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Chamber and committees

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Financial considerations when leaving an abusive relationship

The Committee is looking into the financial implications that women face when leaving an abusive relationship.

Police Scotland recorded 61,934 incidents of domestic abuse in 2022-23; their figures also recorded that more than 80% survivors of this abuse were female.

Abuse can take different forms. Sometimes, women are hurt by economic abuse. This means an abuser restricts a person from getting, using, or keeping money. In 2020, a domestic abuse organisation for women called Refuge found that more than 8 million adults in the UK have faced economic abuse. On average, survivors of economic abuse who find themselves in debt owe £3,272.

Women in abusive relationships may also struggle with the cost of living, which may prevent them leaving the relationship. In 2022, Women’s Aid reported that almost three-quarters of women living, and having financial links, with an abuser said the cost-of-living crisis made it hard for them to leave.

A more recent report from Women’s Aid found that it could cost a survivor almost £50,000 to leave an abuser.

The Committee wants to learn more about:

  • the support local authorities give to women leaving abusive relationships
  • how rules and practices related to the public sector and social security take account of the financial issues women can face when leaving abusive relationships
  • how much information and advice is available from public bodies and charities

Call for views (closed)

The Committee ran a call for views in order to learn more about the financial pressures women face when leaving an abusive relationship.

The call for views closed on Thursday 27 February 2025.

Read the responses on Citizen Space

Correspondence

The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:

Financial considerations when leaving an abusive relationship

Written submission from the Legal Services Agency, 28 February 2025