In this new report, Surviving Economic Abuse is calling for survivors of domestic abuse to be exempt from the legal aid means test, to ensure they can access the legal support they so desperately need as they escape abusive partners and rebuild their lives.
The legal aid means test assesses income and capital and is designed to determine whether applicants can afford to pay legal bills.
This report shows that the means test in England and Wales is preventing victim-survivors from accessing legal aid by not taking account of the economic abuse they have experienced.
The means test often deems their income or capital too high for support from legal aid, even though the abuser’s behaviour means they cannot access their income or assets.
