“We really don’t see clients anymore that aren’t experiencing some sort of abuse that isn’t based in the use of technology,” says Stephanie Nilva, the executive director of the anti-domestic violence youth organization Day One. Digital abuse can include constant texting, geolocation tracking, and the release of revenge porn, she notes.
Technology can intensify harassment and stalking because it increases an abuser’s access to their target. Nilva says her organization, which provides education and remediation to people 24 and younger, often helps clients remove spyware or keyloggers from their phones, get revenge porn taken down from social media platforms, or removes sockpuppet accounts that purport to be the client and spread harmful content to their friends and family.