Sinister side of tech used in domestic violence cases
Technological abuse is on the rise in Australia, with domestic violence perpetrators using mobile phones, smart watches and AirTags to track victims.
Police are seeing growing instances of perpetrators placing trackers on cars, hacking Apple identities and tracking phones via location services.
Tech is becoming a key means of coercive control, a form of abuse where perpetrators display a pattern of manipulative behaviour designed to intimidate and isolate victims.
Pip Rae was gifted an Apple Watch from her now ex-partner. She didn't know he had connected the device to his own phone and was tracking her location.
"In the digital space there are so many ways to abuse it, but it's really difficult to prove," she told AAP.
"I was dealing with someone who knew how to manipulate the technology."
Terry* experienced similar frustrations trying to prove her ex-partner was tracking her with technology and it took her months to work out he hacked her Apple ID.
"For many months my phone was compromised and assisted them to find me a lot easier. It made their stalking behaviours easier," she said.
"It's very frustrating when you don't feel like you're being heard (by police) and the perpetrator is very skilled at technology and you're not.
"Tech abuse happens, it will continue to happen and it is wrong."
Amanda* never thought she would experience family violence and found it difficult to identify because it wasn't physical.
When trying to leave a coercive relationship she received a barrage of abusive messages and the perpetrator would constantly show up at places she visited.
"Having an experience like this made me realise it can happen to anyone. It doesn't discriminate" she said.
"Technology can be weaponised so easily and it just takes one person with an unhealthy intention."
Domestic and Family Violence Awareness month is marked each May, an opportunity to raise community awareness of the impacts of violence and the support available to those affected.
Australians are being asked to "answer the call" and donate mobile phones to a service that repair, repurpose and gift safe phones to survivors of domestic violence.
DV Safe Phone, established in 2020, has provided 12,000 phones to domestic violence victims.
There are more than 1000 collection points across Australia and a map on its website shows where phones can be dropped off.
"So many people become so isolated with coercive control," founder Ashton Wood said.
"The more we talk about what help is available, the more confidence we can give to victim-survivors to reach out for that help."
Mr Wood urged people to check their drawers for old phones, as well as encouraging corporate officers to donate old work phones.
Research by the eSafety Commissioner found almost a quarter of Australians believed it was reasonable to expect to have a partner's device codes.
More than one in 10 thought it was reasonable to expect to track a partner using location-sharing apps.
"Unfortunately every time there is an enhancement in technology, people will find a way to weaponise it," Mr Wood said.
"The only way to not be tracked is to use a device the perpetrator doesn't know about."
* Names have been changed to protect privacy.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
In photos: The biggest news stories of the week as ADF deployed to the Middle East, teens arrested over ‘heinous' sexual assault and Erin Patterson in court
WARNING: Distressing images It has been an eventful week in the news, ending with Australia's military being deployed to help Australians trying to leave Iran and Israel as tensions escalate in the Middle East. At home, crimes have shocked the nation and court cases that have gripped us for months are now wrapping up. Click through the gallery to see the top news stories from this week. Four teens accused of subjecting teen girl to hours of sexual abuse Four teenagers have been charged after a 17-year-old girl was allegedly subjected to more than six hours of violent sexual abuse. The relentless offending took place inside the victim's car in December last year, with the vehicle driven around Sydney 's western suburbs for hours by four male teenagers aged between 14 and 19. The boys have been arrested progressively since, with final arrests made on Tuesday. Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty described the incident as 'heinous'. It did not appear to be planned, she said. 'It beggars belief that in this day and age, men would think to act this way towards a girl and to act not just instantaneously, but over a six-hour period continuing to act together and encourage each other and degrade the victim in the way that they did,' Doherty said. Man charged with murder as body dumped in bushland A man has been charged with murder after a woman's body was found dumped in bushland. The body of Western Sydney mother Leanne Akrap, 47, was discovered by a passerby at an 'isolated' reserve off Irwin St in Werrington, in Sydney's west, just after 1pm on June 15. A man was then arrested on Monday, 20 minutes north of where Akrap was found at a home on Powell St in Hobartville. Police say the pair were known to each other but were not in a relationship. Masked men storm kebab shop and open fire Chilling footage has been released of the moment two masked men stormed a Sydney business, shooting and seriously injuring three people, in what police believe was a calculated and deliberate attack. Alleged underworld figure Samimjan Azari, 26, was shot in the shoulder and arm at Auburn Turkish takeaway, M Brothers, at about 1.10pm on Monday. It was the fourth attempt on his life this year, with Azari narrowly escaping another serious threat in Rosehill on Friday, NSW Police revealed. Police officer shot dead while delivering home repossession order A man has been charged with murder after a veteran police officer was shot dead on the job. Tasmania Police Constable Keith Anthony Smith, 57, was killed on Monday as he approached a property in rural Tasmania to deliver a court-ordered home repossession warrant. A 46-year-old North Motton man surrendered at the scene and on Thursday was charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. He appeared before court in a bedside sitting while under police guard in hospital, and will return to court at a later date. Police backtrack on arrest over shooting of two Australians in Bali Bali police have retracted earlier claims that a suspect was arrested after an Australian man was shot dead and another injured during a violent break-in at a Bali villa. It was initially understood that one person had been taken into custody early on Monday morning, two days after two masked gunmen stormed Villa Casa Santisya in Munggu, in Bali's Badung Regency, in the early hours of Saturday. However, Bali authorities have since clarified that no arrest has been made in relation to the alleged gunman. Melbourne father Zivan Radmanovic, 32, was fatally shot in the bathroom, as his wife, Jazmyn Gourmdeas, reportedly hid under the covers in bed. The attackers then forced their way into the neighbouring room, where 34-year-old Melbourne man Sanar Ghanim was staying with his wife. Ghanim was shot multiple times and rushed to hospital in a seriously condition. Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial wraps up arguments Jurors in mushroom cook Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial have been told to come back refreshed from a four-day break before deliberations begin. Closing addresses wrapped in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday after four days of argument, but Justice Christopher Beale won't begin his final directions until Tuesday. As he sent the jurors home for the week, Beale told them to maintain an open mind but also have a good long weekend. 