CAMERAS, surveillance apps on phones, GPS trackers and abusive social media messages are all forms of a troubling trend of domestic violence offenders abusing technology.
"This constant attack on you, it just absolutely wears down your mental health and your psychological wellbeing," Hunter Domestic and Family Violence Consortium (HDFVC) regional collaborations coordinator Lisa Ronneberg said.
"It's very uncomfortable, obviously, to know that you're being tracked and monitored."
Technology-facilitated abuse and cyber surveillance is "insidious" and a common feature of domestic and family violence cases, Ms Ronneberg said.
"All of us have access to technology," she said.
"It's really available to people as a way to continue that abuse and control."
The Hunter's domestic and family violence statistics released each quarter - at least those cases reported to police - have consistently either increased or remained the same, Ms Ronneberg said.
"In the Hunter, we have seen pretty consistent high rates of domestic and family violence," she said.
"It's kind of terrifying. But also behind those numbers are actual people and overwhelmingly, they are women and children who are the survivors of domestic violence."
Workers in that space will soon be able to access a specially-designed resource, face-to-face workshops and online support from technology experts to support victim-survivors of tech abuse.
A Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grant of $61,000 has today been announced for HDFVC, aimed at upskilling more than 300 of the Hunter's frontline domestic and family violence workers.
The organisation has partnered with IT company WorkVentures to bring the targeted and comprehensive education initiative to life.
"To have a bit more understanding, to know what questions to ask, and know also where to refer to, and be supported by an organisation that are the experts," Ms Ronneberg said.
"I think anything and everything we can do to keep people safer is what we need to be doing."
Ms Ronneberg said it was concerning that some people may not know they were falling victim to cyber surveillance or technology-facilitated domestic and family violence.
For others, it may be a barrier to seeking help.
"A lot of us don't have the knowledge of what to look for ... technology also changes so quickly and it's hard to keep up," she said.
"If we have workers who have a better understanding, who know how to respond and what questions to ask, then we can start identifying it and working with the clients.
"That's a really positive outcome."
She urged members of the community to be aware of what tech-facilitated abuse and cyber control looked like, and to call it out if they could.
"Technology is evolving so fast and gives perpetrators of domestic and family violence even more ways to intimidate, harass, and control victim-survivors even after they have fled their abuse," she said.
Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grants will be awarded to six projects in the Hunter today, totalling more than $336,000.
The other five are the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, the Warrior Woman Foundation, CareFlight, KIDS Foundation and Warm Blankets for Everyone.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732. Phone triple zero 000 in an emergency.
