Designed to Disrupt

Collective action. Positive change.

We believe that ideas and advocacy are more compelling when there’s collaboration. That’s why we combine our expertise, creativity and connections with the experience, passion and purpose of our not for profit partners. Together we can catalyse action to disrupt financial abuse and eliminate gender bias.

Our founder, Catherine Fitzpatrick, is delighted to partner with the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety on the Designed to Disrupt discussion papers.

The series aims to provide a blueprint for the finance and essential services sectors to reimagine their products and services for financial safety. This means making changes to prevent or disrupt financial abusers from misusing products as a tactic of coercive control, setting expectations of customer behaviour and providing greater protection to victim-survivors.

Together, she and CWES CEO Rebecca Glenn continue to advocate for individual companies, industry and regulators to embrace and implement the recommendations.

Reimagining banking products to improve financial safety.

Reimagining general insurance products to improve financial safety.

Download the Designed to Disrupt reports.

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“If every bank in Australia makes it clear there is a minimum expectation of respectful behaviour to be a customer, it would be a game changer.”

The Conversation

What others are saying…

“Victim-survivors have called on the 97 banks in Australia to avoid becoming “active participants to intimidation, harassment and financial abuse”, and redesign banking products to help protect women.”
“We’re starting to see people understand that it’s not the technology that’s the problem – like we’re not going to ban the message field on the banking apps. But you can do something to try and hold to account the people who are using it for a purpose that it’s not intended”
“One of the Big Four banks is taking steps to stamp out financial abuse, allowing bankers to “cut-off” customers found to be financial abusers.”
“What we need to have is, up front, our banking institutions having a clear message to their customers that they will not tolerate being a vehicle for that type of abuse.”
“Perpetrators of financial abuse are being warned they could be cut off from their bank, with a number of major Australian financial institutions updating their terms and conditions to make it clear it will not be tolerated.”
Australian women who have experienced partner economic abuse1
Australian men who have experienced partner economic abuse2
Cost of financial abust to the victim3
Cost of financial abuse to the economy4
Number of banks with financial abuse in terms and conditions5

Sources:

1. ABS

2. ABS

3. Commbank

4. Commbank

5. CWES