Financial and economic abuse are ways for an abuser to control you, and may make it much harder to leave a relationship. These types of abuse may also happen if you are vulnerable, due to illness, or care needs, or are socially isolated, and someone tries to exploit your income, benefits or assets.
Financial abuse can involve stealing or withholding your money or belongings, as a way to control your freedom. It is often part of coercive control, and involves a pattern of threatening, controlling, and degrading behaviour relating to finances. It may prevent you from leaving your abuser, because you don’t have the financial means to do so.
Economic abuse can also include restricting access to your basic needs, such as food, clothing, or transport. People who need support in their daily lives due to disability or ill health are especially vulnerable. Economic abuse can include making you give up your job or stopping you from getting an education or training. Sometimes the abuser will provide an ‘allowance’ to purchase food or items for children, which is deliberately not enough, so they can punish you for not being able to 'keep within the budget.'
Identify financial and economic abuse
Below are some examples of financial and economic abuse. Does your partner, ex-partner, family member or careworker do any of the following?
Theft, exploitation and fraud
- Take or misuse your money or belongings for their own gain
- Borrow money from you and not give it back
- Steal your money or belongings
- Take your pension payments or other benefit away from you
- Keep financial information a secret from you
- Take money as payment for coming to visit or spending time together
- Refuse to work or to contribute anything towards your household income
- Force you to sell your home or assets without your consent
- Take out credit cards in your name without your knowledge
- Rack up debt on joint accounts or credit cards
- Damage your credit score
- Trick you into bad investments or force you to take out loans
- Attempt to defraud you or involve you in fraudulent behaviour
- Force you to make changes in wills, property, or inheritance
- Arrange less care than you need, to save money and maximise inheritance
Denial of economic freedom
- Harm, deprive, or disadvantage you financially
- Control your purchases or access to money
- Deny assistance to access benefits or manage financial affairs (for example, due to disability or ill health)
- Withhold financial support (like child support payments)
- Stop you from being in work, education, or training (by force, intimidation, or via physical attacks which leave visible injuries)
- Deliberately force you to go to family courts, as a means to cost you additional fees
- Destroy immigration papers, or interfere with your immigration status, so you are economically dependent on them
Get support
Find out more about financial abuse, and get help, by visiting the Surviving Economic Abuse Website.
Find support in our local support service directory
Related forms of abuse
Financial and economic abuse may happen in combination with other forms of abuse. Find out more by visiting our separate pages on: