University of Cape University of Cape Town Town

Department of Information Department of Information SystemsSystems

Unintended consequences of technology advancement on domestic

violence victims

By

Tejumade V. Adeniran & Kevin A. Johnston

(SAVI 2013 Conference)

1 November, 2013

AgendaAgendaOverview

Issue of violence in South Africa

Risks Factors for becoming a victim of violence

The most prevalent violence against females

Technology advancement and domestic violence victims

Misuse of ICTs by domestic violence perpetrators

Towards the future

Questions

List of References

Issue of violence in Issue of violence in South AfricaSouth AfricaViolence: “intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual against oneself, another person, or against a group of community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation”

Various types of violence:◦ self-inflicted (violence against oneself), ◦ Interpersonal (violence against another

person), and◦ collective (violence against a group of

community)A global social problem that exceeds

cultural and socio-economic boundaries.

(Krug, Mercy, Dahlberg & Zwi, 2002; WHO, 2002)

Issue of violence in South Issue of violence in South Africa cont…Africa cont… Research has shown that:

violence and injuries are the second leading causes of death in South Africa

SA has the highest statistics of gender-based violence in the world (this includes rape and domestic violence)

SA has the highest intimate femicide rate in the world

In SA, the mortality rates of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) – which also occurs in domestic violence context, is six times higher than the global rate

(Abrahams, Martin & Mathews (2009); Joyner & Mash (2011); Onyejekwe (2004); Seedat, Niekerk, Jewkes, Suffla & Ratele (2009))

Risks Factors for becoming a victim of Risks Factors for becoming a victim of violenceviolence

Factors responsible for high rate of violence in South Africa include: widespread of poverty, high rate of unemployment and income inequality, alcohol and drugs misuse, exposure to abuse in childhood, weak parenting, patriarchal notion of masculinity, etc

Other factors identified from across the world are: younger age, lower education, being unmarried, strength of social network, history of family violence

The single most powerful risk factor for becoming a victim of violence is to be a female– and the same is true across the globe

(Dimond, Fiesler & Bruckman (2011); Flury, Nyberg & Riecher-Rossler (2010); Jewkes, Levin & Penn-Kekana, 2002; Roman & Frantz (2013); Seedat, et al. (2009)

The most prevalent violence against females

Domestic Violence: The definition varies across cultures, legal or advocacy contexts, but basically the term refers to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse directed against domestic partners

“intimate partner, husband, former intimate partner, family member, friend or acquaintance”

A frequent social problem that can affect any female, regardless of her age, socioeconomic or sociocultural status

In South Africa, violence against female is rife in all class and race groups, but white women, because of their level of education and financial resources are in better position than most black and coloured women (i.e. women of mixed racial origin)

(Dimond, Fiesler & Bruckman (2011); Flury, Nyberg & Riecher-Rossler (2010); Mudavanhu & Radloff (2013 )

Technology advancement and Technology advancement and domestic violence victimsdomestic violence victims

ICT is a double-edged sword; it can be used as a tool to facilitate violence, as well as a tool to prevent violence

The advancement in technology has complicated the issue of violence against females

Technology related domestic violence can take many different forms, and victims can experience sexual, psychological, or economic abuse and sometimes physical violence.

(Fascendini & Fialova, 2011)

Technology advancement and Technology advancement and domestic violence victimsdomestic violence victims

A project carried out in twelve developing countries including South Africa, revealed that technology related violence is on the increase

Victims experienced similar kinds of violations and harms around the world

The United Nations Special Rapporteur noted “that threats and death threats are frequently delivered to rights defenders through mobile phones, text messages, or emails”

(Fascendini & Fialova, 2011)

Misuse of ICTs by domestic violence Misuse of ICTs by domestic violence perpetratorsperpetrators

ICT provides new and more extensive techniques for the control and abuse of females

ICTs enable perpetrators to send insulting, humiliating, intimidating messages and images from anywhere in the world.

This implies that physically leaving the perpetrators does not end technology related violence.

