Hannah Petocz

Thesis: Abuse within Community Guidelines: The lived reality of digital dating abuse on social media platforms in an Australian context

Biography

Hannah Petocz is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Sciences and the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, supervised by Associate Professor Bridget Harris, Associate Professor Brady Robards and Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon. Prior to this, Hannah completed a Master of Arts degree at La Trobe University, in the field of social science, for which she received a H1.
Hannah’s work is highly interdisciplinary and has been presented at national and international criminology, sociology and gender studies academic conferences, as well as through news media outlets in interviews with both radio (Wire) and print media outlets (The Age; The Sydney Morning Herald). Hannah was the recipient of the Graduate Women Victoria SWAN (Southern Women’s Action Network) Bursary (2021), the second place winner of the Melbourne University International Visualise Your Thesis Competition (2021), and most recently received The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Postgraduate Research Impact and Engagement Award (2024).
In 2024, Hannah was engaged by South Australian Police to develop and deliver training material on digital dating abuse in Australia as part of their Domestic and Family Violence Training Unit, and was also invited by the Independent Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021 to speak at an expert round table discussion on current concerns around tech-facilitated gender-based violence in Australia.
Hannah is currently the Unit Coordinator for ATS2456 Cybercrime and Cybersecurity, within the Criminology Department at Monash University.

Thesis summary

Hannah’s PhD research investigates the lived reality of digital dating abuse for young women and femme presenting young people across social media platforms in an Australian context.

The project explores digital intimacy, discomfort and abuse in dating relationships across social media, with a focus on victim-survivor engagement in safety work and acts of resistance. The study found the experience of digital dating abuse extends well-beyond the relationship and shapes future use of platforms and engagement in relationships through ongoing practices of safety work. The research provides insights into ways platforms and policy around digital intimacy and digital dating abuse can better support young people in unsafe dating relationships, through access to greater agency on platforms, cultural change through platform governance and moderation, and a shifted focus from risk and safety to freedom for young women online.

Supervisors: Associate Professor Bridget Harris, Associate Professor Brady Robards and Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon