Understanding Tech Abuse (practitioner only)

A webinar for practitioners supporting victim-survivors of intimate partner violence experiencing online or other forms of technology abuse. The WESNET webinars are designed specifically for practitioners in the field to increase their practice-based knowledge and learn skills to effectively disrupt, prevent and respond to technology facilitated abuse.

About the workshop

Technology – facilitated abuse (‘tech abuse’) is a form of controlling behaviour that involves the misuse of technology by an abuser in order to exert power and control over another person. This webinar is designed to assist participants to understand what tech abuse is, why it occurs and how different technologies can be misused to perpetrate abuse.

Participants will also learn tactics they can utilise to ensure that women and children can stay as safe as possible on their technology and online. We’ll also cover the factors that should be considered when determining whether certain technologies might benefit a victim-survivor’s situation, or potentially create a greater risk.

This webinar will:

Explain what technology facilitated abuse is and its prevalence in the Australian context.

Detail ways commonly used technology can be misused as tools to perpetrate abuse.

Help participants understand privacy, safety and security issues concerning technology through a DFV lens so they can better protect their clients.

Discuss how practitioners can assist clients to stay as safe as possible online and with technology, outlining steps to mitigate risk.

Inform participants of what behaviours and actions can help reduce the likelihood of tech abuse occurring.

Empower participants to support clients better by strengthening their technology safety planning knowledge.

Alert participants to additional tech support on offer, such as downloadable resources on the techsafety.org.au website and the option of phone referrals where complex technology-facilitated abuse is occurring.

Who should attend?

Practitioners who work in the domestic, family and sexual violence sectors

Cost

$11 (incl. GST) which includes access to the entire Technology Facilitated Abuse Series.

Ticket price includes registration for all 6 Technology Facilitated Abuse Series webinars. You will receive an email containing an individual link for each webinar in the days before the event. If you do not wish to attend a specific webinar, please disregard the email.

Register

Register for the workshop via Eventbrite

About the facilitator

Presented to Jo Colautti, Wesnet Technology Safety Specialist

Joanna Colautti is a Technology Safety Specialist for WESNET where she provides training and technical advice on technology safety issues to front-line service providers. Prior to joining WESNET Joanna worked as a domestic violence solicitor at Djirra (previously known as the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service Victoria), civil law/family law solicitor at Legal Aid NSW, domestic violence solicitor at Women’s Legal Service QLD and Early Intervention Family Law Solicitor/ Domestic Violence Solicitor at the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre. Joanna has extensive experience working directly with clients who have experienced domestic and/ or family violence and assisting them with the legal issues that arise as a result of experiencing this abuse. Joanna provided face to face legal advice, casework assistance and court advocacy in the legal areas of family law, child protection, domestic violence orders, debt and victims compensation.