Late one Friday afternoon, Rose logged into their shared business bank account.
“I checked the balance, knowing my ex-husband had been spending outrageously since we separated,” she said. “The account was for making our BAS payments, but all $36,000 was gone. He’d drained it all just days before Christmas.”
By Christmas Eve, she was signing affidavits, feeling stunned and overwhelmed.
But there was more to come
Her ex reported that the business hadn’t paid superannuation. In truth, he had taken the money meant for super. But the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) began pursuing Rose for it.
“I asked why they weren’t going after him too, since we were both directors,” she said. “The ATO officer told me women are easier to chase and more likely to repay debt.”
The calls were constant.
“I wasn’t coping. I kept thinking, ‘Someone has to help me — I didn’t do this.’ But everywhere I called went nowhere.”
I wasn’t coping. I kept thinking, ‘Someone has to help me — I didn’t do this.’ But everywhere I called went nowhere.
— Rose
Finally receiving support
It took nine months before she found Each.
With the support of Each’s small business financial counsellors, Rose was able to go to court. A judge removed her ex-husband from the business, and after two years and 15 court appearances — many of them due to him breaching orders — she was finally able to sell the business and address the ATO debts.
The devastation continues
Financial institutions have required Rose to ask her abuser for permission to escape his abuse.
“I tried to refinance my loan this year and was rejected due to a joint business account with a $35 overdraft. I’ve asked to be removed, but the bank says I need my ex-husband’s signature.”
“There were signs (of the abuse) back when we were together: him yelling at me to sign things, locking me out of decisions, using our business to get finance without my knowledge.”
An overlooked form of abuse
Rose’s experience is not unique. Financial abuse through small business is an often-overlooked form of control, and too many women have nowhere to turn.
Governments need to recognise this issue the same way they recognise coercive control, whether it’s happening through a small business or personal finances. There’s a lot of women who don’t realise what’s going on in these businesses, and there are no protections to keep them safe
— Rose
A national solution is needed
Each is calling for a national, specialist service to support women like Rose who are left picking up the pieces of business-related financial abuse.
