Technology-Facilitated Domestic and Sexual Violence: A Review

Detrimental to Our Digital Well-Being: Campus Sexual Misconduct and Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Among University Students in Singapore

Although increasingly prevalent in Singapore, campus sexual assault and harassment and technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) remain underresearched. Conducted by scholars across social work, gender studies, policy studies, communication, and computer science, this interdisciplinary study explores the impact of technologies such as social media and online platforms on the digital well-being of university students in Singapore who experience TFSV and campus sexual misconduct. We conducted online surveys with 314 students and interviews with 28 students, the majority of whom were women and identified as victim-survivors. Our analysis revealed participants did not perceive technologies as entirely detrimental and possessed limited awareness of digital well-being. These findings contribute to understanding young victim-survivors' digital well-being and relationship to technology in Singapore by highlighting the experiences of college students.

From Non-Traditional Sexual Behavior to Non-Legitimate Victims: Moral Virtue, Victim Blame, and Helping Intentions Toward a Woman Victim of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Image-based sexual abuse represents an increasingly common form of gender-based violence, consisting of the act of non-consensually capturing, distributing, or threatening to distribute sexually explicit material depicting another person. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how women victims' noncompliance with traditional female sexuality influences bystanders' perceptions of the phenomenon. Specifically, we experimentally examined whether a woman's sexual agency (high vs. low) and the length (steady vs. transient) of the relationship with the perpetrator affected her moral evaluation, victim blaming, and participants' willingness to support her. A sample of 597 adults (65.7% women, Mage = 31.29 years) took part in the study. The findings indicated that while a transient (vs. steady) relationship with the perpetrator significantly lowered the woman's perceived moral virtue and increased the extent to which she was blamed for the incident, a high (vs. low) woman's sexual agency decreased participants' helping intentions towards her. Additionally, results showed that men were less likely than women to attribute moral virtue and help the victim. Lastly, through the mediation of moral virtue and victim blaming, the length of the relationship indirectly influenced participants' helping intentions.

Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Cyberabuse, Sexual Aggression, and Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. Young Adults

Quarantine guidelines that arose with the COVID-19 pandemic limited opportunities for social interaction, raising concerns about increases in intimate partner violence and cyberabuse while simultaneously restricting access to help. The current study assessed increases in cyberabuse, sexual aggression, and intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a U.S. nationally representative sample of young adults ages 18 to 35, recruited from a probability-based household panel. Data were collected between November 2020 and May 2021. Descriptive analyses were conducted to assess the prevalence of any self-reported increase in cyberabuse, sexual aggression, or intimate partner victimization or perpetration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression models were run for each outcome measuring any increase compared to no increase. Approximately one in ten U.S. young adults ages 18 to 35 reported experiencing an increase in cyberabuse victimization (12.6%) and cyberabuse perpetration (8.9%) during the pandemic. Similar proportions were observed for increased sexual aggression victimization (11.8%) and perpetration (9.0%). More than one in five respondents (21.4%) reported that their intimate partner was more physically, sexually, or emotionally aggressive toward them during the pandemic. Conversely, 16.2% of respondents reported that they were more physically, sexually, or emotionally aggressive themselves toward an intimate partner, compared to their behavior before the onset of the pandemic. Having an intimate partner and staying at home more than usual during the pandemic were protective factors for both cyberabuse and sexual aggression victimization. Respondent age, education, and race and ethnicity were not associated with increased victimization or perpetration of cyberabuse or sexual aggression. However, women reported lower odds of increased sexual aggression perpetration than men. These findings improve understanding of changes to interpersonal abuse and associated risk factors during a period of social disruption.

