Tech Abuse in the Pandemic & Beyond: Reflections from the Field, 2021

Tech abuse is a widespread problem seen by advocates and legal systems professionals across the US. Our new report, “Tech Abuse in the Pandemic and Beyond,” shares findings from a needs assessment that included the participation of over 1,000 advocates and legal systems professionals. They told us that tech abuse increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survivors and their communities also encountered additional barriers to safety, justice, and healing. Read the Full Report or the Executive Summary.

Key Findings:

• The most common types of tech abuse - harassment, limiting access to technology, and surveillance - increased during the pandemic.

• Phones, social media, and messaging were the technologies most commonly misused as a tactic of tech abuse.

• Internet of Things (IoT) devices, next generation location trackers, and other emerging technologies are increasingly misused in tech abuse.

• Survivors’ lack of access to technology, sometimes called the “Digital Divide,” is a barrier to accessing services, legal support, courts, and other services and social supports.

Takeaways:

• We should be prepared for the likelihood that tech abuse tactics adopted during the pandemic will not be given up easily.

• We should work together to promote digital equity and tech safety.

Technology can amplify abuse but is also used strategically by survivors and those who support them.[1] Moving forward, we should bring this knowledge even more deeply into our work to respond to and prevent violence and abuse while supporting the well-being of providers.

Download the Executive Summary.

Download the Full Report.

Thank you to the dedicated advocates and legal systems professionals who took the time to complete our survey in December 2020 to January 2021. Related research on victim services throughout the pandemic highlights what we have always known: that advocates and service providers are resilient and dedicated. They shifted to new ways of using technology to communicate with survivors and each other while coping with profound personal, professional, and pre-existing societal challenges and inequities. However, there is a cost to excessive flexibility and creativity in burnout, vicarious trauma, and exhaustion.[2] We’re grateful for your responses and your work every day alongside survivors to increase safety, privacy, and healing.

This project was supported by cooperative agreement number 2019-V3-GX-K017, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

[1] Freed, et al. (2017); Matthews et al. (2017); Dragiewicz, et al. (2018); Richard & Gray (2018); Douglas, Harris, & Dragiewicz (2019); Harris & Woodlock (2019); Messing, et al. (2020); Leitão (2021)

[2] Wood, et al. (2020)

Increasing Awareness of Tech Abuse and the Importance of Privacy

Safety Net recently participated in some efforts to raise awareness about the complexities of technology abuse and the importance of privacy for survivors. In a podcast for Coda Currents, Erica Olsen shared examples of how technology is often misused as a tactic of abuse.

 Toby Shulruff also talked with Consumer Reports about devices and privacy settings. The resulting article includes some helpful pointers for survivors who are looking to minimize privacy and safety risks with their tech. It also breaks down several steps to increase privacy and minimize the possibility of abuse, including:

• email accounts

• social media accounts

• ride-hailing apps (Uber, Lyft)

• streaming media (Netflix, Uber)

• bank and credit card sites, cable, phone, and utility companies,

• and computer and mobile device passwords.

For additional information read the full article, How to Shut Stalkers Out of Your Tech, and share with anyone who may be concerned about their privacy. In addition, for a deeper dive into maintaining control over your information, check out theirSecurity Planner Tool that they revised last year with Safety Net’s input.

Can I Get a Vaccine and Keep My Information Private?

A photograph of a COVID-19 vaccine vial and syringe.

Vaccines are top of mind for so many of us these days. When will I be able to get one? When will my family and friends get theirs?

One question that many survivors are also asking is, how can I get a COVID-19 vaccine and make sure my location information stays private? While state and territory immunization registries have been around for many years, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought them to the forefront, as local governments work to coordinate vaccine distribution. Check out Safety Net’s new resource Vaccine Registries & Survivor Privacy for detailed information about how vaccine registries work and the privacy options that are available.