198,000 women across Ireland are financially abused by their partners.
The shock statistic is being unveiled as part of a human experiment between Women's Aid and AIB which showed unsuspecting Dublin shoppers how money can be used as a weapon.
The ‘Abusive Teller Machine’ highlights how financial abuse manifests across daily interactions in abusive relationships.
A specially created ATM was programmed to question ordinary people about their finances as they tried to withdraw cash.
Women's Aid say financial abuse is a form of domestic violence in which the abuser uses money as a means of controlling their partner.
Women’s Aid Director Margaret Martin said the collaboration with AIB was to highlight the prevalence of financial abuse throughout Irish society.
"Earlier this month, we published our annual impact report which highlighted the level of contacts that we have received in the last 12 months; of the 19,000 contacts, there were over 1500 disclosures of financial abuse from all backgrounds and regions of the country," she said.
"We know this is just the tip of the iceberg."
Women's Aid say financial abuse is a tactic that an abuser uses to gain power and dominance over their partner and is designed to isolate a person into a state of complete financial dependence.
Full information on financial abuse is available at www.womensaid.ie and if you, or someone you know are affected by financial abuse, contact the Women’s Aid national freephone helpline at 1800 341 900
