FACT SHEET

Responding to economic abuse

This resource outlines how to understand economic and financial abuse, the harms of financial abuse and how to address economic abuse.  

Based on studies of women seeking support for domestic and family violence, financial abuse has been estimated to occur among 80 to 90 per cent of this population. However, since this form of abuse may not place women’s immediate physical safety at risk, victims and survivors may not present to crisis services and supports – and the abuse sometimes emerges post-separation.

Economic abuse can affect women’s short-, medium- and long-term prospects for financial wellbeing and independence. Beyond enhancing women’s economic security in general, addressing economic abuse involves the following:

• promoting awareness
• reducing opportunities for economic abuse to be perpetrated through systems
• early specialist advice and assistance to secure property and funds, and prevent loss upon separation
• screening for economic abuse
• responding to debt: engaging the private sector
• asset-building strategies.

Suggested citation

Bullen, J., Cortis, N., and Hill, T. (2016). Responding to economic abuse (Issues paper 2). UNSW Social Policy Research Centre.