Find out about how someone using family violence could also use technology to perpetrate abuse, how to stay safe online and what to do if you’re not feeling safe.
We use technology to stay connected with our loved ones, do our banking, make appointments, and much more. This is fine in relationships where there is mutual trust and respect with appropriate boundaries for our loved ones and their privacy.
However, someone using family violence, or an ex-partner, can also use technology to harass, monitor, stalk, impersonate or make threats to control, frighten or humiliate.
This is a form of abuse and it’s never OK. Examples include:
The Law
In Victoria, the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) provides that stalking is a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. Stalking is defined by actions by a perpetrator setting up circumstances to include keeping a person under surveillance and tracing a person’s use of the internet, email or other electronic resources, causing their computer to undertake an unauthorized function together with physical activities including following, approaching and contacting a person by phone, email and text.
The Commonwealth Evidence Act 1995 provides that evidence taken improperly or in contravention of Australian law is not to be admitted unless there is consideration of a ‘balancing act’ between the desirability of admitting the evidence outweighs the undesirability of admitting evidence that has been obtained in the way in which the evidence was obtained.
In New South Wales, the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) prohibits the recording of a private conversation without consent and a Court will need to find whether the audio or video recordings have been illegally obtained if a party in family law proceedings wants to have them admitted as evidence.
In Victoria, the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) provides that persons found guilty of communicating or publishing recordings of private conversations may be imprisoned for up to 2 years or fined up to $3700. Corporations may be fined up to $182,000. Recordings include results taken from tracking devices.
Things to be aware of – are you, or someone you know, at risk?
This list can help you think about the types of behaviour you should be aware of and how someone using family violence could use your personal information to monitor or control you.
Go through this checklist:
The Australian Government’s eSafety website has an online tour of the kinds of technology often used as part of family violence.
Now: map your digital world
Follow these steps to list the different types of technology you use that may pose a risk.
Step 1
Think about how you use technology to manage your information and activity.
Step 2
Think about who else may be able to access your information. List the shared accounts, devices and any accounts where the password is known to another person or may be easy to guess.
Step 3
Now think about how others may be able to track your location. Underline or highlight the accounts where location settings are switched on (such as Uber or Google Maps).
With the information you now have on your digital world, the following tips can help you increase your safety.
Tips to increase your safety
First, consider whether changing your digital patterns will alert the person/people using family violence and increase your risk. Sometimes, it may be safer to maintain your online presence on the accounts that the perpetrator is aware of, so you don’t raise suspicion if you set up and use new accounts.
Safer devices
If you think someone is accessing your devices, you could use safer devices that the person using violence does not have access to, such as using the internet at a public library or on your child’s devices (so long as your child’s device is not ‘shared’).
Do not use phones or computers given to you by your abuser or have them wiped to ‘factory settings.’
New accounts
If safe to do so, set up new accounts, like a new email address, and always log out of accounts on all devices.
Passwords
Passwords that are easy to guess or saved automatically on your device can mean that the person/people using family violence could monitor your communication and movements, or send messages and post activities from your account.
When creating a password, avoid using information that someone will know such as a date of birth or pet name. You should use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters (? ! or @), and try not to use the same password for multiple different accounts. A password based on the first letters of a sentence can make it easier to remember. For example, you could refer to a holiday: I go to Tasmania 2021! would be IgtT2021!.
You could also consider not telling the truth for security questions. Try choosing a theme you can easily remember, such as the example below which uses fruit and colours as themes:
Mothers’ maiden name: green pineapple
First pet: yellow pineapple
School: purple pineapple
Do not write your passwords down unless you know that they are in a safe and secure place.
Location settings
Ensure your location settings on your devices are switched off. The eSafety website has a video to show you how to do this.
Safe web browsing
Use ‘private’ or ‘incognito’ mode when browsing the internet, so your browser history is not recorded. You can also delete the browser history of particular websites that might make the person using violence suspicious. Some websites have a ‘Quick exit’ button, usually at the top of the page. This will instantly close the website you’re on (but it will still be in your browser history).
Similarly, you can see from your devices if someone has been accessing your history if it is a shared computer.
Don’t open attachments unless you are sure they are safe.
Let your friends/family/workplaces know not to share information
You may need to tell family, friends and your employer about the conduct of the other person and not to pass on or share any personal information regarding you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Just let them know this is an issue so that they can take extra steps to protect your information. You may also wish to tell family doctors, vets, accountants, your pharmacy or other professionals if, or when, you separate.
Find out more
A Toolkit created by WESNET, helps individuals experiencing tech abuse to increase their technology safety and privacy. Visit the TechSafety website. https://techsafety.org.au/
More information, including instructional videos, can be found on the Australian Government’s eSafety website: https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/domestic-family-violence
If you need help
Need legal help?
If you need assistance in your family law matter, or you think you are the victim of stalking, monitoring or tracking, or need to seek or defend an intervention order, or are a victim of crime/seeking compensation: please contact us on 03 9069 1033, or by email rachel@storeylegal.net.au to make an appointment with our understanding and responsive team.
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