About two in five have suffered financial abuse with men more likely to admit to being victims than women, according to Aviva.
According to research from Aviva, 39 per cent of victims suffered abuse at the hands of their spouse/ partner. But, men are less likely to face this kind of abuse than women; only 33 per cent of men report having experienced it, compared to roughly 47 per cent of women.
Nearly a quarter, or 23 per cent, indicated that the offender was a parent, sibling, or other relative. In about 21 per cent of cases, the offender was a friend, and in 14 per cent of cases, the offender was their employer.
Around 61 per cent of victims claim that the cost-of-living issue has worsened their position. While just 13 per cent of victims contacted the police, 23 per cent requested assistance from their bank.
One in eight, or 12 per cent, of the respondents who have experienced economic or financial abuse, stated the abuser had influence over the purchases they made. Almost 9 per cent of people say their debit or credit card was used to make purchases without their knowledge, and 7.5 per cent say they received “pocket money from their own bank account,” a figure that rises to 16 per cent among those aged 18 to 24.
The survey also found that financial or economic abuse typically occurred between the ages of 18 and 24, but that the average age was 33.
Aviva head of savings and retirement Alistair McQueen says: “We are extremely concerned to hear these findings, but we completely understand the importance of making sure we protect our customers and employees from this type of abuse, especially those who are vulnerable. We communicate regularly about domestic abuse, including economic and financial abuse, to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
“Amongst other things, we continually train our people to recognise and respond to domestic and economic abuse. We work hard to create conditions which minimise the number of times a victim-survivor needs to share information about their circumstances, and we are looking at our products and processes to ensure they protect the safety of those victims.
“Through our work with various industry bodies and charities, such as Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), we continually look for ways to develop and improve our practices. This is especially true for customers made vulnerable by economic abuse where we focus on limiting instances that abusers can exploit or sabotage victims’ economic resources.”
Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) CEO and founder Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE says: “This research reveals just how widespread economic abuse is in the UK. It highlights how for many and particularly women, abuse by an intimate partner can last several years. It also highlights how this form of abuse is rarely just a one-off event, but part of a wider pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.
“With survivors almost as likely to speak to their bank as their friends and family, it’s more important than ever that banking and insurance providers are vigilant to this type of abuse and are aware of how perpetrators can coerce and exploit victims. Training is vital across all teams, from those in customer facing roles to those designing and implementing new products, to recognise and support victims at every stage and shut down opportunities for further exploitation.
“It’s also clear that the increased cost of living is taking its toll, with almost two thirds saying the crisis has worsened their situation. We’ve already seen firms taking proactive and innovative steps to support victim-survivors of economic abuse during these challenging times and we hope to see more of this in the new year.”
