Supporting victims of domestic and economic abuse

Domestic and financial abuse affects many people across the UK with 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men being subject to domestic abuse in their lifetime.

As a Group, we’re here to support our customers and colleagues through difficult times. That’s why in 2019 we launched our Domestic and Financial Abuse Team to support victims and survivors of financial abuse, offering support to help them regain control of their finances so they can begin to rebuild their lives.

"Domestic and economic abuse is a key business issue for us; with 30 million customers and around 65,000 colleagues, that means that at any one time a number of our customers and colleagues will be living in a domestic abusive situation. Many victims are not aware of economic abuse, which can lead to financial exclusion and limit their ability to access safety. Through the Domestic and Financial Abuse team, we play a key role in offering practical support and guidance to victims and survivors to help them regain control."

- Fiona Cannon, Group Sustainable Business Director, Lloyds Banking Group

Regaining control of finances

The service provides financial guidance as well as directing customers to specialist charities for emotional and practical support. The service supports customers on various financial issues including how to manage joint accounts, options for opening new accounts, and advice on dealing with debts such as loans or mortgages.

Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, Director of Surviving Economic Abuse said:

"Surviving Economic Abuse is proud to support Lloyds Banking Group in delivering an informed and high-quality service to customers who may be experiencing economic abuse. Financial services have a crucial role to play in tackling economic abuse and this is a brilliant example of the work being rolled out across the industry. It's fantastic to be working with Tender on training Lloyds Banking Group staff on how to better recognise the specific challenges victim-survivors face. This will encourage them to come forward and be supported to achieve the economic stability that they need."

Highlighting the issues

We have developed and launched a suite of advanced guidance entitled 'Supporting Those Impacted by Domestic and Financial Abuse' taking colleagues on a journey to remove any biased thinking, reflect on the nature of healthy relationships, and consider their reaction to disclosure of abuse.

It aims to increase colleagues' awareness and understanding of the nature and impact of abuse to help them support customers and colleagues who are impacted to regain control of their finances and access additional help from appropriate third parties.

This training will now form part of an ongoing vulnerability programme which will be delivered across all customer facing and customer impacting colleagues.

Working with charities

Caroline Howes, Policy and National Programmes Manager, Lloyds Bank Foundation, said:

"We’ve partnered with Surviving Economic Abuse and Tender to train our colleagues to support customers experiencing domestic and financial abuse, and have linked in with 52 charities so far to refer victims and survivors into our Domestic and Financial Abuse Team for support with their finances.

The Lloyds Bank Foundation supports approximately 100 charities helping people affected by domestic abuse across England and Wales. Through these charities, we know that many victims and survivors face huge challenges when it comes to accessing and separating finances. That’s why it’s vital to bring these charities, who have invaluable insight, together with Lloyds Banking Group to explore how services can be improved."