NSW Govt waives $200,000 in bank loans, credit card debts to help women flee violence

Since the criminalisation of coercive control in July this year, 45 percent of reported incidences of this crime have involved financial abuse, with estimates that one in five women across the state experience economic abuse by a partner from the age of 15.

More than $200,000 of debt including bank loans, credit card bills, Centreline debts and fees incurred due to financial abuse have been waived in New South Wales over the past 14 months.

Financial counsellors from Legal Aid NSW’s Domestic Violence Unit have been working with victims who have suffered financial abuse at the hands of a partner or ex partner - one of the most common forms of domestic and family violence that is often hidden and difficult to recognise.

The NSW Government has invested $8.1 million in the Redfern Legal Centre to expand and extend its financial abuse support services, which include free and confidential advice on financial abuse.

More than $300,000 has also been invested in Firmer Foundations, a program run by Good Shepherd, which works to build the financial literacy of women who have experienced or are vulnerable to family violence with an aim to reduce their risk of entering or returning to an abusive relationship.

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said no woman should have to choose between living with violence or living in poverty.

The NSW Government has invested $8.1 million in the Redfern Legal Centre to expand and extend its financial abuse support services, which include free and confidential advice on financial abuse.

“The NSW Government is working hard to end domestic and family violence, and that includes supporting victim-survivors of financial abuse towards financial security.”

Women’s Safety Commissioner Hannah Tonkin said: the negative consequences of financial abuse often reverberate through women’s lives and increase financial hardship for many years.

“For women who manage to leave an abusive relationship, they can face long-term economic and systemic barriers to recovery, including the loss of assets and income, unemployment and homelessness.

“It is critical to ensure that support is available for women experiencing or escaping from financial abuse, both to ensure their immediate safety and to work towards long-term economic security and independence.”

Following the criminalisation of coercive control in New South Wales in July this year, 45 percent of reported incidences of this crime have involved financial abuse, with estimates that one in five women across the state experience economic abuse by a partner from the age of 15.

Financial abuse is a pattern of control, exploitation or sabotage of finances, affecting a person’s capacity to make, spend and save money, threatening their financial security. Experts say it regularly coincides with other forms of domestic and family violence, with financial instability hindering a victim’s ability to leave these environments.

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said no woman should have to choose between living with violence or living in poverty.

ABUSE COMES IN MANY FORMS

Rebecca thought she was “hallucinating” or “overthinking” when money would slowly drain from her bank account.

Unbeknown to her, her husband of five years had found her password and started to transfer money to his own account and hisfriend’s account.

“I don’t have much knowledge about what was going on at the time. I had no close friends.

The only people I knew were my husband’s friends and family. I didn’t realise what was

happening, and I did not think it was a big issue,” Rebecca said.

During their marriage, Rebecca and her father-in-law travelled together to India.

The day before their departure, her then-husband drained all the money from her account. She asked him why he did it, andhe said: “I need it, I’ll pay you back.”

She told him he only needed to let her know and she would have given him money.

When she arrived in India, her then-husband cancelled her Partner Visa, and her father-

in-law took her passport and returned to Australia with it.

Forty-five per cent of reported incidences of coercive control have involved financial abuse.

She had to contact the Australian Embassy and Immigration to sort out the matter and return to Australia.

Family violence provisions means that if a person on a Partner Visa experiences

domestic and family violence, they can be granted permanent resident status

independently.

It was the first time she started to hear terms like “domestic violence”, “financial abuse” and “emotional abuse.”

“When these things were happening, I didn’t even know what to call it. How was I meant to

understand it by myself? But now I know there are many people who face the same

problems that I did.”

When she returned to Australia, she started living in another state and gained support

from new friends and various service providers.

This included casework support and assistance as Rebecca set up her new life and worked on getting a divorce.

She is now divorced from her husband.