IoT Coercive Control and Domestic Abuse Online Conference (1/2 day)
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July 20th 10am-12:30pm BST
Join Zoom Meeting Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2940469032?pwd=RXlUOHpBS1lmOWtyT0cydVFqRE11Zz09
*Please see below for more details.
If you experience a webpage on Zoom saying Invalid meeting ID. (-1) please click the join button in the browser and enter the Meeting ID: 2940469032 and if asked enter Passcode: 29404690
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Please email Cristina at aspida.cmg@gmail.com if you are still experiencing issues joining the conference.
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This impact project aims to understand professionals’ and survivor’s perspectives of coercive control and domestic abuse through the Internet of Things.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The current project introduces the Internet of Things technology (IoT), including various inconspicuous technologies that are integrated into everyday life for the purpose of convenience, such as the use of Hive Technology to control temperature, or the use of Amazon Alexa. Whilst these technologies have the potential to make life significantly more convenient, there are also issues with the control of these technologies. This is particularly true in the UK, where the majority of the research on IoT has lacked regulatory and legal frameworks like the extensive research in the USA (Tschider, 2018).
As these technologies are relatively new, this conference provides an exploration of how academics, professionals and survivors perceive the use of IoT in cases of coercive control. The most prominent research in the UK is conducted by University College London and focuses on victims and survivors of domestic abuse and suggest that knowledge exchange is necessary with support services to better understand the phenomena (Lopez-Niera et al., 2019).
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It is suggested abusers use IoTs for spatial and temporal control, continuing the harm of coercion that is economical, convenient, and efficient for the abuser (Cuomo & Dolci, 2021). Cuomo and Dolci have gone on to create the first Technology-Enabled Coercive Control Clinic, a community-based project with volunteer technologists working with survivors, which has proven to be effective in increasing survivors safety plans, knowledge, and support. Therefore, we are using this conference to explore the phenomena with professionals, to ensure their voice (as well as survivors) are present in any future interventions within the UK.
On the Agenda
1 / Introduction
10:00am-10:10am Welcome and Introduction to Living in a Digital Society Impact Project- Dr Amanda Wilson, De Montfort University
2 / Academic Session
10:10am-10:30am Computer Scientist Overview of IoTs - Dr Shadi Zarrabi
10:30am-10:45am "Gender and IoT": Insights from UCL's Gender and Tech Research Group Dr Leonie Tanczer
10:45am-10:55am Group Discussion*
3 / Practitioner & Survivor Session
11:00am-11:15am Lorna Tam, Equation Tech Abuse Training Project, Nottingham
11:15am-11:30am Nottingham Women’s Charity, TBC
11:30am-11:55am Survivor Based Research, TBC
12:00pm-12:20pm- Group Discussion*
4 / Debrief & Closing
12:20pm-12:25pm Grounding Exercise, Dr Victoria Ruby-Granger, De Montfort University
12:25pm-12:30pm Closing, Dr Amanda Wilson, De Montfort University
*Note:
Group discussions are to encourage participants on the day to share their stories and examples of practice when comfortable.
Meet the Presenters
Dr Leonie Maria Tanczer
Leonie Maria Tanczer is an Associate Professor in International Security and Emerging Technologies at University College London’s (UCL) Department of Computer Science (CS) and grant holder of the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF). She is part of UCL's Information Security Research Group (ISec) and initiated and heads the “Gender and Tech” research efforts at UCL.
Tanczer is also member of the Advisory Council of the Open Rights Group (ORG), a Steering Committee member for the Offensive Cyber Working Group, and a voting member of the IEEE Working Group P2987 “Recommended Practice for Principles for Design and Operation Addressing Technology-Facilitated Inter-personal Control”. She is affiliated with UCL's Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) and was formerly an Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) Media Fellow at The Economist as well as a Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in Berlin.
Prior to her current appointment, Tanczer was a Lecturer at UCL's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) and Postdoctoral Research Associate for the EPSRC-funded PETRAS Internet of Things (IoT) Research Hub.
Tanczer holds a PhD from the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics (HAPP) at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Her interdisciplinary PhD project included supervision from both social sciences and engineering (ECIT) and focused on the (in)securitisation of hacking and hacktivism.
She studied Political Science (B.A.) at the University of Vienna and University of Limerick (Republic of Ireland) and Political Psychology (MSc.) at Queen's University Belfast.
Tanczer is researching and publishing on Internet-related topics and frequently presenting at academic conferences as well as speaking at public events. She is also involved in teaching at the university level [altough not atm!] and on executive education programmes, and has experience in providing academic skills support for students, having formerly been part of the Learning Development Service (LDS) at QUB.
If she is not in the {virtual} office, Tanczer is trying to attend as many meetups, conferences and CryptoParties as possible, trawls through the Internet for new cat/dog videos, or posts tech or feminist-related articles on Twitter or Mastodon. Oh, and she takes pride in her Erdős number, which is 5.
Dr Shadi Zarrabi
Dr Shadi Zarrabi is a Lecturer of Cyber Security at Cyber Technology Institute within De Montfort University. Her research deals mostly with privacy engineering and the ways we can embed privacy requirements in software engineering methods shortly called as Privacy by Design, also on privacy and information security risk assessment and investigating and testing privacy tolerance in recent technologies such as voice assistance and IOT. So, you will find a range of policymaking/governance, computing human factors and technical aspects of privacy in her portfolio.
Lorna Tam
Lorna Tam is the Tech Abuse Training Project Worker at Equation, the Nottingham-based domestic abuse specialist charity. Her background is in the study of Cyberpsychology, drug and alcohol addiction recovery research, and working with University students to reduce sexual harassment and violence on campus. As part of Equation’s newly funded Tech Abuse project, Lorna’s current role sits within the Training Team in developing and delivering tech abuse training to professionals in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire area and recently, these sessions are available outside of the area. You can find these sessions on Equation’s Eventbrite page. The wider Training Team also deliver a range of training topics related to domestic abuse as well as bespoke sessions. Lorna runs the new Domestic Abuse & Technology Practitioners Network, a practice and tech-focused event to equip frontline practitioners in understanding and responding to tech abuse. Another element of Lorna’s work is in developing and releasing regular news on a range of tech abuse topics to aid frontline practitioners in supporting survivors, including safer contact and safety planning.
Meet the Team
INTRODUCING THE FACES BEHIND THE CONFERENCE
Dr Amanda Wilson
Dr Amanda Wilson (she/her) is a public health psychologist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health and Chartered Psychologist, interested in improving the health and well-being of marginalized groups. She is more broadly interested in coercive control and is a survivor. Her cyberpsychology research has also focused on the online grooming of young women where she worked with a local organization using case studies to raise the visibility of survivors' own narratives in order to better influence support and work towards empowering survivors to create their own sense of justice outside of the legal system.
Cristina Gheorghe, MSc
Cristina Gheorghe (she/her) is a recently graduated masters student, specialised in psychological well-being and data analysis. Cristina is part of many research projects, with focus on depression and resilience in emerging adults, women's experiences with different contraceptive methods, as well as running her own mental health blog, aimed at Romanian university students. She is passionate about mental health and phycological well-being, and she is acting as Project Manager for this conference.
Dr Victoria Ruby-Granger
Dr Victoria Ruby-Granger (she/her) is a psychologist with interests in wellbeing and empowerment among others. Her PhD research focused on hoarding behaviour and she teaches and researches wellbeing-related topics to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Victoria is also a volunteer with BRAVE Nottingham and has previously volunteered with Nottingham Women’s Centre, roles she took up in the aftermath of her own experience as a survivor. Her interest in this research project stems from the same desire to support others and work towards a safer world for all who are experiencing domestic abuse and coercive control.
Dr Danielle Kelly
Dr Danielle Kelly is currently a lecturer at University of the West of Scotland, Paisley. Danielle is a cyberpsychologist who specialises in online harms. Specifically, Danielle’s research focuses on cyberdeviance. This includes a focus on the perceptions of cyberstalking, cyberflashing and the use of the Internet of Things in coercive control and domestic abuse.
Dr Emma Short
Emma joined London Met in October 2022, after holding posts at De Montfort University and the University of Bedfordshire. She is a Chartered Health Psychologist who specialises in cyberpsychology. She has conducted research in the area of cyberstalking, image based sexual abuse and technology facilitated abuse since 2005, working with partners in the third sector, higher education, the police and government bodies. Emma has taught across the psychology curriculum at undergraduate and postgraduate level, with special focus on cyberpsychology, forensic psychology and health.
Dr Francisco Javier Aparicio Navarro
Dr Aparicio Navarro is an Associate Professor in Cyber Security and Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) and MSc Digital Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship. He is an expert in Computer Network Security and Intrusion Detection. His research has advanced the state-of-the-art of network security by developing novel unsupervised Intrusion Detection Systems, and proposing statistical approaches to integrate Contextual Information and Situational Awareness into the cyber-attack detection process. Dr Aparicio Navarro has developed cyber security solutions for the networked battlespace, has delivered cyber security solutions for Connected Autonomous Vehicles, and has researched methods to detect Advanced Persistent Threats and Multi-Stage Attacks in networked environments. He has successfully led research and commercial projects, and has experience commercialising his research outputs. Dr Aparicio Navarro has presented his research at international conferences including IEEE MILCOM and IEEE ICC, flagship conferences for the IEEE Communications Society, and has been invited speaker at multiple international workshops and symposiums in Europe, America and the Middle East.
Dr Roshan Rai
Dr Roshan Rai is a Senior Lecturer at De Montfort University, with a specialised interest in cyberpsychology. He is particularly interested in the social nature of the Internet, which includes aspects of online communication and interaction as well as how the Internet provides a space for human values, attitudes and ideas.
''Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead