Financial Abuse

Financial abuse involves forcing the victim to be financially dependent on the abuser by cutting off their access and control of money and financial information. Examples include:

stealing from or defrauding someone;
withholding money to buy food or medical treatment;
manipulating or exploiting someone for financial gain;
denying access to financial resources;
preventing a person from working or controlling their choice of occupation;
denying access to financial information such as how much money is coming in, how much is owed;
controlling the bank accounts;
forcing the person to have all expenditures and purchases approved by the abuser;
taking away cheque book or credit cards;
forcing the victim to work to support the abuser; and/or
refusing to account for the spending of family money.