Making Visible the Myths About Cyber-Sexual Violence Against Women: An Analysis of Social Reactions Toward Victims on Twitter

Cyber-sexual violence is a prevalent and harmful form of aggression committed against women, yet little attention has been paid to the attitudes about cyber-sexual violence. This research therefore aimed to explore the negative attitudes or myths that serve to justify, minimize, and deny the experiences of cyber-sexual violence disclosed by women on Twitter. Using a thematic analysis, we analyzed 4,048 replies to 18 experiences reported on Twitter around the time of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. After the data were cleaned and coded, the results revealed 18 myths about cyber-sexual violence, grouped into four main themes: (1) minimization/conceptualization, (2) victim blaming, (3) factors related to the diffusion context, and (4) exonerating the perpetrator's responsibility. This study constitutes the first attempt to analyze the myths surrounding cyber-sexual violence on Twitter, including content areas not yet addressed in the literature, such as contextual factors. Strikingly, most of the analyzed reactions appeared to deny and downplay the importance of sexually aggressive behaviors perpetrated against women online, suggesting that these beliefs could influence the underreporting of cyber-sexual violence. Based on these data, it was concluded that while Twitter can serve as a useful "loudspeaker" for victims, it is also a mechanism by which myths about cyber-sexual violence can be supported and disseminated. Finally, it highlights the importance to consider the influence of online cultural frame on the social perception of cyber-sexual violence and point out the specific beliefs that educators, researches and psychologist could work though psychoeducational programs.

Characteristics and Treatment of Cyberviolence Trauma in Children and Adolescents

Cyberviolence is a new form of violence encompassing any online activity that results in harm to the psychological, emotional, financial, or physical well-being of an individual or group. These adverse activities often lead to serious offline and long-lasting negative impact, especially on children and adolescents whose development has not matured sufficiently. Therefore, it is more important for mental health professionals to be well informed about the rapidly evolving forms of cyberviolence and its risks and to respond appropriately. This article provides an overview of the concept and unique features of cyberviolence trauma in minors in South Korea while also examining ongoing efforts to explore and implement effective treatment programs. Cyberbullying and digital sexual abuse, the most common forms of cyberviolence experienced by minors in South Korea, are explored in detail. Additionally, this review proposes directions for future research and the efforts that clinicians should focus on.

Canadian Gender-Based Violence Prevention Programs: Gaps and Opportunities

Gender-based violence (GBV) prevention programs have long played an important part in both teaching the realities of GBV and training people in techniques to avert, mitigate, and respond to violence. This article examines the current state of GBV prevention training in Canada through an analysis of 81 GBV education programs provided by antiviolence organizations and universities. We identified notable gaps in topics relating to technology-facilitated violence and abuse in programs targeting men and in the provision of bystander intervention training. Each of these areas represents important, but as yet unrealized, opportunities in violence prevention.

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies as a mediator between cyber dating violence and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among college students

Objective: Cyber dating violence (CDV) is prevalent among emerging adults and could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, limited research has been conducted on potential mitigating (or exacerbating) factors, such as the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CER). The present study examined whether CER strategies mediate the relationship between CDV and PTSD. Participants: Among a sample of 598 college students, the present study focuses on those who reported past-year CDV (56%; N = 335). Methods: An online survey was completed by college students to assess CDV, CER, and PTSD using validated self-report measures. Results: CDV was bivariately correlated with PTSD symptoms as well as adaptive and maladaptive CER. Within a mediation model, maladaptive (but not adaptive) CER mediated the relationship between CDV and PTSD. Conclusions: CDV is common among college students. Targeting maladaptive CER, such as self-blame and rumination, could lead to reductions in PTSD symptoms.

Associations between receiving non-consensual image and video sexts and average sleep duration among adolescents and young adults

Background Sexting is the sending and receiving of nude or partially nude images or videos. Despite it being a part of contemporary relationships, it can have adverse effects. This is particularly the case when receiving non-consensual sexts. To date, there remains a gap in the literature on whether receiving non-consensual sexts is associated with poor sleep. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the association between receiving non-consensual sexts and average sleep duration. Methods Data from Wave 2 (2022) of the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviours (N =906) were analysed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between receiving non-consensual sexts (both image and video) in the past 12months and average sleep duration (≤5h, 6h, 7h, 8h, and ≥9h) in the past 2weeks. Analyses were stratified by gender. Results Girls and women who received non-consensual image and video sexts, compared to those who did not, were more likely to report ≤5h of average sleep in the past 2weeks, relative to 8h of average sleep. There were no significant findings among boys and men. Conclusion Findings underscore that receiving non-consensual image and video sexts may negatively impact sleep among girls and women, which may be contextualised by trauma responses experienced because of gender-based sexual violence. Healthcare and mental health professionals should be made aware of this association to provide effective care to girls and women.

