Counting the Cost: how to protect yourself

Did you know that from July 2024, coercive control will be a criminal offence in NSW? It occurs when someone repeatedly uses abusive behaviours towards an intimate partner to coerce or control them.  

Economic abuse is a type of coercive control and it could happen to anyone. The abuser could be your partner, family member, carer or friend. They may try to control or limit your access to money, your ability to make money or build up debts in your name. Would you know the signs?  

To recognise Economic Abuse Awareness Day (EAAD) 2023, which has the theme ‘counting the cost’ and is part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, Women NSW will be hosting a free online event on economic abuse and coercive control.  

During the online event, you will: 

• learn the warning signs of economic abuse and discover resources to help protect yourself 
• find out how financial abuse can affect older women and women with disability differently 
• receive an update on the actions and progress since the last EAAD 
• listen to a lived-experience story that illustrates the compounding cost of economic abuse 
• discover more about coercive control and what support options are available to you.  

There will also be a deep dive into the Women’s Financial Toolkit to explore trusted resources that can help. 

Our speakers:

Robert Fitzgerald AM, NSW Aging and Disability Commissioner 

Robert Fitzgerald is the Commissioner of the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission which works to protect older people and adults with disability from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

A lawyer by profession, Robert has previously served as a Community and Disability Services Commissioner and Deputy Ombudsman in NSW. He also served as a Commissioner with the Productivity Commission for more than 10 years.

Robert serves on the board of many non-government organisations, including Social Ventures Australia and Caritas Australia. He was also the inaugural Chair of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

Kylie Flack, Senior Associate, Women NSW

Kylie Flack joined Women NSW in 2019 after working on the establishment of the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission with Tanya Smyth, Director of Women NSW. Kylie currently works in the Evidence and Evaluation team.

Rebecca Glenn, Founder and CEO, Centre for Women's Economic Safety

Rebecca Glenn is the Founder and CEO of the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES). The CWES aims to raise awareness of economic abuse as a form of domestic and family violence and advocate for structural and systems change to support women’s economic safety.

Rebecca has worked across the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors in financial capability and communications. She has led numerous initiatives to improve financial wellbeing, including at the Commonwealth Bank where she was a key member of the Domestic and Family Violence Working Group; as Campaign Director for Money Smart Week; and as founding CEO of not-for-profit, Financial Literacy Australia.

Dr Hannah Tonkin, NSW Women's Safety Commissioner

Dr Hannah Tonkin commenced her role as the inaugural NSW Women's Safety Commissioner in February 2023. In this role, she provides leadership on whole-of-government policies and programs on domestic, family and sexual violence. Previously, Dr Tonkin worked at the United Nations as Disability Rights Director at the Australian Human Rights Commission, and as a barrister in London and Adelaide.