Tech Gadgets Hinder Domestic Abuse Victims From Escaping, Advocates Claim

Domestic violence prevention specialists report increased use of technological devices to commit violent acts against their victims.

These gadgets can be smartphones, smart homes, or digitally linked vehicles.

Facts and Figures

Amy FitzGerald, executive director at the BC Society of Transition Houses, told the Global News that these technological advancements are being used as a tool of surveillance to harass survivors in several ways.

"Oftentimes, whatever gets reported might sound a little [far-fetched], but it turns out to be true."

As lockdowns made it harder for victims to escape abusive relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic, domestic violence in Canada gained prominence as a "shadow pandemic."

Statistics Canada recorded 127,082 domestic violence victims in 2021, up for the fifth straight year. The rate is 336 victims per 100,000 individuals. Every six days, a partner kills a woman, the agency says.

Technology safety project manager for Women's Shelters Canada, Rhiannon Wong, cautions that as technology grew increasingly established in daily life amid physical isolation caused by the pandemic, digital forms of intimate partner abuse also started rising in 2020.

She said perpetrators use tech for their old behaviors of power and control, as well as abuse and violence.

Abusers may follow their partners in real-time, publish damaging information online with little possibility of removal, or mimic, harass, or threaten them, Wong added.

Wong said technology is frequently used as a "continuation of violence," assuring the abuser's omnipresence. It even makes it impossible for victims to flee, even when they are not there.

Reported Incidents

Darren Laur, a retired Victoria police sergeant, is White Hatter's principal training officer. He said a company assisted a lady whose ex-partner hacked her smart home.

The danger of abusers following a victim's car via a mobile app was another issue raised by Laur.

BC Transition Houses examined anti-violence initiatives in August 2021. An 89% of 137 respondents indicated women they worked with acknowledged technology-facilitated abuse.

Harassment is the most common type of tech-related violence, according to the survey.

Government Response

Battered Women Support Services executive director Angela Macdougall said policy and legislation have not kept up with these digital improvements.

According to her, reporting to the police is complex, and there are already tremendous constraints on how effective the police can be. "When we add the issue around technology, it's even harder."

Jane Bailey, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, agrees that current rules must be applied digitally.

The law should be more responsive, she stated.

Some victims may not want legal proceedings or police involvement. But if they want to, "I think it's fair that we make it possible for them to do that," Bailey added.

Canada's federal government unveiled its first gender-based violence response plan last month.

The strategy includes five pillars: victim support, prevention, a responsive legal system, Indigenous-led methods, and social infrastructure. It recognizes that gender-based violence takes various forms, including "technology-facilitated violence."