Digital Coercive Control and Rurality

• In Event: Violence Against Women in Rural Communities: International Perspectives

Abstract

Technology is transforming how violence against women is enacted, experienced and regulated. The type and impact of digital harms are gendered and need to be understood in the context of sex-based and intersectional structural inequalities. The term digital coercive control provides a frame to understand the method (digital), intent (coercive control) and setting in which it such abuse and stalking occurs.
The spacelessness of digital coercive control warrants attention: technology allows for new ways to permeate geographic and temporal boundaries. However, place and space too, cannot be overlooked. Drawing on interviews with victim/survivors, advocates and practitioners, this paper adopts a spatial approach to explore how women in regional, rural and remote locations are affected by digital coercive control. Challenges facing workers who seek to protect and empower women are also explored. Ultimately, the need to adopt a spatial approach in resource allocation and risk assessment is highlighted.

Author

• Bridget Harris, Queensland University of Technology