Survivor of Financial Abuse Invited to Advise Government
A woman who survived severe financial abuse and a near-fatal attack by her husband has been invited to provide advice to government ministers on supporting victims of economic abuse, following a report published by last weekend.
Francesca Onody was rendered homeless and financially destitute after her husband, Malcolm Baker, set fire to their cottage by pouring petrol inside while she and their two children were present. The property exploded, resulting in Baker's death.
After initiating divorce proceedings following years of abuse, Onody discovered that Baker had cancelled their insurance policies and drained their business bank accounts. Additionally, she was excluded from his will and faced the threat of repossession from their mortgage lender. The repossession order was subsequently halted after intervention by .
Lucy Rigby, the City minister and economic secretary to the Treasury, reached out to Onody after reading about her experience.
“I was moved to tears,” Rigby said. “Francesca’s case is a truly shocking example of economic abuse and demonstrates just how devastating the impact can be.”
The minister has requested a meeting with Onody to hear her experiences directly and to discuss potential measures to prevent other survivors from facing similar hardships. The charity Surviving Economic Abuse will also participate in the discussions.
“The government’s determination to tackle economic abuse is why we made this a cross-cutting theme in our recently published financial inclusion strategy,” Rigby stated. “I’m absolutely determined that as a government we do everything we can to prevent victim-survivors like Francesca having to go through what she did.”
Failures in Support Systems Highlighted
Onody expressed that she was let down by both authorities and financial institutions when seeking assistance regarding Baker’s abusive behavior.
“Abusers are manipulative and calculating, using the terms and conditions of financial institutions to their advantage,” she said. “If speaking up can help in any small way to stop someone else from going through what my children and I went through, then I’m happy to meet with anyone.”
Charity Calls for Improved Financial Sector Response
Surviving Economic Abuse explains that abusers often exploit financial products and services as tools to maintain control and inflict harm even after separation or divorce.
“Financial services professionals, from banks to insurers, must be better equipped to spot the signs of economic abuse and support customers,” said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the charity.
“We welcome the economic secretary to the Treasury’s commitment to tackling economic abuse, but urgent legislative reform is now needed to close the gaps in our systems that abusers continue to exploit. The Financial Conduct Authority should urgently issue guidance to help firms support survivors under existing rules. It’s the only way to help survivors like Francesca and their children to safely rebuild their lives.”