Pornography Use and Violence: A Systematic Review of the Last 20 Years

Pornography use is one of the factors that has been proposed to be associated with violence. We aimed to explore the literature of the last 20 years, with the objective of understanding the possible association between pornography use and violence. Two electronic databases (PsycINFO/PsycARTICLES and PubMed/Medline) were used. We included members of the general population, of any sex, age, and sexual orientation, who were direct users of pornography or have a partner who uses pornography. Only studies with pornography use and violence assessments, and that specifically evaluated the association between both factors, were included. In all, 59 studies met the inclusion criteria. An association between pornography use and nonsexual violence seems to exist, although the causality of this association remains unclear. Heterogeneity of results exists regarding the association between pornography use and intimate partner sexual assault and coercion: some studies have failed to demonstrate this association, while others have observed it partially or significantly. Contradictory results have also been observed when examining the association between pornography use, rape myths, and other beliefs/attitudes. The main limitation is the heterogeneity in the conceptualization of both constructs (pornography and violence). Multiple theoretical models, methodologies, and categorizations have been used in the studies, complicating the comparability of the findings. The association between different types of violence and pornography use requires further in-depth research to better understand the specific link between both constructs.CRD42021259874.

Evaluation of the concerns of Spanish university students in the face of current major challenges

The concerns of students and young people have been on the rise in recent years. Recent events such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the invasion of Ukraine have contributed to this. Mental health, the high cost of living, the need to re-evaluate the way we work or the fight against climate change are among the main concerns of young people. The aim of this work is to find out the level of concern of university students about these problems that can condition their current life and to analyze whether these concerns can affect their academic performance, also distinguishing according to gender and age. To this end, a nationwide survey was carried out among this group in Spain. This work is the first of its kind to be carried out in Spain. The results obtained may be of great use to both educational institutions and government agents, with a view to offering policies that will improve the educational level and welfare of university students.

Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Abuse in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

Technology-facilitated sexual violence and abuse (TFSVA) is a pervasive phenomenon and a global problem. TFSVA refers to any form of sexual violence, exploitation, or harassment enacted through the misuse of digital technologies. This includes, but is not limited to, image-based sexual abuse, online sexual exploitation and harassment, sextortion, and the non-consensual sharing of sexual images. It has significant and long-lasting psychological, social, financial, and health impacts. TFSVA is on the rise, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there has been an explosion in digital technology overall. This scoping review aimed to identify studies on TFSVA in LMICs to examine its types, impacts, victim-survivor coping strategies, and help-seeking. To identify peer-reviewed literature, six databases were searched: Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, Star Plus-University of Sheffield library search, and Web of Science. The review included empirical studies published in English between 1996 and 2022, focusing on TFSVA among adults (aged 18+) in LMICs. A total of 14 peer-reviewed studies were included, highlighting that scant empirical research is available on TFSVA in LMICs. This review found several types of TFSVA and their wide-ranging impacts; traditional patriarchal societal norms and values largely shape TFSVA for women in LMICs. It also found more social impacts linked to sociocultural factors. Survivors adopted various coping mechanisms and help-seeking behaviors primarily through informal family support. Studies highlighted the need for effective legislation; pro-victim-survivor policing; strong family support; increasing victim-survivors' knowledge about reporting; and more research.

What are practitioners' views of how digital health interventions may play a role in online child sexual abuse service delivery?

Introduction

Online child sexual abuse (OCSA) affects considerable numbers of children globally and is associated with a variety of mental health problems. Existing practitioner studies suggest that young people are infrequently asked about online abuse and practitioners have a fragmented understanding of the problems experienced or how they might approach them. There are very few evidence-based interventions that guide clinical assessment or practice. Digital Health Interventions (DHIs) have the potential to be an effective option where children and young people's services are challenged, including accessibility and anonymity. The aim of this study was to explore mental health practitioners' views of how DHIs may play a role in supporting young people who have experienced OCSA, and the role they can play in healthcare delivery.

