Ep 365: Breaking Down Economic Abuse with Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, OBE, CF
You can earn your own money, pay the bills and have access to the joint account - and still be economically abused.
Economic abuse is about far more than stopping someone from accessing money. It can involve restriction, exploitation and sabotage - and it can be so deeply woven into coercive control that victims may not recognise what is happening to them.
Laura is joined by Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE, CF internationally recognised expert on economic abuse, author and founder of Surviving Economic Abuse, for a deeper examination of how perpetrators weaponise money and economic resources to establish and maintain power and control.
Nicola shares findings from her pioneering research, which found economic abuse in 89% of the domestic abuse cases studied, and explains how perpetrators restrict resources, exploit a partner's income and credit, generate debt, sabotage employment and manipulate household finances.
Laura and Nicola discuss new trends they are seeing and challenge the assumption that having a job, earning your own money or managing a joint bank account means you have financial independence. They discuss survivors who believed they controlled the household finances, only to later recognise that their partner was concealing income, exploiting their earnings or manipulating debt behind the scenes.
They also explore why economic abuse can continue - and sometimes intensify - long after separation, through property, debt, child-related costs and repeated use of the family and civil courts.
Laura and Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs also recently had a deeply insightful discussion in the Crime Analyst Squad unpacking the hidden patterns and devastating impact of economic abuse, financial control and coercive control. You can listen here.
In this episode Laura and Nicola discuss:
The difference between restriction, exploitation and sabotage.
The subtle behaviours that can signal economic abuse.
How perpetrators undermine a woman's confidence in managing money.
Why earning money doesn't necessarily mean having control over it.
Hidden accounts, coerced debt and financial exploitation.
How pregnancy, motherhood and leaving the workforce can create economic vulnerability.
The intersection between economic abuse and other forms of coercive control.
How perpetrators adapt their tactics when women are financially independent.
Post-separation economic abuse and the use of property, children and the courts to maintain control.
Why economic abuse can become a major barrier to leaving — and a reason victims return.
The work being done with banks and creditors to recognise coerced debt and, in some cases, have it written off.
Why protecting access to and control over your own economic resources matters before, during and after a relationship.
Money is not simply money in an abusive relationship. It can mean independence, choice, safety and the ability to leave.
#DrNicolaSharpJeffs #EconomicAbuse #FinancialAbuse #CoerciveControl #DomesticAbuse #DomesticViolence #PowerAndControl #FinancialControl #EconomicJustice #CrimeAnalyst #LauraRichards #BehaviouralAnalysis #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast
More from Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE:
Website: All things economic abuse
Book: Understanding and Responding to Economic Abuse (Feminist Developments in Violence and Abuse) : Sharp-Jeffs, Nicola: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Podcast: Economic Justice Monitor | Podcast on Spotify
LinkedIn: Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE, CF | LinkedIn
Instagram: @nicolajanesharpallthingsea
Clip
https://youtu.be/HtL0w8rZbzc?is=Gv18-hvRpJA64baj
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