NO COMFORT IN TREND

FOR many of us, it is hard to reconcile that home could be anything other than the ultimate safe haven. But for an increasing number of locals, the family home has become the scene of unspeakable violence, largely conducted behind closed doors.

Over the past few weeks, Geelong Advertiser reporters have spoken to victims, experts, counsellors and police officers to try to shine a light on the complex issues behind our family violence crisis. The stories, which we are running as a special series over the coming days, have been both shocking and confronting — ranging from first person accounts about the horrors they have endured, to worrying statistical trends such as the increase in violence between young couples or young people against their parents.

Today we report on the rise in the use of technology to aid perpetrators of violence. From tracking apps to the use of popular social media sites such as TikTok, technology has become an effective tool helping offenders to either stalk or harass their victims.

It is a double-edged sword that something that has made most peoples’ lives so much easier has also been manipulated as a tool of violence.

And with the growing rates of family violence among young people, there is plenty of reason to fear where this trend may lead.