Centre for Economic Partner Violence
When finances are used as a means of power, it can cost people their freedom and future.
A national knowledge and competence centre
The Centre for Economic Partner Violence brings together research, knowledge and expertise to prevent and raise awareness of economic partner violence and to develop solutions, so no one has to face economic partner violence alone.
Founder and centre director: Anne-Mette Barfod, MSc (Economics), author and strategic advisor.
Economic violence is already recognised as a distinct form of violence by the UN and the EU. In Denmark, economic partner violence has no dedicated provision in the criminal code.
Economic partner violence is recognised in key international frameworks for preventing violence against women, including the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention, which defines violence against women as physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm.
Our vision
A society where no one loses their freedom through economic partner violence, where the violence is detected earlier, and where it is recognised as a serious societal problem.
Our mission
To prevent and detect economic partner violence through research, knowledge, competence-building and interdisciplinary collaboration — and to create structural change that prevents economic control and dependency.
Read the full vision paper hereThis is what we work on
Research and mapping
Nationwide mapping of scope, forms and consequences.
Competences and tools
Training and screening tools for professionals.
Legal protection
Working towards a dedicated provision in the criminal code.
Innovation
New digital solutions together with banks and fintech.
Awareness
Communication that makes the violence easier to recognise.
What do we know about economic partner violence internationally?
International research into economic partner violence has grown, but the field remains less explored than other forms of partner violence. An international research review and meta-analysis from 2025 examined 49 studies from 31 countries with a total of 106,868 participants and found that interventions against economic violence can reduce the violence overall, but also revealed major knowledge gaps: only 12 of the studies measured economic violence as a separate outcome.
The consequences reach far beyond the individual's bank account. Debt, loss of housing and financial insecurity can make it hard to build a new life after the violence. That is why we work to ensure economic partner violence is understood, documented and handled as what it is: a form of violence.
Two Danish reports point in the same direction: the Centre for Violence Prevention's UDSAT — Voldsudsatte navigerer dansk ret (2024) and Justitia's Retsstilling for ofre for økonomisk vold (2023) document that the form of violence is vaguely defined in Danish law and hard to prove: only 6.8% of psychological-violence cases led to a conviction in 2022.
Source: international systematic research review and meta-analysis, 2025 (49 studies, 31 countries, 106,868 participants).
Three recommendations
- 1.
Carry out a nationwide mapping of economic partner violence in Denmark.
- 2.
Strengthen the competences of the professionals who encounter the violence.
- 3.
Strengthen legal protection, including a dedicated provision in the criminal code.
Contact the Centre for Economic Partner Violence
If you have questions about our work, an idea for collaboration, or wish to get in touch about research, teaching, press or communication, you are welcome to contact us. We are also happy to hear from journalists and the media.
The Centre for Economic Partner Violence is a knowledge and competence centre and does not offer individual counselling or acute help. If you are experiencing violence or are worried about someone else, find help here