8 tips for tech abuse evidence for family court

  1. Keep a log about your ex-partner's abusive use of technology
  2. Get another person to corroborate your evidence
  3. Collect tech records or documents as evidence
  4. Store your evidence safely
  5. Follow the rules for family court evidence
  6. Explain tech abuse exhibits in your court documents
  7. Connect the tech abuse to your ex-partner’s other abusive behaviour
  8. Get support

 

1.   Keep a log about your ex-partner’s abusive use of technology

For evidence

You will need to explain to a family court judge exactly what happened to you and when. Your evidence of tech abuse will be more credible (believable) if it is specific and detailed.

Keeping a log really helps.

Log events as quickly as possible so you don’t forget anything. Include:

  • The date the tech abuse occurred
  • What happened
  • Who did it
  • The impact it had on you
  • If anyone else was exposed to the abuse

Refer to the log during your family court case. It will be part of your evidence.

For safety

A log also helps you see:

  • If your ex-partner’s abusive behaviour is escalating
  • Other changes and patterns in his behaviour

This is really important for your ongoing safety. Refer to your log when you safety plan.

Log templates

For an easy guide to what to log, use a log template. Here are templates you can download:

Keep your log where your ex-partner and children cannot find it.

 

2.   Get another person to corroborate your evidence

A judge will be more convinced by your evidence if another person supports your claim. This will help the judge understand that your version of the events is true, and not your ex-partner's version. It’s most helpful if this person is a neutral third party, that is, someone who is not close to you.

Who might corroborate your evidence

Third parties who may provide helpful information on tech abuse might be:

  • A computer technician who can tell the court about the spyware that they found on your home computer
  • A mechanic who can describe a tracking device they found on your car
  • A neighbour who saw a negative post made by your ex-partner about you online.

How they can corroborate your evidence

The third party should provide their evidence directly to the court through a sworn affidavit whenever possible. If you cannot get an affidavit, a formal letter can be attached to your own affidavit, but it may not be as persuasive as a sworn statement coming directly from the other person.

They should include as much detail as possible, such as:

  • Who they are
  • Their connection to you and/or someone else involved in the case, and why they are providing information to the court
  • What they know, heard or saw
  • How they know, heard or saw it
  • When they knew, heard or saw it

For instance, if a computer technician provides evidence about spyware they found on your computer while completing a computer repair, their evidence should include:

  • Their name, their training and work experience, and their current job
  • Their connection to you and why they were looking at your laptop
  • How the spyware was found
  • Type of spyware
  • Estimated date of spyware installation
  • Method of installation if it can be determined – for instance, was it installed remotely? In person? How do they know?
  • Possibility that spyware could have been installed inadvertently

Rules for corroborating evidence

Hearsay

If you tell the court what the third party said, it will likely not be admissible (allowed) and may be considered hearsay evidence. The judge will treat it as second-hand information because it will be hard for them to decide if the information is reliable and credible.

Opinion/expert evidence

There are rules for what is called opinion evidence. This is evidence presented by someone you want the court to view as an expert. There are also rules depending on the kind of expert. Connect with a lawyer if you want to call an expert for your case so that you follow the proper rules.

 

3.   Collect tech records or documents as evidence

Most things done online leave a record, so there is likely a record of your ex-partner’s abuse. This can be used as evidence in your family court case.

Different kinds of tech abuse create different kinds of records. For example:

  • Emails, texts and other messages from your ex-partner that are threatening, cruel, or suggest he has access to your accounts
  • Call logs or phone bills showing the number of incoming calls or texts from your ex-partner
  • The log for your home security system showing when and how often someone else logged in (or attempted to login)
  • Logs of activity on your email account showing that another IP address accessed the account

You can also take pictures of tech abuse:

  • Screenshots or photos of threatening or harassing social media posts
  • Screenshots or photos of alerts about password changes to online accounts
  • Photos of abusive Snapchat messages or images

When you take a photo or screenshot, you must:

  • Include the timestamp (the date and time the message was sent, or the date and time on the website or your computer)
  • Include the website address, the website logo, and anything else that will show the online location

When collecting evidence…

  • Collect records quickly before your ex-partner deletes anything or makes other changes. (However, sometimes the timestamp won’t show until the next day.)
  • When you present the evidence in family court, the judge will want to see abusive messages in context. This means you should collect the entire conversation or email thread, if you can. (There are apps that allow you to download all of your messages.)
  • Take screenshots of your ex-partner’s account pages, or any other identifying information to help show the link between him and the abuse. He may change his accounts frequently, so watch for this.

For detailed information about how to find and collect evidence of tech abuse, see Preserving and storing evidence of TFGBV: Best practices in TechSafety.ca’s Preserving Digital Evidence Toolkit. For how to take a screenshot, see the Luke’s Place Tech Safety Toolkit How-to.

