Queen Camilla says she has 'learned a lot' after hearing economic abuse stories from victim-survivors

Photographs released from the event show Queen Camilla meeting survivors in the Morning Room at Clarence House and listening to their experiences.

The Queen joined a private discussion with three survivors who shared their lived experience of economic abuse and the long-term impact it has had on their lives.

They also spoke about the importance of telling their stories publicly in the hope of improving understanding, strengthening responses and ensuring women receive better protection and support.

The charity, known as SEA, takes a survivor-centred approach to raising public awareness and guiding policy and practice change.

Founded in 2017, SEA works to develop best practices across sectors, including financial services, policing and local authorities.

Survivors who originally contacted the charity for help later became founding members of the Experts by Experience Group, which now helps shape SEA’s work across all areas.

During the Clarence House visit, survivors discussed the many forms economic abuse can take, including interference with employment, control over income and spending, restricting access to food and transport, and taking out credit or loans in a victim’s name.

They also described how economic control is often combined with physical, emotional or psychological abuse to create fear, dependence and isolation.

Thanking the charity at the reception, the Queen said: “I thought I knew most things about domestic abuse, but I’ve learned a lot today that I didn’t know about.

“And talking to all these very brave women and getting them to tell their stories and talk to each other and put to all the banks and the financial institutions under one umbrella, swapping ideas and stories, I think, is the way forward. So, I just hope that today has been a step in that direction.”

According to SEA, more than four million women in the UK experienced economic abuse in the last 12 months.

The charity describes economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse in which a current or former partner controls a victim’s money and financial resources, such as housing, employment, savings, child maintenance and essential items, including clothing and phones. The abuse often continues long after a relationship has ended.

Many survivors face further control through joint financial ties, including bank accounts, mortgages and loans. Others experience difficulties during divorce and separation as they attempt to regain financial stability or separate assets.

As a result, survivors can face long-term economic insecurity, including coerced debt, homelessness, job loss and the loss of personal possessions.

The Queen later joined guests from the banking sector who are working within their companies to develop stronger measures for tackling economic abuse. Increasing awareness in financial institutions is seen as essential to identifying victims early and helping them secure safe access to their own money.

Staff and trustees from SEA said the discussions with Camilla offered an opportunity to highlight the scale of economic abuse in the UK and underline the importance of coordinated action between government, charities and industry.

Queen Camilla has long supported initiatives focused on domestic abuse and has previously spoken about the need to break the silence surrounding hidden forms of abuse, including those that are not widely understood by the public.

SEA continues to call for improved statutory protections for survivors and greater recognition of economic abuse within domestic abuse responses across the UK.

Natalie Curtis, an SEA ambassador, said: “Domestic abuse is such a complex subject, when we talk about economic abuse, that’s another barrier for many women leaving. And for her (the Queen) to be so empathetic, caring and show her support for victims and survivors means the world to the likes of myself and others. I think it’s such a privilege to be able to come to Clarence House and for her to hear first-hand what incredible work SEA do. It’s life-changing and life-saving.”

SEA chief executive officer Sam Smethers said financial abuse has “a really devastating impact on women’s lives, it can prevent them from leaving an abuser in a dangerous situation, but it also often continues post-separation, it can go on for many, many years”.

She said it had been “really powerful” hearing the women’s stories, and “quite an emotional day, they’ve all been talking about their own personal experiences of economic abuse, which is a dangerous form of coercive control and really how connected it is with their own safety and their own experiences of other forms of abuse as well. What really hit home today is how it carries on for many, many years, post-separation.”

Asked how important it is that the Queen shines a spotlight on the issue, she said: “It’s so important, because it’s raising awareness, we know that raising awareness on its own will save lives because victim-survivors are more likely to seek help if they know they have been experiencing economic abuse and they can recognise the signs of that.

“But also because she’s such a powerful advocate herself. We know just how committed she is on the issues of violence against women and girls. So, to be here today talking about economic abuse with someone who is such a powerful champion … that’s really amazing for us.”