ICTs make it difficult for victims to identify and take action against the perpetrators

Fascendini & Fialova (2011); Hand, Chung and Peters (2009)

Misuse of ICTs by domestic violence perpetrators Misuse of ICTs by domestic violence perpetrators cont…cont…

There is high rate of mobile phone penetration in South Africa, with 80% of  the population owning a mobile phone and almost half of them being women

The probability that domestic violence victims use mobile phone and go online is very high

Perpetrators can and do misuse:

mobile phone, text messaging and email

social networking platforms, and chatting such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

Dimond, Fiesler & Bruckman (2011); Fascendini & Fialova (2011); Hand, Chung and Peters (2009)

Misuse of Mobile phone, text messaging and email

by domestic violence perpetratorsPerpetrators misuse mobile phones to control,

harass and stalk females – one of the most technology related violence identified in South Africa

Perpetrators misuse frequent phone calls and text messages – which can cause stress to the recipients, to monitor, harass, threaten, and stalk their victims

most perpetrators use a combination of:

calling and hanging up,

silent calls,

conventional calls, and

abusive calls

Belknap, Chu & Deprince (2012); Haron & Yusof (2010)

Misuse of social networking platforms, and social networking platforms, and chatting chatting

by domestic violence perpetratorsSuch as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. could be

misused as a weapon to harm domestic violence victims.

Social networking platforms can enable perpetrators of domestic violence to use emails or blogs to torment their victims.

These platforms have been used by perpetrators to intimidate, insult, and mobilize opinions against their victims, and this has led to some victims committing suicide.

Also, Social networking platforms of anonymity can enable perpetrators of domestic violence to create a false identify and continue to threatening their victims.

(Azriel, 2009)

In summaryIn summary

The consequences of misuse of ICTs by domestic violence perpetrators cannot be over emphasised.

The majority of the victims suffer anxiety, insomnia, mental torment, stress, fear, and some times, physical injury

Some females have become homeless, jobless, hopeless, lonely, while some have lost their lives.

Necessary actions need to be taking to promote females’ safety and wellbeing in the digital age.

Towards the future Towards the future cont…cont…

Research philosophy:◦ Interpretive study

Approach to Theory:◦ Inductive approach.

Research purpose:◦ Descriptive and explanatory

Research Methodology:◦ Qualitative

Research time frame: ◦ Cross sectional study.

Towards the future cont…Towards the future cont…

Data collection:◦ Participant observation (domestic violence

shelters)

◦Semi-structured interviewSampling Strategies:

◦ Theoretical sampling

Data Analysis:◦ Open coding with data.◦ Axial Coding◦ Selective Coding

QuestionsQuestions

Thank you for your time.

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Azriel, J. N. (2009). Social Networking as a Communications Weapon to Harm Victims: Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter Demonstrate a Need to Amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Journal of Computer & Information Law, 26(3), 415-429.

Belknap, J., Chu, A. T., & Deprince, A. P. (2012). The roles of phones and computers in threatening and abusing women victims of male intimate partner abuse. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 19, 373-406.

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Fascendini, F., & Fialova, K. (2011). Voices from digital spaces: Technology related violence against women. APC WNSP (Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Networking Support Programme).

Goulding, C. (2002). Grounded Theory: A practical guide for management, business and market researchers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Hand, T., Chung, D., & Peters, M. (2009). The use of information and communication technologies to coerce and control in domestic violence and following separation (Stakeholder paper 6). Syney, New South Wales: Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, University of New South Wales.

Haron, H., & Yusof, F. (2010). Cyber stalking: The social impact of social networking technology. International Conference on Education and Management Technology (ICEMT), 237-241.

Jewkes, R., Levin, J., & Penn-Kekana, L. (2002). Risk factors for domestic violence: findings from a South African cross-sectional study. Social Science & Medicine, 55, 1603-1617.

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Kling, R. (1996). Computerization and controversy: Value conflicts and social choices (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.

Krug, E. G., Mercy, J. A., Dahlberg, L. L., & Zwi, A. B. (2002). The world report on violence and health. Lancet, 360, 1083-88.

Madden, R. (2010). Being ethnographic: A guide to the theory and practice of ethnography. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Miller, S. L., & Smolter, N. L. (2011). “Paper Abuse”: When all else fails, batterers use procedural stalking. Violence Against Women, 17(5), 637-650.

Mudavanhu, S., & Radloff, J. (2013). Taking feminist activism online: reflections on the ‘Keep Saartji Baartman Centre Open’ e-campaign. Gender & Development, 21(2), 327-341.

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Seedat, M., Van Niekerk, A., Jewkes, R., Suffla, S., & Ratele, K. (2009). Violence and injuries in South Africa: prioritising an agenda for prevention. Health in South Africa, 374, 1011-1022.

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WHO (World Health Organization). 2002. World report on violence and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.