What is a financial bully?
Unfortunately, financial bully exists in many relationships. Couple fight over money or a spouse yells at another spouse for overspending. Sometimes, a spouse takes away credit cards or demands the whole paycheck for enjoying life. Financial bully is dangerous and can destroy a relationship.
Economic abuse can include exerting control over income, spending, bank accounts, bills and borrowing. It can also include controlling access to and use of things like transport and technology, which allow us to work and stay connected, as well as property and daily essentials like food and clothing.
Recognising economic abuse
Over-spending, or building up debts in your name or joint names, can also develop slowly and may not be obvious at first. Some women may have lived with economic abuse for many years, and it can continue after leaving.
- Educate yourself and empower your financial well-being: ...
- Build a support system: ...
- Document your finances: ...
- Establish financial independence: ...
- Create a safety plan: ...
- Seek legal assistance: ...
- Get professional financial help:
Like other forms of intimate partner violence, financial abuse is highly gendered, with the majority of victim-survivors being women. However, financial abuse can occur in any relationship, regardless of the gender of the people in that relationship.
Your partner spends the money you earn and you have no say in it. Consistent unexplained financial behavior from a partner. Uses funds or credit cards to excess without behind your back. Expecting you to take care of them financially without agreeing on it.
Economic abuse is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner's access to economic resources, which diminishes the victim's capacity to support themselves and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially.
Some economically abusive behaviour may be another criminal offence, such as theft, fraud or criminal damage. However, the police may consider a pattern of economic abuse as controlling or coercive behaviour.
If you experience symptoms like mania or hypomania, you might spend more money or make impulsive financial decisions. You might have an addiction or dependency which makes you spend money.
- Recognising financial abuse.
- Opening a new current or savings account.
- Joint accounts.
- Keep your account passwords and security safe.
- Joint credit cards.
- Checking your credit record.
- If you're claiming Universal Credit.
- Get someone you trust to help manage your money.
Is financial abuse hard to prove?
Elderly adults often become victims of financial exploitation by caretakers and even family members, but it's difficult to prove when it happens. Proving elder financial exploitation requires identifying the abuser, gathering documented evidence, and proving intentional harm.
According to research, 23 percent of adults and 36 percent of millennials experience financial stress at levels that qualify for a diagnosis of PTSD. Possible symptoms of financial trauma include: Hypervigilance: This is a sensitive sensory state marked by exaggerated behavior to detect a threat.
Taking some or all of a person's benefits. Controlling access to a person's finances. Postal, internet, telephone and SMS scams, including courier and romance fraud[iv]. Cuckooing or home invasion where a vulnerable person's property is taken over for the purposes of criminal activity (often drug-dealing).
An abuser is often a person who has a level of power over the person being abused and they can be well known to the person being abused. They could be a; partner, relative or family member. neighbour.
Known as financial grooming or relationship-investment fraud, the scam is socially engineered and based on trust-enablement – bad actors develop relationships and build trust with their victims, convincing them to invest money before defrauding them of everything.
(7) The term “exploitation” refers to the act or process of taking advantage of an elderly person by another person or caregiver whether for monetary, personal or other benefit, gain or profit.
Borrowing money and not giving it back. Stealing money or belongings. Taking pension payments or other benefit away from someone. Taking money as payment for coming to visit or spending time together.
Financial abuse can also cause emotional issues. Victims may have trouble trusting loved ones and isolate themselves. They might also spend excessive time worrying about money and potential theft. Some people feel extreme anxiety or guilt when using money, especially when buying anything for themselves.
Financial infidelity is when couples with combined finances lie to each other about money. Examples of financial infidelity can include hiding existing debts, excessive expenditures without notifying the other partner, and lying about the use of money.
Coerced debt is debt that an abusive partner has taken out in your name either: Without your knowledge, or. Because your abusive partner used threats or force to make you to take out the debt.
What are the warning signs of economic abuse?
- Gives you “allowances” or “budgets” without your input.
- Requiring you to account for everything you spend.
- Pressures you to quit your job or sabotages your work responsibilities.
- Feels entitled to your money or assets.
- Spends your money without your knowledge.
They cover the nine grounds of gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, and membership of the Traveller community.
Narcissistic spouses may exploit their partner's financial resources while contributing little or nothing. They may rack up debt using joint credit cards without considering the consequences it brings upon their partner. Or they may control all the credit cards and not allow their partner access to them.
Today's most common financial crimes are terrorist financing, money laundering, corruption, and fraud.
Based on the forms of financial abuse considered in this report, the impacts of financial abuse are estimated to have generated $5.7 billion in direct costs to victims. From a societal perspective, these costs lead to $5.2 billion in broader economic costs in Australia in 2020.
References
- https://www.greatlakesdfs.com/blog/financial-abuse
- https://www.newcastlesafeguarding.org.uk/identifying-preventing-and-responding-to-financial-abuse-guidance/
- https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/what-is-economic-abuse/
- https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/caas/newsroom/docs/Cost%20of%20financial%20abuse%20in%20Australia.pdf
- https://myhiddenscars.com/breaking-free-recognizing-and-overcoming-narcissist-financial-abuse/
- https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/key-differences-between-financial-abuse-044603830.html
- https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/economic-abuse-and-the-law/prosecuting-an-abuser/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_abuse
- https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/talk-money/taking-back-control-after-financial-abuse
- https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/what-is-financial-abuse-these-are-the-signs/
- https://www.ihrec.ie/guides-and-tools/human-rights-and-equality-in-the-provision-of-good-and-services/what-does-the-law-say/equal-status-acts/
- https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/i-need-help/understanding-economic-abuse/am-i-experiencing-economic-abuse/
- https://www.safeguardingworcestershire.org.uk/who-might-an-abuser-be/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-infidelity.asp
- https://financialabusehelp.org/guide/guide-1-understand/what-coerced-debt
- https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/what-is-financial-crime-9
- https://www.choosingtherapy.com/financial-trauma/
- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/money-and-mental-health/the-link-between-money-and-mental-health/
- https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/prosecutors/statutes
- https://verafin.com/2023/09/a-ruthless-scam/
- https://www.womenandmoney.org.au/what-is-financial-abuse/
- https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/financial-abuse
- https://ankinlaw.com/proving-elder-financial-exploitation/
- https://www.anncrafttrust.org/what-is-financial-abuse/