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This article discusses domestic, family and sexual violence in addition to technology abuse.
If you’re currently in distress or in need of support, please click here.
When technology, devices or online spaces are misused to cause harm or violence, it’s called tech-based abuse.
When tech-based abuse escalates from a one-off event or an occasional incident to a wider pattern of controlling behaviour, it’s called tech-based coercive control. Abusers use tactics of tech-based coercive control to control, intimidate and manipulate someone, and it’s almost always a factor in domestic, family and sexual violence.
Learn more: eSafety.gov.au/coercive-control
At the heart of our commitment to supporting victims of domestic and family violence (DFV) is a collaborative approach. The Telco Together Foundation and its member organisations are working to improve how we support customers and employees affected by DFV and technology abuse (Tech Abuse).
This partnership is built on collective action and shared responsibility. By working closely, we are raising awareness of Tech Abuse and its devastating impacts, while taking meaningful steps to drive change across the telecommunications industry. As signatories of the Telco Industry Domestic and Family Violence Pledge, we are guided by a shared Framework to ensure our efforts are impactful and sustainable.
Telecommunication services can be both a lifeline and a tool of abuse for those experiencing DFV. Tech Abuse involves the use of digital technology to control, harass, and intimidate others, and can affect many of our customers and employees. Almost all frontline service providers report that tech abuse is a dimension of victim-survivors’ experiences of DFV¹.
of Australian family, domestic and sexual violence practitioners had clients who experienced technology-facilitated family and domestic violence.¹
of Australian adults surveyed online (aged 18-54) had experienced technology facilitated sexual violence.²
In a study of FDSV practitioners, nearly all (98%) reported that they had worked with clients who had experienced TFCC. In a study of 1,023 Australian women who had recently experienced coercive control by their current or former partner (Boxall & Morgan 2021). 42% reported that their partner had threatened or abused them online or through the use of technology (e.g. mobile phone).³
Tech abuse can occur in every setting. In a 2022 study of 3,002 victim-survivors who worked in Australia while experiencing DFV, more than one in two survey respondents who had experienced workplace interference identified that the perpetrator abused them by phone during work hours (51.85%, n=755).⁴
If in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000) for police and ambulance support.
For free and confidential family, domestic and sexual violence support, contact 1800respect.org.au. You can call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or chat online at any time of the day or night.
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As the industry embarks on its next chapter, the commitment remains steadfast: to use technology as a force for good, reduce its misuse, and work together to amplify positive change. With a unified approach, Australia’s telecommunications leaders in collaboration with the Telco Together Foundation are setting a global benchmark for how industries can collaborate to address complex social issues.
“At Telco Together Foundation, we are deeply committed to uniting the telecommunications industry to tackle some of Australia’s most pressing social challenges.
Together with our industry members, we’ve developed initiatives including the Telco DFV Industry Pledge and the DFV Action Framework. This framework provides telcos, regardless of size or type, with a pathway to better support DFV victims and survivors.
With direct access to nearly every business and household in the country, our industry holds an unparalleled ability to create meaningful, widespread change. This is both an immense responsibility and a powerful opportunity. The Industry’s DFV Pledge, signed by telco CEOs, is a collective promise to take action, dedicate resources, and work together to drive long-term impact.
This year, as part of the 16 Days of Activism and building on the DFV Pledge, we’re focused on empowering customers, businesses, and employees to recognise and address tech-based coercive control. Whether it’s being forced to share location data or dictated what can be shared online, these behaviours are deeply damaging and must be confronted.
We don’t take our role lightly. As an industry, we are aware that while industry products and services can provide a lifeline to support victims and survivors, they may also inadvertently enable the tools used to perpetrate control and abuse. The 2024 Tech Abuse Consumer Campaign is a continuation of our shared five-year journey with telcos, leveraging our collective reach to spark awareness, inspire change, and protect the communities we serve. This work matters deeply to us, and we are unwavering in our commitment to make a positive difference.”
– Renee Bowker, Executive Director, Telco Together Foundation
“As we mark another 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, let’s remember that ending all forms of gender-based violence requires leadership right across society: government, community, the tech industry, and employers big and small.
“Australians are craving this leadership. Of the more than 80 per cent who agreed that employers should be distributing information and resources, almost 40 per cent of these were in strong agreement.
“We’re heeding that call by partnering with the Telco Together Foundation to champion and drive change by raising awareness of tech-based coercive control right across Australia.”
– Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner, Australia
