LEGISLATIVE CHANGE is needed to prevent the kind of abuse of individuals – in particular of young women – that is being facilitated by technology such as Facebook, the Women’s Aid organisation said.
Publishing its annual statistics for 2010, the charity said there were 13,575 disclosures of abuse and 10,055 calls to its national freephone helpline.
It said social networking sites and text messaging are increasing features in abuse, with partners or former partners using technology to monitor and control women.
In one case, which was anonymised to protect the victim, the woman’s former partner accessed her Facebook account and published a naked photograph of her.
The social networking site was also used to publish extracts of court orders in family law cases, which the organisation said was in complete contravention of the in-camera rule.
Reported abuse included women being beaten and raped in front of their children, including beatings that induced miscarriage. Others reported being choked, strangled and stabbed or even being gagged to stop screams during physical assaults.
The cases also included financial abuse, where women were not given money to buy essentials for themselves and their children.