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Economic Abuse Awareness Day
Economic and financial abuse is a form of domestic abuse in Australia.
It often occurs in the context of intimate partner violence, and involves the control of a partner or ex-partner’s money and finances, as well as the things that money can buy.
Economic abuse and financial abuse involve similar behaviours, but it can financial abuse is often thought of as a subcategory of economic abuse. Economic abuse encompasses the many ways that an abuser may control someone’s economic situation, including employment, food, basic necessities, medication, transport and housing, for example. Financial abuse can often be thought of as controlling the actual money by stealing, gambling, coercing someone into taking on debt, controlling their allowance each week,
1 in 6 women in the Australia have reportedly experienced economic abuse by a current or former partner.
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 a person to work and stay connected, as well as property and daily essentials like food and clothing. It can include destroying items and refusing to contribute to household costs. Gambling away your financial security and destroying your credit rating.
Refusing to pay child support and not financially disclosing assets and debts during financial property settlements are also a way of economically abusing a person and intentionally controlling them.
This type of abuse is a form of coercive and controlling behaviour. Economic abuse rarely happens in isolation and usually occurs alongside other forms of abuse, including physical, sexual and psychological abuse. 95% of cases of domestic abuse involve economic abuse. It can continue long after a leaving and can have lifelong effects
This type of abuse is designed to create economic instability and/or make one partner economically dependent, which limits their freedom. Without access to money and the things that money can buy, it is difficult to leave an abuser and access safety. Someone experiencing this type of abuse can become trapped in a relationship with the abuser, unable to resist the abuser’s control and at risk of further harm. In this way, economic safety underpins physical safety.
The impact of economic abuse makes leaving and rebuilding lives more challenging for survivors and their family. Many victim-survivors leave with large amounts of debt and poor credit ratings, affecting their long-term economic stability.
Red Flag (warnings) of economic/financial abuse
Economic abuse can take many forms. The perpetrator/abuser:
Sabotages your income and access to money:
prevent you from being in education or employment
limit your working hours
takes your pay
refuse to let you claim government payments/ benefits or take all the benefits
take children’s savings or birthday money
refuse to let you access a bank account
making you work in a family business without pay
give you a small allowance for necessities only
takes any windfall you get such as an inheritance
Restrict how you use money and the things that you own:
control when and how money is spent
dictate what you can buy
make you ask for money
give you a small allowance to cover necessities only
check your receipts
make you keep a spending diary
make you justify every purchase made
control the use of property, such as a mobile phone or car
insist all economic assets (eg savings, house) are in their name
keep financial information secret
Exploits your economic situation:
steal your money or property
steal your identity or inheritance
cause damage to your property
refuse to contribute to household costs
spend money needed for household items and bills
misuse money in joint bank accounts
insist all bills, credit cards and loans are in your name and make you pay them
build up debt in your name, sometimes without your knowledge
destroying your credit rating affecting your future financing ability
There is help
If you have experienced economic or financial abuse, you are not alone. There are people and organisations that can help .Refer to www.dvsupporthub.com for information on various services that can help as well as ways to help you financially get back on your feet.
Call 1800RESPECT for immediate assistance
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What do I do next to get help?
No matter where you are in the separation or divorce stage, we understand how hard it is, and we are here to support you. You are not alone.
We help reduce the stress by providing you with the education and practical guidance you need to understand all the options available to you.
We also carefully listen to you on what you want to do, to move forward. If you would like to arrange an online 30-minute complimentary mini session we can discuss where you are at and what help you feel you need, at your stage in the process. This just requires a Zoom connection.
We will be honest about what we can do to assist you to get the best outcome, and give you a firm understanding of the costs associated with the help. It will not be a sales pitch from us.
If you decide to proceed with Separation Support Network, you are welcome to book a PAID one-on-one confidential consultation with one of our highly trained senior separation support personnel. The first appointment will require a new client form to be completed and returned, to help us gain a better understanding of your position and to not waste your precious time.
As seen in our testimonials, we are renowned for having excellent relationships with our clients and are very conscious of providing quality, affordable services, all the way.
We take great pride in ensuring that every one of our service providers have your best interests at heart, emotionally and financially. Our motto is ‘providing our clients with a hug all the way.’
Why should I use Separation Support Network instead of going to a traditional law firm?
