Events

Advances in technology have significantly improved human wellbeing, but they have also created new risks, including technology-facilitated violence. This umbrella term encompasses a wide range of acts, such as cyberbullying, online sexual harassment, image-based abuse, and deepfake abuse. In view of the growing prevalence of this form of violence and the relatively low level of public awareness of its nature and harm, the Gender Research Centre, in collaboration with the Gender Studies Programme at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-organised a one-day international conference on April 18, 2026.

The conference brought together leading international and local scholars, representatives from the Hong Kong Police Force, the Equal Opportunities Commission, five NGOs, legal scholars and tech experts. It attracted nearly 260 participants, including 80 students and teachers from 14 local secondary schools. After a whole day discussion, participants discussed and exchanged insights on education, prevention, and intervention strategies, and have committed to future collaboration to translate academic research into actionable impact plans.

To further enhance public understanding of technology-facilitated violence, the research team also developed a bilingual booklet, Digital Safety and Challenges – Comparative Studies of Four East Asian Cities: Cyber Dating Abuse and Online Sexual Harassment, which is available here: [click here].

Conference Program: English Version

CUHK Press Release: https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/press/cuhk-gender-research-centre-hosts-international-conference-on-technology-intimacy-and-violence-prevention-event-advances-cross-sector-collaboration-on-tech-facilitated-violence/ 

Co-organizer: Gender Studies Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Conference Sponsors: This conference is generously supported by the Faculty of Social Science, New Asia College, and United College at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

We also thank the Sociology Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for providing logistics support.