One in five young men do not consider controlling someone’s spending as abuse

One in five young men do not consider controlling someone’s spending as abuse, as the government and banks unite as part of the Enough campaign.

Victims and survivors of economic abuse will benefit from a new partnership to tackle the issue, as new figures from a survey by Ipsos UK published by the Home Office and Surviving Economic Abuse today reveal significant gaps in recognising controlling behaviours as abuse.

According to the figures published today, younger men are three times more likely than older men to fail to recognise controlling how someone spends their money as abuse, underscoring the need for urgent action to raise awareness.

To confront this abuse, major UK banks,  spanning both high street and digital-only providers, including Monzo, TSB, Metro Bank, Santander, Revolut and HSBC – have joined forces with the government’s Enough campaign to shine a light on economic abuse behaviours that are often dismissed, misunderstood or missed altogether.

In banking apps and certain physical branches, customers will see campaign adverts highlighting four forms of economic abuse:

• restricting someone’s ability to earn
• running up debts in someone else’s name
• controlling someone’s money
• misusing payment references to harass someone

The campaign is designed to prompt recognition and trigger reflection among perpetrators. Economic abuse, a form of domestic abuse that is a criminal offence under the controlling or coercive behaviour offence, involves domestic abusers controlling a current or ex-partner’s money and economic resources (housing, phone, employment, food or clothes).

Domestic abusers can trap people in dangerous situations by controlling their money, restricting their work, or running up debt in their name. This hidden form of control strips away people’s independence and financial stability and devastates families.

This phase of the campaign aims to increase public recognition of economic abuse while also prompting self-reflection among those carrying out these behaviours, encouraging them to recognise and change harmful actions.

Overall, awareness of economic abuse is high, with over nine in ten men (94%) able to identify at least one economically abusive behaviour as abuse. However, fewer people recognise all forms, with just 58% of men and 65% of all UK adults (men and women) able to identify every behaviour.

According to the new data, younger men aged 18–24 are less likely than older men to recognise economically abusive behaviours as abuse. Almost one in 5 18-24 year-old men (19%) say that controlling how someone spends their money is probably not or definitely not abuse, compared to just 6% of 45–54-year-olds, and a further 19% of 18-24 year-old men do not recognise controlling access to a personal bank account as abuse. Younger men are more likely to miss these signs, with 16% of 18–24-year-olds saying taking out credit in someone’s name without consent is not abuse, compared to just 4% of 45–54-year-olds.

To confront other hidden forms of abuse, banks are also rolling out new technology to detect and prevent abusive messages sent through payment references when transferring money online – stopping harm at the point it happens and sending a clear signal that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

This partnership follows a roundtable on economic abuse hosted by the Treasury alongside the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Minister Natalie Fleet, bringing together government, economic abuse experts and industry to drive meaningful, life-changing action to tackle this pernicious crime.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Minister Fleet, said “Economic abuse may not always be visible and doesn’t always leave bruises, but its impact can be just as devastating, isolating victims and controlling every aspect of their lives.

“Controlling someone’s money, their work, or their independence is abuse. Plain and simple and it must not be dismissed or normalised.

“By working with banks on this important issue we are protecting victims and sending a clear message to perpetrators: this is not acceptable, and we will use the full power of the state to keep women and girls safe.”

Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, said “At a time when young women are experiencing the highest rates of economic abuse, it is deeply worrying that some younger men are less likely than any other age group to say these behaviours are abusive. That puts them out of step with the vast majority of young men and the wider public and highlights the urgent need to challenge harmful attitudes.

“We need to be absolutely clear: controlling someone’s money and economic resources is abuse. Whether it’s restricting how someone spends their money, forcing them into debt or making it difficult for them to work or study, these are tactics used by abusers to exert power and control. They trap survivors in dangerous situations and make it harder to safely escape and rebuild their lives.

“These attitudes matter because they shape what people think is acceptable in relationships. That’s why all of us – the government, businesses, schools and communities – have a role to play in sending a clear message: economic abuse is abuse, and it has no place in our society.”

Ruth Dodsworth OBE said “In my marriage, money was used as a weapon of absolute control, reducing me to a state of total financial dependence where every penny spent required permission and proof.

“My bank card vanished and was never replaced, and I even had to ask for money for my lunch, and only being given the exact amount in cash for a sandwich meal deal. This forced financial control made it impossible to join friends for coffee or social gatherings, forcing me to constantly make up excuses and withdraw in shame.

“By controlling my wallet, he systematically dismantled my support system, leaving me entirely isolated and unable to reach out for help.

“This builds on wider progress to tackle violence against women and girls, including through the government’s pioneering VAWG Strategy published in December.

“This includes rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) to tackle abuse head on, embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms through ‘Raneem’s Law’ to provide better protection to victims, and through the Enough campaign, which challenges harmful attitudes and behaviours to prevent abuse.”