Method

In-depth qualitative interviews and one focus group were conducted with 25 child mental health professionals across two sites (Manchester and Edinburgh). Data was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Three overarching themes and 9 sub-themes were identified: (1) feeling a little bit lost; (2) seeing potential problems; and (3) knowing what works. Practitioners expressed interest in a DHI to support this client group and saw it as a way of managing waiting lists and complementing existing therapies. They felt that many young people would see this as a preferred medium to in-person therapy, would be empowering, and offers new ways of learning how to stay safe online. However, there were concerns about how much time would be needed by staff to deliver a DHI, anxieties about safety issues in relation to content and data protection, some of which may be unique to this population of young people, and concerns about the absence of a therapeutic relationship with vulnerable children.

Discussion

Our findings indicated that practitioners were uncertain about working with children subjected to OCSA but were receptive to the possibility of using a DHI to support their practice and to reduce waiting lists. Concerns were expressed about the time needed for staff training and support as well as concerns over patient safety and the lack of evidence about the effectiveness of an unsupported DHI.

A Scoping Review of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Across Asia

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) is a pervasive issue. Yet, most research focuses on high-income countries and few studies comprehensively summarize its prevalence, manifestations, and implications in the Global South. This scoping review sought to examine technology-facilitated GBV in low- and middle-income countries across Asia, specifically focusing on trends, common behaviors, and characteristics of perpetrators and survivors. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed and gray literature published between 2006 and 2021 yielded 2,042 documents, of which 97 articles were included in the review. Across South and Southeast Asia, findings indicate that technology-facilitated GBV is a widespread phenomenon, with increased incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology-facilitated GBV comprises various forms of behaviors and prevalence varies by type of violence. Women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities, especially those with other intersecting marginalized identities, are often more vulnerable to experiencing online violence. Alongside these findings, the review revealed gaps in the literature including a lack of evidence from Central Asia and the Pacific Islands. There is also limited data on prevalence which we attribute to underreporting, in part due to disjointed, outdated, or nonexistent legal definitions. Findings from the study can be leveraged by key stakeholders such as researchers, practitioners, governments, and technology companies to develop prevention, response, and mitigation efforts.

Mapping digital dating abuse in Brasil and Australia

Technology plays a key role in young people's relationships. While its benefits are well known, less is known about its negative impacts and experiences, such as digital dating abuse. Most studies originate from North American and European countries and have not framed digital dating abuse as a multidimensional phenomenon. Exploring this social and public health issue in the Global-South is necessary because it significantly impacts youths' lives. I use Brown and Hegarty's framework of digital dating abuse as a wide range of harmful behaviours and a gender perspective to review the extant literature on adolescent victimisation in digital dating abuse in heterosexual relationships from a southern perspective. This perspective is demonstrated by drawing primarily from the scholarship of two countries in the Global-South, Brasil and Australia. I argue that digital dating abuse is a multifaceted and gendered phenomenon and suggest a qualitative approach across multiple southern countries aids researchers to compile and study adolescent digital dating abuse experiences, contexts and impacts. This contemporary phenomenon of adolescent digital dating abuse merits scholarly attention as a social and public health problem.

Help-Seeking From Websites and Police in the Aftermath of Technology-Facilitated Victimization

This study looked at experiences of help-seeking from websites and police following an episode of technology-facilitated abuse. It used data from a nationally representative online panel of adults aged 18 to 28, sampled from Ipsos Knowledge Panel. A total of 1,952 unique victimization episodes from childhood and adulthood were identified and used in analyses. Participants were asked about whether they experienced 11 different types of technology-facilitated abuse (TFA), whether the incident was reported to the website or police, barriers to reporting, and features of the website's or law enforcement's response. Other follow-up information included victim gender, age, relationship to the perpetrator, and negative emotional impact (NEI) associated with the incident. Results found very low rates of reporting to both websites (7.3%) and law enforcement (4.8%). Image-based offenses had higher rates of reporting. A greater NEI significantly increased the odds of reporting to each source. Participants were largely unsatisfied with response from websites and police. Only 42.2% said the website did something helpful and only 29.8% found police helpful. Our findings suggest a need for major improvements in how websites and law enforcement respond to victims of technology-facilitated offenses. They need to have more helpful information and more ways of offering support. Websites need more specifics about the types of violations that warrant reporting, clearer signposts, and encouragement about how to get help and a better publicized commitment to a rapid and serious review. Law enforcement needs more education and training to avoid dismissive and judgmental reactions and to ensure sympathetic and respectful responses.

