Responding to victimisation in a digital world

The Challenge

Digital technology is embedded into daily life and cannot be meaningfully separated from ‘real’ world experiences, including those of crime victims. Official statistics show the volume and impact of computer crimes and online fraud. Additionally, tech now plays an increasing role in gender-based violence and hate crime. As such, crimes are increasingly ‘hybrid’, taking place both online and offline. However, the victim response to online harms has been shown to be inconsistent, particularly with respect to identifying vulnerable victims and addressing repeat victimisation. In parallel, victim support services vary widely across geographical areas and the extent to which they are equipped to respond to the role of digital tech is ill understood.

The Method

Dr Sara Correia

Meet the research lead

We have worked with large datasets of police recorded crime and used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to identify patterns of repeat victimisation and better understand victim vulnerability. With funded support from the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI) researchers at the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) and Swansea University’s Computational Foundry are currently working in partnership with South Wales Police (SWP) and the Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) to (1) explore the extent to which victim services are adequate in a digital world, and (2) develop a ‘Cyber Clinic’ prototype, offering a blend of face-to-face and digital support, to both increase and research individuals’ resilience to and post-victimisation.

The Impact

CYTREC’s previous work on victimisation has been used:

To inform law enforcement fraud threat assessments in the Southern Wales region;
For awareness-raising and training sessions for law enforcement and wider stakeholders including within the cybersecurity industry and the charity sector;
To develop learning materials for practitioners and researchers to develop their knowledge of the legal and ethical implications of cybercrime research; and
To inform the development of new legislation and law reform.

Research Papers

October 1, 2021
Vulnerability and Repeat Victimisation in a Digital World: A Study of Computer Misuse and Fraud Reported in Wales
May 22, 2014
Terrorism research: understanding Muslim communities
November 16, 2020
Patterns of online repeat victimisation and implications for crime prevention

What research activities are we planning?

Service Mapping: Desk research will be undertaken to map what support services are available to victims of cyber and hybrid crimes in South Wales.
Practitioner Focus Groups: Support practitioners will participate in focus groups to reflect on the impact of digital technology on victimisation and the support that is currently available to crime victims. This data will help refine the service mapping data.
Victim Interviews and Case Study Animations: We will interview individuals who have experienced ‘cyber’ and ‘hybrid’ victimisation, to understand the impact of these crimes and victims’ needs. Data gathered from practitioner focus groups and interviews with victims will be used to create (anonymous) animations, illustrating experiences of victimisation to cyber and hybrid crimes.
Co-Design Workshops: We will run workshops based on established values and practices of co-design. Adapting the interactive ‘Disney method’, we will connect practitioners’ experiences, skills and resources to provide new, practical knowledge about what our prototype Cyber Clinic should look like.

Examples of CYTREC’s work on victimisation

Studying the patterns of fraud and computer misuse victimisation, with a focus on repeat victims;
Analysing understandings of vulnerability and how they might be best implemented in practice.