The number of cases of technology-facilitated gender-based violence continues to rise. Location tracking and threats to distribute private videos cause as much harm as physical violence on victims. Many times, victims are afraid to speak out for fear of retribution.
Fei Fei, Victim: “I started panicking, because I didn't know if he was in possession of videos of me.”
The actions of her ex left victim "Fei Fei" exhausted both physically and mentally. He called her four times in three minutes, insulted her, and threatened to distribute videos of them having sex. In 2021, the Kaohsiung City Government handled nearly 22,000 cases of domestic violence, of which 50 percent were intimate partner violence. Cases of technology-enabled gender-based violence like Fei Fei's are on the rise. This type of violence is as harmful as physical violence.
Li Hui-ling, Dir., Kaohsiung Dom. Violence & Sexual Assault Prev. Ctr.: “Digital threats and the distribution of digital videos generate a lot of dread in victims. They are as harmful to the mental and physical states, work, daily life, and family of victims as face to face confrontations.”
Common types of technology-enabled gender-based violence include location tracking, harassment through texts, threats to monitor or misappropriate accounts, sexual violence, and sexual extortion, such as the threat to distribute sex videos. Kaohsiung's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Center encourages victims to courageously report perpetrators and apply for protection orders. They can use legal channels to constrain perpetrators and request videos to be removed. However, women's groups are concerned that this is not enough.
Chang Kai-chiang, Secretary-General, Women in Digital Initiative: “Someone who distributes videos may be guilty of disseminating obscene products, and the punishment for that is very light. The purpose of laws may not necessarily be to protect victims, so this whole legal system cannot keep up with advances in digital technology.”
In March, the Executive Yuan passed amendments to four laws, including the Criminal Code and Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, to increase the punishment for acts such as distributing private images without consent. Women's groups hope the government can set up a dedicated law to protect against new forms of criminal behavior that may arise in the future and ensure there is an authority that can compile statistics or amend policies.
受害人菲菲（化名）表示：「我就開始慌了，因為我不知道他手上有我的影片。」
短短3分鐘就有4通未接來電，甚至辱罵並威脅散布性愛影片，讓受害人菲菲身心俱疲。高市府去年受理近2萬2000件家暴案，有5成是親密關係暴力，其中像菲菲這樣的數位親密暴力更是節節攀升，傷害不亞於肢體暴力。
高雄市家防中心主任李慧玲指出：「數位脅迫、甚至數位影片的散播，其實都會讓被害人產生極大的恐懼，它跟面對面的衝突其實是一樣的，對於被害人的身心、工作、生活、家庭都產生很大的傷害。」
常見數位親密暴力包含定位跟蹤、簡訊騷擾，威脅監控或盜用帳號，還有性暴力及性勒索，像是散布性愛影片。家防中心鼓勵受害人勇敢報警、聲請保護令，循司法約束加害人並下架影片，但女性團體也憂心法律約束力不夠。
台灣數位女力聯盟秘書長張凱強指出：「散播影片用的法規，其實可能是散布猥褻物品罪，刑度非常輕微，保障的法律意義不是被害人本身的性質，所以這一整個的法律制度，是完全跟不上現代科技、數位科技發展的腳步。」
為杜絕數位暴力，行政院3月初通過《刑法》、《性侵害犯罪防治法》等4法的相關修正，針對未得同意散布私密影像等行為加重刑責。但女性團體仍希望政府推出專法，以免未來有新形態犯罪手法，沒主管機關可做統計或政策的改變。
