‘I feel like we’re really behind the game’: perspectives of the United Kingdom’s intimate partner violence support sector on the rise of technology-facilitated abuse
Abstract:Technology-facilitated abuse or ‘tech abuse’ in intimate partner violence (IPV) contexts describes the breadth of harms that can be enacted using digital systems and online tools. While the misappropriation of technologies in the context of IPV has been subject to prior research, a dedicated study on the United Kingdom’s IPV support sector has so far been missing. The present analysis summarises insights derived from semi-structured interviews with 34 UK voluntary and statutory sector representatives that were… Show more
“…A growing body of literature also identifies how consumer IoT is a threat in the context of intimate partner and domestic and family violence (see e.g., Lopez‐Neira et al, 2019, Rodriguez‐Rodriguez et al, 2020, Tanczer et al, 2018). IoT can be used as an aid to abuse, stalk, and harass and this potential was identified by several of our participants:So we hear a lot of stories … unfortunately of relationship breakdowns where usually the man, the male partner is the one who has installed all these devices because technology is male dominated, so they know all the passwords and then they break up and their wife or girlfriend has these devices in their house but the partner who has now left still has access to them and can use them to harass them (TS4).…”
Section: Results: Concerns Regarding the Growth Of Consumer Iot In Au...mentioning
The expansive growth of consumer internet of things (IoT) has created a range of concerns around privacy, security, and their broader societal impacts. This article reports on findings from interviews with 32 key stakeholders from the fields of information security, policy and regulation, the IoT industry, consumer and privacy law, and academia in Australia. It details a broad variety of issues and concerns that go beyond the well-recognised issue of privacy or the technical standards of information security, to encompass a wider set of issues regarding the implications for vulnerable communities, the environment and industrial standards of IoT production. Most key stakeholders expressed the view that more robust regulation is required in Australia, but no clear regulatory priority or strategy was identified by our sample. The implications of these findings for further regulation of consumer IoT and future regulatory strategies are considered.
“…A growing body of literature also identifies how consumer IoT is a threat in the context of intimate partner and domestic and family violence (see e.g., Lopez‐Neira et al, 2019, Rodriguez‐Rodriguez et al, 2020, Tanczer et al, 2018). IoT can be used as an aid to abuse, stalk, and harass and this potential was identified by several of our participants:So we hear a lot of stories … unfortunately of relationship breakdowns where usually the man, the male partner is the one who has installed all these devices because technology is male dominated, so they know all the passwords and then they break up and their wife or girlfriend has these devices in their house but the partner who has now left still has access to them and can use them to harass them (TS4).…”
Section: Results: Concerns Regarding the Growth Of Consumer Iot In Au...mentioning
The expansive growth of consumer internet of things (IoT) has created a range of concerns around privacy, security, and their broader societal impacts. This article reports on findings from interviews with 32 key stakeholders from the fields of information security, policy and regulation, the IoT industry, consumer and privacy law, and academia in Australia. It details a broad variety of issues and concerns that go beyond the well-recognised issue of privacy or the technical standards of information security, to encompass a wider set of issues regarding the implications for vulnerable communities, the environment and industrial standards of IoT production. Most key stakeholders expressed the view that more robust regulation is required in Australia, but no clear regulatory priority or strategy was identified by our sample. The implications of these findings for further regulation of consumer IoT and future regulatory strategies are considered.
“…As the “Internet of things,” such as smart appliances, fitness trackers, smart door locks, and smart security systems, proliferate, so does its place within intimate partner violence (IPV). “Tech abuse” in IPV including the distribution of sexual images without consent (i.e., revenge porn), digital surveillance, cyberstalking, and impersonation of abuse survivors is increasingly prevalent (see Branch et al, 2017; Tanczer et al, 2021; Woodlock, 2017). The consequences go beyond the online implications.…”
Section: Making a Case For The Internet As A Social Institutionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The consequences go beyond the online implications. Survivors can experience financial ruin—from loss of business due to posting bad reviews to incurring bank fraud and psychological distress (Tanczer et al, 2021).…”
Section: Making a Case For The Internet As A Social Institutionmentioning
I argue that scholars study the Internet as a social institution. This study employs a critical literature review of multi-disciplinary scholarship on the Internet, the family, and adjacent institutions comparing it to Patricia Yancy Martin's (2005) fourteen criteria of social institution to demonstrate how the Internet represents a new social institution, worthy of inquiry through its fourteen defining characteristics of endurance (persistence over time), social practices, conflicts, power struggles, identity formation, and change, among other criteria (Martin 2004; 1256). I, then, I discuss the potential starting points of digital data research methods for newcomers to the field, such as data acquisition, coding potential, and approaches to analysis. Conceptualizing the Internet as a social institution will ultimately improve the evaluation of peer-reviewed digital research, expand social theory more broadly, elevate our awareness of the Internet's sociality, and subject the interconnections of the social institution of the Internet and other social institutions to more critical investigations.
“…An emerging body of literature further identifies that women’s experiences of intimate partner and sexual violence increasingly feature technology facilitated forms of abuse (Bailey & Burkell, 2021; Bates, 2017; Dragiewicz et al, 2018; Dunn, 2021; Tanczer et al, 2021; Woodlock et al, 2020). However, much of this rapidly developing field comprises qualitative studies or small samples with women’s support services and women victims (e.g., Flynn et al, 2021; Woodlock et al, 2020).…”
This study addresses a significant knowledge gap regarding the gendered extent and nature of Technology-Facilitated Abuse (TFA). Drawing on a representative sample of 4,562 Australian adults, the results demonstrate that though prevalence of any lifetime TFA victimization is not specifically gendered, there are clear gendered patterns in the extent and nature of particular types of TFA experienced. Here, women are more likely to report experiencing sexual coercion, as well as intimate partner abuse and co-occurring forms of abuse from the same perpetrator. The results support aspects of the gendered violence thesis and suggest avenues for future research into TFA victimization.
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