New technology proposals for tackling intimate partner violence: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Intimate partner violence remains a critical social phenomenon in today’s societies. Among the different effective resources and tools to address it, technology seems to offer an innovative procedure to reduce its impact. This article is based on the potential contribution of technology to protect female victims, offering a qualitative analysis of the testimonies of experts who contributed to an ongoing project to design a device capable of providing automatic and immediate warning when women are in at-risk situations. The analysis of the discourses of the experts interviewed provided valuable information to explore the possibilities, limitations and unforeseen effects offered by technology in general, and this new device in particular, for tackling intimate partner violence.