Addressing Economic Abuse: A Holistic Approach
Economic abuse is a pervasive issue that affects women and families worldwide. It’s essential to recognize economic abuse as a form of abuse in its own right, rather than just a subset of psychological abuse. In this article, we’ll explore the report’s recommendations for addressing economic abuse through a holistic approach.
Recognition of Economic Abuse
- Recognize economic abuse as a standalone form of abuse: Economic abuse should be acknowledged and addressed separately from other forms of abuse.
- Understand its impact: Economic abuse can have severe consequences, including financial instability, loss of independence, and increased risk of violence.
A ‘No Wrong Door’ Approach
- Access to information and support: Women affected by economic abuse should be able to access information and support through various touch points, such as:
- Universal services (e.g., healthcare, education)
- Financial institutions
- Police
- Legal or court interactions
- Housing services
- Family violence services
- Culturally specific services
- Streamline access to support: A ’no wrong door’ approach ensures that women can easily find the help they need, without being redirected or having to navigate multiple systems.
Involving Lived Experience
- Consultation and co-design: The report emphasizes the importance of continuing to draw on the lived experience of women and others affected by economic abuse.
- Trialling new initiatives: Local areas should support trialing new initiatives, using flexible approaches to highlight legal and service response gaps and remedies.
Interpersonal and Community Responses
- Building community awareness: Building financial and relationship awareness in communities can help prevent economic abuse.
- Involving people with lived experience: People affected by economic abuse should be involved in developing information and providing it through various channels.
- Focusing on underserved communities: Economic abuse disproportionately affects marginalized communities, so it’s essential to focus on these groups.
Universal Support Services
- Capacity building for ‘first contact’ services: Services that provide initial support should be capacity-built to ensure they can effectively respond to economic abuse.
- Peer-to-peer supports: Providing peer-to-peer supports can help women feel more comfortable discussing their experiences and receiving advice from someone who understands.
Structural Responses
- Cross-sector awareness training: Training for staff across different sectors (e.g., healthcare, education) on awareness, identification, and responses to economic abuse is essential.
- Legal aid: Ensuring access to legal aid can help women navigate the justice system and seek protection from economic abuse.
- Data collection: Collecting data on economic abuse is crucial for understanding its prevalence and developing effective responses.
System Review
- Reviewing joint account and debt initiation and recovery processes: This review should include:
- Utilities
- Telecommunications
- Fines
- Financial institutions
- Tenancies
- Schools
- Training for relevant agency staff: Training should focus on awareness, identification, and responses to economic abuse.
- Increasing and strengthening housing responses: Safe at Home programs can help women feel safer in their own homes.
Collaborative Practice
- Cross-sector consultative approaches: Building on cross-sector consultative approaches is essential for supporting recovery from family violence and economic abuse.
- Research and data collection: Ongoing research and data collection will help identify gaps and recommended improvements in responding to economic abuse.