Citation

Turgoose D, McKie R. J. Gender Based Viol. 2021; 5(3): 451-466.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Centre for Gender and Violence Research, University of Bristol, Publisher Policy Press)

DOI

10.1332/239868021X16254814390107

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Bespoke and generic domestic violence and abuse (DVA) personal safety applications (PSAs) have become a popular choice for strategic crime prevention projects by those in the criminal justice sector to achieve justice through digital means as part of the wider digital justice project.

These PSAs have been heralded as tools for the protection, empowerment and resilience building of victims in DVA, despite limited independent evaluations. This article explores the use of a generic PSA, which the police have adopted for rollout to victims of DVA in one region of the UnitedKingdom. We undertook a thematic analysis of data taken from a roundtable and three follow up focus groups with practitioners from the police, criminal justice, DVA specialist sector and victim services, alongside the PSA development team. We found both some support for using this PSA and serious concerns regarding its use in DVA situations.

Language: en

Keywords

domestic violence and abuse; empowerment; personal safety applications; routine activity theory