Police Body-Worn Cameras as a Response to Domestic and Family Violence: Practitioner Insights Into the Consequences for Victim/Survivors.

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been promoted internationally to enhance responses to domestic and family violence (DFV). However, little is known about their utility, benefits, and limitations. Drawing upon the insights of DFV practitioners who support victim/survivors in the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia, this article finds that while BWCs can capture some DFV incidents, they are unable to show their full context and impacts. BWC footage may also have consequences for "nonideal" victim/survivors, including wrongful criminalization and the removal of children. Ultimately, we argue that trauma-informed responses are vital for BWC use in DFV cases to improve frontline responses.

Perpetration of Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Extent, Nature and Correlates in a Multi-Country Sample.

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a form of technology-facilitated abuse in which intimate (nude or sexual) images of a person are taken, distributed, or threats are made to distribute the images, without a person's consent. It is an increasingly criminalized form of sexual abuse, and yet little is known about the perpetrators of these harms, including the extent, relational nature and correlates of perpetration. This article reports on the first multi-country survey study to comprehensively investigate IBSA perpetration. An online panel survey of the general community (aged 16-64 years) in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) (n = 6109) found that self-reported IBSA perpetration was relatively common, with one in six (17.5%, n = 1070) respondents engaging in at least one form of IBSA. Logistic regression analyses identified nine characteristics that significantly increased the odds of having engaged in IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, namely: residing in the NZ as opposed to the UK or Australia, being male, having disability/assistance needs, holding attitudes that minimize the harms and excuse the perpetrators of IBSA, engaging in online dating behaviors, engaging in sexual self-image behaviors, and experiencing IBSA victimization (images taken, images distributed, and images threatened). Policy and prevention implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Technology-Facilitated Domestic Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women: A Qualitative Study.

Digital technologies are increasingly being used as tools for the perpetration of domestic violence. Little empirical research to date has explored the nature and impacts of technology-facilitated domestic violence (TFDV), and even less attention has been paid to the experiences of immigrant and refugee women. This article examines the nature and impacts of TFDV as experienced by immigrant and refugee women. Drawing on interviews with 29 victim-survivors and 20 stakeholders, we argue that although immigrant and refugee women may experience TFDV in similar ways to non-immigrant and refugee women, they face unique challenges, such as language barriers, cultural bias from support services, lack of financial resources, lack of trust in state institutions, and additional challenges with justice and migration systems. Immigrant and refugee women also face multiple structural layers of oppression and social inequality. Accordingly, we argue that a multifaceted approach is required to address TFDV that includes culturally sensitive and specific law reform, education, and training.

The Batty Effect: Victim-Survivors and Domestic and Family Violence Policy Change.

This article explores the influence of victim-survivors as change agents through the examination of the case of domestic and family violence advocate Rosie Batty. Utilizing public policy and criminological theories, and drawing from interviews with Batty and policy actors, the article examines the "Batty effect" and the convergence of factors that helped drive significant social and policy reforms in Australia. The article considers how Batty reflects characteristics of the policy entrepreneur and ideal victim, and how the sociopolitical context at the time provided the conditions for change. We conclude by exploring the implications for victim-survivor led policy change.

Technology-Facilitated Domestic and Sexual Violence: A Review.

This article investigates the phenomenon of domestic and sexual violence against adult women using digital communications technologies. The article explores terminological and conceptual challenges and describes the empirical research literature in this field to date in relation to digital dating abuse, intimate partner cyberstalking, technology-facilitated sexual assault, image-based sexual abuse, and online sexual harassment. The article also discusses policy and practice responses to this growing problem, as well as future directions for research. We argue that research and practice need to be guided by existing conceptual frameworks that utilize gender and actor-network theory to understanding the causes and consequences of women's experiences of abuse and violence facilitated by digital technologies.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Online Distribution Channels and Illicit Communities of Support.

This article investigates the nature and scope of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) material on 77 high-volume online websites. On the majority of these sites, users appeared to be motivated by sexual gratification and proving masculinity to a sexually deviant peer network, rather than revenge against the person depicted in the image. We argue that nonconsensual image exchanges are contextualized within ever-expanding digital environments, characterized by dislocation of time and space, overvisualization, and hypersexuality. We argue that IBSA is a vehicle for the construction, performativity, and negotiation of hypermasculinity and heteronormativity, within the bounds and structures of existing gendered power relations.

The role of voluntary and involuntary drug and alcohol consumption and premorbid mental health factors in drug-facilitated sexual assault.

In order to better understand risk factors associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), this study examined complainant-specific and contextual factors, as well as the toxicological profile of DFSA in Victoria, Australia. Clinical files and toxicological analysis results collected by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) for all cases of alleged DFSA in Victoria that occurred between 1st January 2011 - 31st December 2013 were reviewed. Two hundred and four cases of alleged DFSA were identified; complainants were predominately female (93%), and their median age was 26 years (range = 18-54). Self-reported premorbid depression (21.1%) and drug and alcohol abuse (9.8%) were four and two times higher than 12-month prevalence rates in Australia, respectively. All assailants were male, half were known to the complainant and half of alleged assaults occurred in private residences. Most (93.6%) complainants reported voluntary consumption of psychoactive substances prior to the alleged DFSA. Alcohol was the most commonly self-reported substance consumed (n = 164; 64%) and concomitant use of alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs was also commonly self-reported (24%). There were 14 cases that produced a positive toxicology result where the complainant did not report voluntary consumption, which suggests these drugs may have been used covertly to facilitate sexual assault. The results of this study indicate that Females in their mid-20's who exhibit higher rates of mental health concerns represent a sub-group of the Australian population with increased vulnerability to DFSA, which typically occurs in a familiar setting in the context of voluntary alcohol and other substance use.

A global epidemiological perspective on the toxicology of drug-facilitated sexual assault: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: A systematic review was undertaken to determine the current global prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) reported in adults in order to identify trends in the toxicology findings in DFSA around the world over the past 20 years. METHODS: Databases PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus were systematically searched using the terms: "drug-facilitated sexual assault", "chemical submission", "date rape", "rape drugs" and "drink-spiking" to identify relevant studies for inclusion in the review. This study focused on adult victims of suspected DFSA aged 16 years and above in which toxicology results were reported. RESULTS: The majority of studies included were published in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, with only a single study dedicated to this area in both Australia and Europe. Epidemiology, prevalence rates, and toxicology for DFSA appear broadly commensurate across different continents, although there are some differences in how "drug-facilitated sexual assault" is defined, as well as differences in the sensitivity of toxicological analyses. Nonetheless, alcohol is the most commonly detected substance and co-occurrence with other drugs is common. Aside from alcohol there was no other specific drug category associated with DFSA. Cannabinoids and benzodiazepines were frequently detected, but a lack of contextual information made it difficult to establish the extent that these substances contributed to suspected cases of DFSA. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review suggests that alcohol intoxication combined with voluntary drug consumption presents the greatest risk factor for DFSA, despite populist perceptions that covert drink-spiking is a common occurrence. There is a need to develop policies that encourage early responders to suspected DFSA (e.g., law enforcement agencies, medical staff, support agencies, etc), to collect detailed information about the individual's licit and illicit drug consumption history, in order to assist in providing appropriate and more thorough contextual information.