Spotlight on Economic Abuse: a Literature and Policy Review

Conclusion: public policies and economic abuse
At the societal level the issue of economic abuse is directly tackled by policies that focus on
equality for women and economic equality has been a strong theme in recent public policy in
Australia. While prevention has been a key focus of recent policies to address violence
against women there is little evidence of any specific attention to raising community
awareness of economic abuse as an aspect of domestic and family violence. At the other
end of the spectrum public policies framing responses to domestic and family violence
through tertiary interventions targeted at the individual level have a strong safety focus which
is largely a focus on physical safety at the point of crisis and on stopping further violence.
There is a stated objective to look to more holistic responses to violence and to involve
mainstream services in addressing women’s needs following violence. This is a trend which
may see a greater focus on women’s longer-term wellbeing including their financial
wellbeing. At present such a focus is evident in some areas including in homelessness
policies although in this area shortages of both crisis accommodation and affordable housing
continue to be chronic problems.
While there are a range of concerns with income support policies as they meet the needs of
women generally—especially women with children—the evidence suggests that there are
also shortcomings in the ways in which the system is able to respond to the immediate
needs of women exiting domestic violence. There are two separate aspects to this: the first
concerns the administration of the current system whereby women experience problems
accessing the supports that are available, and the second is that the system is not designed
to meet the needs of this group of women–rather a series of exceptions and add-on
arrangements have been made. The first issue is one which received considerable attention
in the recent review of legal frameworks relating to family violence conducted by the ALRC
(2011c) and one outcome of that review was a large number of recommendations to improve
responses for people experiencing violence. Addressing the second issue is probably more
difficult, including because there is a very poor evidence-base relating to the nature of the
problems women face and how they fare over time, including how immediate hardship on
escaping violence might impact on women’s ability to gain financial security in the longer
term. In relation to the income management scheme it is difficult to see how this will assist
people experiencing domestic and family violence while it may lead to stigmatisation.
As with income support the interaction of the child support and family assistance
arrangements with economic abuse are issues that have been taken up in the recent ALRC
review and are the subject of recommendations for change. If the recommendations are
acted on they may go some way to addressing present problems associated with these
arrangements that include the continuation of economic abuse after women have left
relationships. However, problems which may require additional responses concern the
adequacy of payments, and avoidance of child support payments including through
manipulation of care arrangements.
Key issues relating to the ways in which public policies impact on women’s access to
affordable legal assistance following economic abuse are difficult to identify due to the
diversity of legal matters women may be dealing with. Other complicating factors are
differences in laws and systems of legal assistance across states and territories. In addition,
there is limited research about the pathways through legal systems that women might take to
regain economic security following domestic violence and any problems they may face. This
is an area which requires further research.
The need to build women’s financial capability has been identified in public policies directed
to equality for women, in policies to address violence against women and in the national
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