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Smallwood is delighted that a campaign by one of the organisations we have funded, Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), has led to the government’s announcing that post-separation abuse will become a criminal offence under the Serious Crime Act when the Domestic Abuse Bill passes into law.
This follows months of campaigning by SEA alongside survivors, activists, academics, MPs and Peers which has successfully resulted in an improved Bill for victims-survivors that offers them greater safety.
The Trust awarded funding of £90,000 to Surviving Economic Abuse to hire a Policy Officer over the course of three years. This equipped SEA with the capacity to focus necessary time and expertise on this crucial process and engage directly with parliamentarians and decision makers. Economic abuse is now recognised in law for the very first time.
“We are thrilled to see the Domestic Abuse Bill finally gain Royal Assent and become law. We want to pay tribute to all the victim survivors who bravely shared their experiences and the organisations who worked tirelessly to make this bill better. We are particularly pleased to see economic abuse named in the definition of domestic abuse, bringing this devastating form of abuse into plain sight. The post-separation abuse amendment will also strengthen the bill, protecting victim-survivors from ongoing coercion and control after leaving an abuser, when such behaviour commonly escalates.” – Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE, founder and CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse
