ALBANY — A Queens lawmaker is introducing a bill to protect domestic violence victims from abusers who harass and stalk them “Big Brother” style.
The bill would allow judges to issue protective orders that bar abusive partners from using webcams, home security systems and other internet-connected gizmos to spy on their victims or harass them.
“These devices include security systems that can lock or unlock doors and windows, cameras, thermostats, sprinklers, voice-activated assistants and speakers, lights and more,” Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Queens) said.
“These devices can often be used by domestic abusers as tools for surveillance, harassment and stalking,” she added. “We have to get smarter about protecting survivors. It’s invisible abuse. It’s not as clear as a physical injury, but the underlying problem is control and access.”
Women’s groups and domestic abuse survivors say the bill would close a loophole that makes it difficult to prove harassment cases when these devices are used.
One executive at a New York City shelter and social services group for battered women, Korean American Family Service Center, estimated that a third of the cases she deals with involve some sort of electronic spying, harassment or stalking.
One woman, whose identity must remain anonymous for her continued protection, called the KAFSC’s hotline and “asked specifically” not to be called back on her cellphone because her abusive partner kept checking her call log.
“Every time we spoke on the phone, it was through a friend or family member’s device, which delayed the process,” said the group’s executive director, Jeehae Fischer. “For weeks we couldn’t get a hold of her.”
“She did get out of the situation luckily, and we placed her in our emergency shelter service and then we transferred her to the long-term housing program,” she added.
Temporary orders of protection issued in Family Court increased by 33 percent between 2017 and 2018, and the number of final orders of protection issued grew by 75 percent during that same period.
The most recent data collected by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services in 2018 shows citywide domestic violence victim totals amounted to 34,639 victims of felony assault, assault 3 and related offenses, sex offense, and violation of protective order.
Of those victims, 20,215 were female, and 4,377 were men.
“Smart tech abuse could become a part of every domestic violence case,” Meredith Lee Price, an attorney for the advocacy group Safe Horizon working on their Domestic Violence Law Project, told The Post.
“It’s already part of our initial conversation we have with people going to court. We ask what their relationship is to technology,” she added. “What kind of images might be out there, what kind of devices are you going to have in your home? What’s his relationship and access to that?”