Latest news with #SurvivingEconomicAbuse
Sky News
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
'I earned six-figures - but was left without a penny to escape husband who was ready to kill me'
Amy* knew her husband could kill her - he made sure of that. She'd known for 25 years of violence and sexual abuse, but when a doctor warned her children were in danger, she was finally ready to leave. Yet Amy, once the director of a large company earning six figures, had no money. He'd made sure of that, too. Money blog: Read the latest "What he did financially was to make sure that I became powerless," says Amy. "I was totally beholden to him." Amy is one of potentially millions of victims, mainly women, who have experienced economic abuse - when someone restricts or exploits their partner's access to money and resources like food, clothing and transportation. A survey of 3,000 women by charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) found 15% had been impacted in the year to November 2024, which would be equivalent to 4.1 million across the UK. Keir Starmer has called it a "national emergency" as the government gears up to announce a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy within weeks. Its aim is to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, after the last VAWG strategy initiated by the Conservatives in 2021 made "little progress", according to the National Audit Office. SEA, which advocates for people like Amy, has watched on as successive governments have failed to tackle the issue despite launching strategy after strategy. It is hoping this time is different and that economic abuse is a key focus for the government. "It's the only way to help survivors and their children escape and safely rebuild their lives," says chief executive Sam Smethers. "To break the cycle of domestic abuse once and for all, the government must put tackling economic abuse at the heart of its strategy." Most perpetrators do not economically abuse in isolation, combining it with physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Some 56% of women who experienced economic abuse from a current or ex-partner also faced other abusive behaviour. 'He was terrifying - and more than capable of killing me' Amy was trying to break a cycle of escalating bullying, violence and sexual assault. "He had become so confident that he could act with impunity," she says. "He was saying to me, 'I'm really comfortable with the idea of your death now. I think when you die it will be in a car crash'." She continues: "He was terrifying. He meant it. And I know he meant it because he'd done a number of things in the marriage where I nearly died at his hands. "So I know he was more than capable of killing me." Almost a quarter (23%) of victims of economic abuse say it prevented them from leaving the relationship, according to SEA. 'It's all about the control' When Amy first met her ex-husband at work in the mid-90s, he "seemed like a normal bloke". After the pair married a year later and had children, he encouraged her to leave her job, move to a new, socially isolated area and become a stay-at-home mum. "It was much more subtle and much cleverer than demanding to see bills," she says. Once the sole earner, he kept the family accounts private, giving Amy a monthly allowance with which she was expected to pay all the household bills bar the mortgage, which he kept in his name. He monitored her food to ensure she ate cheaper brands than him and controlled the clothes she bought to the point she had no outfits suitable for anything other than the school run. "It's all about control," says Amy. "It's like a drug. He needs a supply of control to keep him going. The more control he has, the better he feels about himself. He uses money as a control tool." 'National emergency' It didn't stop with the end of the relationship. Amy says he drained her finances by prolonging divorce proceedings and raising a court dispute. He inconsistently paid maintenance payments she depended on to look after their children, for whom she had full custody. He offered them money to make contact. "It's more than just economic control - it's a weapon used by abusers to trap victims/survivors, leaving them powerless, drowning in debt and often forced to choose between staying trapped with a dangerous abuser or destitution," says SEA's Smethers. "This national emergency demands action." Jess Phillips, safeguarding and violence against women and girls minister, told Sky News she understood the "devastating impact" that economic abuse has on thousands of women each year. "No woman should ever be trapped in an abusive relationship because of the suffering they will face if they try to leave, whether that is the threat of physical violence or the prospect of being plunged into poverty and homelessness." Phillips said the government had allocated £160m for local authorities to give victims safe accommodation and access to social housing without having to prove a local connection to an area. "We have also continued to fund Surviving Economic Abuse, to raise awareness of this devastating crime, and support its many victims," she added. "We will set out more detail in our upcoming strategy." You can find out how to recognise the signs of domestic abuse and where to get help on the NHS website here. Anyone feeling emotionally distressed can also call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@ in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Economic abuse: 'My husband stole milk tokens to buy beer'