Technology-Facilitated Abuse in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Study of Women Survivors in Taiwan

We explore the emerging issue of how communications technologies can be used by male perpetrators to facilitate intimate partner violence against their female partners. We analyzed interview narratives from 18 women survivors of intimate partner violence in Taiwan, informed by Stark's theory of coercive control. Our findings indicated that the male perpetrators of intimate partner violence against the survivors utilized communications technologies to further harm, control, and intimidate their victims. We found that the perpetrators harassed, stalked/monitored, and isolated the survivors and distributed defamatory messages about the survivors to other people using telephones, e-mail, social media, the Internet, broadcast media, and recording devices.

Technology-Facilitated Abuse Against Women From Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to domestic and family violence, including technology-facilitated abuse. Often CALD women depend on technology to connect with support networks in their home country. Technology-facilitated abuse can be devastating and isolating. There is limited comprehensive knowledge of how technology-facilitated abuse is experienced by CALD women. This scoping review addresses this gap by exploring and analysing the available literature on technology-facilitated abuse amongst CALD women in the context of domestic and family violence. Employing a scoping review methodology, a total of nine studies were identified from a database search and other sources (including snowball, web search, and search verification processes). Studies were included if they contained the following three elements: (1) a focus on technology-facilitated abuse, (2) the inclusion of CALD women's experiences, and (3) a context of domestic and family violence (DFV). This review firstly maps the methodologies and characteristics of the studies. Second, the most common types of technology-facilitated abuse that disproportionally affect CALD women are identified together with culturally related help-seeking barriers. Areas for future research are discussed along with suggestions for improving practises and policies for prevention and intervention.

College Students' Experiences of Dating App Facilitated Sexual Violence and Associations with Mental Health Symptoms and Well-Being

Dating app facilitated sexual violence (DAFSV) includes behaviors such as unwanted sexual comments/harassment, unsolicited sexual photos, and gender/sexuality-based harassment - and could extend to sexual violence when meeting partners face-to-face. The effects of sexual violence on mental health are well-established; however, research on DAFSV has been limited. The goal of the current study was to understand college students' experiences of DAFSV and investigate cross-sectional associations with indicators of mental health (i.e. depression and anxiety symptoms) and well-being (i.e. self-esteem, loneliness, perceived control). Participants were college students in the United States who used dating apps (N = 277) and identified primarily as women (64.6%) and heterosexual/straight (74.0%). Most participants (88.4%) self-reported at least one instance of DAFSV. Women (vs. men) and sexual minority (vs. heterosexual/straight) individuals experienced more frequent DAFSV. Regression analyses indicated that DAFSV frequency was associated with higher depression and anxiety symptoms, higher loneliness, lower self-esteem, and lower perceived control. This study highlights the importance of DAFSV for a broad range of well-being indicators. Given that dating apps are one of the most common means of meeting partners, research is needed to better understand these initial interactions, prevent DAFSV from occurring, and mitigate the impact of DAFSV on health outcomes.

Examining Technology-Facilitated Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review of Journal Articles

As intimate partner violence in a cyber world is increasing, scholars have started to pay attention to this phenomenon. This study aims to provide a systematic review of empirical studies in the technology-facilitated intimate partner violence (TFIPV) field. We analyzed 31 studies that examined direct TFIPV perpetration and/or victimization experiences identified from four of the largest databases (i.e., Web of Science, PsyInfo, PubMed, and SCOPUS). We found that most studies recruited adolescents or young adults (i.e., college students) and used a very diverse range of terminologies that describe similar phenomena but are not based on validated instruments. We discuss the implications of our findings and suggestions that can enhance the field's rigor and guide future research.

