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

Conclusion: Community services responses to economic abuse
Key services and programs relating to economic abuse include domestic and family violence
and general services such as financial counselling, legal assistance, accommodation
assistance, material aid and financial education programs. Identified gaps in community
sector responses to economic abuse and assistance for women to gain economic security
following abuse include post-crisis services and services which address issues relating to
the long-term impacts of economic abuse and domestic violence. Some recent initiatives in
the housing and accommodation sector do address longer term issues by supporting women
to gain and remain in rental housing and to remain safely in their homes following violence.
Research has also identified a need for greater support and individual advocacy for women
around financial issues following domestic violence and, in relation to this, there appears to
be a need for training, information exchange and collaboration between different services—
including between financial counselling and domestic violence services. At the same time
there is a considerable lack of knowledge about levels of understanding of economic abuse
and responses to it in different community service sectors. This is also the case in regard to
how collaborations may be occurring between individual workers or services in different
sectors and about models of co-location of services or of holistic case management which
might be providing effective responses.
There have been a variety of community sector responses which have provided financial
literacy education and financial capability building as both preventative measures and for
women who have experienced violence. While microfinance initiatives are now offered on an
extensive basis with some programs specifically designed for women who have experienced
domestic violence, other initiatives in this area have been on a small scale. There is a need
for a better understanding of the appropriate contexts for providing financial literacy
education to women experiencing economic abuse including the potential for ‘mainstream’
community-based education programs to fill this role.
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