Abusers using AI and digital tech to attack and control women, charity warns | Violence against women and girls

Domestic abusers are increasingly using artificial intelligence, smartwatches and other technologies to attack and control their victims, a domestic violence charity says.

A record number of women abused and controlled through technology were referred to Refuge’s specialist services in the last three months of 2025; A total of 829 women were reached, an increase of 62% in the most complex cases. There was also a 24 percent increase in referrals to people under the age of 30.

Recent cases include perpetrators using wearable technology like smartwatches, Oura rings and Fitbits to track and monitor women, disrupting their lives through smart home devices that control lights and heating, and using AI spoofing apps to impersonate people.

Emma Pickering, head of the technology-enabled exploitation team at Refuge, said: “We see time and time again what happens when devices are released without adequate consideration of how they can be used to harm women and girls. It is now too easy for perpetrators to access smart accessories and use them as weapons, and our frontline teams are seeing the devastating consequences of this exploitation.”

“It is unacceptable for the safety and well-being of women and girls to be treated as an afterthought after a technology has been developed and deployed. Women’s safety must be a fundamental principle shaping both the design of wearable technology and the regulatory frameworks surrounding it.”

Refuge said smart accessories are too easy to access and weaponise, and women’s safety should be considered in their design.

Mina, one of the survivors Refuge worked with, left In her haste to escape her abuser, she was behind her smartwatch, who used it to track her down, using linked cloud accounts to find emergency accommodation.

“[It] It was deeply shocking and frightening. I suddenly felt exposed and unsafe, knowing my location was being tracked without my permission. It created a constant feeling of paranoia; “I couldn’t relax, sleep properly, or feel settled anywhere because I knew my actions weren’t special,” she said.

Although police returned the device to Mina, it was located at her next hideout using suspicious tracking via technology by a private investigator hired by the abuser. She reported the violations to the police but was told no crime had been committed because she “didn’t cause any harm” to him.

“Instead of directly addressing the technology or taking the smartwatch away from him, I was repeatedly asked to move for my safety. Each movement left me feeling more unstable and displaced,” he said.

“Overall, this experience left me feeling unsafe, unheard of, and responsible for managing a situation that was completely out of my control. It showed me how misuse of technology can silently and powerfully extend coercive control, and how easily survivors can be left to carry the emotional and practical burden when systems do not fully understand or respond.”

Pickering said abusers are increasingly using AI tools to manipulate survivors. For example, they might alter the victim’s video to appear drunk, allowing them to tell social services that she was “acting erratically again, has slurred speech, has a drinking problem” and is therefore an unfit mother or a risk to herself and others. “We will see more of this as these videos and applications progress,” Pickering said.

Pickering said he has also heard of artificial intelligence tools being used to develop real-looking fake documents, such as job offers or legal subpoenas, to trick survivors into believing they are owed money or to persuade them to go to the same place as the abuser.

Pickering feared that medical technology would be increasingly misused in the coming years, such as checking insulin levels via a diabetes monitor, which could be fatal.

He called on the government to take action on digital technology-enabled and online crime, including providing more funding to develop and train digital investigation teams. “They want short-term gains, they don’t want to consider long-term investments in this area, but if we don’t we’ll never move forward,” he said.

He also wants the tech industry to reckon with failure to ensure devices and platforms are designed and operate to be safe for vulnerable people.

“Ofcom and the Online Safety Act do not go far enough,” he said.

A government spokesman said: “Tackling all forms of violence against women and girls – including when it occurs online or is facilitated by technology – is a top priority for this government.

“Our new VAWG strategy sets out how to use the full power of the state online and offline. We are working with Ofcom to identify how online platforms will tackle the disproportionate abuse women and girls face online.”