Financial abuse in the context of family violence Prue Cameron Senior Policy Advisor Domestic Violence Victoria

Relationship problems & money: Women talk about financial abuse Aims: To understand the nature and impact of financial abuse on women and children living with family violence and post-separation Include participants who had not used family violence crisis and support services, as well as those who had Across the age, socio-economic and cultural spectrum Methodology: 59 women in focus groups and individual interviews 145 women participated in national online survey 12 focus groups including 3 in regional areas Timeframe: September 2013 – July 2014

What is financial abuse? Behaviours that ‘control a woman’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources, threatening her economic security and potential for self- sufficiency’ % of women who access domestic violence services have experienced financial abuse - conservative estimate of 2 million women affected Poorly understood and commonly unrecognised, even by women who experience it

Financial abuse: Hidden in plain sight Traditional gender roles – division of labour Gendered beliefs about money and financial matters Structured gender inequality Money matters are private Male entitlement Social and individual beliefs about intimate relationships Trust, love and commitment

Four broad categories of financial abuse Interfering with education or employment Controlling access to economic resources Refusing to contribute Generating economic costs (or debt) (Sharp, 2008)

Legal definition of financial abuse Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008: ‘behaviour that is coercive, deceptive or unreasonably controls another person without their consent in a way that denies that person economic or financial autonomy…or by withholding or threatening to withhold the financial support necessary for reasonable living expenses…’

Legal definition of financial abuse The Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008 definition includes examples: coercing a person to relinquish control over assets and income removing or keeping a family member's property without permission, or threatening to do so; disposing of property owned by a person, or owned jointly with a person, against the person's wishes and without lawful excuse; without lawful excuse, preventing a person from having access to joint financial assets for the purposes of meeting normal household expenses; preventing a person from seeking or keeping employment; coercing a person to claim social security payments; coercing a person to sign a power of attorney that would enable the person's finances to be managed by another person; coercing a person to sign a contract for the purchase of goods or services; coercing a person to sign a contract for the provision of finance, a loan or credit; coercing a person to sign a contract of guarantee; coercing a person to sign any legal document for the establishment or operation of a business.

Behaviours from respondents’ ex-partner or current partner experienced ‘often’[n=125] 79%Kept his financial affairs as secret 62%Excluded you from or ignored your opinion on major financial decisions 60%Made you feel you were not capable of managing money 54%Insisted on controlling all the household finances and assets 50%Monitored all your spending 49%Refused to pay or help with childcare 47%Made you put all your income into a joint account or his bank account 47%Refused to pay child support 46%Put your name on all the utilities bills – electricity, gas, water 36%Would not contribute to household expenses 34%Did not allow you to use or limits your use of a car 33%Prevented you from working or studying 28%Stole your money 26%Insisted you show him all the receipts from your shopping

Impact of financial abuse Financial insecurity – short term and long term  46% worse off than before they entered the relationship  44%post-separation household income <$40k (20% < $20k)  30% unable to afford essentials  30%had household incomes >$100k prior to separation (5%<$20k) Housing insecurity  56% renting – no chance of buying, insecure  26% paying mortgage – struggling to service Employment - 55% have tertiary degree  22% fulltime work  22% part-time or casual Health and mental well being – depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue, PTSD

Financial abuse post-separation Perpetrators continue to financially and psychologically abuse through tactical use of systems: Legal system - “He who fights dirtiest and longest wins” Child support system - “Dodging, weaving and dummying the system” Income support system – women living under a regime of constant surveillance

Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence Recommendations 15 recommendations relating to financial security covering: Family violence and economic abuse training for financial counsellors Financial abuse is recognised as an eligibility criterion for economic hardship programs eg national credit code, telecommunications, energy retailers Australian Bankers Association develop family violence-specific industry guidelines Changes to traffic fines and infringements where evidence of family violence is produced Police and Magistrates Court to consider personal property conditions in family violence intervention orders Legislative changes to protect family violence victims in rental tenancies Family violence and economic abuse training for VCAT members Financial literacy training and education for victims of family violence

Resources from Victoria Stepping Stones: Legal barriers to economic equality after family violence, 2015 Emma Smallwood, Women’s Legal Service Victoria Restoring financial safety: Legal responses to economic abuse, 2015 Owen Camilleri, Tanya Corrie, Shorna Moore, Wyndham Legal Service, Good Shepherd Relationship problems and money: Women talk about financial abuse, 2014 Prue Cameron, WIRE Women’s Information and Referral Money problems with your partner? Dealing with financial abuse Booklet Spotlight on Economic Abuse Catalyst Papers Good Shepherd and Kildonan