I spent a year-and-a-half straight applying for jobs that were within my capabilities, without luck," Bronté said.
The Cost of Domestic Violence to Women's Employment and Education report, by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and the Australian National University, found victim-survivors reported financial problems at much higher rates than other women. In 2021 43.9 per cent of women who experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner in the past five years had cash flow issues compared to 7.2 per cent of women who have never experienced partner violence. Financial hardship was also an issue for 31.4 per cent of women who experienced partner emotional abuse and 37.7 per cent of women who experienced partner economic abuse.
It was a referral to do job skills training with a not-for-profit that finally gave Bronté a stepping stone to a career and the many extra benefits she said come with that. Melanie Globo started the Humans of Purpose Academy in 2023, offering free online training in digital technologies. The virtual hub not only provides digital skills training for survivors of domestic and family violence but connects women to career mentoring and personal development coaching. A total of 64 women have completed skills training through the academy and 22 of those have done six-month work placements following that training, either with Globo's own company or other businesses affiliated with the academy. Globo's digital marketing agency has 15 staff members, 13 of who are domestic violence survivors who have gone through the academy's training pipeline. "It's an aspirational model but it's working for us, we want these women to have highly skilled and highly paid careers," she said. "It's about lifting our gaze and looking beyond what can help them day to day, this is about creating careers they thrive in and long-term financial independence. "What we also see as a part of this retraining is a huge uplift in their self-esteem and self-confidence as well." Globo said there was "huge potential for upskilling and training particularly around digital skills and platforms." "AI is poised to significantly transform the global labour market over the next decade and by equipping women with these skills we can accelerate them towards well paid careers," she said. Globo noted that one of the benefits of the tech industry was the ability to have flexibility and remote work options, as "women who have fled an abusive partner and often face multiple and complex challenges to attending a physical workplace". She said one of these challenges was sometimes ongoing court proceedings.
Globo welcomed changes to the Family Law Act from 10 June that better acknowledge the use and impact of financial abuse as part of domestic violence. The changes will mean the economic effect of family violence are considered, where relevant, when decisions about property and finances after separation are to be made. According to the attorney-general's department, the amendments also make clear that economic or financial abuse may constitute family violence. "This might include where a person has controlled all of the finances or spending," a fact sheet from the department reads. "The impact of family violence could be relevant when assessing a party's contributions to the property pool and to the welfare of the family (for example, if they were not allowed to work), and when assessing their current and future circumstances."
Law Council of Australia president Juliana Warner said the council supported the changes. "It is critical that victim-survivors of family violence can readily understand how, and when, family violence considerations may be raised, and how these may be relevant during proceedings, including in respect of the division of property," Warner said. "Numerous inquiries into the family law system in Australia have referenced evidence that people affected by family violence may struggle to achieve a fair division of property and suffer long-term financial disadvantage. "The Law Council strongly supports measures that seek to eradicate family violence in society, and that strengthen the capacity of our family law system to recognise the harmful, and often long-term impacts, of family violence on victim survivors". However, Warner said the council was concerned that appropriate investment in resources to support the changes had not been made. "The profession holds considerable 'floodgates' concerns about the effect the changes will have on the costs of litigation, the availability of experts and the resources of the courts applying the Family Law Act because of the high prevalence of family violence in society, and the proportion of matters where family violence is reported," she said. She said cases that include consideration of financial and property matters were typically more expensive, harder to resolve, took longer to get to trial and extended the duration of trials. "Therefore, they must be accompanied by appropriate, ongoing resourcing and funding, not only of the courts, but also the legal assistance sector, and programs such as the Family Violence and Cross-Examination of Parties Scheme," she said. "Litigants' costs will increase at each stage of litigation, both in preparation of material and in trial costs, including a need for increased numbers of expert witnesses, including medical professionals and psychologists. "These costs may further disadvantage the victim-survivor of family violence, who is more often than not in a financially weaker position than the perpetrator."
A spokesperson for the attorney-general's department said the department would "monitor any impacts of the reforms on the family law system after they commence," and there would be a statutory review of the amendments three years after they start. The spokesperson also pointed to the $3.9 billion of funding across the next five years for legal assistance providers under the National Access to Justice Partnership 2025-2030 under which family law and people experiencing family violence are a priority area.
According to Humans of Purpose, women who have undergone six months of training and a paid employment placement are being paid on average $600 more a fortnight than they were before their training. Bronté, who is now a mother of three, works part-time, so still gets some financial support. "But it is nice to be starting to shift away from government support, it's more financially freeing," she said. Bronté said her aim was to eventually work full-time, earn more money and no longer have to rely on Centrelink at all. She said her increased financial stability brought her increased peace of mind and a sense of security for her future. "That independence is now something that I crave and love, it gives me the chance to be my own person and not an extension of someone else." If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Lifeline – 13 11 14.
