FOR nearly a decade, Sharni Edwards didn’t realise what she suffered from her then-partner was financial abuse.
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“I was scorned, verbally and physically abused if I spent my money without his permission or on something he did not like or approve of,” she said. “In 2015 he stopped paying the rent, paying the bills and only spent money on himself, drugs, gambling and other things, leaving me responsible for all five of us.”
Miss Edwards shared her story at an Albury community forum on Tuesday that discussed women’s financial resilience and the often-unseen nature of abuse in this area.
Organised by the Women’s Centre for Health and Wellbeing and Good Shepherd Microfinance, the event heard about support programs such as the No Interest Loan Scheme.
This scheme lends up to about $1200, with recipients to pay the money off without any interest. Good Shepherd Microfinance works with 250 organisations in 670 locations across Australia to provide financial products for people on low incomes.
Keynote speaker Christine Nixon, who chairs the Good Shepherd board, said many people were disadvantaged because they could not access fair and affordable finance.
In the past women were actively discriminated against by financial institutions, a situation both Ms Nixon and another forum guest Indi MP Cathy McGowan had experienced.
“I was being paid as a police officer and nobody would give me a loan to buy a block of land, and my dad had to go guarantee for it,” Ms Nixon said.
Miss Edwards moved to Albury three months ago after a nervous breakdown and homelessness.
“I was evicted from my home which I rented for three years, lost all my friends and community connections and even had my children removed from my care,” she said.
But with help from support agencies and a NILS loan to buy a fridge and retrieve her possessions in storage, she has been able to obtain and furnish public housing.
“I couldn’t have done it without them,” she said. “I got a call yesterday and I will be having my kids coming home now, as of next week.”
St David’s Care financial counsellor Kaily Goodsell and microfinance worker Susie Geering also spoke during the forum at Albury Entertainment Centre, attended by nearly 50 people.
