Yesterday, the Treasury promoted their new anti-economic abuse toolkit with a video of Victoria Atkins visiting domestic abuse charity, Advance. All well and good, so far.
1 in 4 women in England & Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lives.
— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) July 12, 2023
One form of domestic abuse is economic abuse.
Minister Victoria Atkins visited West London Women’s Centre run by @AdvanceCharity to announce plans to support those who need it. pic.twitter.com/LK7UMvY8ww
The trouble is, someone in the Treasury’s comms team clearly didn’t do their due diligence. Advance, the anti-abuse charity, are themselves under investigation by the Charity Commission for… bullying. To make matters worse, the CEO Nicki Scordi, who is featured in the video, has herself been subject to complaints. According to one source for Civil Society, Scordi left staff “walking on eggshells from her frequent outbursts, reducing many employees to tears”, whilst another employee said she was manipulative and “demeaning”. You only need to look at the glassdoor reviews to see this isn’t an isolated experience. It seems Victoria Atkins could have done with an Advance warning…
