My name is Cllr Maureen Chalmers, and I am COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson. I am delighted to open today’s important event which is the first of a number of 16 Days Spotlight Webinars developed to shine a light on the important issues facing us as we work together to prevent and tackle or forms of Violence Against Women and Girls.

As COSLA, we are proud to stand with partners across Scotland during the 16 Days of Activism. This year’s theme, “All Together to Prevent and End Violence Against Women and Girls” speaks directly to our shared responsibility.  No single service, sector, or system can end such abuse and violence alone. It demands collective leadership, joined-up action, and a relentless focus on prevention.

Today’s spotlight on economic abuse is both timely and vital. Violence against women is rooted in gender inequality. COSLA is committed to tackling that inequality through policy design, decision-making, and scrutiny - advancing women’s access to resources and power, which we recognise as essential for equality and safety.

Economic abuse reinforces inequality by stripping women of autonomy and opportunity. It is one of the most hidden yet powerful forms of coercive control - denying access to money, housing, work, and essentials, trapping women in danger and limiting choices. And it doesn’t end when a relationship ends; post-separation abuse can continue for years.  In Scotland, around one in five women have experienced economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner in the past year. It is recognised under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act and addressed in the Equally Safe Strategy, which COSLA co-owns with the Scottish Government. The Strategy and its Delivery Plan set out a clear principle: prevention must be at the heart of everything we do.

Economic abuse rarely stands alone. It intersects with other forms of male violence. For women experiencing multiple inequalities, the barriers are even greater. Social security plays a key role in supporting victims/survivors where they have experienced VAWG.

For example, the Scottish Welfare Fund, delivered by local authorities with Scottish Government funding, plays a vital role in providing crisis grants and community care grants to those in need of emergency support. The statutory guidance states that “advisors should be able to help recognise and respond appropriately to support people to escape domestic abuse”. Despite these grants being available to be used to meet immediate short-term needs in response to a disaster or emergency and in assisting women to establish or maintain a settled home too many women find that they struggle to access public funds or safe housing, leaving them at heightened risk. Without economic security, leaving an abusive partner becomes almost impossible, and perpetrators exploit these gaps.

Economic empowerment is a proven protective factor. When women have access to income, assets, and employment, they are better able to prevent and escape abuse. So today is about action.

• What steps can we take, working together – to improve our responses to women and to prevent and tackle economic abuse?
• How do we ensure economic abuse is recognised as a safety issue, not just a financial one?
• How do we strengthen training, expand flexible funding, and work with banks, utilities, and employers to design safer systems?
• And how do we join up our efforts, so no woman faces a maze of disconnected services while an abuser uses fragmentation to maintain control?

Economic abuse is about power, not pounds. Tackling it means listening to women, trusting their expertise, and building systems that work for everyone, including those most marginalised. If we get this right, we don’t just stop abuse, we give women back their freedom.

This morning gives us the chance to learn from organisations with real expertise including Scottish Women’s Aid, Financially Included, and SafeLives. Let’s use this session to learn from them and work together to identify the actions that will make this vision real.  Thank you.

Further information:

Visit this page on the Improvement Service website for the full  national calendar of events for 16 Days of Activism campaign.