The Hidden Epidemic of Financial Abuse After Separation

---

When people think of domestic abuse, they often imagine physical violence.

But one of the most powerful and damaging forms of abuse is financial control,  and it often continues long after a relationship ends.

Financial or economic abuse happens when one partner controls, manipulates, or sabotages the other’s access to money.

It can include:-

• Blocking access to bank accounts

• Preventing employment or education

• Forcing someone into debt

• Withholding child support

• Hiding income through business structures

For many survivors, leaving the relationship does not mean escaping the abuse.

It simply changes form.

The Financial Trap

Many survivors leave relationships with:-

• no savings

• limited credit

• disrupted careers

• financial dependence created during the relationship

Meanwhile, the abusive partner may still control the financial resources.

This imbalance creates a dangerous dynamic in family disputes.

One parent is struggling to keep the lights on.

The other can afford lawyers, delays, and prolonged disputes.

Financial abuse becomes a tool of control through the legal system itself.

The Impact on Children

Financial abuse doesn’t just harm the survivor.

It harms the children.

When one parent manipulates financial systems to avoid responsibility, children experience:-

• unstable housing

• reduced opportunities

• emotional stress

• disrupted schooling

Economic abuse is not simply a financial dispute.

It is a child welfare issue.

What Needs to Change

The family justice system must recognise economic abuse for what it is: a form of domestic abuse.

That means:-

• stronger enforcement of financial disclosure

• serious consequences for hiding assets

• protection for economically vulnerable parents

• systems that prioritise children’s financial stability

Because financial control after separation is not conflict.

It is continued abuse through money.

---

Deanna Newell Family Law

Advocacy for truth-tellers, survivors, and the children who deserve better