Separation Support Network provides one-on-one support to guide you through the entire separation and divorce process. We provide counselling support, help you navigate the immediate practical steps of your separation, listen to your unique circumstances, outline your options and recommend the services you need. We also provide help long term through your separation and divorce journey to reach your longer term goals.
We do have a panel of lawyers who can assist, if and when required, but we work with you to avoid legal costs as much as possible by helping you understand all your options, assist you to gather your documentation and evidence, draft your proposed terms, and coordinate other specialist support if required to support your position. This helps avoid a lot of the initial outlays you would normally experience in a law firm, which often charge very high legal costs, per hour, for their time. It also helps you avoid a lot of time, stress and frustration.
Once legal matters are resolved by traditional firms, our clients report they often feel a sense of confusion and concern about what comes next - on how to actually co-parent and fulfill the parenting obligations, how to deal with the financial arrangements that were agreed upon, where to obtain the necessary financial education to manage your settlement, and how to secure your financial future. There is often the need to get help to change other key legal and financial documents, strategies to assist with co-parenting and communication with former partners, sorting the sale of assets, access to counselling for the family, finding a new career or a plan on how to start the next chapter of life. Separation Support Network can walk beside you through all of this. We help you find the care you need and work collaboratively with a team who can assist.
Our aim is to ensure our clients are safe, emotionally supported all the way, personally educated and empowered to make their own decisions, and ultimately achieve a fair and equitable settlement, suitable parenting arrangement and successful future.
What range of support can you offer me?
The most common things said to us over the years by our clients:
"I am so confused about what to do next, where to get the help I need and who to trust."
"I can't work out what financial documents I even need to access and what I have to disclose ."
"I worked all my life to save and secure my superannuation and now we are going to destroy it with all the ongoing legal bills."
"I was a good parent and we had a great relationship but now I just can't reconnect with them."
We hear you!
Separation Support Network is essentially a one stop service network where you no longer need to spend countless hours finding the resources, locating kind and supportive care, legal and financial expertise, all at an affordable rate.
We work alongside incredibly experienced, supportive specialists who share our values in making the separation and divorce process more amicable, more empowering, more supportive and more affordable.
Mediators
Psychologists and counsellors
Parent assist programmes
Empower programmes
Lawyers
Domestic Violence support
Financial Planners and Advisors
Property Valuers including farming valuers
Banking advice
Business and Company valuers
Forensic Accounting and IT
Private Investigators
Accountants
Mortgage Brokers
Business brokers
Conveyancing and Will and Estate Planning support
Life Coaches
High Conflict Coaches
Career assist - resumes, job applications and interview preparation.
Empower You programmes
Our clients have also reached out and requested that we prepare practical and affordable resources including audio/visual podcasts and webinars which consist of easy to understand, questions and answers to many of the day-to-day issues that they experience, but don’t know how to do. These can be booked and listened to at any time, anywhere by our clients. A transcript is also provided for our paid webinars.
In late 2024, Separation Support Network will release a series of highly practical webinars for all our clients at a very affordable price which can be viewed any time, anywhere as part of our new Separation and Divorce course.
These webinars are not just made up of general information about topics. They are step by step practical guides on how to get through this challenging process to ensure your safety and legal rights.
We have interviewed some of the leading experts on these most sought after topics and hope that you find the content understandable, relatable and invaluable. Please feel free to reach out anytime to suggest additional topics you would like us to add to our webinar library or to add to our course.
What is your cancellation and refund policy?
Given the nature of our support services, last minute cancellations are costly, and it means that other clients may miss out on receiving the required support. For cancellations within 48 hours of the scheduled appointment there is a $65 part fee payment. For less than 24 hours cancellation notice or a non-show, the full session fee will need to be charged. These fees are refunded however if the session can be filled at the last minute. Thank you for your understanding.
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DISCLAIMER: The material contained on this website is for general educational and information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, medical or psychological advice or care. While every care has been taken in the information provided, no legal responsibility or liability is accepted, warranted or implied by the authors or Separation Support Network and any liability is hereby expressly disclaimed. For specific advice please contact us at [email protected]. All information contained on the website remains the intellectual property of Separation Support Network and is for your personal educational use only. The information must not be reproduced or distributed without the express permission of Separation Support Network.
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