SPARK Webinar - Beyond the Screen: Understanding Technology-Facilitated Abuse

Technology has expanded the ways people connect, communicate and participate in everyday life. It has also created new opportunities for abuse, surveillance, control and harm. Understanding these dynamics is critical for anyone working in domestic, family and sexual violence, community services, youth work, and related sectors. 

This webinar brings together leading researchers and practitioners to explore some of the most important emerging conversations in technology-facilitated abuse. Hear the latest findings on perpetration, young people's perceptions of technology-facilitated coercive control, and the social and cultural implications of emerging technologies. Together, these presentations will encourage participants to think critically about how we understand technology-facilitated abuse and how responses can continue to evolve alongside rapidly changing technologies. 

Learning Outcomes 

Increased understanding of dynamics and impacts of Technology Facilitated Abuse

Event details

Date: Thursday, 26th November 2026
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm AEST
Location: Online

Who should attend

All workforce of specialist domestic and family violence, sexual violence and women’s health and wellbeing services.

About the Presenters

Asher Flynn 

Dr Asher Flynn is a Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Criminology at Monash University, and Chief Investigator with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW), where she leads the technology-facilitated violence workstream and is Deputy Lead of Research & Ethics Training. Asher is an award-winning researcher in policy and prevention concerning gendered, sexual and technology-facilitated violence and has shaped almost a decade of research, theory and measurement of these global phenomena. She has published ten books and hundreds of articles, scholarly book chapters, reports and media/opinion pieces. Her research has informed Australian federal, state and territory legislation and international laws on image-based sexual abuse and sexualised deepfake abuse. She is the recipient of several prestigious national and international research fellowships and is the Australian board member of Meta’s Global Women’s Safety Board. Asher has advised the Australian Office of the eSafety Commissioner, the United Nations, Meta and Bumble on policy and prevention of technology-facilitated violence. 

Maria Atienzar Prieto  

María Atiénzar Prieto, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) at Griffith University. Her research has examined technology-facilitated coercive control among young people, particularly how they perceive, understand, and make sense of this form of abuse. Her current research explores the meaningful engagement of boys and men in the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence, including through co-designed initiatives that leverage online spaces to promote gender equality, respectful relationships, and positive social change. 

Geoffrey Devereaux

Geoffrey is a Domestic and Family Violence Specialist with more than a decade of experience across the domestic and family violence and child protection sectors. His career has spanned frontline practice, crisis response, governance, training, program design, healing-focused work, and the use of technology to enhance victim-survivor safety. 

Geoffrey has worked with victim-survivors and people who use violence, supporting individuals and families across the lifespan. He is currently a practitioner with the Centre Against Domestic Abuse (CADA), Moreton Bay's Regional Specialist Domestic Violence Service.