Technology: A Blessing and a Curse for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Infographic by See the Triumph Guest Blogger, Karen Bean

Blog entry by Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder

This week, we’re running a series of tips on technology safety for survivors of intimate partner violence, and all the infographics were prepared by our Guest Blogger, Karen Bean. All the various technologies available today offer some great resources to those who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced abuse. There have been a number of really innovative and creative applications of technology, including the following:

• The Verizon Wireless Hopeline program donates phones to domestic violence victims and survivors, often providing them with a critical source of communication to reach out for help.
  
  
• The One Love Foundation recently released the One Love DA mobile app to identify possible risk factors for potential abuse.
  
  
• Countless domestic violence agencies across the country have informational web-sites to educate the community about domestic violence and provide information about resources in their local communities.
  
  

Therefore, technology can support survivors by providing them with educational information and connections to valuable sources of support.

But, there is a dark side to technology related to intimate partner violence. Recently, one of my research groups conducted a study on domestic violence safety planning, and we heard many instances of technology-based safety risks from the domestic violence service providers in our studies. Examples included perpetrators stalking participants by attaching GPS devices to victims’ cars, violating victims’ privacy by logging into their private accounts, and harassing victims through various social media channels. Because these were such critical issues that threaten survivors’ safety, we included a Safety and Technology Safety Plan in our Safety Strategies booklet. What I took away from this study was how important it is for survivors to be proactive at protecting their safety with respect to the ways that they use technology.

As a social media campaign, we have been interested from the start of the See the Triumph campaign in promoting the safe use of technology among survivors. We are grateful to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, which provides excellent technology safety resources through their Safety Net Project, and those resources have been adapted for the infographics you’ll see on the See the Triumph Campaign platforms this coming week. The Safety Net Project also has a great blog with more resources for survivors and the professionals who work with them.

We hope you’ll share other technology safety ideas with us, too!