Crashing a car deliberately, taking control of benefit payments and threatening to share explicit images unless money is handed over. These are all forms of economic abuse that are often Anna, not her real name, was sexually and physically abused, but she says the abuse that has lasted the longest is the economic abuse."He's ultimately still controlling everything. It doesn't matter what I do. I can never, ever get away from it," she ordeal started when her ex-partner stole from her while she was in hospital giving birth: "I couldn't prove it, but he had sold my belongings. Then he stole my baby's milk tokens to buy beer." 'National emergency' Despite leaving him more than 10 years ago, Anna is still finding loans and credit cards he took out in her name. Despite appealing to the banks, she has "tens of thousands" of pounds worth of debt taken out in her name. Her credit score has been destroyed and she is now on the brink of homelessness.A study by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) of nearly 3,000 women suggests more than four million women in the UK have experienced economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner in the past found those in London face the highest levels of such abuse, with about one in four affected. Black, Asian and other ethnic-minority women were more than twice as likely to experience this form of domestic abuse than white November, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons he was committed to tackling what he described as a "national emergency" of economic abuse. 'Lights-on moment' Researchers found many who face this form of abuse do not recognise only realised she had been economically abused after listening to discussion on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour."I can't even say it was a light-bulb moment. It was a Wembley Stadium switch the lights-on moment."The SEA, which believes this awareness is crucial, said nearly two thirds of women who understood they had been subjected to economic abuse reached out to the organisation for many don't talk to anyone, even close friends and family, about their experiences. Forty-two percent of the women surveyed who had experienced economic abuse said they felt so isolated by their abusers that they remained Wilson Garwood, author of the SEA's study, said: "Perpetrators actively exploit systemic vulnerabilities that women may face, such as institutional discrimination, immigration status, or support needs, to cause harm."This can include the misuse of the benefits system, banking services and family courts to exert control long after the relationship has ended. The charity is calling on the government to set up an economic abuse taskforce, to bring together experts from across the financial services, legal and domestic abuse sectors, to tackle issues like joint mortgage abuse, coerced debt and credit is help available for victims of economic abuse who have been left with debts, through the Economic Abuse Evidence Form. Specialist money and debt advisers can then inform banks and other organisations that someone has experienced economic financial advice, the service helps provide a clear understanding of the situation to organisations without the person having to repeat their story multiple Office minister Jess Phillips said: "No woman should ever be trapped in an abusive relationship because of the suffering they will face if they try to leave, whether that is the threat of physical violence or the prospect of being plunged into poverty and homelessness."Tackling economic abuse - a true hidden crime - will be integral to achieving our ambition of halving violence against women and girls in a decade."
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Domestic abusers' vile tactic to stop victims fleeing sparks call for change
Abusers are exploiting victim-survivors' immigration status to trap them and ensure they are unable to access a bank account, according to a new report by Surviving Economic Abuse Domestic abusers are withholding passports and visas from migrant victims to make it impossible for them to flee, grim research has found. Abusers are exploiting victim-survivors' immigration status to trap them and ensure they are unable to access a bank account, according to a new report by charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA). Victim-survivors without leave to remain are legally unable to open their own bank account, leaving them economically dependent on the abuser or facing extreme hardship. Research shows abusers target women during the process of applying for leave to remain by withholding documentation or purposely letting their visa lapse. SEA said victim-survivors without a bank account have been left unable to buy food for themselves or their kids, or pay for the bus to escape the abuser. And any support the victim may get from financial services can end up in the bank account of the abuser. Limited leave to remain is permission for someone to stay in the UK, often with a visa, while indefinite leave to remain is when permanent residency is granted and the person is eventually able to apply for British citizenship. Up until 2014, anyone could access a bank account in the UK as long as they had proof of identity and address. But the introduction of the Immigration Act limited access for those without leave to remain, except if they face 'legitimate barriers' which prevent them from leaving the UK. SEA is calling on the Government to provide guidance to financial services telling them to legally recognise domestic abuse as a 'legitimate barrier' to leaving the UK. This would allow migrant victim-survivors to open a basic independent bank account while awaiting the outcome of their application for leave to remain and remove this barrier to safety. According to SEA's research, nearly one million UK women were trapped with an abusive partner because of economic abuse in the last year. Sam Smethers, chief executive of SEA, said having access to a bank account was a 'necessity for survival' in a cashless society. 'Denying migrant victim-survivors access to an independent bank account traps them with abusers, making it impossible for them to flee,' she said. No one should be forced to stay with a dangerous abuser simply because of their immigration status. 'In an increasingly cashless society having access to a bank account isn't just about financial independence, it's a necessity for survival. Without a bank account, victim-survivors are often left unable to buy food for themselves and their children or pay for the bus to flee the abuser.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'Economic abuse can have a devastating impact on victims, the Home Office is providing funding to Surviving Economic Abuse to raise awareness and support victims. The factors leading to economic abuse, are deep-rooted and complex. We will use every lever available to us to tackle this crime as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.'
