Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New analysis Hargreaves Lansdown data from government data has found that police recorded 910,980 domestic abuse-related crimes in the year to March 2022 – up 7.7% in a year. 85% of domestic partner abuse is non-violent, and of this 69% is emotional or financial abuse.
The analysis has shown that 11% of people have been a victim of financial abuse. This rises to 15% of those aged 18-34, and 17% of those with children living at home. Only 8% of us think a friend may have been a victim, and 6% think a family member has: 72% say they don’t know anyone who has faced financial abuse.
Financial abuse comes in many forms including:
Sarah Coles, Senior Personal Finance Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said “When life is impossibly expensive, it’s not a surprise to see a rise in financial abuse. And to make matters worse, those same rising bills and rents make it even more difficult for victims to leave. It means we all need to know how to spot if someone is going through this, and understand how to help our loved ones if they’re suffering.”
“Domestic abuse isn’t always the stuff of soap operas. Most of it is a far more subtle and gradual grinding down of the victim, either emotionally or financially – or both. It can be difficult to realise what’s happening to you when you’re going through it, let alone from outside, so it’s no surprise that the vast majority of people don’t think they know anyone who has been through it. Given that more than one in ten people have been a victim at some stage in their life, it means an awful lot of suffering behind closed doors.”
“Rising prices give abusers another tool for coercive control: asurvey by Women’s Aid found that two thirds of abusers were using rising prices this way. They might try to make your situation worse by running appliances unnecessarily to hike bills in your name, or refuse to let you go out or do any of the things you enjoy – while they carry on spending as usual. They might take away things they have decided are too expensive – like your mobile phone. Or they may simply blame you for the problem, constantly telling you it’s your fault for spending money before the crisis hit.”
“It can be difficult for people to understand why victims put up with the abuse, but it’s easy to feel like you have no choice. It often comes alongside other forms of emotional or physical abuse, so it can feel too dangerous to stand your ground. For those who push back, the abuser will ensure that the consequences are bad enough to stop you doing so again. Often the only option is to leave – and this can be incredibly difficult too. Not only is there the fear of reprisals, but also the fact that financial abuse will often leave you without money, so you don’t feel able to leave.”
“An abuser can make sure you leave with no money and no job. They can deplete any savings you had and run up debts in your name, so you have a huge battle to get back to zero – let alone to have the financial strength to start again. When you try to take that step, higher rental charges and runaway bills can make it impossible to find a place of your own, so you feel trapped in a toxic relationship. According to Women’s Aid, three quarters of victims either said they couldn’t leave because of rising costs – or they found it much more difficult.”
