Fighting Online Abuse

A UTA researcher hopes to help stop a troubling trend affecting teens.

Grace Ellen Brannon, associate professor of communication, is working with a team of researchers to fight technology-facilitated abuse (TFA), a rapidly emerging tactic of teen dating violence, stalking, and abuse. TFA can include tactics in online spaces using everyday technology such as cellphones, social media, and other chat platforms.

“This interdisciplinary work is important because technology-facilitated abuse is only growing,” she says. “We should be communicating with survivors, equipping them with important information and guidance on what to do, and helping address future threats using evidence-based frameworks.”

The project aims to study and evaluate an approach known as a Tech Abuse Clinic, which trains advocates to work with survivors to ultimately create tech abuse safety plans.

Dr. Brannon collaborated with a team of UTA researchers, including Rachel Voth Schrag, principal investigator and associate professor of social work, and co-investigators Morgan PettyJohn, assistant professor of social work, and Shirin Nilizadeh, associate professor of computer science and engineering.

“Dr. Brannon has made outstanding contributions to her field, and UTA will benefit from having a team dedicated to educating and protecting against TFA,” says Elizabeth Newman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.