Domestic abuse law fails to recognise danger of tech abuse, Lords committee told

The Domestic Abuse Act fails to adequately address technology-facilitated abuse, leaving victims vulnerable to location tracking, stalkerware, and other digital harassment tactics. Jen Reed, head of policy at University College London's Gender and Tech Research Lab, told a House of Lords select committee that tech abuse has become "increasingly prevalent" and "very commonplace now within a domestic abuse context."

The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act represents the UK's primary legislative framework for protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable. Yet its language and provisions were written before technology-enabled abuse became a dominant form of intimate partner violence. Modern abusers exploit smartphones, smartwatches, and hidden surveillance software to monitor partners' movements, communications, and activities without consent.

This legislative gap creates serious consequences. Victims lacking explicit legal protection may struggle to obtain restraining orders or prosecute abusers under existing statutes. Police and prosecutors often lack guidance on how to investigate and charge technology-facilitated abuse as a discrete offense. The invisibility of digital control mechanisms makes abuse harder to detect and document compared to physical violence.

The Lords committee's examination follows growing recognition that domestic abuse has evolved. Charities and domestic violence advocates have documented cases where abusers use technology to isolate victims, intercept communications, or threaten disclosure of intimate images. Some combine digital control with physical violence, creating compounded trauma.

Reed's testimony calls for explicit amendments to the Domestic Abuse Act that would define and criminalize tech-facilitated abuse. Such changes would align UK law with emerging international standards. Scotland has taken preliminary steps toward addressing digital abuse in its domestic violence legislation, while other jurisdictions have moved faster on establishing specific tech abuse offenses.

The committee's findings will likely inform potential legislative reform. Amending the act requires parliamentary time and political will, but the evidence increasingly suggests the current framework leaves vulnerable people unprotected. Technology