7NEWS has been covering the trial live. Flights to Bali cancelled as Indonesian volcano erupts Australian airlines Jetstar and Virgin were forced to cancel some flights to Bali after Indonesia's Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupted, spewing ash clouds kilometres into the sky. The eruption on the eastern tourist island of Flores sent ash drifting in multiple directions over several villages around Lewotobi Laki-Laki, the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) reported. The ash cloud could be seen from cities located up to 140km from the mountain, the PVMBG said. Air India survivor makes sad admission after carrying brother's coffin Speaking publicly for the first time since the horrific incident, the sole survivor of the Air India crash says he feels immense survivor's guilt over the death of his brother. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, miraculously walked away from the burning wreckage of the crash last Thursday. Ramesh was seated in seat 11A of the doomed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner when it took off from the city of Ahmedabad, in western India, bound for London's Gatwick. Just after take-off the plane crashed into a medical college hostel. At least 29 people on the ground were killed as well 241 people on board the plane. No meeting between Albo and Trump at G7 Summit Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will wait a little longer for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, after the latter left the G7 summit in Canada early this week. Trump left the event early to deal with escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. Albanese will not go to The Hague for next week's NATO summit, with his deputy Richard Marles to represent Australia at the event as originally planned. Albanese was considering making a last-minute dash to the talks, which could have provided an opportunity to meet in person with the US president. The prime minister is keen to meet with Trump to try to negotiate an exemption from US tariffs, advocate for the nation's nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK and discuss defence spending. Trump is expected to attend the NATO summit, but there is no guarantee he will not pull out at the last second amid volatility in the Middle East. The US president on Friday said he would decide whether to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict 'within the next two weeks'. Australian military deployed to Middle East Australia has deployed its military to help Australians trying to leave Iran and Israel. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1300 others, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Israel says Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 people and wounded hundreds. More than 2000 Australians have registered for assistance to leave Iran, up from 1500 on Thursday. The government has already helped Australians flee Israel using a border crossing to Jordan. There are still more than 1200 Australians registered for assistance to depart Israel, where the airspace is also closed. Amid growing conflict between Iran and Israel, Gazans say they fear their suffering will be forgotten. Out of every 40 Palestinians living in Gaza before the war, one is now dead. Those that remain are on the brink of famine. A UN-backed report published in late April warned that one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation and that the entire enclave was edging closer to famine. The situation has only worsened since then, according to the UN. Russian drone and missile strike targets apartment block A Russian drone and missile strike in Ukraine has killed 28 people and wounded 142 others. The strike, on a nine-story building in Kyiv, is a sign that more pressure must be applied on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says, as Moscow intensifies attacks in the war. Zelenskiy, along with the head of the presidential office, Andrii Yermak, and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, visited the site of the apartment building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on Thursday morning, laying flowers and paying tribute to the 23 people who died there after a direct hit by a missile brought down the structure.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Singer Chris Brown pleads not guilty to assault in UK
Chris Brown allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on a music producer at a London nightclub. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he beat and seriously injured a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023. Brown, 36, pleaded not guilty on Friday to one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in Southwark Crown Court. Brown's friend and fellow musician Omololu Akinlolu, 38, who performs under the name Hoody Baby, pleaded not guilty to the same charge. Prosecutors said Brown and Akinlolu assaulted producer Abe Diaw at a bar in the Tape nightclub in the swanky Mayfair neighbourhood in February 2023. Brown allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on Diaw and hit him several times with a bottle and then punched and kicked him. The attack was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people, prosecutors said.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Police give update on hunt for man who threw coffee on baby
Queensland Police have given a major update as their hunt for a Chinese national accused of throwing a scalding hot coffee over a baby intensifies. A nationwide manhunt turned into a global one in August 2024 after a man poured hot coffee on a baby in Brisbane's Hanlon Park, leaving him with 'life-changing injuries'. The baby, called Luka, was rushed to hospital and underwent a number of surgical procedures. He survived, but is expected to carry lifelong scarring as a result. Police released a photograph of the man who allegedly committed the crime, saying he was a Chinese national. But the man fled the country a short time later. Speaking on 4BC radio, Queensland Police Service Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said that 10 months later, the investigation was 'absolutely' ongoing. 'This was a horrible incident that happened almost a year ago, it struck our investigators pretty hard,' he said. 'I give credit to those investigators, they're still working very hard on this, this isn't something we've parked in the corner, this is a very serious offence, and they're working hard on it. 'What I can say is we're still working with our international partners to progress this matter, and to get a resolution here.' Mr Chelepy said he did not want to compromise the investigation by giving away too much information, and would not be drawn on whether detectives had travelled to China. 'There are a range of investigative strategies underway, and we're going to keep these strategies at play,' he said. 'I don't want to compromise (the) investigative strategy.' Police have released CCTV footage of the man they want to speak to after coffee was thrown on a baby. Credit: AAP The man's name has not been released and no other details about his identity have been revealed to the public. Luka's parents wrote on a GoFundMe page last year about the devastating toll the attack had had on their family. 'It's a long road to recovery when it comes to scar management, but the worst of it is over, and the outcome is far better than we ever imagined from those first few days,' his mum wrote. 'We now only have to attend outpatients once a week, a big improvement from the twice-a-week general anaesthetic surgeries.' His mother had previously written about how she hoped 'one day justice will be served'. 'This horrific event should have never happened,' she said.
