Smart devices are designed to make our lives easier, helping us automate tasks, save time, and feel safer at home. But for some, these same technologies are also being weaponised to cause harm in a phenomenon that’s become known as tech-enabled abuse.
Technology-facilitated abuse, or tech abuse, is an emerging and deeply concerning form of domestic abuse. It sees perpetrators misusing digital devices and apps to control, intimidate, stalk or harm others.
What is Tech Abuse?
Tech abuse is the deliberate use of digital technology, such as smartphones, apps, smart home devices or online platforms, to cause harm. It can be carried out by a partner, ex-partner, or family member.
This form of abuse often overlaps with other types of domestic abuse, including coercive and controlling behaviour, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, and financial abuse. The impact of domestic abuse (whatever form it may take) can be devastating.
Smart Devices: A Hidden Threat
The rise of Internet of Things (IoT) technology has changed the way we live. From smart light bulbs to internet-connected doorbells and virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Home, our homes are now filled with gadgets that connect to apps, store personal data and track our routines.
But in the wrong hands, these devices can be used to:
- Monitor movements and routines
- Listen to private conversations
- Interfere with heating, lighting or door locks
- Access personal calendars, messages and contacts
- Control communication within the home
Abusers often exploit the settings of these apps and systems, giving themselves access while denying others the ability to change settings or disconnect devices.
Common Forms of Tech-Enabled Abuse
Technology can be misused in a wide variety of ways, including:
Surveillance and Stalking
Smart cameras, location tracking, and other monitoring apps can allow an abuser to keep tabs on someone’s movements – both inside and outside the home. Even fitness trackers and smartwatches can be turned into tools of control and abuse.
Virtual Assistants
Voice-activated assistants can be used to send messages, view internet history, or play recordings – sometimes without the survivor even knowing. In some cases, these devices are used to intimidate or create fear through unwanted audio messages or disruptions.
Social Media Misuse
Abusers may impersonate others, post degrading comments, share private content, or monitor online activity. ‘Tagging’ victims in inappropriate content, or using social media to spread lies or exert pressure, are also tactics used by abusers.
Revenge Porn and Image-Based Tech Abuse
The non-consensual sharing of intimate images or videos, often referred to as ‘revenge porn’, is a criminal offence. It may involve an abuser sharing photos publicly or sending them directly to friends, family, or colleagues.
Manipulating Smart Home Features
Abusers have been known to use technology to alter heating settings remotely, blare music in the middle of the night, or change smart lock codes – creating a sense of unease, helplessness, or direct harm.
The Legal Landscape for Tech-Enabled Abuse
While the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 does not specifically mention tech abuse, it does expressly refer to the behaviours that often underlie it – coercive control, stalking, harassment and psychological abuse.
The law recognises that domestic abuse is not just physical violence. Controlling or coercive behaviour includes any act designed to make a person dependent, isolated or fearful. Tech abuse is another method of exerting that control.
It is also important to understand that domestic abuse will often amount to criminal conduct in respect of which the abuser can be prosecuted.
Seeking Help
Survivors of tech-enabled abuse can face disbelief or dismissal from others when they speak out, especially when the abuse is subtle, technical, and insidious. It is very important to understand that you have an absolute right to be safe, both online and offline.
If you’re worried that someone may be misusing technology to monitor or harm you:
- Trust your instincts if something feels off
- Document any incidents safely, where possible
- Avoid using shared devices to search for help
- Speak to a solicitor or support organisation
- Contact the police (if it is an emergency and you want to inform the police that you cannot talk you can dial 999 then press 55 when prompted – this ‘Silent Solution’ lets the operator know that it is a deliberate call on an emergency basis)
Our expert family law solicitors can also help you apply for a non-molestation order, a type of injunction designed to protect you and your children from harassment and abuse. This court order can legally prevent the abuser from contacting you or coming near you, your workplace or your child’s school. If they breach the order, it’s a criminal offence.
Our goal is to help put protections in place on an urgent basis so you can feel safer and start to regain control of your life.
Resources That Can Help
- Refuge – Offers tech safety support and tools such as Digital Breakup and a Tech Abuse Home Tour
- Suzy Lamplugh Trust – National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300
- Refuge’s 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247
- Call 999 if you feel unsafe or you’re in an emergency situation
How We Can Help
At Slater Heelis, we understand the often complex nature of domestic abuse. Our experienced family law solicitors can provide expert, sensitive legal advice to protect your safety and rights.
If you or someone you know is experiencing tech-enabled abuse, please get in touch. We’re here to help you regain control, one step at a time.
Contact our Family Law team today to arrange a confidential conversation by filling out our online contact form or call 03300 297 347.