Understanding where and how people learn abusive techniques helps us prevent harm before it starts. These patterns show how surveillance tools are normalised, how controlling behaviours are taught, and where intervention is most effective.
Important: This resource provides general information, not personal advice. Every situation is different. The actions suggested here may not be safe in your specific circumstances — particularly if the person causing harm could notice changes to your devices or accounts. Always consider your physical safety first.
If you need personalised support, contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or your local specialist domestic violence service. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
This framework is under active development. View full limitations & methodology.
| ID | Name | Description | |
| SAFE-T-0159 | AI-Assisted Targeting Discovery | Using AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, search engines, coding assistants) to research surveillance methods, learn how to track someone, or develop manipulation strategies. AI lowers the skill barrier — someone who couldn't write code can now generate a keylogger. AI platforms actively try to prevent this but it remains a cat-and-mouse game. | |
| SAFE-T-0157 | Forum & Community Technique Sharing | Learning specific abuse techniques from online forums, Reddit communities, Facebook groups, or messaging channels where perpetrators share methods. Includes 'how to catch a cheating partner' communities that teach surveillance, tracking forums, and groups sharing stalkerware recommendations. | |
| SAFE-T-0156 | Manosphere & Misogynist Content Exposure | Exposure to online content promoting control, surveillance, and abuse of partners as normal or desirable. Includes 'red pill' communities, incel forums, Andrew Tate ecosystem, pickup artist material, and 'alpha male' content. These communities normalise coercive control, frame surveillance as rational, and teach manipulation techniques as 'relation... | |
| SAFE-T-0158 | Peer-to-Peer Technique Transfer | Learning surveillance or control techniques from friends, family members, colleagues, or social contacts who share what 'worked' for them. Informal knowledge transfer in social settings. 'My mate told me about this app that tracks your partner's location.' The technique is normalised because it comes from a trusted source. | |
| SAFE-T-0160 | Scam Compound Recruitment & Training | Being recruited into organised fraud/scam operations (often through false job advertisements) and trained in romance fraud, sextortion, and social engineering techniques at scale. Recruited individuals are often themselves trafficked and exploited. The 'Nigerian Prince' industrial pipeline — from recruitment to training to operation. Some operators... | |
| SAFE-T-0155 | Stalkerware Marketing Discovery | Encountering commercial stalkerware products through advertising, search results, or app store listings. Products marketed as 'parental monitoring' or 'employee tracking' normalise surveillance and provide accessible tools for intimate partner abuse. The marketing language ('keep your family safe,' 'know where your kids are') frames surveillance as... | |