Skyrocketing food and fuel bills will be felt by most people over the coming months, but the income squeeze will have a hidden cost for victims of abuse, womens’ groups have warned – especially for those living on the poverty line.
They told The Ferret that the pressures on people’s incomes will mean they feel pressured to stay put, and that abusers may mould the situation to their advantage, by exerting control over their partner’s finances.
Victims of domestic violence rarely have control of their own money. More than 90 per cent are subject to economic abuse, research conducted by Scottish Women’s Aid found, with spending controlled or managed by their abuser.
This lack of access to money is a “huge factor” in affording women and children the chance to escape violence at home. Some are given piecemeal allowances to live on, if any money at all.
While some will struggle to afford to escape, others may live on increasingly punitive sums of money allocated by their abuser – with a number cut off from accessing essentials like fuel altogether.
“When domestic abuse is added into the equation, the injustices multiply and the social and individual costs mount,” the CEO of Scottish Women’s Aid, Martha Scott, told The Ferret.
“A huge factor constraining women’s and children’s choices in resisting domestic abuse is their economic disadvantage.”
Concerns about the impact of Covid-19 on victims have also been felt across the country.
Scotland’s domestic violence rates rose for a fifth year running in 2021, with Police Scotland recording 65,251 incidents of domestic abuse, with cases rising by four per cent.