Short-Term and Long-Term Impacts of Financial Sextortion on Victim's Mental Well-Being

Sextortion occurs when an individual threatens to distribute a victim's intimate images, videos, or information unless they comply with the perpetrator's demands. In financially motivated sextortion, these demands include payment of a ransom. Despite global increases in financially motivated sextortion victimization, there is limited research on the psychological impacts of this type of victimization. Leveraging 332 threads (3,276 posts) from a popular sextortion support forum, the purpose of this research was to use inductive qualitative methods to understand how financially motivated sextortion impacts victims' mental well-being, their online engagement, and how they process and deal with these impacts. The results illustrate four main concepts: short-term impacts, long-term impacts, coping strategies, and getting better over time. Short-term impacts included worry, stress, anxiety, self-blame, and somatic symptoms of stress. Long-term impacts included enduring episodes of anxiety. Some sources of coping reported by forum users were to confide in a trusted friend, stay offline, or seek professional mental health care. Despite these impacts, many forum members expressed a sense that their anxiety and distress "get better overtime," a concept that was assisted through active coping strategies.

Trauma-Informed Care in Digital Health Technologies: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

The use of digital health technologies is becoming increasingly common across the globe as they offer immense potential to enhance health care delivery by promoting accessibility, flexibility, and personalized care, connecting patients to health care professionals, and offering more efficient services and treatments to remote residents. At the same time, there is an increasing recognition of how digital health can inadvertently foment psychological trauma. This phenomenon has led to the adoption of trauma-informed care in designing and deploying digital health technologies. However, how trauma-informed care is defined and characterized, and the various trauma-informed care strategies used in designing and deploying digital health technologies remain unexplored.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aims to explore and synthesize the literature on how trauma-informed care is defined and characterized in digital health and the various trauma-informed care principles, strategies, or recommendations used in designing and deploying digital health.

METHODS

This review will draw on the Joanna Briggs Institute's updated methodological guidance for scoping reviews. A search will be conducted on CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, Compendex Engineering Village, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO. This review will consider published research studies and unpublished work (gray literature). Studies will be included if they applied trauma-informed care in designing or deploying digital health for patients across all geographical locations or provide trauma-informed recommendations on how web developers should develop digital health. Studies will be limited to publications within the past 10 years and studies in all languages will be considered. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles and abstracts, and then perform a full-text review. Data will be extracted into a data extraction tool developed for this study.

RESULTS

The scoping review was undergoing a full search as of April 2023. The main results will synthesize the peer-reviewed and gray literature on adopting trauma-informed care practices in digital health research and development. The study is expected to be completed by December 2023 and the results are expected to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CONCLUSIONS

This review is expected to provide the knowledge base on the adoption of trauma-informed care in designing and deploying digital health. This knowledge can lead to more engaging, and likely, more effective digital health interventions that have less potential for harm. A synthesis of the various trauma-informed care strategies in digital health will also provide a trauma-informed language by enabling researchers and digital health developers to consider trauma as a critical factor in each stage of the design process.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/46842.

A systematic review of ethical challenges and opportunities of addressing domestic violence with AI-technologies and online tools

Domestic violence remains a pressing complex social problem of people of any gender, age, socio-economic status, and ethno-cultural background, an issue that worsened worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital, online, or artificial intelligence-based smart technological services, applications, and tools provide novel approaches in addressing domestic violence, including intimate partner violence. This systematic literature review analyses the ethical challenges and opportunities these (protective) digital and smart technologies provide to the stakeholders involved. Our results highlight that the public health and societal issue are the leading narratives of domestic violence, which is predominantly interpreted as gender-based violence. The review highlights an emerging trend of the role of machine learning- and artificial intelligence-based approaches in identifying and preventing domestic violence. However, we argue that little recommendation is available to professionals about how to use these approaches in a responsible way, and that the smartness of high-tech technologies is often challenged by basic-level technologies from perpetrators, creating an imbalance that also limits an impactful development of a comprehensive socio-technical regime that serves the safety and resilience of families in their communal setting.

