VISION-funded research: Surviving Economic Abuse survey initial findings released
Tackling economic abuse should be part of the solution to meet the new government’s ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It is important that the government’s measurement approach can understand the range of ways that economic restriction, exploitation and sabotage that victim-survivors experience at scale across the UK.
Recent survey results from Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) tell a powerful story that highlights experiences of economic abuse across the UK. The full report will be launched by SEA in March 2025, but their early release of key findings include:
- Economic abuse is often understood to only be about creating dependency through restriction, but it can take many forms e.g., having a partner or ex-partner steal money, refuse to pay bills, or scare their partner into taking out credit. Early analysis suggests that a wider range of behaviours may continue post-separation than previously thought.
- The data shines a light on the dangerous situation for young women- an area that SEA and VISION are seeking funding to explore further. 18–24-year-olds experienced more economic abuse than any other age group, for example 12% of this sample had been prevented from having log-in information (e.g. passwords, usernames) to key accounts such as online banking, utilities accounts, emails by a partner or ex-partner compared to 4% of all women.
- Black, Asian and racially minoritised women in the UK may be more than twice as likely to experience economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner than White women, with women with a Black/African/Caribbean or Black British ethnicity particularly at risk.
- Disabled women in the UK may be nearly twice as likely to experience economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner as non-disabled women
The VISION consortium was delighted to financially support SEA’s research, A rapid impact survey to monitor the nature and prevalence of economic abuse in the UK, through our Small Projects Fund in spring 2024. Their full report will be widely shared in 2025, including on the VISION website and through our networks.
Photograph from Adobe Photo Stock subscription
