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Purpose: This paper presents a novel exploration of the story completion (SC) method for investigating perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR). Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted the infrequently used SC method to explore TAR perpetration. The perpetration of TAR can involve socially undesirable and potentially illegal behaviours such as online stalking, non-consensual sharing of nude images, and other coercive and controlling behaviours. These problematic behaviours present an ideal context for employing the SC method to reveal new data on TAR perpetrator perspectives, motivations and behaviours. Findings: The SC method elicited new hypotheses regarding TAR perpetration behaviours and motivations. Post-study reflection on the multifaceted nature of perpetration raised questions about the utility of SC as a stand-alone method for investigating TAR perpetration. Challenges encountered included: striking the most effective length, detail and ambiguity in the story stems, difficulty in eliciting important contextual features in participants' stories, and other issues scholars encounter when investigating perpetration of violence more broadly. The authors close with suggestions for more effective use of SC methodology in TAR and intimate partner violence research. Originality/value: This paper expands discussion of the SC method's application and extends scholarship on violence and perpetration research methodologies. The paper demonstrates the importance of story stem design to the attainment of research objectives and the usefulness and limitations of SC in exploring this sensitive topic and hard-to-reach population. It also advocates for the combined application of SC with other methodological approaches for the attainment of research outcomes when investigating multifaceted phenomenon.

Purpose This article investigates survivors' experiences participating in research interviews about technology-facilitated domestic violence. University research ethics committees often assume that participating in research on violence and abuse is distressing for survivors. Scholars have called for research testing this assumption. This article contributes to the evidence base on the benefits and risks of asking research participants about gender-based violence. Methods This article is based on semi-structured interviews with 20 Australian domestic violence survivors. Template analysis was used to code the interviews and develop key themes. Results The five themes derived from the interviews include reflection on recovery and personal growth; helping other women; rejecting victim-shaming; empowerment; and the importance of timing. Conclusion All participants reported positive experiences taking part in the study. However, the authors noticed substantial differences in participant narratives across service cohorts. The implications of recruiting through channels associated with different points in trauma trajectories warrant attention., Author(s): Molly Dragiewicz [sup.1] , Delanie Woodlock [sup.2] , Helen Easton [sup.3] , Bridget Harris [sup.2] , Michael Salter [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.1022.1, 0000 0004 0437 5432, Griffith University, [...]

This is the first article to analyze children's involvement in technology-facilitated coercive control in Australia. The primary research question was ''How do mothers describe their children's involvement in technology-facilitated coercive control?'. This article is based on incidental findings from a larger study on Australian women's experiences of technology-facilitated abuse in the context of domestic violence. Although children were not the focus of the study, semi-structured interviews with twelve mothers yielded discussion of children's involvement in the abuse. We used thematic analysis to identify key dynamics and contexts of this abuse. We found that mothers and their children are co-victims of coercive control. Mothers interviewed for the study reported that children were involved in technology-facilitated coercive control directly and indirectly. This study bridges the gap between the extant research on children and coercive control and technology-facilitated abuse by highlighting the ways children are involved in technology-facilitated coercive control. The social and legal contexts of co-parenting with abusive fathers exposed mothers and children to ongoing post-separation abuse, extending abusive fathers' absent presence in the lives of children, Author(s): Molly Dragiewicz [sup.1] , Delanie Woodlock [sup.2] , Michael Salter [sup.2] , Bridget Harris [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.1022.1, 0000 0004 0437 5432, Griffith University, , Southport, QLD, Australia [...]

Researchers have accumulated much social scientific knowledge about the scope, distribution, causes, and outcomes of the physical and sexual abuse of female students in North American institutions of higher learning. However, surveys of technology-facilitated stalking and the dissemination of unwanted sexual messages/images in college campus communities are in short supply. The few that have been conducted do not identify key sociological risk factors associated with these two electronic forms of victimization. This paper, then, has two objectives: (1) to examine the influence of two types of negative peer support and (2) to determine if being the target of technology-facilitated stalking and receiving unwanted sexual messages/images are associated with female students' intimate partner violence and sexual assault experiences. The results confirm that the two variants of negative peer support examined in this study are significant predictors of digital victimization and that such abuse is strongly associated with intimate partner violence and sexual assault.

Technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR) is a widespread social problem that has a significant impact on victim-survivors. Most contemporary evidence on TAR focuses on victim-survivor and practitioner perspectives rather than those of perpetrators who choose to enact this form of harm. Addressing this deficit, this study explored perpetrators' discourses on emotions and motivations associated with engaging in TAR. Using story completion method, 35 self-identified perpetrators of TAR completed story stems describing scenarios that may precede the use of abusive online behaviors. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes. Abusive behaviors and negative emotions speaks to maladaptive experiences of anger and/or sadness that can precede a decision to use TAR. A loss of trust, a desire for control describes potential motives for using TAR. Finally, inhibitors of abusive behavior investigates rationales perpetrators use for avoidance of TAR behaviors, suggesting avenues for working with perpetrators to refrain from using TAR. We conclude by discussing policy, practice, and research recommendations including strategies for technology designers and suggestions for primary prevention and response to TAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police body-worn camera (BWC) technologies—affixed to a vest, sunglasses or cap—are deployed by all Australian police agencies, including in frontline responses to domestic and family violence (DFV). This paper presents the findings from the first Australian study focused on how women DFV victim-survivors view and experience BWCs in police call-outs and legal proceedings. Informed by a national survey of 119 victim-survivors, it explores two key concerns relating to the potential consequences of BWC footage: (1) it may facilitate misidentification of the primary aggressor, and (2) perpetrators may use the BWC to present (false) evidence of themselves as blameless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on interviews with 20 Australian women subjected to technology-facilitated coercive control (TFCC), foregrounding their accounts of grief and institutional betrayal. Findings show that while the harms of TFCC were significant, survivors' experiences were often minimized and dismissed by justice institutions. Women experienced grief due to abuse and separation from partners who had betrayed them. This loss was compounded when seeking help. We propose that disenfranchised grief is an underexplored response to domestic violence and institutional betrayal as well as a potential intervention site, particularly in relation to technology-facilitated abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been significant investment by police agencies in the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs). Preliminary evidence suggests that when used in the context of domestic and family violence, BWC footage may strengthen evidential cases and prosecutions. There is, however, a paucity of research examining the merits of and risks posed by the use of BWC footage in DFV incidents and legal proceedings. Notably absent in much of the literature are the views and experiences of police officers who, as initial owners of BWC footage, are likely to affect how it is produced and interpreted. This paper presents findings from the first Australian study to examine how police officers, as users and operators of BWC technology, perceive the use of BWC footage in DFV-related civil and criminal legal proceedings in two Australian state jurisdictions: Western Australia and Queensland. While broadly supportive of BWC technology, police respondents, especially those from specialised DFV units, identified various benefits and limitations to using BWC footage in the context of DFV, including that BWCs have the potential to capture DFV upon police call-outs, but can be limiting insofar as they do not show ongoing patterns of violence. Our findings highlight the importance of exercising domain-specific, rather than a 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to understanding the benefits and limitations of BWC technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, a taskforce was assembled to address increasing rates of domestic violence in Queensland, Australia. The Not Now, Not Ever report outlines a strategy to address domestic violence through 121 recommendations. This plan for reform resulted in a series of changes, particularly for agencies such as the Queensland Police Service (QPS). This study examines the impact of the recommendations on police-recorded domestic violence incidents in the state. Findings indicate that the changes resulted in an initial significant increase, followed by a significant decreasing trend in police-recorded incidents. However, this impact is not experienced equally across regions and districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]