Summary
Financially Included aims to identify and support women with current or historical experiences of financial abuse. By developing the skills of those working in the money advice sector and front line women’s organisations, financial abuse cases will be identified earlier and women will receive access to appropriate services to allow for economic autonomy.
Making A Difference
Financially Included has not yet been implemented, and so we are currently unable to provide data or case studies to demonstate impact. Once live, and individuals begin to engage with service, we aim to provide an update showing the difference it has made.
Financial abuse has long been recognised as a significant issue for women affected by all forms of violence. The Poverty Leadership Panel, organised by Glasgow City Council, created a mechanism to bring together the worlds of violence against women and girls together with the money and advice services. This dedicated workstream developed a Financial Inclusion Plan specific to the needs of women who were affected by any form of gender-based abuse. This Financial Inclusion plan was integrated into the citywide VAW&G strategic plan as a priority action in Glasgow’s efforts to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls.
In February 2020 a dedicated working group was established by the GVAWP. Chaired by GCC lead officer for Child Poverty, the group was tasked with the responsibility of delivering the financial inclusion action plan.
GVAWP is a multi-agency strategic partnership concerned with tackling all forms of violence against women and girls. GEMAP has primarily an anti-poverty and financial inclusion remit. This project is an integral part of the GVAWP city wide strategic plan and brings together strategic vision and an operational delivery expertise with the aim of working collaboratively to contribute to the prevention and eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls.
What is Financially Included?
There is a gap in the delivery of support to women and girls who experience traumatic abuse and their ability to leave abusive relationships and achieve respect and equal access to power and resources.
Financially Included seeks to identify and respond effectively to women who are living with or have lived with financial abuse as part of their experience. It will develop the skills, knowledge and expertise of operational staff in the money advice sector and those in front line women’s organisations. Earlier identification of financial abuse within a context of gender-based violence will ensure that women receive the right services to allow financial autonomy and efficacy. By developing a systems approach we aim to ensure that money and advice organisations meet their responsibilities around gender-based violence as a service provider and a partner agency.
By using the expertise and networks of GVAWP which understands violence against women as a consequence of the inequalities which exist between men and women, alongside the expertise of GEMAP which understands the approach to financial matters including benefit claims like universal credit and the importance of being able to manage debt and money, a distinctive approach can be developed to widen the support to women and girls that can be integrated into the additional support already being given by multi-agencies working to deliver the Equally Safe and citywide GVAWP Strategy which does not already exist.
Why is this needed?
Income and other resources are not shared equally within the household and this is a major factor in contributing to the inequality that women experience. Financial independence is crucial for women if we are to make moves away from the ‘male breadwinner model’.
There is recognition that women who are abused are also subjected to financial abuse as part of coercive behaviour by the perpetrator. As a partnership we believe the solution to provide support more effectively would be the development of:
- Routine questionnaires for wider Advice Agencies and Women’s Services to be able to identify early financial and economic abuse.
- Safe and appropriate casework practices in Advice Services including discrete contact methods.
- Best practice training programmes for Advice and Women’s Services to ensure a more confident application of staff to approach financial and economic abuse.
- Best practice training programmes for third/public and private sector partners facilitated through GVAWP.
- Building collaborative frameworks through GVAWP’s support network to support women and girls.
- Gathering robust data on the size and scale of the problem to direct future support.
- Develop Women’s Citizen Engagement Panels to analyse, monitor and further develop this support service.
- Engaging with the private sector banks and credit agencies.
Economic inequality as a distinct aspect of coercive control is frequently experienced by women suffering from domestic abuse with 1 in 6 reporting financial abuse as part of their experience of living with coercive control. Taking action to address this inequality by developing systems that help women achieve economic autonomy is part of the package of responses that will contribute to creating the safety and wellbeing that is their human right and support the delivery of the strategic objectives of Equally Safe and the GVAWP.
Women and their children who experience any form of gendered based violence are more likely to live in poverty, as well remain in poverty and continue the cycle of abuse. We know that these circumstances makes women vulnerable to exploitation. Women’s dependence on male partners creates further vulnerabilities to domestic abuse and sexual exploitation, including prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
There is a gap in how the Money & Advice Sector responds to traumatised women and implementing safe and effective practice. The normal process’s that advice workers would employ will not be available to them without placing women in further danger by alerting the perpetrator. While there are pockets of ‘good enough’ practice it is important that we establish a robust framework and case work practices for engagement which has women’s safety and wellbeing at the centre of it.
This project will provide early identification of women who are/have experienced financial abuse and prevent further economic, emotional and mental harms. It will support women to develop skills in financial literacy and allow them and any children they may have to live and flourish in their communities.
This co-produced piece of work with the Money and Advice sector will develop a gender aware, trauma informed response to vulnerable women.
