How tech plays a role in domestic abuse

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The same data and gadgets shared amongst loved ones can just as easily be misused to carry out abuse [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Your romantic partner or a close family member asks you to share your smartphone PIN or email password with them. Would you do it?

For many Indians, exchanging personal information and security credentials is nothing out of the ordinary. For example, adults routinely manage their elderly parents’ finances online. Parents often use trackers or adult-managed apps to supervise their children’s phone use and ensure their safety. Couples might be operating a common social media channel from separate devices. Family members living together are likely to share phones, computers/laptops, cars, streaming app passwords, mobile/internet service plans, and access to smart devices.

However, the same data and gadgets shared amongst loved ones can just as easily be misused to carry out abuse.

For example, an adult controlling their elderly parents’ finances can steal their savings or damage their credit score. Or: a parent can track even their adult children via their devices in order to stalk them or isolate them from friends. Or: a romantic partner can misuse a shared social media app to control their partners’ posts or even share content that hurts the other person . Or: an abusive family member can cut off access to smart home devices (lights, refrigerators, heaters, etc.) and WiFi in order to exert control over their partner and children.

Abuse need not always take extreme forms, however. An adult pressuring an (adult) family member or partner to show them private texts, social media profiles, photos, etc. can also be considered abusive.

These acts, along with a range of others, fall under a category known as digital domestic abuse.

Digital abuse or cyber crimes generally involve perpetrators virtually targeting another person with the help of technology. The cyber criminal and the victim may not know each other or even be located in the same country. In such cases, victims can secure their digital accounts, get in touch with their bank, and/or freely reach out to the police for assistance.

However, digital domestic abuse comes with added complications as the abuser and their victim might be living together and sharing custody of children/pets.

The victim may also be financially dependent on their abuser, who is either a family member or a partner, making it difficult for them to find a safe place or communicate with trusted people. Digital domestic abuse may also happen alongside physical, sexual, and emotional abuse,

Furthermore, the household devices may be compromised if their abuser knows all their passwords or uses spyware/stalkerware to surveil the victim’s interactions with others.

In such cases, victims need to be tech-savvy in order to access helpful resources or alert loved ones to their situation.

Technology companies offer a range of software and hardware solutions aimed at parents trying to keep their children safe.