Category: Events

Lived experience at the heart of system change on International Economic Abuse Awareness Day

“Sharing my story is not easy but I want others to know there’s hope. I want to raise awareness of the issue and encourage businesses and organisations to develop appropriate responses for their customers.” — Rina*, homeowner and survivor of economic abuse.

International Economic Abuse Awareness Day is an opportunity to call for greater recognition of the harm caused by economic abuse and the need for solutions. This year, we gathered people working in the community, private, and public sectors for an event at Parliament focused on making a difference for people experiencing economic abuse.

Economic abuse is a common form and feature of family violence. It can happen through restricting someone’s access to money or financial accounts, taking someone’s money without consent, or accumulating debt under their name. The harm caused by economic abuse can be worsened when people affected face further challenges dealing with lenders like banks and finance companies.

At Parliament we heard from leaders working to address economic abuse and the conditions that allow it to happen.

Kellie Coombes, Secretary for Women and Chief Executive of Manatū Wāhine | Ministry for Women, shed light on the prevalence of gender-based violence and economic abuse in New Zealand.

Emma Powell, Chief Executive of Te Puna Aonui, explained the deep connections between money and family violence, noting that money can be a reason people don’t leave an abusive relationship.

Jane Wrightson, Retirement Commissioner, highlighted the affect economic abuse can have on women’s ability to save for retirement, and shared a national strategy to improve financial wellbeing and resilience.

Hon. Nicola Grigg, Minister for Women, underscored the need to address gender inequities that shape family violence, noting the recent launch of the Gender Pay Gap Toolkit that supports businesses to identify and address pay gaps.

Lyn McMorran, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Federation, and Emma Saunders, Chief Executive of Good Shepherd New Zealand, introduced industry codes of practice being co-designed to help financial service providers improve their capability to understand economic abuse and support customers experiencing it.

The breadth of strategies and solutions working to prevent and address economic abuse is impressive. Good things always come when we share perspectives and strengthen our collective response. One speaker made a particular impression in the hearts and minds of attendees — Rina, who shared her experience of economic abuse and the challenges she faces as she heals and regains independence.

Rina talked about noticing changes in her husband’s behaviour after 20 years of marriage.

“Collection agencies started calling about debts I knew nothing about. They told me to stop playing games and for me to take ownership. Letter after letter, calls every day, scare tactics, lenders turning up to my house. This started to take a toll on my health.”

“Credit cards with major banks and lending I had never applied for appeared on my credit profile. These debts were obtained online without my knowledge or my consent.”

Rina helped a room full of people working in finance, regulation and government better understand what it’s like to struggle with unwieldy systems and layers of process alongside the effects of family violence.

The empowerment, strength and satisfaction Rina has gained through resetting her credit rating, accessing a home loan and becoming financially independent shows the collective impact we can make in the lives of people recovering from economic abuse.

“Today I am a homeowner. My name is on the title. Both children live with me. I know about my money. I know where it goes. I know who’s getting paid. I love who I am today.”

* name has been changed for safety

Women In Finance fundraising lunch raises $17,000 for women and girls experiencing harm or hardship

Good Shepherd New Zealand was this year’s charity partner for the Financial Services Federation (FSF) Women in Finance fundraising lunch. The event amplifies the voices and contributions of women working in Aotearoa’s financial services sector. Generous support from attendees this year means the event will also amplify the strength and wellbeing of women rebuilding their lives after harm and hardship.

The fund we use to provide small grants to women, girls and their families alongside our service delivery has been generously bolstered by the FSF Women in Finance luncheon. Every cent of money donated to this fund is passed along to women and girls whose life circumstances are holding them down.

“It feels especially good to know that a room full of women lifting each other up in their industry will translate to women lifting themselves and their families out of impossible choices, towards safety, wellbeing and connection.” — Emma Saunders, CEO of Good Shepherd NZ

The event was masterfully emceed by Petra Bagust, and featured raffle tickets, an auction, and insightful discussion by Kerry Boielle, CEO of TSB, and Vittoria Shortt, CEO of ASB. Many hands were raised to bid on auction items, and some were raised to offer spontaneous personal donations or contribute on behalf of organisations.

Donations will help Good Shepherd support women working to free themselves from hardship, and/or economic harm relating to family violence. Sometimes a small grant can be the thing that keeps someone safe, gives them a break, or makes the difference between spiralling down and looking ahead.

For example, we have provided a small grant to:

Buy groceries for a mum of seven leaving a violent relationship, while we worked alongside her to address the impact of economic abuse
Enable car repairs for a woman who needed her car to get to cancer treatments
Pay a $16 road toll bill, which meant a police officer could get a no-interest car loan to transport her child with special needs
Buy a fridge for the mum of a baby and toddler leaving a violent relationship, who was forced to live on takeaways in an empty house
Pay rent arrears for a woman who was going to be evicted, preventing homelessness and enabling her to become employed.

