HomeCTRL
How are relationships between family members affected by the influx of digital technologies in our homes? How do these technologies enable us to surveil, monitor, and track one another, altering our ways of relating to the people closest to us?
The increase in the presence of technologies with surveillance capabilities in the home raises fundamental questions about how the affordances of smart technologies configure the relationship between care and control in new ways. Moreover, this calls for scrutiny of the emerging notions of 'the home' as a space saturated by technologies. HomeCTRL involves the analysis of cultural imaginaries, ethnographic data collection through surveys and interviews, as well as the production of documentary films and interactive art installations.
The project is a collaboration between researchers at Lund University and University of Copenhagen and collaborates with Landsorganisation af Kvindekrisecentre (LOKK).
The project examines how smart technologies in the home shared by multiple users (e.g. speakers, cameras, geolocation features) contributes to new forms of control, surveillance and psychological violence. The aim is to strengthen support for survivors through new knowledge, increased understanding and the development of professional tools for crisis centres and the police. The project combines quantitative and qualitative methods as well as cultural analysis and is based on close collaboration with practitioners in the field.
The project addresses a significant knowledge gap in Denmark and builds on international studies that show how digital devices can transform the home from a safe place into an arena for surveillance and control. The project aims not only to generate new knowledge, but also to strengthen the authorities' capacity to identify and deal with patterns of digital violence. In the longer term, the effort hope to contribute to legislation, policy recommendations and increased public awareness of the role of technology in domestic violence cases.
Three sub-projects – one joint effort
The project is supported by Offerfonden and led by Kristin Veel (IKK). It brings together researchers with expertise in violence research, digital culture and co-creation. Partners include LOKK, the Danish Stalking Centre, Danner and four police districts.
Subproject 1: Technology-facilitated violence in close relationships, led by Sofie Henze-Pedersen (VIVE)
- Maps the extent and nature of technology-facilitated violence in Denmark.
- Methods: questionnaire survey (LOKK), interviews with victims and crisis centre staff, focus groups with the police.
Subproject 2: Smart technologies in everyday use and contemporary culture, led by Kassandra Wellendorf (IKK)
- Investigates how smart technologies are incorporated into everyday life and normalise controlling behaviour.
- Methods: ethnographic fieldwork, interviews with users, analysis of cultural representations (e.g. advertising, media).
Subproject 3: Co-creation of professional tools between the police, crisis centres and researchers, led by Brigitte Dragsted and Maya Dyval Bayraktar (Queen Mary's Centre)
- Translates research results into concrete tools (guidelines, templates, points of attention).
- Methods: knowledge-sharing workshops with police and crisis centres, co-creation process based on action research.
”Hjem, teknologi og relationer - en formidlingsfilm om forskning i smarte teknologier i hjemmet i krydsfeltet mellem omsorg, overvågning og kontrol” funded by Carlsberg Mindelegat
“Digital vold i hjemmet” - educational film for crisis units – produced by Northern Souls with support from Offerfonden.
"Digital vold på krisecentrene i Danmark" i samarbejde med Landsorganisation af Kvindekrisecentre (LOKK) finansieret af startmidler fra Crown Princess Mary Center
”Digital vold i hjemmet – en undersøgelse af udbredelsen af brugen af delte digitale enheder til psykisk vold og chikane” i samarbejde med Landsorganisation af Kvindekrisecentre (LOKK) finansieret af startmidler fra Crown Princess Mary Center
“Remote Control” development of documentary film in cooperation with the film production company Northern Souls, development funded by Danish Film Institute.
Interactive art installation funded by Statens Kunstfond, Danske Filminstruktører, Dramatikerforbundet, Independent Research Fund Denmark – the research project Drone Imaginaries and Communities, Carlsberg Foundation – the research project Uncertain Archives
Researchers
Internal
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veel, Kristin | Professor | ||
| Wellendorf, Kassandra Charlotte | Teaching Associate Professor |
External
| Name | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Søilen, Karen Louise Grova | Associate senior lecturer |
Funding
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PI: Associate Professor Kristin Veel, Teaching Associate Professor Kassandra Charlotte Wellendorf and Associate senior lecturer and PhD Karen Louise Grova Søilen.