UK report finds digital finance products used in abuse of almost one in five young women and girls
Almost one in five young women and girls in the UK have had digital financial products used as a tool of abuse by a current or former partner, according to charity Surviving Economic Abuse. Its report Access Denied, Futures Derailed, based on a nationally representative Ipsos UK survey of teenage girls and women aged 16–24, puts that figure at nearly 700,000 people. Abusers exploit banking apps, online payments and digital credit to cause financial harm and keep victims from leaving.
One in three young women experience economic abuse overall, with the highest rates among disabled women and those with childcare responsibilities. One in eight had a partner or ex block login details such as online banking passwords, and the same share had digital wallets controlled. Seven per cent had credit taken in their name without consent or because they were too afraid to refuse, including from “buy now, pay later” lenders. More than 40% of those abused said it caused financial difficulty; half reported harm to mental health, including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. More than a third said it stopped them leaving, and one in six borrowed—including from digital payday and BNPL lenders—to cover essentials.
A survivor identified as Becky was coerced into more than £40,000 of debt, including a holiday loan and BNPL products taken without proper verification; after she fled she needed an individual voluntary arrangement that wrecked her credit. Chief executive Sam Smethers said digital products can be “weapons of abuse.” Experts and survivors want economic abuse taught in the promised financial-education curriculum, and banks to add protections—including around AI—so perpetrators cannot so easily exploit everyday digital finance.
Continue in the app — vote & join in ➔