Location Technology and Gender Based Violence
Isobel, native to the United Kingdom, found herself thousands of miles away on an international business trip when she received a phone call. On the other end of the line, she heard the voice of her estranged husband, a man who had committed physical acts of violence such as kicking, punching and strangling her. Isobel listened, shocked, as she heard his voice rattle off her exact location, including her city, country, and even the restaurant she was sitting in. Completely overwhelmed with fear, Isobel wondered how her estranged husband had pinpointed her location so accurately. In reality, it had been quite easy for him to do so, it only required a few taps on Iphone’s Find My Friends.
In today’s age of information technology overload, apps and services that allow users to geographically locate others like Apple’s Find My Friends and Snapchat Maps are used widely and without a second thought. Location technology has been normalized as a necessary intervention to ensure the safety of friends and family; however, these applications can facilitate partner and domestic violence toward women, which needs more global attention.
In order to examine the role of location sharing services in domestic violence toward women, we must first look to power and the matrix of domination. In Data Feminism, D’ignazio and Klein describe “power” as “the current configuration of structural privilege and structural oppression, in which some groups experience unearned advantages — because various systems have been designed by people like them and work for people like them — because those same systems were not designed by them or with people like them in mind.” It is no surprise that men systemically hold power over women in modern society, and that the potential for this power to increase in conjunction with the manipulation of information technology is nothing short of horrifying. Location technology services, in the context of domestic violence, represent a method by which men can abuse their systemic power over women and use it for unethical control or domination.
Gender based violence is a term used to encompass stalking, domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking. Most gender based violence survivors know the perpetrator of their harm; in the United States strangers make up only 18.7% of stalkers and 12.1% of rapists. Most survivors of gender based violence are women and abusers tend to be men, although people of any gender can experience GBV. Those marginalized by systems of oppression tend to experience GBV at disproportionate rates. Feminist scholarship on this topic has historically focused on coercive control within the privacy of the home, but location technology expands the realm of control of abusive people.
Most location technology services work in the same manner. Looking at the example of Apple’s Find My Friends, this app can be downloaded and then used to share location with a person’s pre-existing phone contacts. Location can be shared for an hour, a day, or indefinitely. In order to see someone else’s location, that person must make the choice to start sharing it and send the notification. Once a location has been shared, a user can click on a contact’s avatar and zoom into a map that shows location as specific as a house or street intersection. Addresses are also visible, though not always entirely accurate. Find My Friends also can allow a user to receive a notification when a selected contact arrives, leaves or is not at a location. Snapchat maps work similarly, a user can be pinpointed on an animated map where their snapchat avatar appears visible. Instagram has a similar feature where a user can add a location on their posted photos to show where the shot was captured. These technologies are frequently used without regard to potential malicious intent, and it is easy to understand why within the context of modern society.
It can be difficult to recognize the detriments associated with partner violence and location technology due to the normalization of these technologies in the social sphere. In my personal life I have had a front-row seat view of the assimilation of these technologies into the lives of my family and friends. If I drive home from college for the weekend, I know my dad will be watching my Apple Maps location on Find My Friends to ensure a safe journey. My friends will frequently text me asking when I will be home from the gym or why I am at a particular location. Similarly, I will check the location of my close contacts several times a day, usually for the sake of simplifying the coordination of plans. Although the use of location technology that is most familiar to me has been used with positive intentions, such as safety and productivity, it is easy to see how quickly this use of technology could spiral into something much darker. Unfortunately, the normalization of locating friends and family can play a role in the manipulation of a partner. Obsessively or inappropriately locating a partner or estranged relationship could easily be justified as normal behavior. Excuses such as “ I just want to make sure you are safe” can be confusing to a victim and perpetuate the behavior of their abuser. These convoluted intentions and behavior that come alongside the age of technology can only be alleviated by bringing more attention to the issue and educating those at risk.
Stalking in particular can be facilitated by location technology services. The term stalking encompasses repeated behaviors such as following, harassing and threatening. Stalking can also be an initial behavior that opens the door for more dangerous, damaging actions such as domestic violence and even homicide. Unfortunately, stalking is often not taken as seriously as it should be. Many people associate this phenomenon with celebrities and famous people, far removed from the everyday lives of people going about their day to day business. Stalking is not reserved to Hollywood scandals, and is actually quite prevalent. Additionally, an Australian study uncovered that most people consider stalking by one’s intimate partner as less serious than stalking by a stranger. In reality, research indicates that partner stalking can be much more dangerous due to the amount of time and persistence that is associated with an intimate relationship. A United States survey found that intimate partner stalking lasted 2.2 years on average, compared with 1.1 years for non-partner stalking. When a stalker can constantly view their target’s location, refreshing down to the minute, the psychological response of the victim can be very damaging. In one victim’s recount of this experience, she described feeling like she had “no privacy, security or safety, and that her stalker knew and saw everything.”
While it may seem simple enough for one to disallow others from viewing their location on Iphone’s Find My Friends, other location technology services are much more discreet. A person may have their location visible on Snapchat Maps, tagged on their Instagram pictures or linked to a TikTok video without a notification bringing it to their attention. I have heard countless stories of friends who had no idea their locations were visible on Snapchat for months and even years, their most private information on public display.
There are several places for victims of gender based violence to turn to for support. Nonprofit and government based services such as advocates, law enforcement, civil courts, family, friends and community agencies are typically cited as useful sources of aid for victims. As location technology is a relatively novel phenomenon that lacks a certain degree of public awareness, it is no surprise that traditional support systems do not incorporate this element of harassment into their programs. A 2021 study found that frontline services struggle to recognize, assess and respond in a timely manner to technology abuse due to a lack of understanding of rapidly emerging technologies including how location technology can be used to facilitate, stalking, harassment and control. Based on this information, it is clear that action needs to be taken in order to protect victims of location technology based abuse. Looking toward the future, a two step process will be integral for providing the support necessary to this particular subset of gender based violence victims. The foundation of the issue is that the public needs more resources and education geared toward how location technologies can be used for malicious intent. Once this awareness has been achieved, only then can we as a society begin to form organizations that can provide these victims with the specific support they need.
