Digital partner violence: types, impact on victims, and coping mechanisms

• In Event: Technologically facilitated abuse and honour-based abuse

Abstract

The digitalization of the past decades has not online facilitated communication between people and within relationships, it has also opened up new ways of committing partner violence. Within a collaborative research project between three universities in Belgium, we analyzed six types of digital partner violence: digital harassment, digital surveillance, digital sexual violence, digital economic/financial violence, digital administrative violence and digital violence via children. In this presentation, we will discuss the qualitative results of the study conducted in 2024, including interviews with victims (N=8), and focus groups with the police, magistrates of the public prosecutor's office, magistrates of the court, lawyers, and social services (N=54). The results show that digital partner violence is still often perceived as a less harmful form of partner violence and hence receives less attention from the public, social and judicial institutions, it is also minimized by victims themselves, especially women who have suffered from many other forms of (physical and sexual) partner violence. Furthermore, there is a need for better support and protection of victims, and technological education for service providers to victims. Finally, we recommend further qualitative research to include a larger sample of victims, to analyze the differences between survey and interview data.

Authors

• Mona Giacometti, ULB

• Ellen Van Damme, Field Research Coaching | ULB | KU Leuven

• Catherine Van de Heyning, University of Antwerp

• Michel Walrave, University of Antwerp

• Wim Hardyns, Ghent University, Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law

• Koen Ponnet, imec-mict, Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University

• Aurélie Depre, UAntwerpen