Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Against Women with Disabilities: Vulnerability, Recognition, and Collective Resistance

Abstract

Women with disabilities experience heightened vulnerability to violence due to intersecting forms of discrimination, including sexism, ableism, and socio-economic marginalisation. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is an emerging dimension of gender-based violence that occurs through digital platforms, communication technologies, and online environments. While research on TFGBV has expanded significantly, the experiences of women with disabilities remain severely underexplored. This qualitative article examines the TFGBV experiences of eight women with disabilities in South Africa. Findings illustrate three themes related to their experiences: (1) Easy prey, (2) Cyber-violence is real violence, and (3) Find your tribe: Learning Strategies of Protection. The findings demonstrate how ableist misogyny positions women with disabilities as ‘violatable’, how digitally mediated harms are frequently dismissed or inadequately recognised within institutional frameworks, and how online networks and peer support offer critical forms of protection and opportunities for collective empowerment.