Awareness raised over economic abuse in Peterborough

The Cost of Covid-19: Economic abuse throughout the pandemic was carried out in the summer to examine the impact of lockdown and social distancing measures on victim-survivors of economic abuse.

The survey’s results highlight the ways in which the pandemic accelerated existing abuse, as well as how abusers used the circumstances to find news ways to restrict a victim’s choices and destroy their economic safety.

The findings come as Peterborough launches a new city-wide campaign to raise awareness of the different forms of domestic abuse - including economic abuse - as well as measures people can take to support victims.

The research showed that 45 per cent of victims and 47 per cent of frontline professionals of 500 respondents reported how perpetrators are deliberately sabotaging a woman’s ability to work and study - an explicit form of economic abuse - now that they are spending more time at home due to lockdown orders, furloughing or job loss.

One victim said: “With both people working from home the abuser has been able to disrupt and control my work and time and ability to work and study in an unprecedented way than if we were both physically going to an office.”

Respondents to the survey (98 per cent of whom were aged 26-65) reported multiple ways perpetrators attempted to inflict control and sabotage a victim’s working or study arrangements. These included:

. A frontline professional reported that a perpetrator had been calling his victim’s employer to report lies about her in order to jeopardize her employment.

. Several women reported deliberate damage to, or hiding of, essential work equipment such as phones, laptops and wifi routers.

. Many women said that the additional time at the house with the perpetrator caused constant interruptions and demands on their time, as well as extreme levels of stress and anxiety that made working very difficult.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership stated: “Economic abuse is a widespread problem which exists across Peterborough and the surrounding areas.

“We know that where a victim cannot access money and the resources to separate from a partner they are much more likely to suffer continued abuse. We are working to remove barriers to safety as much as possible and really welcome progress made by SEA in changing the policies in financial institutions.”

One victim told SEA: “His bombardment, abuse and control has triggered my anxiety making it difficult to work.”

A particularly common response was how perpetrators used childcare arrangements to negatively impact a victim’s ability to work or study, noted by 66 per cent of frontline professionals and 33 per cent of victims.

Respondents reported that perpetrators would refuse any responsibility, forcing some women to miss meetings, turn down job opportunities or reduce hours and therefore pay.

One victim stated: “I am about to be un-furloughed. I have asked him to look after the children so I can return to work. He has refused to do so.”

A professional added: “We’ve got a client who gets up very early in the morning because he sabotages her work by not looking after the kids. And she gets up really early to try and get her work done.”

Based on these findings, SEA is recommending that employers and educators do the following:

. Ensure staff are trained in domestic abuse, including economic abuse, so that they can respond effectively to cases – including within the pandemic

. Develop and effectively implement comprehensive policies on domestic abuse, including economic abuse, that reflect any variations in normal practice during the pandemic

. Offer flexibility to support staff and students experiencing economic abuse throughout the pandemic that enables them to maintain their work and studies

. Make regular contact with staff and students throughout the pandemic as part of their health and safety/safeguarding responsibilities, and be ready to signpost them to support where needed

. Provide enhanced packages of support to victim-survivors or economic abuse throughout the pandemic.

Support for victims in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire can be found at: https://www.cambsdasv.org.uk/website/home.

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