Recognising Economic Abuse in Family Proceedings
Recent figures published by domestic abuse charities have highlighted a significant increase in cases involving economic abuse, including the use of debt, credit agreements and financial commitments as a means of control.
Data from Refuge revealed a 78% increase in referrals to its specialist Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment team between April 2025 and March 2026, compared with the previous year. During that period, 967 referrals were made, with the number of survivors reporting economic abuse increasing from 198 to 414. Refuge has also reported a growing number of cases involving perpetrators coercing survivors into car finance agreements, leaving them responsible for significant debts and damaged credit records.
For family law practitioners, these figures highlight the importance of recognising that domestic abuse is not limited to physical violence or overt threats. Economic abuse can form a central part of a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour, with consequences that continue long after a relationship has ended.
What is Economic Abuse?
Economic abuse is now expressly recognised as a form of domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Section 1 of the Act defines domestic abuse as including physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, and psychological, emotional or other abuse. Economic abuse is defined as behaviour which has a substantial adverse effect on a person’s ability to acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or to obtain goods or services.
Economic abuse may include:
Restricting access to bank accounts or income
Preventing a partner from working or accessing education
Controlling household spending
Withholding money needed for essential living expenses
Taking out loans or credit agreements in another person’s name
Forcing or pressuring someone to enter into financial commitments
Damaging a person’s credit history
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is available here: Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Debt as a Form of Coercive Control
The recent reports highlight how debt can be weaponised within abusive relationships.
A finance agreement, loan or credit arrangement may appear on paper to be a voluntary financial decision. However, where a person has been pressured, manipulated or frightened into entering into that agreement, it may form part of a wider pattern of abuse.
Refuge has highlighted an increase in cases involving car finance, where survivors have been left responsible for agreements relating to vehicles used by their abusive partner. The consequences can be significant, affecting credit ratings and limiting access to housing, mobile phone contracts and other essential services.
These situations demonstrate why financial disputes cannot always be viewed in isolation. A liability may represent more than a contractual obligation; it may be evidence of coercion, control or exploitation.
The Relevance to Family Proceedings
Economic abuse can have implications across a range of family law matters.
Child arrangements
Where allegations of domestic abuse arise in children proceedings, the court must consider the impact of abusive behaviour on both the child and the parent who has experienced abuse.
Financial control may be relevant when assessing risk, safeguarding concerns and the dynamics of the parental relationship. Economic abuse can also be part of a wider pattern of controlling behaviour which affects a victim’s ability to parent freely and independently.
Financial remedy proceedings
Economic abuse may also be relevant in financial remedy cases.
Where one party has accumulated debt, transferred assets, restricted access to funds or manipulated financial arrangements during a relationship, careful consideration may be required as to the circumstances in which those liabilities arose.
Financial disclosure may reveal issues such as:
Unexplained transactions
Debts incurred for another party’s benefit
Restricted access to accounts
Financial arrangements entered into under pressure.
While the existence of economic abuse does not automatically determine the outcome of financial proceedings, it may provide important context when the court is considering the parties’ financial circumstances.
Evidence and disclosure
Economic abuse can be difficult to identify because it is often embedded within everyday financial arrangements.
Evidence may include:
Bank statements and transaction histories
Credit agreements
Loan or finance documentation
Text messages, emails or other communications demonstrating pressure or control
Evidence from support services
Witness evidence from family members or friends
A careful approach to disclosure is essential to identifying patterns of behaviour that may otherwise remain hidden.
Technology and Financial Control
The increasing use of technology in financial management has also created new opportunities for abuse.
Technology-facilitated economic abuse may include monitoring online banking, controlling access to digital accounts, tracking spending through apps, or using shared devices to maintain oversight of a former partner’s finances.
As financial services become increasingly digital, practitioners should remain alert to the ways in which technology may be used to maintain control after separation.
The Wider Scale of Economic Abuse
Economic abuse remains a significant but often under-recognised issue.
Research published by Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) found that 36% of women aged 16-24 surveyed had experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner in the previous 12 months. This was estimated to represent approximately 1.28 million young women across the UK. The research also found that almost one in three girls aged 16-18 reported experiencing economic abuse during that period.
These figures underline the importance of early recognition. Economic abuse may begin subtly, but its consequences can be long-lasting, affecting independence, housing, employment and financial stability.
Recognising Economic Abuse in Family Practice
For family practitioners, recognising economic abuse at an early stage is essential. It may affect the advice given to clients, the evidence gathered and the approach taken within proceedings.
A debt in someone’s name does not always represent a freely made financial choice. In some cases, it may be evidence of coercive control.
The increasing recognition of economic abuse within law and policy reflects a broader understanding of domestic abuse: that control over money, resources and financial independence can be a powerful mechanism of harm.
As awareness continues to grow, family lawyers have an important role in ensuring that economic abuse is identified, properly evidenced and appropriately addressed within the family justice system.