Banking records reveal characteristics of financial abuse
Abstract
The experience of financial abuse, a form of domestic abuse involving control over money and finances, can be severe and long-lasting1,2,3, yet difficult to document4. Evidence on the everyday experiences of victim-survivors in the context of financial abuse is drawn primarily from small-scale, qualitative surveys5,6. 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.
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