Domestic Violence and Technology
Monday 31 March 2014 @ 12.45 p.m. | Crime
A new form of domestic violence abuse has been reported, with legal experts warning that the advent of GPS trackers and mobile phone spy ware, while useful for tracking children, are also used to stalk, harass and intimidate women in domestic violence situations.
Technology and Domestic Violence Victims
In a Victorian study last year, 97 per cent of domestic violence workers reported that perpetrators were using mobile technologies to monitor and harass women in domestic situations and Australian Simon Gittany, who murdered his girlfriend, Lisa Harnum, after an abusive relationship, was only one example of a domestic violence relationship that involved his surveillance of her electronic communications using off-the-shelf spyware marketed for purposes ranging from keeping your kids safe to spotting dishonest employees.
''Technology has facilitated invasions of privacy that would have been unimaginable 10 years ago,'' the Women's Legal Service wrote in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission's inquiry into privacy laws in the digital era.
The group said laws to deal with the abuse of new technologies were ''unclear and inadequate'' and it called for stronger legislation. The commission will hand its final report to the Attorney-General by June.
Technology and Domestic Violence Offenders
In the meantime, a NSW Police spokesman said there was a ''fairly robust legal regime" to protect personal privacy and prohibit the abuse of technology. This included offences of stalking and intimidation and legislation covering hacking, spying and accessing data without consent.
A regime, which, according to Community Services Minister Pru Goward, should instead be used to make sure GPS tracking is used to track the offenders in domestic violence situations rather than the victims.
Community Services Minister Pru Goward said she would ask a ministerial taskforce due to meet next week to consider if GPS tracking bracelets could be used by courts when sentencing domestic violence offenders.
The measure was rejected by a parliamentary inquiry two years ago amid doubts over the reliability of GPS technology, and fears the bracelets could give victims a false sense of security and infringe on people's civil liberties. However Ms Goward believes the measure should be revisited.
''We need to consider what other jurisdictions are doing to combat domestic violence, and how advancements in technology may help improve the safety of victims and, of course, deter perpetrators."
Women's Legal Services told the inquiry there was no guarantee authorities could intervene if a victim's exclusion zone was breached, ''raising a false sense of security''.
The taskforce will be asked to examine whether the technology has improved and if previous cost estimates still stand. The chair of the NSW Law Society's Criminal Law Committee, Pauline Wright, said the measure should be treated with caution.
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