No Safe Haven For Victims Of Digital Abuse

Blocking messages from online abusers -- and even changing your identity to get away from them -- may work fine against someone on the other side of the world. But what if the abuser is your close partner? <https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/apps-cant-stop-exes-who-use-technology-for-stalking.html>: When you learn that your privacy has been compromised, the common advice is to prevent additional access—delete your insecure account, open a new one, change your password. But in abusive romantic relationships, disconnection can be extremely fraught. For one, it can put the victim at risk of physical harm: If abusers expect digital access and that access is suddenly closed off, it can lead them to become more violent or intrusive in other ways. It may seem cathartic to delete abusive material, like alarming text messages—but if you don’t preserve that kind of evidence, it can make prosecution more difficult. And closing some kinds of accounts, like social networks, to hide from a determined abuser can cut off social support that survivors desperately need. (Found from <https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2018/03/intimate_partne.html>)
participants (1)
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro