A leading charity supporting women facing economic harm has warned that financial abuse in Scotland is “probably getting worse” as sexual violence reaches record levels and the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze households.
Financially Included, which specialises in economic support, launched Scotland’s first dedicated economic abuse helpline, the Purple Phone, in East Renfrewshire this week.
The service will take calls from women seeking advice or intervention around financial control, debt coercion, and other forms of economic abuse, whether currently ongoing or experienced in the past.
Amber Cully, the charity’s project manager, told The Herald that most women they support (around 90%) have already left an abusive environment and their new helpline aims to reach women who are preparing to leave or considering doing so.
“A few years ago, post-Covid, we were all talking about the cost of living, and the harsh reality is that it hasn’t gone away,” Ms Cully said. “If we are all finding it difficult, imagine how difficult it is for women who are leaving abusive environments with often only the clothes on their back and starting afresh.
“They are often moving from the perpetrator into refuge or temporary accommodation and then having another journey to secure permanent accommodation and start all over again.”
Leaving an abusive relationship can take multiple attempts, Ms Cully added, and the financial burden can be overwhelming.
“We know it takes women about seven times to leave, and the cost of rebuilding your life is tens of thousands of pounds," she said, "When people are reliant on benefits or low-income jobs, and women are often in the lowest-paid roles, that’s particularly difficult.”
Asked whether economic abuse of women is worsening in Scotland, she said: “Yes, it’s probably getting worse.
"The statistics on gender-based violence and domestic abuse are on the rise.
"Economic abuse has been around for many years but perhaps it has been unrecognised. People are trying to talk about it more, and projects like ourselves are trying to raise awareness.”
According to UK-wide statistics from Refuge, 85% of people who experience financial abuse have also experienced some other form of domestic abuse.
Statistics from the Crown Office in September this year show that rape charges with a domestic abuse identifier have risen from 573 to 635 compared to the previous year. These figures point to a rise in sexual violence in the context of abusive relationships where it is likely that other types of abuse, such as financial, could be going on.
Rape Crisis Scotland told The Herald they are seeing "increasing cases" of survivors being forced to take out loans or credit cards in their names, which burdens them with debt and makes it increasingly difficult to leave an abusive relationship.
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Ms Cully said improving financial education and security for young women must form part of the solution to prevent economic abuse.
“Financial abuse was our main focus when we started as a project," she said, "We opened our referral system to all women’s organisations in Glasgow and very quickly started getting referrals from Rape Crisis, from women who hadn’t necessarily experienced domestic abuse but who had been victims of forced marriage, trafficking, honour-based abuse.
“Their physical and mental wellbeing has been impacted so badly that they have been unable to work or had time out of education, and their ability to thrive and survive has been impacted.”
Financially Included hopes to expand the Purple Phone nationally, though Ms Cully acknowledged there is a “huge task ahead”.
Scottish Women's Aid told The Herald the majority of women living with domestic abuse experience economic harm and they urged bodies such as councils to take steps to prevent this.
Their CEO Dr Marsha Scott said: “Economic abuse affects thousands across Scotland and the UK. Our experience tells us that the vast majority of women and children living with domestic abuse experience it, often in many forms. Public bodies such as local Councils need to understand and mitigate the coerced debts that are such a barrier to leaving abusers for survivors, and all elements of our system need to identify abuse and provide appropriate support.
"We warmly welcome increased support for survivors, including initiatives like the Purple Phone in East Renfrewshire, which offers expert support for economic abuse to women in the local area. Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline provides nationwide support for all forms of domestic abuse, including economic abuse. Scottish Women’s Aid urges continued investment in specialist services so all survivors can access safety, independence, and justice.”
Responding to broader concerns about rising levels of gender-based violence, Scotland’s Housing Secretary, Mairi McAllan, said the scale of the problem is undeniable and changing in nature.
“There is no doubt the problem is significant,” she said. “It’s also multifaceted. There is a whole series of ways men exert abuse and violence towards women, and that’s changing as well because we have the online world. We have to keep challenging ourselves to respond to this in all its forms.”
Ms McAllan highlighted the recently passed Victims and Witnesses Bill, which will create a standalone sexual offences court intended to provide an “entirely right” setting for such cases and help the Crown Office manage growing demand.
Convictions for rape and attempted rape have reached record highs in Scotland, figures show.
There were 221 convictions for rape and attempted rape in 2023-24 – up 19% from 186 the year before and an all-time high among comparable records from 1989.
Although recent figures show rape convictions at a record high, the Justice Secretary said the data must be handled “very carefully”.
“Of course we don’t want to celebrate it in any way,” she added. “But what it demonstrates to me is that more women are coming forward and more rape cases are being taken to prosecution. That is very much worth noting, and it demonstrates progress.”
In the Holyrood chamber over the week, the Scottish Government was asked if they will consider reforming joint liability rules in areas such as council tax by Ruth Maguire MSP. Shirley-Anne Somerville said that the government is "always keen to see what more" they can do to improve the situation.
Ms Somerville said the Housing Act places a duty on Scottish ministers to undertake a review within six months on the impact of overall liability for council tax arrears.
In East Renfrewshire, the Council’s Money Advice and Rights Team (MART) now has a dedicated officer supporting women experiencing economic abuse. This officer has helped women whose finances were completely controlled—bank cards, salaries, even ID—leaving them with nothing.
The council has said that through income maximisation and debt intervention, survivors have regained over £1,000 a month and cleared fraudulent debts.
Councillor Katie Pragnell, Chair of East Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board, added: “This helpline is more than a phone number – it’s a lifeline. It means women and children trapped by financial control now have somewhere to turn. We’re proud to lead the way in East Renfrewshire and will keep working with partners to make sure no one faces abuse alone.”
The Purple Phone Helpline number is 0343 841 0132. It is open Monday 4.30pm to 7.30pm, Wednesday 10am to 1pm and Thursday 1.30pm to 4.30pm.
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