•  
  •  
 
Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Keywords

technology-facilitated violence, TFV, intimate partner violence, IPV, anti-violence online activism

Abstract

Despite growing attention to violence that women face in online settings, a relatively small proportion of academic work centres on the experiences and perspectives of racialized women in Canada. Informed by an intersectional framework, I draw on semi-structured interviews with nine women across Canada, all of whom are involved in anti-violence online activism, about their experiences of technology-facilitated violence (TFV). Their experiences revealed less prominent narratives, including instances of TFV beyond instances of intimate partner violence (IPV) and beyond sources of anonymous trolling by supposed white men, such as violence perpetrated by peers, white women, and racialized men. In this article, I also include reflections by the interviewees on violence they unexpectedly perpetrated through their online content. These perspectives demonstrate how varied and complex experiences of TFV are beyond instances of IPV and sexual violence. I conclude that when we leave out intersectionality as an approach that centres marginalized groups and broadens our understanding of violence, we are missing out on these more complex experiences of TFV that women face. Thus, I suggest that, to best tackle TFV, policy recommendations and legal remedies need to consider TFV through an intersectional lens.

Share

COinS