Financial Abuse and Coerced Debt Advice Project Launched to Support Dundee and West Lothian Domestic Abuse Survivors with Specialist Help

Scottish Women’s Aid has launched a new pilot, funded by the Scottish Government, to embed specialist debt advisers within Women’s Aid services in Dundee and West Lothian.

The need for this type of support is pressing. More than half of women experiencing domestic abuse report financial difficulties as a result of economic and/or financial abuse in relationships.*

The average coerced debt for survivors in the United Kingdom arising from financial and economic abuse is estimated at over £3,000, with many owing money for loans or credit cards taken out under duress or without consent.* Debts relating to council tax, rent, and utilities often remain in the survivor’s name, even when they were accrued by the perpetrator.**

The pilot will be delivered in partnership with Dundee Women’s Aid and West Lothian Women’s Aid. Debt advisers will be based directly in Women’s Aid offices, spaces where women already feel safe, supported, and believed. Women based in Dundee and West Lothian with coerced debt as a result of economic and/or financial abuse can contact Dundee Women’s Aid and West Lothian Women’s Aid for specialist debt support.

Advisers sourced from Dundee City Council and West Lothian Council will offer confidential, trauma-informed debt advice to women referred by Dundee Women’s Aid and West Lothian Women’s Aid support staff. This will include addressing coerced public and private debt, negotiating with creditors, exploring statutory debt solutions and signposting to benefits advice and other services.

By embedding expert advice in trusted environments, the project removes many of the barriers women face when seeking help with debt and financial hardship and recognises the deep and lasting impact of economic abuse, including coerced debt.

As part of the pilot, Scottish Women’s Aid and its local partners will provide training for advisers on the dynamics of domestic abuse, gender-based violence, and the specific needs of women, children, and young people.

While this pilot focuses on providing immediate, specialist debt advice, Scottish Women’s Aid recognises that individual support alone cannot solve the wider systemic barriers survivors face. Many women continue to encounter institutions and financial systems that fail to recognise or respond appropriately to economic abuse. Alongside this pilot, Scottish Women’s Aid will continue to advocate for systemic change across creditors, government, and justice systems, so that survivors are not held responsible for debts that are, in reality, part of the abuse they have endured.

The pilot will run until March 2026, with a full evaluation planned to demonstrate the difference made by having an experienced debt adviser based within Women’s Aid services, thereby strengthening the case for longer-term, sustainable funding.

Women affected by economic and/or financial abuse who would like to access the pilot in the Dundee and West Lothian areas can contact Dundee Women’s Aid and West Lothian Women’s Aid directly.

Dundee Women’s Aid: phone 01382 207099 or email support@dundeewomensaid.co.uk

West Lothian Women’s Aid: email info@wlwa.org.uk

More information about Financial and Economic Abuse and Coerced Debt

Economic abuse is one of the least talked about but most common forms of abuse. Abusers often control a woman’s access to money, sabotage her employment or studies, or build up debt in her name. Many survivors are left facing years of financial insecurity even after they leave their abuser.
Financial abuse is a form of economic abuse where abusers can control money, take wages or benefits, block bank accounts, force women into debt and refuse to provide access to household finances.
Coerced debt refers to debt accrued under duress or coercion by a perpetrator of domestic abuse, often without the survivor’s knowledge or consent.
Debts as a result of economic and financial abuse can trap women in dangerous situations, with many forced to choose between staying with their abuser or facing poverty and destitution. For women rebuilding their lives, the ongoing lack of support and understanding by financial systems, such as debt collectors, joint arrears, or withheld maintenance, can be a continuation of economic abuse long after separation.
Economic abuse is recognised within the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 as part of coercive and controlling behaviour.

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