Congratulations to the Financial Services Federation for hosting a truly special event, full of talented women being real and building each other up. Your team is small, but it is also mighty! We are so fortunate to be your partner charity in a year when the Women in Finance event raised more than double the amount of the previous year.

These few hours of connection, inspiration and celebration will bring relief and opportunity in times when good news is hard to come by. Thank you to everyone who gave through the event — your contribution has energised us and will make a real difference in helping women, girls and their families be safe, well, strong and connected.

Good Shepherd and Financial Services Federation partner to help non-bank lenders address economic abuse

26/11/2024

Good Shepherd NZ is delighted to be partnering with the Financial Services Federation (FSF) to create a code of practice that can be used by member organisations who want to support survivors of family violence economic abuse.

“Economic abuse is a common form and feature of family violence. Examples include restricting someone’s access to money or financial accounts, taking someone’s money without consent, or accumulating debt under their name”, says Good Sheperd NZ CEO, Emma Saunders.

The codes of practice will create guidelines for organisations to provide effective support and fair treatment to customers experiencing economic harm due to family violence.

“Our clients tell us organisations’ frontline staff often don’t understand this form of abuse or know how to help and they often have to navigate many different policies and procedures”, says Emma.

The code is being developed in conjunction with a group of FSF member lender organisations, and FSF Executive Director, Lyn McMorran has had high interest from members wanting to be involved.

“We know organisations like those that belong to FSF are committed to supporting customers experiencing harm and vulnerabilities, so working together to develop a code of practice allows us to draw on our expertise to create a code of practice that we hope will ultimately help victims”, says Lyn.

Co-design of the code for FSF members has begun. Further codes of practice will also be developed for the energy, telecommunications, and financial advisor sectors. Work to develop the codes is expected to be complete in early 2025.

The announcement comes as Good Sheperd NZ marks International Economic Abuse Awareness Day (26 November 2024) with an event in Parliament to raise awareness of economic abuse and to announce the work on the code.

“Part of the issue with economic abuse is that it’s hard to recognise, and many people do not realise it’s a form of family violence. Even if finances are not used as a means of abuse, family violence creates economic harm. For example, money needed to move to safety or not being able to work due to fear or physical injury”, says Emma.

The theme for International Economic Abuse Awareness Day 2024 is ‘There’s no excuse for economic abuse’ and the day is part of the UN Women 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

Editor’s note

Help is available:

Women’s Refuge — if you’re experiencing financial or economic abuse and/or other forms of family violence call 0800 733 843
Good Shepherd’s Family Violence Economic Harm Service — if you’re recovering from family violence and want help with the money piece call 0800 466 370 option 4.

What is economic abuse?

Financial and economic abuse is recognised in the Family Violence Act 2018, as a form of psychological abuse. It takes many forms — eg restricting money, damaging property, preventing from work, manipulating how much child support is owed, forcing or fraudulently incurring debt.
Recent data shows that more than 60% of women seeking support from Women’s Refuge, who completed a risk assessment, noted they experienced financial or economic abuse. (Good Shepherd research, to be published in January 2024)
It can be hard to recognise economic abuse because, like other acts of psychological violence, it doesn’t leave visible marks.
While it often occurs alongside other types of violence, it can also be a standalone act.
Family violence economic harm can happen to anyone. We see people from all walks of life, socio-economic and demographic backgrounds, who suffer under controlling behaviours and economic abuse.

The impact can be devastating and can affect financial wellbeing long after the relationship is over. Research shows us that women’s access to employment is affected by economic harm, which limits their financial independence during and after an abusive relationship.

About Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd NZ is a charitable non-government organisation that helps women, girls and their families who are experiencing harm and hardship.
Good Shepherd provides a specialist support service to help people address and recover from family violence economic harm. Our specialists have experience in financial capability, advocacy and working with those who have experienced family violence and economic harm.
Our work in New Zealand began in 1886. We work in more than 70 countries, drawing on collective expertise, especially in the areas of economic participation and wellbeing, safety and resilience.
The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations for its work with women and girls, and is supported by the Good Shepherd International Foundation.

About the FSF

The FSF is the non-profit industry association for specialist lenders operating in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a collective customer base of over 1.7million consumers and businesses. FSF members provide crucial competition to traditional banks through innovation, agility, and the ability to be closer to their customers.
Members include finance, leasing and credit-related insurance providers, and include the likes of UDC Finance, MTF, Turners, several credit unions and building societies, fintech firms, and the finance arms of global motor vehicle brands including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
With 60 years of history, FSF has stringent membership criteria and enforces a Code of Conduct to maintain high standards in responsible lending. FSF members prioritise compliance, support consumer protection enforcement, and advocate for balanced regulations that ensure New Zealanders can access responsibly provided credit.