U.S. Young Adults' Professional Help-Seeking in Response to Technology-Facilitated Abuse

Widespread access to an increasing number of technology-enhanced communications channels multiplies the potential for abusive interactions (i.e., technology-facilitated abuse [TFA]). Practitioners will be better prepared to respond to the problem of TFA if more is known about how commonly victims seek help, and from whom. Through a cross-sectional, U.S. nationally representative survey of n = 1,215 young adults aged 18 to 35, respondents completed the TFA scale of the Cyber-Abuse Research Initiative. We calculated the percentage of TFA survivors who sought help for their most damaging experience of TFA, and used logistic regression to model help-seeking for health services, victim services, technological assistance, and/or criminal justice/legal assistance. For each help source, we examined risk markers including sociodemographic characteristics, online activity, the number of different forms of TFA experience, and the perpetrator's relationship to the victim. Use of a broader range of social media sites/platforms, and several indicators of more severe TFA experiences, predicted help-seeking from health services, victim services, and justice/legal assistance. Young adults who identified the TFA perpetrator as a current or ex-intimate partner were less likely than other survivors to seek two forms of help: technological assistance and/or criminal justice/legal assistance. Survivors who self-identified as Black were more likely than White survivors to seek victim services. Professionals who support survivors of interpersonal aggression may use these results to enhance their screening protocols and form cross-disciplinary partnerships to address the harms associated with TFA.

The Nature, Patterns and Consequences of Technology-Facilitated Domestic Abuse: A Scoping Review

Women are increasingly at risk of gender-based violence through technology and digital tools. Some digital devices and apps such as GPS location tracking, spyware, mobile phones and social media platforms have become new tools for perpetrators to monitor, harass and abuse victims. However, the nature and impacts of technology on intimate partner violence (IPV) have remained perplexing and ambiguous. Hence, this scoping review was conducted to explore the nature, patterns and consequences of technology-facilitated domestic abuse (TFDA). All journal articles and grey literature exploring the TFDA phenomenon, its nature and impacts on victims and services providers were scanned, and twenty-two papers were included in this scoping review. Overall, findings showed that digital devices, online applications and social media accounts facilitated IPV and exacerbated the consequences of abuse. Yet, many victims and frontline workers found understanding the nature and impacts of TFDA difficult. They faced many challenges addressing this form of abuse. Thus, several strategies are needed to adequately tackle TFDA, including conducting further research on the issue, developing appropriate policy and addressing gender inequality in the online environment.

Sending of Unwanted Dick Pics as a Modality of Sexual Cyber-Violence: An Exploratory Study of Its Emotional Impact and Reactions in Women

The sending of sexually explicit images by men to women without prior request, a practice commonly referred to as sending or receiving a "dick pic," is a fairly common manifestation of sexual cyber-violence that has grown in recent times. As research on this type of sexual cyber-violence is limited, the current study analyzed the prevalence of this phenomenon in a sample of 347 Spanish women between 18 and 30 years of age, studying the factors that influence the emotional impact reported by women if they received an unsolicited dick pic (using a hypothetical scenario) and exploring the various coping strategies that women would use in that situation. Results showed a significant prevalence of this type of cyber-violence in the sample, as 48.1% of the participants had received an unsolicited dick pic from an unknown man at some point. Women with lower levels of hostile sexism-but not of benevolent sexism-reported a higher depressed and angry/annoyed emotional impact of the sexual cyber-violence scenario. This was also the case for women with a less conservative political ideology, with less religious beliefs, as well as those women who perceived that their female friends receive this type of images frequently (descriptive norm) and who perceived that their female friends are less accepting of these situations (injunctive norm). In addition, from the strategies presented to the participants to cope with this situation of sexual cyber-violence, it was observed that a significant percentage of women would choose strategies, such as talking about the incident with other people and blocking the sender's access. Yet, fewer women would employ effective strategies, such as reporting the perpetrator's profile to the managers or administrators of the social network or reporting the incident to the police. This study is one of the first studies in Spain that addresses this new form of sexual cyber-violence against women by unknown men and suggests that, in online social networks, women experience the same situations of abuse, harassment, and sexual objectification that they have faced offline in everyday life. Therefore, more work needs to be done to raise awareness and try to prevent these situations, while also providing more support to these women so that they can adopt effective coping strategies.

