Imagine a woman living inside the same four walls as her abusive partner – someone who controls her money, belittles her, manipulates her, gaslights her or physically abuses her. Although she is desperate to escape, when she works out the financial cost of leaving, she feels it is nearly impossible. How will she afford a down payment on a rental property? Pay for groceries, transportation, gas and electric, and clothes for herself and her children?

“It’s characteristic of abuse that a controlling partner will want to have their partner in a situation where they don’t have much money,” Ellen Miller, CEO of domestic abuse charity Refuge, tells Stylist.

She explains that abusive partners might acquire debts in a victim’s name, stop a victim working, threaten action if any earned money is not handed over or steal money from her account. All potentially leaving her with little to no money in her name. Without financial stability, a woman may not be able to leave her abusive partner, much less recover if she does manage to get away.

Last May, Women’s Aid launched a successful trial for emergency funding for victims of domestic abuse, which saw 600 victims given £250 or £500 to break free from their abusers. Off the back of the trial, the Home Office announced last week that £2 million in funding would be allocated to provide one-off payments of up to £500 via support services to domestic abuse victims. 

“Economic inequality is the biggest barrier to leaving an abuser,” Nicola Sharp-Jeffs of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse tells us. “A few hundred pounds can be the difference between a survivor’s ability to leave an abuser or to stay trapped with them and at risk of further harm or even death.”

“While £250 or £500 might not sound like a lot to everyone, to the 626 survivors who accessed the pilot version of the scheme, it made the world of difference,” a representative from Women’s Aid told Stylist. “83% used their grant in relation to fleeing their abuser, and most survivors used it for essential needs where they did not have access to their own money, or were not able to claim any support immediately after leaving. A local domestic abuse service who used the fund to help a survivor told us how she left without anything, and used the funding to purchase clothing as she did not have any clothing when she entered the service due to the abuse she experienced – her clothes had been destroyed. Because we know of the positive impact this fund can hand, we strongly welcome the ‘flexible fund’ which will continue this important support available for survivors of domestic abuse.”

While everyone in the sector welcomes the Home Office funding as a means of enabling victims to buy things they need like groceries, children’s uniforms, and furniture for a new home, some say it isn’t enough.

“It’s welcome, for sure, but it shouldn’t be needed,” Jess Phillips MP wrote on Twitter. She said it was like the “government giving back a vase that is smashed and put back together with Sellotape and expecting us to be grateful”.

She continued in another tweet: “It is a sticking plaster that will serve a tiny number of victims. Why is our welfare, housing and policing system so bad that women are left destitute?”

Every survivor who is able to access the ‘flee fund’, will no doubt appreciate it, but the danger is that such a small contribution to the overall need of victims and survivors is “a bit tokenistic”, according to Miller.

“The massive argument is still there for proper levels of investment to give survivors and their children the lives they deserve,” she continued.

Susan*, a 38-year-old mother of two in London, had been in a relationship with an abusive partner for over four years when she managed to escape with the help of Solace Women’s Aid in 2020.

“I don’t believe the one-off flee fund by itself would have gone far for me,” she told Stylist. “Domestic abuse is about uprooting your life, and not being able to offer any financial security to your children, let alone yourself.”

Upon leaving, Susan didn’t know how she was going to pay for any of her essentials. 

“There are expenses needed for an indefinite time not taken into account,” she said.

Although counting herself as “lucky” to have received help from Solace Women’s Aid, Susan remembers waiting five weeks for her Universal Credit to kick in. Susan was also trying to sort out her housing, living in temporary accommodation while unable to rent privately as she was deemed intentionally homeless.

To top it off, her ex-partner accused her of kidnapping the children and parental alienation – something for which she had to go to court.

“The measure offers little hope to the stark reality of what would make women safe,” she said. “I think policies around a more beneficial fund needs to be revisited by the government.”

Safe accommodation is one of the greatest needs the sector has been calling on for years. Three years ago (before the cost of living crisis), a report on the housing crisis among domestic abuse victims revealed that over 68% of people still in a relationship with an abusive partner said that future housing concerns were a barrier to leaving. Those who had managed to escape their partners said housing issues were the “price to pay” for getting out of a terrible relationship. Not much at all has changed since the report. If anything, housing for survivors is even more dire.

For migrant women with no recourse to public funds, the chances of even getting into a refuge are slim. Getting permanent housing is nearly impossible.

Then there are the ongoing costs of essentials, court cases and unpaid debts, all of which are difficult to pay without any source of income, and it’s widely known how long Universal Credit payments can take to come through.

Ideally, women would receive independent aid from support workers who can help them navigate the complexities of the police, family court, housing department and the benefits system. While charities are doing their best to keep up with referrals, Miller said support workers’ caseloads are astronomically high, which is one reason the sector is calling for over £230 million for investment for support work.

Nicole Jacobs, the government’s independent domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, agreed that domestic abuse services are crying out for help, telling Stylist: “These lifesaving services are struggling to stay afloat. Small, specialist services dedicated to supporting victims who face the greatest barriers to support – including LGBTQ+, Black and minoritised, and Deaf and disabled victims – are at particular risk of closure.”

While the flee fund will be useful initially to some women, there is so much more that needs to be done to enable women to leave abusive partners and pursue recovery.

Miller wants systemic change for the victims and survivors of domestic abuse from police, government, financial institutions and regulators, housing departments, family courts and the Department for Work and Pensions – not just a ‘tokenistic’ one-off payment.

“Let’s not for a second think that this comes anywhere near to meeting the financial needs and the need for system change,” concluded Miller. “There is so much more to do to tackle domestic abuse and to allow those who have been subjected to it to recover and get the life they deserve.”

*name has been changed

In the UK, the domestic violence helpline is 0808 2000 247. Alternatively, contact Women’s Aid, Solace or Refuge for advice and support. 

Images: Getty