Sister of Peterborough victim calls for greater awareness of signs of abuse
Karina Whittington speaks out after her sister’s death, warning subtle signs of coercive control are often missed
A Peterborough woman whose sister was killed by her abuser says more needs to be done to recognise the warning signs of economic abuse.
It comes as new analysis suggests a victim of economic abuse dies nearly every three weeks across England and Wales.
Karina Whittington lost her sister Simone in what she describes as a “horrific” case where subtle, controlling behaviour added up to something much more dangerous.
“It was small, subtle things that if you put them all together, now holistically, they amount up to something, but individually they could potentially all be explained," she said.
"She’s been killed, she’s lost her life; so incredibly dangerous.
“These signs, I think they’re very subtle; I think the difficult thing with coercive control in behaviour is, and manipulation that can come along with it.
"It’s quite a nasty form of abuse, I think, and the signs were there."
"I think if my sister had seen that, she may have had some kind of realisation of this is what he’s potentially doing to me and there could have been a different outcome.”
Research shows victims of economic abuse, which includes things like restricting money, access to transport or daily essentials, tend to be much younger than those in other domestic abuse cases.
The charity Surviving Economic Abuse says it is often hidden and unrecognised, and the true scale could be even higher.
“Simone doesn’t have a voice anymore, so this was part of giving her a voice as well," Karina added.
"Her story, as horrific as it is now, needs to be told and shared I think so people can understand.”