Benefit fraud prosecution

[Ohwhatllipick]

I saw a woman with kids in the paper recently, convicted for benefit fraud. She’d claimed as a single parent while a partner (in this case her ex) was living with her. I appreciate it will have been her that signed the form, but the partner will still have benefitted from the money, probably, and known about it, probably. So now she’s in the jail and he’s doing whatever he was doing before. It’s not the first one of these I’ve seen. Just seems unfair. I haven’t seen any the other way round, maybe because men are more likely to move in with a single parent. Or maybe it does happen. Any thoughts?

How awful. What are they trying to achieve with imprisonment?

I used to work with offenders, mainly female in the community. The ones who commited benefit fraud were in coercive and abusive relationships. Often with a partner semi present or living at home but either way refusing to commit financially.

So yeah it's her name but I think it's massively unlikely he didn't benefit or know what was going on.

Or the other side, where the guy actually wants to contribute and be on the tenancy legitimately but the Woman doesn't want to lose the money she receives and is better off spending the guys wages yet he has no security, doesn't get free prescriptions or dentist and has no rights.

@Okbussitout

I used to work with offenders, mainly female in the community. The ones who commited benefit fraud were in coercive and abusive relationships. Often with a partner semi present or living at home but either way refusing to commit financially.

So yeah it's her name but I think it's massively unlikely he didn't benefit or know what was going on.

As I understand it this is a pretty popular tactic among abusers. It doubles up as an effective way to keep the woman trapped: "if you leave me I'll report you" .

I really hate our prison system. It just causes even more harm.

@Kfdbhydcjrsx

Yeah it's grim. It's also women making difficult choices so they can ensure the kids have food as the man uses withholding money as an abuse tactic.

My ex did this to me. He was massively financially abusive (as well as every other kind of abusive!!). He refused to contribute to the house in any way, shape or form and at the time I had no other means to pay the rent or put food on the table for the kids. He still threatens to report me for benefit fraud long after we've separated. I've since found out he did exactly the same thing to his ex as well! I spent several months stressed out to the max about being a criminal. I wanted to ring them myself and explain what was happening but I was just too scared to be prosecuted or left without food for my children whilst ex carried on living off his good wages.

Horrific. Isn't there some kind of impetus to combat this? Flinging a woman in jail - what happens to her kids? - just seems mad.

@uhtredsonofuhtred1 that sounds awful. I suspect it is often abusive guys. And that they do hold it over their partners (suspect it may have been the ex that reported this one). But even if they’re not they’re probably in on it? I guess it’s partly just the expectation of the benefit system that if there is someone, anyone in the picture with any money then it’s their responsibility to look after any children in the house regardless of whose they are.

And yet the CSA is so spectacularly useless at collecting maintenance from absent fathers.

Prison just isn't the answer to coercion, abuse and women's poverty. The taxpayer ends up paying to put Mum in prison and the kids in care - and don't get me started on that.

I was going to recommend looking at the Surviving Econimc Abuse web site but from a quick read through they dont seem to mention women being coerced into making false claims for benefits.

Seems a huge over site by them.