Financial abuse is one of the most common tactics used within a controlling relationship. If you have no financial independence or access to your own money, it’s harder for you to leave, right? You often don’t even realise that you are being financially abused either. It can be very subtle.
When your partner encourages you not to work, because they can financially provide everything you need, that can seem like the dream scenario to a lot of people! Time to yourself, no work/life balance juggle, quality time every day to do the things that you want to do, but… what if the relationship turns sour? What then? Suddenly you realise, you have no independent income of your own, you have lost touch with the skills you used to have, so finding work can become more difficult, you are isolated and your overall ability to leave the relationship suddenly becomes very difficult.
This article by USA-based company, Annuity, highlights some of the ways you can identify financial abuse and what you might do to get out of it. Obviously, the helpline numbers are for USA-based clients only, but there are UK-based helplines too:
If you have debts due to financial abuse, contact https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ and/or debt organisations like https://www.stepchange.org/ or https://www.payplan.com/
There is no shame in being a victim of financial abuse. Get advice on your legal Rights, take steps to make a plan and get support in confidence. Once you separate, you may have access to more statutory Benefits which can help you, you may even be entitled to support with housing and childcare costs, so don’t let financial abuse keep you in a controlling relationship. It’s never easy to rebuild your finances, but over time, it can be done – and it’s much easier to rebuild those than rebuild your mental health..
Click the link below to read the full article:
