More than a million girls and young women experienced economic abuse in the past year, shocking new research suggests.
One in three girls are estimated to be subject to it before they even reach adulthood, the charity Surviving Economic Abuse said.
Economic abuse involves the control of a current or ex-partner’s finances. It can be used to trap someone in a relationship or to continue exerting control long after one ends.
It may include hijacking someone’s income, restricting how they use their money, damaging property or running up debts in their name without their consent or knowledge.
Perpetrators may also control access to facilities that someone needs in order to do a job, such as transport and technology.
Surviving Economic Abuse estimates one in six women in the UK have experienced economic abuse by a current or former partner.
Their research, carried out by Ipsos UK on behalf of the charity, indicates it is twice as prevalent among younger women and girls.
More worryingly, in many cases the economic abuse started within weeks, with 17% of 16 to 18-year-olds saying that it started within the first month of the relationship.
That was more than double the rate of women aged 22 to 24, at 8%.
One woman told the charity: ‘Young people are encouraged to move in together, share finances and plan their futures, but very little is discussed about what happens when it all goes wrong.
‘I think parents, schools and young people need to talk about economic abuse much more openly because it can start at such a young age.’
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Nearly a fifth of respondents (18%) said a current or former partner pressured them to give them money in the last 12 months.
A similar proportion said they were made to buy their current or former partner things they did not want to buy, while 17% said the abuser deliberately destroyed or damaged their belongings or property.
One in ten (12%) experienced a current or former partner controlling, or attempting to control, their access to mobile payment accounts.
The abuse also extended beyond finances.
Among the 36% of young women who experienced economic abuse, more than a quarter (27%) said the abuser prevented them from working, studying or training – equivalent to 346,000 young women.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: ‘Parents, teachers and education professionals need to recognise the warning signs early.
‘Challenging harmful behaviours before they escalate could make a life-changing difference.’
The charity is encouraging families to take part in the ‘spotting the signs challenge’, an interactive tool on its website to help people recognise the signs of economic abuse and signpost people to support.
Durham University Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse, working in partnership with Surviving Economic Abuse and Tender, has also produced the ‘shifting the dial toolkit’, which provides resources to educate young people about economic abuse and build respectful relationships.
Ipsos UK surveyed more than 1,900 women aged 16 to 24 across the UK in March.
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