Dr Cynthia Brown is a researcher and consultant working at the intersection of technology‑facilitated abuse, intimate partner violence, and the measurement of complex social constructs. She completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2021, examining technology‑facilitated abuse in intimate relationships with a focus on measurement and the impacts of technology-facilitated harm.
Having worked across several leading Australian universities, Cynthia’s research encompasses both victim‑survivors and perpetrators of technology‑facilitated abuse. This dual perspective informs her nuanced understanding of how abuse is enacted, experienced, and measured — and strengthens the practical relevance of her research for policy, prevention, and intervention.
She is best known for developing the Technology‑facilitated Abuse in Relationships (TAR) Scale, recognised as one of three leading global measures of technology‑facilitated abuse. The TAR Scale has gained national visibility through its inclusion in annual Australian youth surveys, and international reach through extensive use in studies of technology-facilitated abuse across the globe and translation into eight languages across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Cynthia has authored 14 peer‑reviewed publications exploring the gendered and patterned nature of technology‑facilitated abuse, its impacts, and the development of validated measures of intimate partner sexual violence, psychological abuse, and coercive control. Her publications have attracted more than 650 citations, reflecting their influence across research, policy, and practice.
She collaborates with academic and interdisciplinary teams, and contributes to projects involving government and community-sector partners, offering conceptual clarity, methodological precision, and evidence‑based insight on sensitive and hard‑to‑measure social issues. Her expertise supports projects that require thoughtful design, robust measurement, and a nuanced understanding of complex social constructs.
Beyond her academic work, Cynthia is the Chair of the Kyamba Foundation, a philanthropic organisation fostering leadership, wellbeing, creativity, and environmental stewardship across North‑Eastern Victoria.
