Digital vicarious violence in Chile: another form of violence facilitated by technology?

Abstract

In May 2023, Chile implemented the Law on Parental Responsibility and Effective Payment of Child Support Debts, registering 237,000 debtors (96% men). While the law addresses a historical debt, it generated hostility toward mothers and activists, extending to the digital sphere and their children. In this context, this study explored a possible new form of violence intertwined at the intersection of vicarious and digital violence, as well as its characteristics and the ways in which survivors resist it. Through focus groups with 10 mothers, qualitative data were analyzed with Atlas.ti, which not only corroborated the existence of this intersectional violence but also identified five expressions of digital vicarious violence: 1) Hypervigilance through technology, 2) Direct digital violence, 3) Use of technology to defame motherhood, 4) Digital relational violence, and 5) Manipulation of social media in favor of the aggressor. The results showed that the judicial system lacks the tools to address this violence and that it affects women's economic autonomy and relationship with technology. Although this study focused on Chile, it reflects a phenomenon that has been observed in various Spanish-speaking countries.