Revolutionising Online Safety: Tackling Technology-Facilitated Abuse to Protect Victims and Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

网络虐待是我们的数字社会面临的最紧迫的挑战之一。在亲密伴侣暴力(IPV)的背景下，这一点得到了最好的证明。IPV继续影响着200多万英国成年人，近85%的受害者/幸存者遭受某种形式的技术促成的虐待(“技术滥用”)。技术滥用指的是使用“日常”数字系统(计算机、智能手机、应用程序)来胁迫、控制和伤害一个人或一群人。它包括基于图像的滥用(“复仇色情”)、网络跟踪和GPS跟踪等罪行。它使受害者/幸存者及其子女遭受各种形式的身体、情感和经济伤害。然而，技术滥用的真实规模、性质和影响尚不清楚，这使得开发解决方案非常困难。此外，这个问题非常重要，因为科技滥用正处于快速变化的边缘。随着“智能”、物联网(IoT)设备和人工智能(AI)变得司空见惯，这些系统极大地增加了施虐者的触角和触犯他们的难度。例如，智能扬声器或恒温器允许施虐者监控或远程控制受害者/幸存者的物理环境，并赋予他们更大的权力来管理他们最隐私的数据。拟议的研究计划利用了我在新兴技术、网络安全和性别研究方面的专业知识，通过32多本出版物开发。我在FLF的头四年将为我提供一个领导平台，通过研究：(A)技术滥用与现有的知识产权定义、理论和模型在概念上的契合。(B)滥用知识产权技术的背景、驱动因素和做法。(C)现有数字系统的安全和安保缺陷。(D)与家庭暴力、在线伤害和网络犯罪有关的国家和国际政策格局。为了实现这一目标，我的FLF利用与世界领先的用户和受益者的跨部门组合的出色伙伴关系，这些用户和受益者包括工业部门(IBM、卡巴斯基、富士通、物联网安全基金会)、第三部门(尊重、避难所、苏西·兰普鲁信托基金、欧洲家庭暴力犯罪者工作网络)、学术界(Marianne Hester OBE教授、伊丽莎白·亚德利教授、尼古拉·亨利博士)和政策利益攸关方(国家网络安全中心、内政部、警察学院)。此外，我已经确认了政策安排(英国家庭暴力专员)和研究访问(墨尔本大学康奈尔理工大学)，所有这些都是整理、验证和三角定位数据的核心，共同开发社会反应/技术设计建议，并推动我和我的团队的职业生涯。此外，我的FLF将产生前所未有的证据基础，以革命性的技术滥用格局，以支持IPV受害者/幸存者的安全，前四年的发现最终导致共同创建干预措施和建立亟需的变革理论。

Online abuse is one of the most pressing challenges for our digital society. This is best demonstrated in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) which continues to affect over two million UK adults with nearly 85% of victims/survivors subjected to some form of technology-facilitated abuse ("tech abuse"). Tech abuse describes the use of "everyday" digital systems (computers, smartphones, apps) to coerce, control, and harm a person or groups of individuals. It includes offences such as image-based abuses ("revenge porn"), cyberstalking, and GPS-tracking. It exposes victims/survivors and their children to all types of physical, emotional, and financial harm. However, the true scale, nature, and impact of tech abuse is unknown, which makes developing solutions extremely problematic. Additionally, the issue is of pressing importance because tech abuse is on the brink of rapid change. As "smart", Internet of Things (IoT) devices and Artificial Intelligence (AI) become commonplace, these systems drastically increase the reach of abusers and the ease with which they offend. For example, smart speakers or thermostats allow abusers to monitor or remotely control the physical environment of victims/survivors and gives them increased power over their most private data.The proposed research programme draws on my specialisation on the intersection of emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and gender studies, developed through over 32 publications. The initial four years of my FLF will provide me with a leadership platform to drive change by studying: (a) The conceptual fit of tech abuse with existing IPV definitions, theories, and models.(b) The background, drivers, and practices of IPV tech abuse perpetrators.(c) The safety and security shortcomings of existing digital systems such as smart, Internet-connected devices.(d) The national and international policy landscape relating to domestic abuse, online harms, and cybercrime. To achieve this, my FLF leverages excellent partnerships with a cross-sectoral mix of world-leading users and beneficiaries, including industrial (IBM, Kaspersky, Fujitsu, IoT Security Foundation), third sector (Respect, Refuge, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence), academic (Prof Marianne Hester OBE, Prof Elizabeth Yardley, Dr Nicola Henry), and policy stakeholders (National Cyber Security Centre, Home Office, College of Policing). Moreover, I have confirmed policy placements (UK Domestic Abuse Commissioner) and research visits (Cornell Tech, University of Melbourne), all of which are central to collate, validate, and triangulate data, to co-develop societal responses/technical design recommendations, and to advance my career, as well as my team's.Together, my FLF will result in an unprecedented evidence-base to revolutionise the tech abuse landscape to support the security and safety of IPV victims/survivors, with the findings of the first four years culminating in the co-creation of interventions and the establishment of a much-needed theory of change.