Understanding Financial Abuse: Why the Financial Sector Should Care?

Fiw Topic

Women's Financial Inclusion

Fiw Year

2024

Transcripts:

English

Spanish

French

Summary + Key Insights

This session on financial abuse highlights the financial sector’s critical role in addressing the financial abuse of women and girls, emphasizing the need for awareness and action.

🔑 Financial abuse manifests in various forms, including coercive control over accounts and finances, necessitating targeted interventions by financial institutions.

📉 Existing gender norms often obscure the detection of financial abuse, making it vital for institutions to educate staff and clients about these behaviors.

💻 Digital finance presents both opportunities and risks; organizations must ensure that technology is accessible and safe for women to use independently.

📊 Collecting qualitative data on customer experiences can reveal underlying issues of financial abuse and inform better product design.

🤔 Financial institutions must recognize that safeguarding against financial abuse not only protects clients but also enhances their reputation and trustworthiness.

🛠️ Practical steps, such as staff training and product audits, can serve as a foundation for addressing financial abuse effectively.

🌍 The collaboration between financial institutions and community organizations is essential for creating a comprehensive response to financial abuse and improving client outcomes.

This session summary was AI-generated using NoteGPT.

Financial abuse is a set of behaviours that control an individual’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources, undermining their financial security and self-efficacy.

For women and girls, it is often intertwined with intimate partner or domestic violence. Whether through coercive debts, control over bank accounts, or limiting financial choices, this form of abuse often goes unnoticed due to deeply rooted gender norms.

Session Speakers

Swati Mehta Dhawan

Financial Abuse Thematic Lead, FinEquity

Swati is the Financial Abuse thematic lead for FinEquity, leading discussions on this topic within the Community of Practice. She is a development sector researcher and consultant with 15 years of experience advising businesses, international development organizations, and governments toward inclusive digital development. Her areas of specialization include digital financial inclusion, women’s economic empowerment, financial capability, and consumer protection. She has worked extensively across developing market economies in Asia and Africa.

Bobbi Gray

Senior Research Director, Grameen Foundation

Amelia Greenberg

Deputy Director, Cerise+SPTF

Ms. Amelia Greenberg is the Deputy Director of the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), where she has worked since 2010. Among her roles, Ms. Greenberg manages the Facility for Responsible Inclusive Finance in SSA/MENA, oversees review and updates to the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management, and runs the SPTF Outcomes Working Group. Ms. Greenberg has an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins, with specializations in international economics and international development, and a B.A. from Brandeis University.

Ryan Burke

Gender and Economic Inclusion Consultant, World Bank Group – International Finance Corporation

Ryan is a consultant to the Gender and Economic Inclusion Department at the International Finance Corporation where he leads the Empower Finance initiative. Empower Finance brings together banks from across the APAC region to take actions to prevent and respond to financial abuse. Ryan is currently on sabbatical from leading the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion division at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where for a decade he has been pivotal in steering the nation’s leading bank towards a more respectful, safe, and inclusive culture. Ryan is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales School of Social Sciences, and an independent advisor to the Family Friendly Workplaces initiative.

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