Perpetration of Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Extent, Nature and Correlates in a Multi-Country Sample

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a form of technology-facilitated abuse in which intimate (nude or sexual) images of a person are taken, distributed, or threats are made to distribute the images, without a person's consent. It is an increasingly criminalized form of sexual abuse, and yet little is known about the perpetrators of these harms, including the extent, relational nature and correlates of perpetration. This article reports on the first multi-country survey study to comprehensively investigate IBSA perpetration. An online panel survey of the general community (aged 16-64 years) in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) (n = 6109) found that self-reported IBSA perpetration was relatively common, with one in six (17.5%, n = 1070) respondents engaging in at least one form of IBSA. Logistic regression analyses identified nine characteristics that significantly increased the odds of having engaged in IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, namely: residing in the NZ as opposed to the UK or Australia, being male, having disability/assistance needs, holding attitudes that minimize the harms and excuse the perpetrators of IBSA, engaging in online dating behaviors, engaging in sexual self-image behaviors, and experiencing IBSA victimization (images taken, images distributed, and images threatened). Policy and prevention implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Weaponizing COVID-19: How the Pandemic Influenced the Behavior of Those Who Use Violence in Domestic and Family Relationships

COVID-19 has increased threats to women's safety in Australia and globally. This research is based on a 2020 nationwide survey about the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic and family violence (DFV) services and allied sectors throughout Australia. This study focuses on how perpetrator behaviors-coercion, control, and violence-changed and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two central themes identified from this qualitative analysis were the increase in complexity and severity of DFV during COVID-19. The analysis highlights how perpetrator behavior reflects the weaponizing of COVID-19 against women and children. The article concludes with a discussion about the theoretical, practice, and policy implications.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse as a Means of Coercive Control: Victim-Survivor Experiences

Scholars and practitioners increasingly acknowledge the ways that abusive partners create, distribute, or threaten to distribute intimate images without consent, yet little empirical research has comprehensively explored image-based sexual abuse within intimate partner contexts. This article responds to this gap and reports on the findings of a study involving interviews with 29 women and one gender-diverse person who experienced image-based sexual abuse as part of a pattern of "coercive control." The authors argue that abusive partners use intimate imagery as a means of exerting power and control, and as a tactic of intimidation, entrapment, and degradation. They note that law, policy, and practice responses should recognize the gendered nature of image-based sexual abuse and its growing use as a means of coercive control.

Technology-Facilitated Domestic Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women: A Qualitative Study

Digital technologies are increasingly being used as tools for the perpetration of domestic violence. Little empirical research to date has explored the nature and impacts of technology-facilitated domestic violence (TFDV), and even less attention has been paid to the experiences of immigrant and refugee women. This article examines the nature and impacts of TFDV as experienced by immigrant and refugee women. Drawing on interviews with 29 victim-survivors and 20 stakeholders, we argue that although immigrant and refugee women may experience TFDV in similar ways to non-immigrant and refugee women, they face unique challenges, such as language barriers, cultural bias from support services, lack of financial resources, lack of trust in state institutions, and additional challenges with justice and migration systems. Immigrant and refugee women also face multiple structural layers of oppression and social inequality. Accordingly, we argue that a multifaceted approach is required to address TFDV that includes culturally sensitive and specific law reform, education, and training.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Australian domestic and family violence services and their clients

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports emerged that lockdowns were increasing the prevalence of domestic and family violence (DFV) in Australia and across the world. The lockdowns and restrictions were necessary to contain the pandemic. However, leaders in the domestic family violence sector expressed concerns early during 2020 that these lockdowns would lead to the escalation of domestic and family violence. Calling it a shadow pandemic, the United Nations Secretary-General urged all governments to prioritise the prevention of violence against women in their national response plan for COVID-19. To gain some insight into the Australian context, a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Centre for Justice research team conducted a nationwide survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on DFV services and their clients. Findings based on survey data from 362 participants from the DFV sector, including 1,507 qualitative responses, confirm the concerns raised early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides an overview of the survey results, discusses the findings in the light of national international research and highlights the resources needed to strengthen the DFV sector in the future.