Govan Law Centre has submitted its written evidence to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s call for evidence on financial considerations when leaving an abusive relationship. You can read or download our written evidence below.
Our response was based upon the casework experience of GLC’s Women’s Rights Project which provides expert prevention of homelessness and housing advice in Glasgow. It was written by our Project solicitors, Sophie Berry and Charis Brooks.
The Scottish Parliament’s Committee is looking into the financial implications that women face when leaving an abusive relationship. Police Scotland recorded 61,934 incidents of domestic abuse in 2022-23; their figures also recorded that more than 80% survivors of this abuse were female.
Abuse can take different forms. Sometimes, women are hurt by economic abuse. This means an abuser restricts a person from getting, using, or keeping money. In 2020, a domestic abuse organisation for women called Refuge found that more than 8 million adults in the UK have faced economic abuse. On average, survivors of economic abuse who find themselves in debt owe £3,272.
GLC’s evidence highlights significant gaps in the Scottish Government’s strategies addressing financial abuse in domestic violence cases. Current social security and legal aid rules further hinder women’s ability to escape abusive relationships effectively.
The Equally Safe campaign acknowledges financial considerations when leaving abusive relationships but fails to provide sufficient practical solutions for women encountering financial abuse. It does not address the specific barriers these women face, such as accessing resources and support needed to escape, nor does it outline adequate long-term strategies for financial independence.
Universal Credit’s assessment process adversely impacts women experiencing financial abuse by aggregating household income, often rendering them ineligible for benefits due to their partner’s income, which they cannot access. Payments are typically made into a joint account, giving control to the abuser and placing the onus on victims to request alternative arrangements. This system perpetuates economic control and makes escape from abusive situations more difficult.
The aggregate income requirement in civil legal aid rules poses significant issues for women experiencing financial abuse, as it necessitates that the couple’s resources be combined, disregarding the victim’s lack of access to those resources. This creates barriers to justice for women who may not control the shared assets or income, effectively limiting their ability to seek legal assistance.
Finally, GLC makes the point that the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 has yet to be brought into force, almost 4 years after it was enacted. It seems clear that emergency protection orders would make a significant difference for women experiencing domestic abuse, as would giving social landlords the power to intervene on behalf of a victim of domestic abuse to remove the perpetrator. Allowing the victim and any children of the family to remain in the family home would significantly reduce the impact of financial abuse and the risk of homelessness.
