This PhD Network webinar will bring together two presentations on online vulnerabilities.
The Technification of Domestic Abuse
Dr Lisa Sugiura
Digital technologies have enabled people to socialise and exchange personal information online, often under the protection of anonymity and with little oversight or accountability. Methods of domestic abuse are progressively incorporating digital tools, escalating opportunities for perpetrators to monitor, threaten and humiliate their victims.
Drawing on research undertaken for the Home Office, this talk outlines how perpetrators are exploiting online vulnerabilities in the methods and tools they employ to enact technology-facilitated domestic abuse (TFDA). We conceptualise the technification of domestic abuse, a rapidly developing area with resulting significant harms, highlighting that this is an area deserving of far greater attention.
Vulnerability and Repeat Victimisation in Online Fraud
Dr Chloe Hawkins
The rise of new technologies has broadened opportunities for fraud, making online fraud a significant challenge for law enforcement, businesses, and individuals. While fraud affects various segments of society, some victims face disproportionate harm, experiencing repeated victimisation from scammers.
This presentation explores how certain individuals become repeat victims of online fraud, examining their self-identification as victims and the emotional and psychological impact of repeated victimisation.
About the speakers
Dr Lisa Sugiura
Dr Lisa Sugiura is Associate Professor in Cybercrime and Gender in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth. Lisa is an internationally recognised expert in online gender-based violence and regularly appears on national and international media news outlets. Her research projects, which include funding from the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Home Office, involve the language of cybersexism, victims of computer misuse, the role of technology in domestic abuse, and extremist and misogynistic behaviours in manosphere and incel (involuntary celibate) communities. Lisa is the author and co-editor of the books:
- Respectable deviance and purchasing medicine online: opportunities and risks for consumers
- The incel rebellion: the rise of the manosphere and the virtual war against women
- Palgrave Handbook of Gendered Violence and Technology.
Dr Chloe Hawkins
Dr Chloe Hawkins is the Course Leader for Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth and is the British Society of Criminology theme lead for online vulnerabilities. Her research interests are in the areas of fraud, victims, vulnerability, and under-researched groups, with a specialisation in qualitative research. Dr Hawkins has worked on research funded by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice and the UK charity Re-engage who work with largely older adults.