My passion and purpose
My passion and purpose for working on ‘all things economic abuse’ came from conversations with victim-survivors. I heard how economic control took away their freedom and stopped them from achieving their full potential.
I discovered that there were no practice responses to economic abuse - it wasn't even named in policy. So, in 2008, I undertook the first piece of research on economic abuse in the UK to understand the issue better. This led me to develop the Economic Power & Control Wheel, which demonstrates the variety of tactics abusers use. The Wheel is now applied widely in practice across the globe and has been translated into several languages.
I have since conducted extensive research into economic abuse in the UK and internationally as an Emeritus Research Fellow at the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University. My book 'Understanding and Responding to Economic Abuse' was published by Bloomsbury in 2022.
I continue to develop the evidence base, including via the Economic Justice Monitor - a project that collects and analyses data on how economic abuse features in successful prosecutions of the controlling or coercive behaviour offence. It also explores what can be done to address economic loss.
Creating change
In 2016 I was appointed a Churchill Fellow, travelling to Australia and the US to learn about approaches to economic abuse. Having seen what could be done, I was determined that women in the UK should have access to the same.
Inspired by this international learning, I founded the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) in the UK which I led as CEO between January 2017 and May 2024. During this time, I pioneered innovative practice, policy, regulatory and legislative approaches to economic abuse. A summary of my achievements can be found here and I feature as a 'Portrait of a Social Entrepreneur' in How To Change The World by Jo Owen.
In 2025 I co-founded The Day That Women Stop - an awareness raising campaign which highlights women's economic exploitation through the gender pay gap and their unpaid labour at home.
Going global
In June 2024 I scaled up my mission to stop economic abuse through building a global movement.
I act as an Expert Advisor to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) housed at the World Bank.
I am also co-founder of the. International Alliance Against Economic Abuse (ICAEA).
Recognition
I was awarded an OBE for services to victims of domestic and economic abuse in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours.
In 2025 I was named the winner of the 'Financial Safety' category of the 2025 Refuge Tech Safety Awards.
The Haven Wolverhampton recognised me as a Trailblazer for Gender Equality on International Women's Day 2025.