In the two years since UK Finance launched the Financial Abuse Code of Practice, which set out a guide for banks and building societies to better support victim-survivors of economic abuse, it's fair to say quite a lot has happened.

From March this year Covid-19 has of course challenged us all. When the first lockdown was announced the Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) website saw an 85 per cent increase in traffic, and the extension of the lockdown resulted in an increase of 233 per cent. We knew we were witnessing a crisis unfold.

However even before the world changed a lot was happening for SEA, the sector and the wider understanding of economic abuse. Economic abuse is a form of domestic abuse that impacts one in five UK adults irrespective of age, gender, race, sexuality or socioeconomic status. Our mission to raise awareness of this, and transform responses to it, was urgent before Covid-19 came along. 

In 2017-8 SEA was proud to work alongside UK Finance to develop the voluntary Financial Abuse Code of Practice to bring increased awareness and better understanding of what financial abuse looks like for firms, colleagues, victims, potential victims and their families, and ensure more consistency in the support available for those who need it. Following a SEA campaign, the government announced in January 2019 that economic abuse was to be recognised for the first time in the Domestic Abuse Bill as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse.

Creating real change
Both these developments helped create real change. The media began to take interest, our organisation received vital funding and we worked alongside firms to transform responses - so much so that in December 2019 we launched  our first Best Practice Awards for Banks and Building Societies.

Chaired by BBC's Paul Lewis, the judges were delighted by the entries, many of whom had committed to revising processes, training staff, supporting customers and colleagues, and, crucially, moving  from a position where banking systems inadvertently aided the perpetrator's efforts to maintain control to purposefully supporting the victim-survivors to take back control, access safety and rebuild their lives. This shift has been extremely encouraging to see.

Nonetheless we must push on. The global pandemic has meant our efforts have taken on an even greater urgency. In a survey led by SEA carried out to understand the impact of lockdown, eight out of ten victim-survivors said perpetrators had tried to control their finances during this period  ? and seven out of ten said it had been successful. 40 per cent said their finances had significantly worsened. Working with the banking sector to support victim-survivors has thus never been more critical.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we were delighted to be invited by UK Finance to give a presentation to over 60 members at a customer vulnerability workshop about how they could help. One example was the opening of new safe spaces within which victims can disclose abuse in a context where calling a domestic abuse charity directly is more dangerous. Both Monzo and Lloyds Banking Group have reported an increase in calls. We also developed a Covid-19 specific resource to support firms in their response to customers during the outbreak, as well as a resource for customers specifically focusing on engaging with financial institutions and dealing with financial matters.

Solutions to the problems
At SEA we aim not only to raise awareness of the problems but also to find solutions to them. The Economic Abuse Evidence Form (EAEF), developed with Money Advice Plus, was the subject of one of 13 ?urgent recommendations? made by a group of independent Challenge Group Chairs advising the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) on the UK financial wellbeing strategy. This form will allow debt advisors to evidence victims' experiences of coerced debt, a disturbingly prevalent form of economic abuse.

Our Economic Justice Project research found that 60 per cent of domestic abuse victims had been forced into debt, owed an average £4,600 and were commonly in touch with five or more creditors, with 44 per cent of those debts being priority debts. In total, victims face £23.5 million of coerced debt each year, typically have a ruined credit score and may be at risk of losing their home and falling into poverty. We will be piloting the use of the EAEF and are very pleased to announce  that Lloyds Banking Group has joined the pilot project.

Coerced debt, as is common with other forms of economic abuse, often continues even after a victim has left the abuser. However, the 2015 criminal offence of controlling or coercive behaviour, in which in six out of ten cases will include economic abuse, does not protect victims post-separation. SEA is working to secure an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill to extend the 2015 legislation to ensure these individuals have the protection and the support they need and deserve.

We know there is far more to do, and we know that Covid will continue to provide very real challenges. But we also know there has been a sea change. And as we brace ourselves for whatever 2021 may bring, we do so with the knowledge the financial sector can and will take positive action that not only changes lives but can also save lives.

If you would like to find out more about Economic Abuse and how your organisation can provide support to some of the most vulnerable members of our society, please do get in touch: Nicola.Sharp@survivingeconomicabuse.org