Nearly one in five young men in the UK do not recognise controlling someone's spending as economic abuse, according to research by the Home Office and charity Surviving Economic Abuse. The survey found that 19% of men aged 18 to 24 believe such behaviour is probably not or definitely not abuse, compared with 6% of those aged 45 to 54.
Younger men were also more likely to miss other red flags, with 16% of 18-to-24-year-olds thinking that taking out credit in someone else's name without consent is not abuse, versus just 4% of older men. However, overall awareness remains high, with 94% of men able to identify at least one economically abusive behaviour as abuse.
In response, UK banks including Monzo, TSB, Metro Bank, Santander, Revolut and HSBC have joined the Government's Enough campaign. They will display adverts in banking apps and branches highlighting four forms of economic abuse: restricting someone's ability to earn, running up debts in another's name, controlling someone's money, and misusing payment references to harass.
Economic abuse is a form of domestic abuse and a criminal offence under controlling or coercive behaviour laws. It can trap victims by controlling their finances, restricting work or study, and may continue after a relationship ends.
Natalie Fleet, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: “Economic abuse may not always be visible and doesn’t always leave bruises, but its impact can be just as devastating. Controlling someone’s money, their work, or their independence is abuse. Plain and simple.”
Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, added: “We need to be absolutely clear: controlling someone’s money and economic resources is abuse. These attitudes matter because they shape what people think is acceptable in relationships.”
