Domestic violence perpetrators using GPS, social media to track down victims, refuge head says

Updated

Alleged perpetrators of domestic violence are increasingly using global positioning systems (GPS) and the internet to track down their victims, Canberra women's refuge Beryl Women Inc says.

Amid a spike in the use of online and other technology, the refuge says frontline staff must be "hyper vigilant" to ensure their clients do not unwittingly reveal the location of crisis accommodation.

Maintaining the secrecy of refuge locations is vital to protecting traumatised women and children clients escaping domestic violence, as well as frontline staff.

At any one time, Beryl Women Inc can provide crisis accommodation for up to nine families and support a further 20 women living outside the refuge in the wider community.

The manager of 15 years, Robyn Martin, has been alarmed about a rise in the use of GPS to track domestic violence victims.

"We have had recently a woman who was tracked back to our refuge through a tracking device that was found in the boot of her car and he turned up at the refuge," she said.

What we are seeing more often is printed off or screenshots of text messages, or Facebook posts appearing in court cases. ACT criminal lawyer Adrian McKenna

"We have also had women who have been tracked through Facebook through friends have given out information [accidentally].

"When that happens it means that we have to move her, and if we can't find space for her to go to another refuge then it is not safe for her to stay in our refuge.

"It is a real dilemma for us because what do we do? Because there's just no space to move here, too."

Ms Martin said three separate alleged male domestic violence offenders tracked down women to the refuge in the space of one month late last year.

Ms Martin said all procedures had since been reviewed and safety planning had been upgraded, but some of the risks related to new technology remained.

"Keeping up with the technology is really hard because it is changing all the time," said Ms Martin.

Rise in cyber violence, online stalking

ACT criminal lawyer Adrian McKenna said there had been an increase in the amount of internet-related evidence being presented to courts in domestic violence matters.

"What we are seeing more often is printed off or screenshots of text messages, or Facebook posts appearing in court cases," he said.

"What makes that evidence important is that sometimes it is the only objective evidence available for the courts.

"Sometimes where it is just word against word then a text message can be quite compelling evidence and extremely important in a prosecution."

He said keeping a record of electronic evidence such as abusive or offensive phone messages could be vital for victims.

"Don't delete it," he said

"Take a photo of it, screenshot it or make a diary entry, print it off, tell a friend or call the police."

Ms Martin said her clients were also increasingly experiencing cyber violence and online stalking and harassment through social media.

"A majority of the women over the last couple of years that are accessing our service have been stalked and found through either tracking devices, through Facebook and other forms of social media," she said.

"It seems to be an increase that is happening right across the board," she added, citing the experience of other people working in the sector.

"Women are using technology a lot more than what they have in the past and it has certainly become much more available and accessible for people to keep in touch with family when they have escaped violence from another state or territory or town.

"It is a way of keeping in contact with your family and your friends and so [it is] really easy to be tracked if the perpetrator that you are trying to leave has your passwords or knowledge to tap into those technologies.

"With the popularity of social media we are seeing women being stalked though those technologies too."

Topics: computers-and-technology, internet-technology, domestic-violence, canberra-2600, act

First posted