Ellen's new flat became a site of terror when her ex-husband remotely blasted threatening rap music through her smart speaker, part of a decades-long gaslighting pattern that included CCTV surveillance. She realised he still controlled their household tech from across London, using it to destabilise her sense of reality.

Such tactics are spreading. Abusers alter clock timings to make victims miss appointments, switch off appliances, blast televisions, and tamper with heating. Emma Pickering at Refuge reports referrals for tech-facilitated abuse rose 78 per cent in the year to March 2026. Smart plugs, speakers, thermostats and even hair straighteners are exploited. Sadiq Khan launched a £6mn fund to combat this "global emergency" of tech-enabled violence.

Experts warn the threat is escalating. Leonie Tanczer at UCL describes a "cat-and-mouse problem" as device capabilities grow. Generative AI helps perpetrators collate surveillance methods faster. Charlotte Woodward at the National Centre for Domestic Violence notes door cameras track visitors. Research shows victims lose trust in their own perception.

Gender disparities are stark: ONS data shows 9.1 per cent of UK women versus 6.5 per cent of men experienced domestic abuse last year; CDC finds over one in three US women and one in six men face intimate partner violence. Women often lack tech control as perpetrators purchase devices. Charlotte Beck at Slater Heelis says victims feel "trapped and overwhelmed"; Maya describes home no longer feeling safe. Sarah Davidge at Women's Aid warns tech abuse blocks escape plans.