The role of banks in enabling, addressing and preventing economic abuse

• In Event: Victimization and Support: Diverse Perspectives and Interventions

Abstract

There is growing evidence that economic abuse is on the rise in the UK, with the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis exacerbating all forms of domestic abuse. As providers of everyday financial products, banks have an unrivalled ability – and responsibility – to close down opportunities for perpetrating economic abuse, and were recently added to the list of relevant stakeholders in the Domestic Abuse Act (2021) statutory guidance. However, very little academic attention has been given to the role of banks in enabling, addressing and preventing economic abuse. This presentation draws on data from interviews with victim-survivors of economic abuse and banking professionals to explore the strengths and limitations of banking responses to economic abuse.

Author

• Clare Wiper, Northumbria University