Almost 4 million children in the UK are suffering the impact of economic abuse in their families, with some having pocket or birthday money stolen by perpetrators, a charity has found. Data from Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) showed that over the past year, 27% of mothers with children under 18 experienced behaviour considered to be economic abuse, where a current or former partner controlled the family’s money.
Perpetrators used various methods, including stopping mothers accessing bank accounts and child benefits, and refusing to pay child maintenance. As a result, some children missed out on essentials such as clothes and food.
A third of women who experienced economic abuse by a former partner reported that their ex refused to pay child support, or paid it unreliably, despite being able to afford it. One in six said a current or ex-partner had stolen money from their child, such as birthday or pocket money, and the same number said they had stopped or tried to stop them from accessing benefits they were entitled to.
One mother quoted by the charity, whose children are now adults, said: “My ex would stop maintenance payments right before Christmas.”
Sam Smethers, chief executive of SEA, said: “Economic abuse is a dangerous form of coercive control and children are being harmed by it every day. Our research shows that perpetrators are stealing children’s pocket money, stopping mums accessing child benefit, and refusing to pay child support. We urgently need the government to publish its long-awaited Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and prioritise tackling economic abuse.”
SEA said mothers are three times more likely to be victims of economic abuse than women without children. Jess Phillips, the government’s minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: “Tackling economic abuse will be integral to achieving our goal of halving violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will continue to ensure children and young people are at the heart of this ambition.”
