A new partnership between the Greater Charitable Foundation and the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) will help women in the Illawarra region of NSW experiencing economic abuse.
Designed to assist women experiencing, at risk of experiencing, or recovering from economic abuse, CWES connects women with important resources, services and support.
The CWES Money Clinic will expand its service offering to women in the Illawarra, including at the new Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre in Shellharbour. The Money Clinics will provide independent financial safety planning, information and support for more than 180 women a year in one-on-one sessions with a qualified, female financial counsellor who is violence and trauma informed.
CWES currently offers individual online Money Clinic appointments nationally, as well as in-person sessions for women throughout Sydney and Melbourne, and through the generosity of the Greater Charitable Foundation these clinics will now expand to the Illawarra region.
CWES Chief Executive Officer, Rebecca Glenn, (pictured above) said the organisation will now be able to assist and empower more women.
“Our clinics fill an important service gap by working with women who are experiencing domestic abuse to address financial concerns related to economic abuse,” Rebecca said.
“Economic abuse is deeply complex by nature. It’s a type of domestic and family violence that affects a person’s self-sufficiency and financial stability by controlling their ability to gain, access or maintain economic resources such as money.
“This type of abuse causes long-lasting and devastating effects to a person’s life and can look like controlling access to cash or banking accounts, hiding information about finances, assets or levels of debt, as well as manipulating situations or financial information to the detriment of a victim.
“Money Clinics have no income, asset or geographic eligibility criteria, no visa requirements, nor minimum or maximum number of sessions. All sessions are free of charge to the women they support.
“Throughout our sessions, we provide independent financial safety planning, resources and information as well as support for women to work towards their self-identified goals.
“We are really grateful to the Greater Charitable Foundation for their support which is allowing us to reach more women in need.”
Greater Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Anne Long, said support for women fleeing these situations is essential.
“It’s incredibly difficult to leave abusive situations, and with cost-of-living pressures in recent years, leaving becomes that much harder,” she said.
“Around 16% of Australian women have experienced economic abuse throughout their lives, so appropriate services to help these women leave and recover from these situations is vital.
“As the charitable foundation for a bank, we understand the personal satisfaction and confidence that grows from managing your own finances, so we feel privileged to assist CWES and the wonderful work they do in making this a reality for more women.”
For those seeking to access CWES’ Money Clinics and other available services, please visit: https://cwes.org.au
