06-02-2025
Informing and Empowering Domestic Violence Survivors
January marked Stalking Awareness Month – it's meant to raise awareness and educate communities about the serious crime of stalking. One in three women and one in six men experience stalking at some point in their lifetimes, with approximately 13.5 million people experiencing stalking each year in the United States alone. The most common stalking tactics experienced by victims include technology through unwanted phone calls, texts, emails and messages.
Stalkerware, monitoring software that is used to discreetly track someone's device and activities without them knowing, is part of technology-facilitated abuse. The use of stalkerware and tech-abuse are escalating across the globe through tactics like incessant texting or calling, financial abuse, surveillance, tracking devices and spyware that harms and intimidates partners. Like any form of domestic violence, this can lead to severe and lasting physical and mental trauma.
Technology can also have a positive impact in the lives of survivors. Survivors can access help and essential tools to maintain their safety and privacy while remaining connected to family and friends. Our long-term partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is focused on this. NNEDV offers programs and initiatives that address the complex causes and far-reaching consequences of domestic violence. It also offers information and resources to victims of domestic violence — and empowers survivors as they build new lives. Most recently, we provided $100,000 grants to support NNEDV's work in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Our Efforts to Help End Tech-Abuse
Over the last two years, we've successfully developed accessible tools and resources and created opportunities for outreach and education about tech safety, to help survivors and advocates address tech-abuse. Below are a few key highlights from our efforts so far.
Expanding Our Reach
In 2025, we're working with NNEDV to make these resources even more widely accessible and digestible. This will include videos focused on financial abuse and technology and about securing devices and accounts. We are more focused than ever on making sure these important resources get into the hands of the people who need them most.
For more information and to access and share resources, visit [placeholder] Avast's Stalkerware Quick Check to make sure you're starting the year off stalkerware free, NNEDV's Safety Net Project and SPARC's National Stalking Awareness Month site.
These grants were awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
