Derry and Strabane District Council has agreed to lobby the Northern Ireland Executive for stronger measures against economic abuse. The decision followed a motion brought by SDLP Waterside Councillor Martin Reilly at the council's October monthly meeting.

Research by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse indicates that one in six women in Northern Ireland experienced economic abuse in the past year, but awareness of the issue remains among the lowest in the UK and Ireland.

Economic abuse is a form of domestic abuse that controls a person's finances, restricting their ability to leave an abusive relationship. Councillor Reilly stated that victims often lack access to their own money, face debts accumulated by an abuser, and encounter financial obstacles when trying to escape.

There is currently no equivalent emergency 'flee fund' for victim-survivors in Northern Ireland and limited specialist debt advice capacity, according to Reilly. The councillor said people in Northern Ireland deserve the same practical supports available elsewhere.

The motion calls for access to emergency financial assistance, specialist debt advice, and support to ensure debts created through coercion do not follow victims after they have left.

Councillor Reilly said the council's support sends a clear message that economic abuse must be recognised and barriers to leaving abusive relationships removed.