Government employees provided tools to identify victims of economic violence

• A new tool to help frontline public sector workers identify and support victims of economic violence
• Victims may be denied benefits or forced to increase their debt to the government by their guardians.
• It is estimated that 16% of adults have experienced economic abuse.

Front-line civil servants are to be trained in spotting signs of economic abuse to support vulnerable people and prevent them from accumulating debt, the Cabinet Office announced today.

The domestic violence charity estimates that 16% of adults in the UK have experienced economic abuse, when an individual’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources is taken away by another person in a coercive or controlled manner.

The Economic Abuse Toolkit has been developed as a clear guide that frontline staff, across all departments, including HMRC and DWP, can use to identify and support vulnerable individuals experiencing economic abuse.

This includes recognizing symptoms and creating a supportive environment for victims to express their experiences.

Staff will be trained in how to handle any disclosures sensitively and then ensure victims receive support, helping vulnerable people avoid accumulating debt to the government.

Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quinn said:

Economic violence is a heinous crime and we are determined to eradicate it using all government powers.

It’s often a difficult problem to identify and this new toolkit gives frontline workers the tools to identify and protect vulnerable people.

By helping people get the support they need, this toolkit helps us tackle this crime and get victims out of abusive relationships and into places of safety.

In a public sector setting, forms of economic violence may include:

• Abusers who prevent victims from seeking the support they deserve can make them financially dependent
• Victims are unable to declare their financial capacity and therefore cannot get government support
• Because the abuser took everything out in their own name, the victims were unable to submit a request for support
• Abusers make bills to the government in the victim’s name and then refuse to pay
• Access by abusers to financial information about the victim without sufficient permission

A special charity Surviving economic violence (SEA), one of the organizations that contributed to the toolkit, saw an 85% increase in traffic to their website during the outbreak.

The SEA study also said that since the start of the pandemic, seven out of ten frontline professionals have seen an increase in the number of victims of economic violence coming to their organizations for help. At the end of the initial lockdown, SEA said one in five women planned to seek help with welfare benefits, putting more vulnerable people at risk.

Combating domestic violence is a government priority and improving the response to economic violence is essential. For the first time in history, economic abuse is now recognized in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse Act of 2021. This is in view of the devastating impact it can have on victims’ lives.

Conservation Minister Sarah Deans said:

Domestic abuse can come in many forms, and economic abuse is particularly insidious, with significant and complex effects on victims.

Once the Domestic Abuse Act is passed and our Domestic Abuse Plan is published, I am committed to building on this momentum to improve the response to economic abuse. For this, the public sector and its frontline services have a key role to play.

Plans are underway for departments to integrate the guide into their training for frontline staff, but the Toolkit is expected to be used by other public sector units, including local councils.

Karen Perrier, chief executive of Money Advice Plus, said:

Victim-survivors often incur multiple debts from multiple sources. Given this grim landscape, it is imperative that both the public and private sectors provide informed support to victim-victims to move forward with economic security and stability.

The Financial Abuse Toolkit will enable public servants to support victims with greater confidence and Money Advice Plus was delighted to bring their expertise to the development.

The Toolkit was developed by the Equity Group, a collaboration led by the Cabinet Office’s Public Debt Management function, which brings together central and local government, the debt advice sector and the debt collection industry.