By Mandy Chng, AWARE volunteer

Technological advancements and the interconnectivity of new media play an increasing role in women’s experiences of sexual violence. This issue was addressed at a dialogue organised by the Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) on 30 August. Around 50 people attended the session, which explored how modern technology enables abusers to control, coerce, stalk, shame and harass their victims; the laws and legal implications of this issue; and strategies for online safety.

The dialogue session followed the release of a recent research report which found that nearly one in five (18%) cases seen by SACC last year involved technology. The two most common components of technology-facilitated sexual violence were image-based sexual abuse and contact-based sexual harassment. Image-based sexual abuse refers to the use of nude, sexual or intimate images of women to sexually harass or harm them, such as revenge pornography, ‘sextortion’, non-consensual distribution of intimate images and voyeuristic filming. Contact-based sexual harassment refers to the use of communication technologies to facilitate unwanted sexual contact or harassment. This includes explicit, coercive and sexually harassing messages or comments on social media.

Anisha Joseph, manager of SACC, opened the session by highlighting the importance of addressing technology-facilitated sexual violence. She explained, “The use of technology is so interconnected in our daily lives and we are still trying to catch up with their negative aftereffects. For women affected by technology-facilitated sexual violence, there is a debilitating sense of losing control over what’s happening to them.”

“Techniques of control that we would previously see in violent or abusive relationships are now becoming technologically-based. For example, one client reported that she had broken up with a partner, who in the aftermath had sent an intimate image of her to her mother,” said Dr Laura, a criminology lecturer at the University of Liverpool. “Clients felt anxious and fearful, which is why image-based sexual abuse is so impactful. You experience a loss of control – you have no idea where the image is going, what the perpetrator is going to do with it or what might happen in the aftermath.”

While technology is being misused by perpetrators, some participants wondered how technology can be used to combat sexual violence and gather digital evidence. Ng Yi Ling, an Information Security professional, shared that if someone has sent anything threatening online, it is imperative to take a timestamp of it and share the incident with a confidant. “By verifying the incident with someone else, you can ensure the integrity of evidence which casts away any doubt of it being fabricated,” said Yi Ling. Tan Jin Song, a lawyer, furthered this discussion by sharing about the laws that criminalises harassment online and prevents them from taking place. For example, an Expedited Protection Order can be issued when there is a likelihood of offending behaviors being carried out. He added that the order can be issued against both persons and entities.

Participants agreed that the dialogue session underscored the growing concern of technology and violence, and some wondered what we can do as a collective to raise awareness. Dr Laura shared that we should “build up bystander intervention”; rather than placing responsibilities on the victim, we should build our capacities as bystanders, friends and family members to be non-judgmental and to call out incidents that are inappropriate.

One participant reiterated the need to start conversations regarding gender-based violence among youths, who are more likely to be victims of technology-facilitated sexual violence. “It is very important to change social stigma and address larger social issues at a younger age because that is when people are more vulnerable.”