This article references domestic abuse.
A new government tool is in the works to help UK businesses and charities spot and tackle economic abuse when speaking to customers over the phone.
Refuge – the largest domestic abuse organisation in the UK – estimates that 16% of UK adults have experienced economic (or financial) abuse, which they define as an abuser restricting a person’s ability to acquire, use and maintain money or other economic resources.
The interactive tool has been distributed to 30,000 HMRC employees to help them identify red flags of economic abuse when communicating with customers. Treasury Minister Victoria Atkins wants the toolkit to be available to all businesses and organisations.
Malin Andersson initially shot to fame after appearing in Love Island 2016 and has supported the initiative. Here she writes for GLAMOUR about her own experience of economic abuse…
I’m no stranger to domestic abuse – in fact, it saddens me to think about my past relationships I ask myself all the time, why didn’t I see the signs? Was it my fault? Should I have known? But now I’m out of the relationship, I’ve learned to heal the wrongdoing of my abuser.
At the time, I was never educated on domestic abuse. There are many types of abuse; sexual, economic, physical, emotional – the list goes on, but less is known about economic (or financial abuse) and how much of an impact it has on women who experience it.
Economic abuse limits women’s choices and ability to access safety. In 2019, when I was with my ex-partner, I had no idea what was actually happening to me. I thought he was ‘looking out for me’, but due to the inexhaustible amounts of gaslighting, my abuser had already taken over my mind, and I didn’t know what was real or not anymore. It was like I was living life through a blurry lens, just about managing to see – but not quite the full picture.
Economic abuse refers to the control, exploitation or sabotage of money, finances and economic resources such as food, transportation and many other things we use daily. 95% of women who experience domestic abuse report experiencing economic abuse, and one in six women have experienced financial abuse in a current or former relationship. I was part of this scary and heartbreaking statistic.
“I thought he was looking out for me and my finances, but I was wrong: it was a form of abuse and control.”
I remember going shopping at Boots and picking up my favourite self-care products: a face mask, body creams, and some makeup – the usual pamper products a girl loves! But my soon self-care routine got shut down by an ex-partner who looked at me and said, ‘You don’t need that crap, put it back; you’re always wasting your money – what’s wrong with you?'
Back then, I thought he was looking out for me and my finances, but I was wrong: it was a form of abuse and control – economic abuse. Another prominent memory is that shortly after my mum died, I received the money she left me. I was in an extremely vulnerable place, full of grief and heartache, I remember getting a call from him asking me to lend him £10,000 – he pleaded for me to give it to him, saying that he would pay me back within a month and If I loved him I would do did it. I’m not sure why I did it… Was it because I wanted him to love me? Was it fear?
Of course, he never paid it back, but the signs were all there. I was so emotionally trapped I just didn’t see them; and this is why I support HMRC’s staff being educated on spotting signs that people are being controlled economically by partners, for instance, being forced to take out loans, handing out wages without your permission, and even taking your benefits.
I know women who have had their spending monitored and told when and where to spend their money. I know women who are financially dependent on their abuser, feeling like they have no way of leaving the relationship.
I remember countless jobs I missed out on because my ex-partner intentionally started an argument to distract and derail me. Money was always a mechanism of control to him, power and domination – but not anymore because I am free.
I want anyone reading this who is going through domestic abuse to know there is a way out, and there is help and more support than ever. I really do praise the government for introducing more awareness around different types of abuse, change is coming, and I want women to break free from abuse.
For more information about emotional abuse and domestic abuse, you can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
In partnership with Rape Crisis and Refuge.
