Red flags IN YOUR FINANCES?

Worried that a loved one (or yourself) might be being controlled by a partner? The experts explain what to look out for - and what to do

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As January and February roll round and we're all still counting the cost of the festive season, it's normal to be tightening our belts a little, and perhaps having discussions with our loved ones about how we might save a little here and there.

But some women are given no choice in the matter: almost one in seven women interviewed in a new study said they had recently experienced controlling, coercive behaviour around money from a current or former partner. This economic abuse often overlaps with other forms of domestic abuse, such as emotional, physical or technological.

And although this type of behaviour is little talked about and often flies under the radar, it can have serious consequences. More than 2,800 women across the UK were surveyed on the topic, with 430 saying they had experienced this in the past 12 months.

Of those, more than a third (36%) experienced mental ill health, including depression, panic attacks, or suicidal thoughts as a result.

Whether you think you might be at risk yourself, or you think someone you love could be in danger, it’s worth us all understanding the signs and symptoms — and what to do about it.

‘Economic abuse is a form of coercive control where someone takes over your economic resources to restrict your independence,’ says Kat Mann, senior support worker at Women’s Aid. ‘By controlling finances, the abuser creates dependency, making it harder for the survivor to gain freedom or leave the relationship.

‘Someone perpetrating economic abuse is aiming to exert and maintain control over the survivor,’ explains Mann. ‘They want to make them financially dependent, isolating them from support or any means of independence.’