The Abuse of Technology in Domestic Violence and Stalking
TL;DR: Technology was used to create a sense of the perpetrator’s omnipresence, and to isolate, punish, and humiliate domestic violence victims.
Abstract: We focus on an emerging trend in the context of domestic violence—the use of technology to facilitate stalking and other forms of abuse. Surveys with 152 domestic violence advocates and 46 victims show that technology—including phones, tablets, computers, and social networking websites—is commonly used in intimate partner stalking. Technology was used to create a sense of the perpetrator’s omnipresence, and to isolate, punish, and humiliate domestic violence victims. Perpetrators also threatened to share sexualized content online to humiliate victims. Technology-facilitated stalking needs to be treated as a serious offense, and effective practice, policy, and legal responses must be developed.
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TL;DR: The empirical evidence to date regarding the prevalence and gender-based nature of TFSV against adults and the implications for policy and programs are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.
Abstract: Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) refers to a range of behaviors where digital technologies are used to facilitate both virtual and face-to-face sexually based harms. Such behaviors include online sexual harassment, gender- and sexuality-based harassment, cyberstalking, image-based sexual exploitation, and the use of a carriage service to coerce a victim into an unwanted sexual act. This article reviews the current state of knowledge on these different dimensions, drawing on existing empirical studies. While there is a growing body of research into technology-facilitated harms perpetrated against children and adolescents, there is a dearth of qualitative and quantitative research on TFSV against adults. Moreover, few of the existing studies provide reliable data on the nature, scope, and impacts of TFSV. Preliminary studies, however, indicate that some harms, much like sexual violence more broadly, may be predominantly gender-, sexuality-, and age-based, with young women being overrepresented as victims in some categories. This review collects the empirical evidence to date regarding the prevalence and gender-based nature of TFSV against adults and discusses the implications for policy and programs, as well as suggestions for future research.
226 citations
21 Apr 2018
TL;DR: It is shown how the sociotechnical and relational factors that characterize IPV make such attacks both extremely damaging to victims and challenging to counteract, in part because they undermine the predominant threat models under which systems have been designed.
Abstract: This paper describes a qualitative study with 89 participants that details how abusers in intimate partner violence (IPV) contexts exploit technologies to intimidate, threaten, monitor, impersonate, harass, or otherwise harm their victims. We show that, at their core, many of the attacks in IPV contexts are technologically unsophisticated from the perspective of a security practitioner or researcher. For example, they are often carried out by a UI-bound adversary - an adversarial but authenticated user that interacts with a victim»s device or account via standard user interfaces - or by downloading and installing a ready-made application that enables spying on a victim. Nevertheless, we show how the sociotechnical and relational factors that characterize IPV make such attacks both extremely damaging to victims and challenging to counteract, in part because they undermine the predominant threat models under which systems have been designed. We discuss the nature of these new IPV threat models and outline opportunities for HCI research and design to mitigate these attacks.
209 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a range of criminal behaviours that are perpetrated with the aid of digital technologies have been investigated and much of this focus has been on high-tech computations, however, most of which has been focused on high technology computations.
Abstract: Considerable scholarly attention has been paid to a range of criminal behaviours that are perpetrated with the aid of digital technologies. Much of this focus, however, has been on high-tech comput...
208 citations
02 May 2017
TL;DR: Overall, the results suggest that the usability of and control over privacy and security functions should be or continue to be high priorities for technology creators seeking ways to better support survivors of IPA.
Abstract: We present a qualitative study of the digital privacy and security motivations, practices, and challenges of survivors of intimate partner abuse (IPA). This paper provides a framework for organizing survivors' technology practices and challenges into three phases: physical control, escape, and life apart. This three-phase framework combines technology practices with three phases of abuse to provide an empirically sound method for technology creators to consider how survivors of IPA can leverage new and existing technologies. Overall, our results suggest that the usability of and control over privacy and security functions should be or continue to be high priorities for technology creators seeking ways to better support survivors of IPA.
158 citations
Cites background or result from "The Abuse of Technology in Domestic..."
...We confirmed that all our high-level findings about abuser attacks and survivor practices had been published in some form previously—if not empirical study reports, then in other widely available guidelines used by organizations supporting survivors [20,35,39,40,45]....
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...This can lead survivors to feel that they are “constantly under surveillance,” which can increase the difficulty of leaving [45]....
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...Abusers may try to isolate survivors by blocking access to online communication or by preventing survivors from accessing financial or other online accounts [34,45]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors define the term "technology facilitated coercive control" (TFCC) to encompass the technological and relational aspects of patterns of abuse against intimate partners, and propose four key directions for a TFCC research agenda that recognises and asks new questions about the role of digital media platforms as both facilitators of abuse and potential partners in TFCC prevention and intervention.
Abstract: This article describes domestic violence as a key context of online misogyny, foregrounding the role of digital media in mediating, coordinating, and regulating it; and proposing an agenda for future research. Scholars and anti-violence advocates have documented the ways digital media exacerbate existing patterns of gendered violence and introduce new modes of abuse, a trend highlighted by this special issue. We propose the term "technology facilitated coercive control" (TFCC) to encompass the technological and relational aspects of patterns of abuse against intimate partners. Our definition of TFCC is grounded in the understanding of domestic violence (DV) as coercive, controlling, and profoundly contextualised in relationship dynamics, cultural norms, and structural inequality. We situate TFCC within the multiple affordances and modes of governance of digital media platforms for amplifying and ameliorating abuse. In addition to investigating TFCC, scholars are beginning to document the ways platforms can engender counter-misogynistic discourse, and are powerful actors for positive change via the regulation and governance of online abuse. Accordingly, we propose four key directions for a TFCC research agenda that recognises and asks new questions about the role of digital media platforms as both facilitators of abuse and potential partners in TFCC prevention and intervention.
