Almost 4 million children in the UK are suffering the impact of economic abuse in their families, with some having pocket or birthday money stolen by the perpetrators, a charity has found.
Data from charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) showed that over the past year 27% of mothers with children under 18 had experienced behaviour considered to be economic abuse, where a current or former partner has controlled the family’s money.
The research found perpetrators used various means, including stopping mothers accessing bank accounts and child benefits, and refusing to pay child maintenance.
As a result, some children are missing out on essentials including clothes and food.
A third of the women who experienced economic abuse by a former partner reported that their ex refused to pay child support, or paid it unreliably, despite being able to afford it.
One in six said a current or ex-partner had stolen money from their child, such as birthday or pocket money, and the same number said they had stopped or tried to stop them from accessing benefits they were entitled to.
One mother quoted by the charity, whose children are now adults, said: “My ex would stop maintenance payments right before Christmas.”
SEA’s chief executive, Sam Smethers, said: “Economic abuse is a dangerous form of coercive control and children are being harmed by it every day.”
“Our research shows that perpetrators are stealing children’s pocket money, stopping mums accessing child benefit, and refusing to pay child support.
“We urgently need the government to publish its long-awaited Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and prioritise tackling economic abuse. It must close the loopholes that allow abusers to manipulate systems, like child maintenance, to destroy lives.”
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SEA said mothers are three times more likely to be the victims of economic abuse than women without children; however, this is the first time the charity has commissioned formal research on the impact it has on young people.
Smethers said: “When thinking about child abuse … people often think about physical harm and threat. But there are other forms of coercive control, and we do need to shine a light on it as that’s how you understand abuse.”
Jess Phillips, the government’s minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: “Tackling economic abuse will be integral to achieving our goal of halving violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will continue to ensure children and young people are at the heart of this ambition.”
