Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is the only UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it. We work to save lives and stop economic abuse forever.   

Our vision is a world in which all women and girls achieve economic equality and can live their lives free of abuse and exploitation. Not only surviving but thriving. 

All our work is shaped by the Experts by Experience Group – a network of women who have experienced economic abuse and whose expertise informs everything we do.  

Every day, domestic abusers are controlling the money and economic resources of victim-survivors, trapping them and preventing them from rebuilding their lives.  

Last year, 4.1 million UK women experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner. Younger women, disabled women, Black, Asian, and other ethnically minoritised women, and mothers experience this form of domestic abuse at alarmingly high rates and suffer the greatest harm.  

Nearly one million women are trapped with a dangerous partner as a result of the perpetrator’s economic abuse. Those who escape can often end up homeless, destitute, in mountains of debt, and with a destroyed credit score. As a result, many women are forced to return to the perpetrator. Even after fleeing, the abuser’s ongoing control, through joint finances, legal processes, and child support payments, makes the abuse feel never-ending. 

We exist to drive systemic change to break the cycle of domestic abuse so women and children can safely flee and rebuild their lives after economic abuse.

What we do  

• We centre victim-survivors’ voices and lived experience in everything we do. 
• We campaign to raise awareness of economic abuse and ensure victim-survivors can access support.  
• We publish ground-breaking research to inform our stakeholders and influence policy and legislation.  
• We drive lasting systemic change and transform frontline practice through our specialist training, resources, and consultancy. 

Our bold three-year strategy sets out an ambitious plan to drive systemic change across financial, legal, and public sectors to support victim-survivors, disrupt abusers, and ultimately stop economic abuse forever.  

We are founded on a feminist understanding that economic abuse is a form of violence overwhelmingly experienced by women, rooted in patterns of male control and sex-based oppression.  

As part of the wider women’s movement, our feminism is intersectional, recognising how sex, race,  age, disability, and class intersect to shape women’s lives and the structural barriers they face. 

Read more about what we do.   

What we have achieved  

Since we were founded in 2017, we have put a spotlight on economic abuse and driven real change by shaping laws, transforming how organisations support victim-survivors, and reaching millions with vital information through powerful national awareness campaigns.    

Our achievements include: 

• Securing legal recognition of economic abuse for the first time and making post-separation abuse a criminal offence in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.  
• Piloting, in partnership with Money Advice Plus, the Economic Abuse Evidence Form, an information-sharing tool devised by MAP, which means victim-survivors do not have to repeat their story when seeking help from creditors.    
• Pushing economic abuse up the political agenda, with the Prime Minister naming economic abuse a “national emergency” that his government is committed to addressing. 
• Training thousands of professionals to ensure that victim-survivors receive the right response the first time they seek help. 
• Collaborating with financial services firms to develop good practice responses – like introducing specialist domestic abuse teams, flee funds, and expert-led staff training. 

Read more about our story and our impact.   

Our values   

We are driven by a core set of values that underpin everything we do. 

We are purposeful

Everything we do is driven by our passion to make the world a safe and equal place for women.

We learn and share

Our team is curious, reflective, always learning and eager to share its expertise.

We work in partnership

We know that we can only achieve our goals if we work alongside others – our colleagues, the women who inspire our work and our partners.

We are agile

We are creative in meeting the challenges that must be overcome to create change.

We believe

Our work is centred on survivors of economic abuse: their experiences and knowledge shape how we respond.

We value equity

We believe in fairness and justice and we focus on removing barriers caused by systemic inequalities.

How we work  

We are a small but mighty team, working across the UK with a clear mission: to save lives and stop economic abuse forever. 

We are a registered charity made up of dedicated professionals, many of whom have specialist backgrounds in domestic abuse, finance, influencing policy, and systems change. We work remotely, collaborating every day to challenge this devastating form of domestic abuse. 

Survivors are at the heart of everything we do. Their expertise shapes our strategic direction and informs every area of our work. Through the Experts by Experience group and wider survivor engagement, we are committed to amplifying lived experience to drive lasting change. 

We work in partnership with the financial services sector, frontline support services, and women’s rights organisations to maximise our reach and impact.   

If you believe in our mission, here’s how you can help.

More information