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Abusers are increasingly using wearable devices technology such as smart watches and rings to stalk, harass and coerce survivors, Domestic abuse Charities have issued warnings.
New data publisher refuge It shows that the number of referrals to its technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment team will increase by 62% by 2025, from 512 in 2024 to 829.
The charity said the growth was driven by increased “accessibility” and “reach”. wearable technology Allows abusers to “stalk, monitor and control survivors” even from a distance.
Emma Pickering science and technology Charity Refuge’s abuse team told independent She believes tech companies need to do more to protect their products, adding that it’s “unacceptable” to think about the safety of women and children “as an afterthought.”
“It’s cheaper than ever to buy wearable technology,” she said. “It’s so woven into all of our lives that we can’t really avoid it even if we want to.”
Most of the reports the charity receives involve wearable health technology such as smartwatches and rings, but she said abusers also use smart locks, heating technology and even fertility trackers to manipulate and control their victims.
She said abusers “quickly realize” they have “new tools at their disposal.”
“A few years ago, offenders would need to physically go to the house to change the heating and turn the lights on and off,” she explains. “Now you don’t even need to be in the same country to use a smart lock to trap someone inside or outside a property. You don’t have to be physically close to the target person.”
According to Refuge, 24% of tech-related recommendations come from people under 30 years old. Ms Pickering said she believed that while young people were often considered more “tech-savvy” than older people, their status as digital natives meant incorporating technology into their lives “comes naturally to them”.
“Older adults can act in ways that younger adults can’t without technology, which may be why the data looks the way it does,” she explained.
She said the company was “excited” by the possibilities offered by the new technology but failed to consider how abusers could manipulate the products.
“As things progress, we have to remember that the data it collects has to live somewhere,” she told independent. “We have to think about – who has access to it? Can someone hack into it? Can someone manipulate it? What do we do to take that into account in the context of intimate partner abuse?”
Mina, one of the survivors working with the shelter, said she was “deeply shocked” and “terrified” after realizing she was being tracked by a cloud account linked to her smartwatch.
“I suddenly felt exposed and unsafe because I knew my location was being tracked without my consent,” she said. “It created a constant feeling of paranoia; I couldn’t relax, sleep properly, or feel settled anywhere because I knew my movements were not personal.”
Her abuser used the data to release files to her and confirm her exact location to police, which Mina described as “terrifying.”
“It reinforced the feeling that I had nowhere to go without being watched,” she added.
It was previously reported that Filming women without their consent Use smart glasses. Experts tell independent Women suffer “multiple” harms from this behavior, including the risk of falling victim to deepfakes, having to “protect” their privacy in public spaces, and being the subject of discussion in comment spaces with “global” reach.
A government spokesman said: “Tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including violence that occurs online or is facilitated by technology, is a priority for this government.
“Our new strategy on violence against women sets out how the full power of the state will be deployed online and offline. We are working with Ofcom to set out how online platforms can tackle the disproportionate abuse women and girls face online.”