 

4.   Store your evidence safely

For your safety, store the evidence in a place that your ex-partner can’t access. If he discovers you are gathering information about his abusive behaviour, he may become more violent. You also don’t want him tampering with the evidence or deleting it.

You don’t want your children finding this information either.

For detailed information about how to store evidence, see Safety considerations for preserving digital evidence in TechSafety.ca’s Preserving Digital Evidence Toolkit.

 

5.   Follow the rules for family court evidence

You must present evidence properly in family court. If you don’t, your evidence may not be accepted by the court, which means the judge will not see it.

This can be complicated. In particular, there are rules for what kind of evidence you can provide and how much evidence you give the court. A lawyer or a Family Court Support Worker can help.

There are three different legal areas that say how to provide evidence:

Family Law Rules

These are rules for all family law cases in Ontario. There are rules about evidence. For example, Rule 23 covers evidence presented at trial, while Rule 14 is for evidence used in motions. See the Family Law Rules to learn more. 

Practice Directions

Every court jurisdiction in Ontario has specific rules for that Region or individual courthouse, called “Practice Directions.” These can be found online by going to the Ontario Court of Justice or Superior Court of Justice websites, depending on which courthouse your case is heard in. Read the Practice Directions for your local courthouse or work with someone who can help you understand them.

Some courthouses limit the number of affidavits you can file with a motion, the length of the affidavits, and the number of exhibits you can attach to them. (Exhibit is the word used for the supporting documents you attach to your affidavit.) You must be certain your exhibits keep within the page length limit. This can be challenging if you have a lot of tech abuse evidence, such as a long email exchange with your ex-partner.

Evidence Act

This law applies to all civil cases in Ontario, including family law cases.

Most documents that support evidence of tech abuse are what this law calls "electronic records". The Evidence Act has rules for electronic records that people give to the court. You must explain why the document shows what you are saying it shows. You also explain that you are providing the document in a way that preserves its integrity. For more information, see s. 34.1 of the Evidence Act for the specific rules.

 

6.   Explain any tech abuse documents you give the court

You must explain tech records or documents so that the judge understands why they are important.

If you are giving the evidence in writing, attach the record or document to your affidavit as an exhibit. Then, in the affidavit:

  • Explain why you have attached the record or document and what it shows.
  • Include information about when the tech abuse incident happened and where it took place (e.g. TikTok, X, etc.). This is where your log can be very helpful.
  • Provide information that connects the tech abuse to your ex-partner. Show the court that it was…
    • His cellphone number that sent the hundreds of texts in one week
    • His social media account that posted the abusive online message
    • His IP address that accessed your email account
  • If you have used a program or app to download messages, explain what program you used, how it works, why it is reliable and that you’ve gone through the downloaded messages to compare their accuracy to the text messages on your phone. Also include the date when the messages were downloaded.

You must take these steps because of the requirements in the Evidence Act.

 

7.   Connect the tech abuse to your ex-partner’s other abusive behaviour

Abusive people use different tactics. Tech abuse is often just one way they treat their ex-partner badly.

Make sure you show the court evidence of the other ways your ex-partner abuses you. Provide specific examples. Connect these examples to tech abuse incidents. You want to paint a clear picture for the court about the different ways your ex-partner is abusive to you.

For example, your ex-partner may be spying on you using spyware. You have a screenshot of the spyware app on your phone. You have a log of the text messages that he has sent you telling he knows where you are. You can also show photographs of your ex-partner in his car outside your home, your workplace and other locations. Your employer may corroborate by describing how your ex-partner calls your workplace many times a day.

Information about how to gather evidence of other forms of abuse, as well as how to present it in court, can be found at FamilyCourtAndBeyond.ca.

 

8.   Get support

Tech abuse can be frightening. It can make you feel like you have no control in your life. It’s also complicated to collect evidence and keep yourself safe online. Fortunately, there are people and places to go to for support and information.

Lawyers

A family law lawyer will give you legal advice that is specific to your situation, including the kind of tech abuse your ex-partner has subjected you to.

A lawyer can:

  • Explain what sort of evidence you need to look for
  • Explain the rules for third-party evidence and help you gather this evidence
  • Explain the rules for exhibits
  • Support you to present the evidence in family court

Contact the Luke’s Place Legal Clinic for free legal advice, or call Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258.

Family Court Support Workers

Family Court Support Workers (FCSWs) are available at all court houses in Ontario. They usually work with gender-based violence organizations, so they understand intimate partner violence.

While an FCSW can’t provide legal advice, they can:

  • Help you find a lawyer
  • Support you to gather evidence
  • Work with you to make a safety plan, including safe tech use
  • Give you legal information about the court process
  • Go with you to court

Find a Family Court Support Worker in your community. Staff at many women’s shelters may also be able to provide this support.

Online resources

Tech abuse and family law