We know from our own research that many of our PEGS parents have experienced financial abuse alongside other types of behaviour (physical, emotional, sexual etc). This can include:

- Stealing money or items from the parent or the home.

- Coercing them into spending money they don’t want to, or buying items they can’t afford.

- Running up credit card or other bills in the parent’s name.

- Deliberately damaging items so that they have to be replaced.

- Interrupting the parent’s job to the extent that they have to reduce their hours or quit altogether.

- Being forced to pay for their child’s alcohol/drugs use.

The team at Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) has recently released a report showing the impact of lockdowns on those they support – and we wanted to highlight some of the key findings as we know they will sadly be very relevant for many of our families. It’s also crucial for the professionals we work alongside to have an understanding of this type of abuse.

The full report is available here and there’s also a handy summary sheet to give a real overview of the key issues for people during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the statistics may only apply for those experiencing intimate partner abuse, or where the perpetrator has sole control of the household income. But other findings are absolutely relevant in homes where CPA is experienced.

From speaking to those experiencing financial abuse, SEA found that:

- In more than two fifths of cases (43%), the perpetrator had interfered with their ability to work or study.

This reflects what we found when surveying our PEGS parents – 34% of whom had reduced their working hours as a result of CPA, in addition to 22% who had left employment altogether as a direct consequence of CPA.

- As a result of the perpetrators’ actions during the pandemic, more than a third (39%) said their financial situation had ‘significantly worsened’ and another third (33%) said it had ‘slightly worsened’.

- And more than four fifths had attempted to control their money or finances during the pandemic. In most cases, this attempt had been successful.

While these findings are worrying, it’s good to see research being undertaken so that more can be understood about what’s going on in homes where all types of domestic abuse – including CPA – is happening. The more we know, the more organisations such as SEA, PEGS and many others can support parents and train professionals.