Violence never pauses in a connected world

In a new report, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency has mapped how violence is perpetrated and intensified through technology, the extent of victimisation, and the demands this places on society’s protection and support measures.

“For many victims, the violence never pauses. It can continue through the spread of images or through control, threats and abuse in digital environments. Support measures need to better reflect the reality that people subjected to violence are living in,” says Sofie Kindahl, investigator at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency.

The violence has not changed, but the tools have 

Digital development has not created a new form of violence. It concerns the same psychological, sexual and economic violence as before, but which can now be perpetrated, intensified and spread through mobile phones, apps, GPS functions and social media. The boundary between the physical and digital worlds has become blurred, and the violence often occurs simultaneously in both.

“When the focus is placed on technology as the harmful factor, there is a risk that responsibility shifts from the perpetrator to the person subjected to violence. This can result in measures aimed at restricting the victim’s freedom of movement and access to digital environments, instead of stopping the perpetrator’s violence,” says Sofie Kindahl.

Young girls and women particularly exposed online

The report shows that victimisation is widespread and that there are clear gender differences. Among upper secondary school students, 38 per cent of girls had been subjected to sexual approaches from an older person before the age of 15, compared with 11 per cent of boys. Among young people with another gender identity, the figure was 44 per cent. Online-related offences are more than twice as common against girls as against boys, and 28 per cent of young women who have been in an intimate relationship report having been subjected to repeated digital psychological abuse.

Women are also more exposed than men to technology-facilitated violence in intimate relationships. Digital dimensions of violence are often part of the post-separation abuse that continues after a relationship ends, through surveillance, distribution of material or repeated attempts at contact.

For children and young people in honour-based contexts, the spread of images can involve a double risk, both through the exposure itself and through the risk of punishment from family or relatives. People with disabilities, another gender identity, a minority sexual orientation or a foreign background are also overrepresented among victims.

The mapping also shows that 90 per cent of Members of Parliament have experienced online hate, with women more often facing sexualised and gender-based attacks. Digital hate and threats risk limiting women’s participation in public debate and thereby affect democracy.

Protection measures must become as the violence itself  

The report uses the term technology-facilitated violence to describe violence that is committed or aggravated through information and communication technology. Among other things, it highlights the need for improved digital protection and safety planning, stronger accountability for platforms, the use of data analysis to identify risk patterns, and the development of tools to detect and remove illegal material.

“Technology is currently being used to control and harm, but it can also be used to protect and prevent. To succeed, both legislation and support measures need to evolve in step with the digital reality that people subjected to violence are living in,” says Sofie Kindahl, investigator at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency.

Digital solutions can also improve access to support and reach groups that are otherwise difficult to reach. Achieving this requires stronger expertise within the public sector, increased cooperation between legal, technical and violence prevention experts, and continued development of legal practice.

In a reality where violence never pauses, protection measures cannot pause either.