'There is a way forward and there is hope': RLC's Financial Abuse Service NSW

 “When I went to the Redfern Legal Centre’s Financial Abuse Legal Service NSW, I was in a desperate state. I had been in a violent relationship for seven years. Not only was I emotionally and psychologically broken, I was trapped financially by the relationship. I was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, I had a court case against me. I was facing an uncertain future.

Looking back on the relationship now, there were things that occurred that didn't seem right to me. [My partner] wasn't working at the time so I was the primary provider. He suggested that we open a business and I thought that was a great idea, but the business and all the accounts and the directorship had to be in my name. I had always had my own account. Then he suggested that he'd become a signatory on my account. He insisted that the lease be in my name. All of the utilities were in my name.

He would say that he had paid bills and I’d find out that the bills hadn't been paid. And every time I tried to discover more, he would twist my thoughts, or deflect my questioning. I was a fly caught in a web. And he was the spider expertly manipulating me. I was so mentally broken, that I couldn't see a way out of my situation. The work that the Financial Abuse Service NSW team have undertaken on my behalf has been life-changing – profoundly so, and I thank God every day for it.

Not only have they helped me find my voice again, they've helped me regain my financial independence, which was something that was taken from me.

What the financial abuse service has taught me is that change and empowerment is possible. Though we may feel lost and alone, and no one can help us, there is a way forward. And there is hope.”

*Name has been changed