Abusive Partner Perspectives on Technology Abuse: Implications for Community-based Violence Prevention

Abstract

Inaccurate assumptions about people who abuse technology can inhibit effective socio-technical interventions for at-risk populations, including IPV survivors. Our study aims to rectify this concerning oversight through a synthesis of seven research projects on how 152 abusive partners (APs) discuss and understand their malicious use of technology in face-to-face interactions. AP accounts about technology abuse are rich sources of insight into technology abuse, but demonstrate a heterogeneity of awareness of, choice to use, and ability to desist from participating in technology abuse. To ensure immediate practical benefits for practitioner communities, we also engaged 20 facilitators of abusive partner intervention programs (APIPs) in focused group discussions to identify potential solutions for addressing technology abuse in their programming. Findings reveal that facilitators grapple with a complex set of challenges, stemming from the concern about teaching APs new abusive techniques in-session, and lacking professional tools to investigate, evaluate, and resolve technology abuse attacks. Our work provides valuable insights into addressing technology abuse in the APIP ecosystem, offering targeted lessons for the CSCW community and stakeholders in violence prevention.