Developed in collaboration with its members and leading abuse charities Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) and the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA), the ABI has published two new guides to help the industry better support people experiencing economic and domestic abuse.

Launched today in Parliament, the guides draw on good practice examples to help firms detect and respond to economic and domestic abuse, reduce opportunities for perpetrators, support safe disclosure, and improve outcomes for customers.

The work forms part of the industry's wider efforts to improve outcomes for vulnerable customers and support the Government's Financial Inclusion Strategy.  It also reflects a shared commitment across the ABI’s membership to go beyond regulatory requirements to support customers facing these types of abuse.

Developed in partnership with SEA, A guide to supporting customers experiencing economic abuse aims to help firms better identify economic abuse, support customers experiencing it, and reduce opportunities for perpetrators.

Economic abuse is a form of domestic abuse. It involves behaviour by someone with whom the victim-survivor is personally connected to, to control their access to money, assets, services and other economic resources. For example, redirecting insurance claim payments to the perpetrator or forcing victims to make pension withdrawals.

According to SEA, one in six women in the UK has experienced economic abuse by a current or former partner.¹

The guide brings together regulatory expectations, industry insights and practical guidance to help firms identify risks, enable safe disclosure, and design customer journeys, communications and controls with economic abuse in mind.

In tandem with the customer guide, the ABI has also set out how firms can better support employees experiencing domestic abuse.

Developed in partnership with EIDA, A guide to supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse, provides practical examples of how employers can create supportive workplace environments, equip managers to respond appropriately and help colleagues access specialist support when they need it.

It comes as Office for National Statistics data shows that 12.5 million adults have experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16,² while research estimates the annual cost of domestic abuse to businesses in England at £17 billion.³

The guide provides practical examples of good practice, such as training and referral pathways, to help firms build cultures where colleagues experiencing abuse feel supported and able to access help.