Spotlight on economic abuse - Good Shepherd Youth & Family ...

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Financial counselling services are located in a diverse range of community services organisations. Given this it is likely that considerable diversity exists in relation to financial counsellors’ awareness and understanding of domestic and family violence issues. While the sector is moving toward formal professionalisation with the introduction of certification for financial counsellors, historically this has not been the case and there is no doubt considerable diversity in areas of expertise reflecting organisational location and other factors. There is little published research literature concerning financial counselling services and practices in relation to people experiencing domestic and family violence including economic abuse. The recent qualitative study by Braaf and Barrett Meyering (2011) cited some dissatisfaction on the part of specialist domestic and family violence service workers and women with approaches taken by financial counsellors but it is not apparent from this study that these are systemic issues or reflect a good understanding of service provision by financial counsellors. However Braaf and Barrett Meyering’s findings do suggest there may be a need for better linkages and exchange between domestic and family violence services and financial counselling sectors. Community service provision of finance programs In Australia a diverse range of community services organisations provide multiple services including material aid and financial assistance while they may also employ financial counsellors. Some providers of varied services to people on low incomes have expertise and experience in providing financial education and may also provide a range of financial products and services. A scan of web-based references to economic and financial abuse identified a number of recent community sector initiatives in Australia which specifically respond to economic abuse issues. Most of these are small or time-limited pilot programs. An exception is the provision of microfinance targeted specifically to women who have experienced domestic or family violence. However there are a broader range of general services and programs designed to build financial capacity for people on low incomes provided by community services organisations, including microfinance and financial literacy programs. Microfinance initiatives Microfinance initiatives, along with financial education, are program responses which directly address issues of women’s financial stability and subjective financial wellbeing. Programs and services such as no interest and low interest loans can meet immediate needs to replace household items while giving women some control over their finances and increasing ability to gain economic independence (Correia 2000; Corrie 2011; Landvogt 2011). Other microfinance programs are matched savings accounts through which women can build assets. In Australia there are a small number of such programs operating within the community sector specifically targeted to women who have experienced domestic and family violence supported by banks including the National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank and the Australian Government. Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service, Kildonan UnitingCare and other agencies provide these services. 14 14 The Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service microfinance program is now provided through Good Shepherd Microfinance, see ). For Kildonan UnitingCare see . 54
Financial education and asset building The range of community services organisations that have offered financial education programs is much broader and includes organisations such as neighbourhood houses and learning centres, CALD community organisations and women’s health services. There are a variety of mainstream programs for people on low incomes, with the largest of these the ‘MoneyMinded’ program supported by the ANZ Bank and provided by a large number of community organisations across Australia (Russell, Bailey & Wall 2010). Recent initiatives targeted to women include Good Shepherd Youth & Family Services’ action research project on women and financial capability (Landvogt 2008) which produced a DVD and guide for a community education model for financial education (Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service 2008). There have been a number of programs specifically targeting women who have experienced domestic and family violence. In 2012 in Victoria the Women’s Information and Referral Exchange (WIRE) is running workshops for women and training for domestic and family violence workers and the ‘Tools for Change: Women and financial capability project’ developed by Women’s Health Goulburn North East (WHGNE) is providing training for mentors to support women who have experienced violence (WHGNE 2012, viewed 19 August, http://www.whealth.com.au/work_tools_for_change.html; WIRE 2012, viewed 13 June 2012, http://www.wire.org.au/). Similar initiatives are apparent in other states; for example, in South Australia financial literacy training for women who have experienced violence is currently being provided through Uniting Communities Adelaide East and in New South Wales the Domestic Violence Support, Western Sydney Service began providing these types of programs in 2011 (for the Uniting Communities Adelaide East program see , for Domestic Violence Support, Western Sydney Service, see , viewed 19 August 2012). While the immediate requirements of women leaving economic abuse may be quite different from other women—as they include the separation of finances from ex-partners and the establishment of independent finances—there is a need for research to identify whether there are benefits in specifically targeted programs for women leaving domestic violence. While there is clearly a need for information there are examples of booklets that have been developed which include lists of documents women should take and the range of possible matters they need to deal with. For example, WIRE has an information sheet on legal, financial and housing issues and another on property issues for women leaving relationships (see WIRE at , viewed 19 June 2012). Community legal services There are a number of specialised, mainly government-funded, legal centres based in major cities that focus on consumer issues and also provide financial counselling. They may also offer telephone advice services. For example, in New South Wales there is the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW (see ) and, in Victoria, the Consumer Action Law Centre (). The Consumer Action Law Centre runs the MoneyHelp service which offers an internet-based financial information service and a telephone advice line targeted to people experiencing financial difficulty. Generalist community legal centres deal with both family violence and consumer debt and other financial issues so it is possible that there is a strong awareness of economic abuse in this sector as these services may be a first port of call for women leaving domestic violence. Notably, an early Australian research report on economic abuse (Branigan 2004) was undertaken by a community legal and financial counselling service. 55
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Spotlight on Econo
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Contents List of Abbreviations ....
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Executive Summary This literature r
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legal matters migration matters hea
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There is a need for greater support
Page 12 and 13:
Overview This paper is organised as
Page 14 and 15: The DV Vic definition informs the u
Page 16 and 17: Case Study: Maria Maria’s husband
Page 18 and 19: Some ‘typical scenarios’ of eco
Page 20 and 21: As part of repeated or ongoing cont
Page 22 and 23: also outside the scope of this pape
Page 24 and 25: Influences, Impacts and Points of I
Page 26 and 27: Particular vulnerabilities to econo
Page 28 and 29: Exploring the impacts of economic a
Page 30 and 31: Impacts relating to child support.
Page 32 and 33: Compared with 1995, people were mor
Page 34 and 35: Public Policies and Practices There
Page 36 and 37: the legal frameworks affecting dome
Page 38 and 39: In addition to family violence poli
Page 40 and 41: Centrelink may seek to recover paym
Page 42 and 43: Services staff providing customer s
Page 44 and 45: perpetrators to be excluded from th
Page 46 and 47: purpose is to “build the capacity
Page 48 and 49: financial literacy strategy. Howeve
Page 50 and 51: or in any other way controls or dom
Page 52 and 53: In its recent review the ALRC ident
Page 54 and 55: and for the creation of a new tempo
Page 56 and 57: equiring assistance or consideratio
Page 58 and 59: establish if there is a need for re
Page 60 and 61: considered by community sector grou
Page 62 and 63: Community Services Policies and Pra
Page 66 and 67: Conclusion: Community services resp
Page 68 and 69: —— 2011, Forms of employment, A
Page 70 and 71: Chappell, D & Di Martino, V 2000, V
Page 72 and 73: se.unsw.edu.au/Conference%20papers/
Page 74 and 75: Northern Territory Government 2008,
Page 76 and 77: VicHealth—see Victorian Health Pr
Page 78 and 79: ALRC (2011c) recommendations for ch
Page 80: GoodShepherd_Cover_print.indd 2 1/1
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