Banks aim to better identify economic abuse

HSBC UK and first direct are working with a charity to offer better support to victims and survivors of economic abuse.

Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is to provide training to members of staff so they’re able to recognise any red flags and offer the right help to those affected.

The charity will also work with the bank’s mortgage teams to test new ways of improving support for people experiencing joint mortgage economic abuse.

SEA hopes that this will help form a blueprint for improving how the wider mortgage industry deals with this issue.

What is economic abuse?

Economic abuse occurs when a current or former partner controls a victim-survivor’s money in some way.

For example, SEA figures show that more than 750,000 women in the UK have been affected by mortgage abuse - where domestic abusers are refusing to pay their agreed share of a joint mortgage.

As a result, many have felt trapped into staying with a dangerous abuser, while those who flee often fall into debt or live in insecure housing.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of SEA, believes the charity’s partnership with HSBC will allow it to test “innovative responses” to economic abuse and help victim-survivors “safely rebuild their lives”.

“No one should be plunged into homelessness because they have experienced domestic abuse,” she commented.

“Yet every day abusers are weaponising joint mortgages to devastate the lives of hundreds of thousands of victim-survivors.”

José Carvalho, head of wealth and personal banking at HSBC UK, added: “Shared finances provide stability and security for many couples and work perfectly, but where economic abuse is present, they can become a tool of control and financial harm. 

“All providers in the finance industry and beyond have a role in tackling this issue.”

Person at risk of violence order fee must be scrapped

At the moment, domestic abuse survivors applying for certain debt solutions must pay £308 for a person at risk of violence (PARV) order.

This prevents their address from being added to a public register and can stop abusive ex-partners from tracking them down.

We’re actively pushing for the PARV order fee to be scrapped, as this would make it easier for domestic abuse survivors to more easily access the debt relief they desperately need.

We believe this would also give more survivors the confidence to leave their homes and return to employment without fear of being found by an abusive ex, as well as improve their mental health and quality of life.