Survivors of domestic abuse often feel they have no control over their lives, which can be a confusing and scary place to be in.

More than 60% of domestic abuse victims are forced into debt, with the average total of covered debt being £4,600 (the highest was over £40,000).

Unfortunately, UK charity Surviving Economic Abuse who are dedicated to tackling economic abuse, found that coerced debt is a common tactic used by domestic abusers. As a way of controlling their victim, perpetrators use economic abuse, which can cause the survivor to face financial difficulty for years to come.

Refuge (national domestic abuse charity) and Payplan (debt advice agency) believe that more organisations across the financial sector should implement specialist advice services for survivors of domestic abuse, something NIDAS fully support.

The facts

• 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
• Two women are killed every week by a current or former partner
• The number of domestic abuse crimes recorded by police in England and Wales (2021) rose to 845,734, which was a 6% increase from the previous year
• Refuge found the demand in their services rising 64% during Covid lockdowns
• On average, victims experience 50 incidents of abuse before getting effective help
• Over 3,000 survivors of domestic abuse have been supported by PayPlan since 2015
• 1 in 6 people say they have experienced economic abuse, equating to 8.7 million people

*Source

Where to access support

Specialist services are vital to helping survivors assisting them to rebuild their lives and finances after leaving a perpetrator. Below is a list of free debt advice organisations that can support you:

PayPlan – an organisation offering free advice on debt, benefits, and financial wellbeing.

Stepchange – a charity who specialise in free impartial debt advice.

Money Advice Plus – the only UK charity providing dedicated financial support to victims-survivors of domestic abuse.

Surviving Economic Abuse – a UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it.

We’re here to help

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, we are here for you. Please get in touch with us and let us help you to recover and rebuild. Contact us today:

If you are in immediate danger, call 999

For support and advice in the Mansfield or Ashfield area, please call us on 01623 683 250 (Mon – Fri)

For support or advice out of hours, please call the local 24-hour Nottinghamshire helpline on 0808 800 0340

If you live outside the local area, please call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline ran by Refuge on 0808 2000 247