Economic abuse, often overshadowed by more visible forms of domestic violence, remains a widespread yet under-recognized issue in the UK. Victims describe experiences such as having personal assets stolen, credit ruined, and financial independence stripped away by former partners. One woman, known as Anna, recounted how her ex-partner took advantage of her vulnerability during childbirth, selling her belongings and even using her baby’s milk tokens to fund his drinking habits.
Despite ending the relationship over a decade ago, Anna continues to face financial repercussions, including unauthorized loans and credit cards opened in her name. Her credit rating has been severely damaged, and she now faces the risk of homelessness. According to a study by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), more than four million women in the UK have experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner in the past year alone.
The research also highlights disparities among ethnic groups, with Black, Asian, and minority women being over twice as likely to suffer from this form of abuse compared to white women. London has the highest rates, affecting approximately one in four women.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has labeled the situation a “national emergency,” pledging government action to address the issue. Awareness remains a critical factor, as many victims do not initially recognize their experiences as economic abuse. Anna only realized what she had endured after hearing a discussion on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
The SEA reports that nearly two-thirds of women who identify their experiences as economic abuse seek help, but many remain silent due to isolation and fear. Perpetrators often exploit systemic weaknesses, including immigration status, institutional bias, and legal loopholes, to maintain control long after relationships end.
The charity is urging the government to establish a dedicated taskforce to coordinate efforts across financial, legal, and domestic abuse sectors. This would help address issues such as coerced debt, joint mortgage manipulation, and credit recovery. Victims can access support through the Economic Abuse Evidence Form, which allows financial institutions to understand and respond to their situations without forcing them to repeatedly recount their trauma.
Home Office minister Jess Phillips emphasized that no woman should feel trapped in an abusive relationship due to the financial consequences of leaving, whether through threats of violence or economic ruin. Addressing economic abuse, she noted, is essential to the broader goal of reducing violence against women and girls by half within the next decade.
— news from BBC
— News Original —
‘My husband stole milk tokens to buy beer ‘
4 hours ago
Frankie McCamley
BBC News
Crashing a car deliberately, taking control of benefit payments and threatening to share explicit images unless money is handed over. These are all forms of economic abuse that are often overlooked.
Londoner Anna, not her real name, was sexually and physically abused, but she says the abuse that has lasted the longest is the economic abuse.
“He’s ultimately still controlling everything. It doesn’t matter what I do. I can never, ever get away from it,” she explained.
Anna’s ordeal started when her ex-partner stole from her while she was in hospital giving birth: “I couldn’t prove it, but he had sold my belongings. Then he stole my baby’s milk tokens to buy beer.”
‘National emergency’
Despite leaving him more than 10 years ago, Anna is still finding loans and credit cards he took out in her name.
Despite appealing to the banks, she has “tens of thousands” of pounds worth of debt taken out in her name. Her credit score has been destroyed and she is now on the brink of homelessness.
A study by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) of nearly 3,000 women suggests more than four million women in the UK have experienced economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner in the past year.
It found those in London face the highest levels of such abuse, with about one in four affected. Black, Asian and other ethnic-minority women were more than twice as likely to experience this form of domestic abuse than white women.
In November, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons he was committed to tackling what he described as a “national emergency” of economic abuse.
‘Lights-on moment’
Researchers found many who face this form of abuse do not recognise it.
Anna only realised she had been economically abused after listening to discussion on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
“I can’t even say it was a light-bulb moment. It was a Wembley Stadium switch the lights-on moment.”
The SEA, which believes this awareness is crucial, said nearly two thirds of women who understood they had been subjected to economic abuse reached out to the organisation for help.
But many don’t talk to anyone, even close friends and family, about their experiences. Forty-two percent of the women surveyed who had experienced economic abuse said they felt so isolated by their abusers that they remained silent.
Rosa Wilson Garwood, author of the SEA’s study, said: “Perpetrators actively exploit systemic vulnerabilities that women may face, such as institutional discrimination, immigration status, or support needs, to cause harm.”
This can include the misuse of the benefits system, banking services and family courts to exert control long after the relationship has ended.
The charity is calling on the government to set up an economic abuse taskforce, to bring together experts from across the financial services, legal and domestic abuse sectors, to tackle issues like joint mortgage abuse, coerced debt and credit restoration.
There is help available for victims of economic abuse who have been left with debts, through the Economic Abuse Evidence Form. Specialist money and debt advisers can then inform banks and other organisations that someone has experienced economic abuse.
Alongside financial advice, the service helps provide a clear understanding of the situation to organisations without the person having to repeat their story multiple times.
Home Office minister Jess Phillips said: “No woman should ever be trapped in an abusive relationship because of the suffering they will face if they try to leave, whether that is the threat of physical violence or the prospect of being plunged into poverty and homelessness.
“Tackling economic abuse – a true hidden crime – will be integral to achieving our ambition of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.”