EXTERNALLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Addressing financial abuse in Australia’s small businesses together: Roles of industry stakeholders
Background
What role can Australian financial institutions, government bodies, small business services and other key stakeholders play in the prevention, early identification and resolution of domestic and family violence in small businesses; and are they willing to do so?
One form of domestic and family violence is financial abuse, which involves a person manipulating another person's access to finances, assets and financial decision-making. Financial abuse can occur within small businesses. Within Australia, the prevalence of this is unknown, however, it is thought to be more prevalent among vulnerable groups, including women, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people residing in rural or remote communities, the elderly, those with disability, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For those people that suffer financial abuse in small business, they can be faced with significant financial debt, and even civil and/or criminal penalties. Limited support services are available to help these victims of financial abuse.
Aim
The aims of this study are to determine:
a) What role Australian financial institutions, government bodies, small business services, and other key stakeholders (financial professional bodies and credit reporting bureaus) can play in the prevention, early identification and resolution of domestic and family violence in small businesses; and
b) If Australian financial institutions, government bodies, small business services, and other key stakeholders are willing to do so.
Methods
Monash University will host one focus group to determine what role Australian financial institutions, government bodies, small business services, and other key stakeholders (financial professional bodies and credit reporting bureaus) can play in the prevention, early identification and resolution of domestic and family violence in small businesses, and if they are willing to do so. Participants will be selected by convenience and through snowballing. Prior to attending the focus group, informed consent will be gained from participants, and the participant will complete a pre-focus group online survey. Qualitative analysis will be applied to the data collected from the focus group.