From Phone Calls to Social Media: Mapping the Evolution of Technology-Mediated Violence Against Women

Context: Technology-mediated violence against women has evolved from harassment by telephone and mobile phone to abuse through the Internet, social media, and digital platforms. The field has grown rapidly but remains fragmented across terminology, disciplines, technologies, and geographical contexts.

Aim: This study traces the growth, intellectual structure, collaboration patterns, and thematic evolution of research on technology-mediated violence against women from 2001 to 2025.

Approach: A bibliometric and science-mapping analysis was conducted using Scopus data. After PRISMA-guided screening, 2,990 articles and reviews from 1,256 sources were retained. Descriptive indicators, Bradford’s law, author impact, country productivity and collaboration, and trend topics were analyzed using Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, and co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence networks were mapped using VOSviewer.

Key Findings: The literature grew at an annual rate of 23.24% and involved 10,397 authors and 252,612 references. The United States led corresponding-author output (749 articles; 25.1%) and occupied the most central position in the international collaboration network. Research themes shifted from early psychosocial and mobile-phone concerns toward social media, online harassment, image-based sexual abuse, misogyny, and mental health.

Interpretation: Digital technologies have increasingly reshaped how, where, and through which channels violence against women is perpetrated, researched, and discussed.

Contribution: This study maps the intellectual evolution of technology-mediated violence against women and identifies key geographical, collaborative, and emerging thematic priorities for future research.