Abuse Using Technology

If an abuser is using technology to abuse you, often the evidence of that abuse is located on the Internet or on a device like a cell phone, tablet, computer, or video camera. Documenting this evidence can be very helpful if, at some point, you want to try to have the legal system hold the abuser accountable. It is important to document the evidence as soon as possible because if an abuser has access to your accounts or your devices, s/he may be able to access and delete it. You may have to take extra precautions to make sure your evidence isn’t deleted by accident or through your account/device settings. For instance, your phone may be set to delete text messages after a certain time period to save storage space on your device. You will want to make sure that such features are turned off or that the particular evidence you are documenting is saved in a safe place.

It may be your first instinct to delete threatening messages from an abuser or to “block” the abuser if s/he is harassing you on social media. This is a completely understandable response. However, before you do this, it’s important to understand and think through how this will impact your ability to document evidence. If you delete the messages, there may no longer be evidence that you can access, and it may be difficult or impossible to access them from the abuser’s accounts or devices.

There are ways you can minimize having to see the abusive material while still being able to collect and document evidence of the abuser’s crimes and behaviors. For instance, you can silence message notifications from that particular person or set up a folder in your email account and create a rule for messages from that sender to go straight to a separate folder. Filtering the abuser’s communications will allow you to have access to the information when you want to without constantly having to see it. If your device is not accessible to the abuser, you can also save screenshots of abusive or threatening messages in folders or hidden photo albums on your devices so that you do not have to see them until you need to access them. You should be careful, however, not to save any evidence to cloud storage if the abuser may have access to your cloud account.

Documenting this evidence is so important because you may later need it in a court hearing. In an order of protection trial, for example, the judge is making decisions about whether to grant an order and what protections to include in the order. Having your evidence documented in a form that you can bring to court allows you to present it to the judge to support your testimony. It can also help you show the judge why you need a particular protection to be included in the order. You may also need to show the evidence to law enforcement in certain situations or to your lawyer so that s/he can prepare for court.