Banking records reveal characteristics of financial abuse
In the authors' words
Abstract The experience of financial abuse, a form of domestic abuse involving control over money and finances, can be severe and long-lasting 1–3 , yet difficult to document 4 . Evidence on the everyday experiences of victim-survivors in the context of financial abuse is drawn primarily from small-scale, qualitative surveys 5,6 . Using anonymized banking data from a major UK retail bank, we compared the financial outcomes of a group of female victim-survivors of financial abuse ( n = 5,428; identified from customer disclosures to the bank) with a control group ( n = 15,602; consisting of individuals with no known disclosures). The control group matched the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the victim-survivor group 7 years before disclosure. A comprehensive set of 373 transactional and non-transactional financial outcomes were analysed over this period. Results indicate that, compared with controls, victim-survivors exhibited depleting savings and increasing debts, culminating in missed payments and declining credit scores. They also spent less on self-care, incurred higher transport and legal costs, increased cash withdrawals, changed addresses and passwords more frequently and were more likely to claim welfare benefits. Our results demonstrate how victim-survivors lose financial independence, experience economic instability and suffer financial distress.
Appeared: Friday, September 25. Nature. Peer-reviewed journal.