129 citations
References
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Book•
05 Mar 2009TL;DR: This chapter discusses writing Analytic Memos About Narrative and Visual Data and exercises for Coding and Qualitative Data Analytic Skill Development.
Abstract: An Introduction to Codes and Coding Chapter Summary Purposes of the Manual What Is a Code? Codifying and Categorizing What Gets Coded? The Mechanics of Coding The Numbers of Codes Manual and CAQDAS Coding Solo and Team Coding Necessary Personal Attributes for Coding On Method Writing Analytic Memos Chapter Summary The Purposes of Analytic Memo-Writing What Is an Analytic Memo? Examples of Analytic Memos Coding and Categorizing Analytic Memos Grounded Theory and Its Coding Canon Analytic Memos on Visual Data First-Cycle Coding Methods Chapter Summary The Coding Cycles Selecting the Appropriate Coding Method(s) Overview of First-Cycle Coding Methods The Coding Methods Profiles Grammatical Methods Elemental Methods Affective Methods Literary and Language Methods Exploratory Methods Forms for Additional First-Cycle Coding Methods Theming the Data Procedural Methods After First-Cycle Coding Chapter Summary Post-Coding Transitions Eclectic Coding Code Mapping and Landscaping Operational Model Diagramming Additional Transition Methods Transitioning to Second-Cycle Coding Methods Second-Cycle Coding Methods Chapter Summary The Goals of Second-Cycle Methods Overview of Second-Cycle Coding Methods Second-Cycle Coding Methods Forms for Additional Second-Cycle Coding Methods After Second-Cycle Coding Chapter Summary Post-Coding and Pre-Writing Transitions Focusing Strategies From Coding to Theorizing Formatting Matters Writing about Coding Ordering and Re-Ordering Assistance from Others Closure Appendix A: A Glossary of Coding Methods Appendix B: A Glossary of Analytic Recommendations Appendix C: Field Note, Interview Transcript and Document Samples for Coding Appendix D: Exercises and Activities for Coding and Qualitative Data Analytic Skill Development References Index
22,890 citations
"The Abuse of Technology in Domestic..." refers methods in this paper
...We used NVivo to code the answers to the open questions in the two surveys and used thematic analysis to categorize the findings (King & Horrocks, 2010; Saldaña, 2012)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the first global systematic review of scientific data on the prevalence of two forms of violence against women: violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner violence) and sexual violence by someone other than a partner.
Abstract: This report presents the first global systematic review of scientific data on the prevalence of two forms of violence against women: violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner violence) and sexual violence by someone other than a partner (non-partner sexual violence). It shows for the first time global and regional estimates of the prevalence of these two forms of violence using data from around the world. Previous reporting on violence against women has not differentiated between partner- and nonpartner violence.
2,283 citations
Book•
25 Feb 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the concept of Qualitative Interview Data Analysis (QDA) and discuss the role of qualitative interviews in Phenomenological Research Interviews and Narrative.
Abstract: Introduction Philosophical Assumptions Designing an Interview Study Carrying out Qualitative Interviews Group Interviews Remote Interviewing Ethics in Qualitative Interviewing Reflexivity and Qualitative Interviewing An Introduction to Interview Data Analysis Interviews in Phenomenological Research Interviews and Narrative
1,837 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2007TL;DR: In this article, the authors present Battered Women: A History of Domestic Violence and Coercive Control, and a Theory of coercive control for living with abusive women.
Abstract: Introduction I. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REVOLUTION: PROMISE AND DISAPPOINTMENT 1. The Revolution Unfolds 2. The Revolution Stalled II. ENIGMAS OF ABUSE 3. The Proper Measure of Abuse 4. The Entrapment Enigma 5. Re-presenting Battered Women III. FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO COERCIVE CONTROL 6. Up to Inequality 7. The Theory of Coercive Control 8. The Technology of Coercive Control IV. LIVING WITH COERCIVE CONTROL 9. When Battered Women Kill 10. For Love or Money 11. The Reasonableness of Battered Women Conclusion: Freedom is Not Free
864 citations
"The Abuse of Technology in Domestic..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Stark (2007) argues that intimate partner stalking is a form of coercive control....
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...Next, we applied interpretive coding to the findings, where meaning was interpreted according to the research question and theoretical framework of coercive control (Stark, 2007)....
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...These tactics include strategies to control and intimidate, such as isolation, surveillance, threats of violence, micromanagement of daily activities (e.g., regulation of showering and eating) and shaming (Stark, 2007)....
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..., regulation of showering and eating) and shaming (Stark, 2007)....
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TL;DR: Semi-structured interviews, where the researcher has some predefined questions or topics but then probes further as the participant responds, can produce powerful data that provide insights into the participants' experiences, perceptions or opinions.
Abstract: Interviews are a common method of data collection in nursing research. They are frequently used alone in a qualitative study or combined with other data collection methods in mixed or multi-method research. Semi-structured interviews, where the researcher has some predefined questions or topics but then probes further as the participant responds, can produce powerful data that provide insights into the participants' experiences, perceptions or opinions.
823 citations
"The Abuse of Technology in Domestic..." refers background or methods in this paper
...The final stage of thematic analysis is to define overarching themes (King & Horrocks, 2010)....
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...Applying the system of thematic analysis as outlined by King and Horrocks (2010), we first coded the survey answers descriptively....
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...We used NVivo to code the answers to the open questions in the two surveys and used thematic analysis to categorize the findings (King & Horrocks, 2010; Saldaña, 2012)....
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