Credit crunch exploited by abusive partners

The recession is making it harder for women to leave abusive partners, according to Women’s Aid

(in Ireland?).

The PA story draws attention to ways that abusers have been using money and control over finances to make life harder for their victims, and keep them trapped:

More than 15,000 women called the Women’s Aid helpline last year suffering from physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse at the hands of a partner. And the support group warned that controlling boyfriends and husbands were making life even harder by withholding and threatening to withhold money.

Margaret Martin, Women’s Aid director, said vulnerable women were trapped amid fears of increased poverty, losing their home and the effect it would have on their children. “Domestic violence is a huge problem within Irish society,” she said. “This year we are particularly concerned about the impact of the recession on women experiencing domestic violence from their boyfriends, husbands and partners.”

Photo by enigmatic, shared on Flickr under a Creative Commons license