New Teens & Tech Resources for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

In February we recognize Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM), by focusing our attention on raising awareness about the violence teens experience within intimate relationships. Studies say that 1 in 3 high school students will experience some form of dating violence or abuse. As teens are navigating the complexities of the pandemic, remote learning and adolescent development, many are also experiencing and witnessing online abuse. 

In recognition of TDVAM and the significant intersection of technology and teen dating violence, the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence is excited to release three new resources to help parents, people who work with youth, and teens understand and address technology abuse. The new handouts were created in partnership with Tonjie Reese of eleven24, a teen violence prevention program dedicated to reducing the prevalence of relationship abuse and sexual violence through media literacy and identity affirmation.  

Technology misuse is a common tactic within dating abuse. The more those working with and caring for youth are able to understand technology from their perspective, the better we’ll be to help them navigate relationships, online spaces, and their tech use. In addition to providing youth with positive examples of relationships, it’s important to model healthy technology use that encourages safety, privacy, and consent. Technology will increasingly be a part of our lives and a common concern within dating violence. Our Teens and Tech series aims to empower teens and those who are working with and caring for young adults to enhance privacy and security while using technology strategically.  

Check out our Teens & Technology Resource Series, including these three new handouts: 
·     Teens and Technology: Examples of Technology Abuse
·     Five Ways to Engage with Young People
·     Uses and Misuses of Popular Apps

While it’s important to dedicate February to focusing on teens’ experiences with intimate partner violence, listening to teens’ voices and working to empower them to build a future free of abuse is a year-round commitment. 

Later this month, Safety Net will be launching our first ever Tech Talk, a pre-recorded bite-sized conversation focused on a specific topic. This first conversation will be devoted to the issue of breaking up online. Considering the prevalence of teen dating violence and the possibilities for escalation following break-ups, this is an incredibly important moment for a teen’s safety and well-being. Please stay tuned for more information! 

To learn more about teen dating violence or to get help, please visit:  

o   eleven24 

o   Family Online Safety Institute

o   Love Is Respect – Get help by calling 1-866-331-9474 or texting LOVEIS to 22522

Safety Net's 2021 Year-in-Review

 For more than 30 years, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has worked to create a social, political, and economic environment in which domestic violence no longer exists. For all of us at NNEDV, this past year was a busy one in fulfilling our mission. This year continued to be a testament to the resilience of our staff, member coalitions, local programs, and the survivors they serve. We came together, as the pandemic continued into a second year, to support each other, to support survivors, and to center the needs of the field and our member coalitions. To read more about all of NNEDV’s accomplishments visit our website.

 In 2021 the Safety Net Project stayed busy expanding our partnerships and activities, exploring new strategies for addressing the impact of current and emerging technologies on victims’ safety, privacy, accessibility, and civil rights, and supporting service providers in the field. Our commitment to this work and each other was clearly demonstrated throughout the year as the team worked together to keep growing the project. We continued to develop materials for TechSafety.org and provide trainings to help advocates, programs, and coalitions respond to survivors’ ever-changing needs and concerns. These efforts were bolstered by a number of new and ongoing partnerships, including with the Coalition Against Stalkerware, the Confidentiality Institute, the Justice, Research and Statistical Association (JRSA), Kaspersky, NortonLifeLock, and Uber.

 In 2021, we provided 66 trainings, reaching over 7,700 advocates, legal professionals, law enforcement, technologists, educators, and others working with survivors of abuse.  Presentations focused on an array of topics related to technology safety, including tech misuse, digital services, tech evidence, elder abuse and tech, stalkerware, teens and tech, tech design, confidentiality, data retention, financial abuse and tech, confidentiality obligations, safety planning, and privacy and security during relocation. We partnered with NortonLifelock on 2 national webinars and with the University of Texas Medical Branch and Safe Alliance on another one to bring in additional expertise. 

 We also continued to work on COVID 19 response with a focus on digital services and confidentiality, helping programs to assess the benefits and risks of technology. This was especially important as we saw a significant increase in survivors using tech to communicate with service providers and their loved ones. Technology has provided us with wonderful opportunities to stay connected during this time, which is incredibly important for survivors of abuse. Each platform or technology-involved communication strategy requires thoughtful consideration, however, to ensure the highest standards for privacy and confidentiality at continually met. 

The team developed resources on vaccine registries, the importance of privacy and security, teens and technology, and released a new report on “Tech Abuse in the Pandemic and Beyond”, sharing findings from a needs assessment that included the participation of over 1,000 advocates and legal system professionals.  This assessment documented that the top reported types of technology abuse – destroying technology, harassment, and surveillance – all increased during the pandemic. 

 We also provided close to 1,100 hours of technical assistance this year. These are phone, email, and video conferences where the team helps programs and those working with survivors to think through the complexities of technology safety as it pertains to safety planning or agency use of tech. Understanding the ins and outs of technology, confidentiality, and service provision can be complex and we are always willing to help programs as they work with survivors to understand these nuances.

 In July, Safety Net’s 9th annual Tech Summit (sponsored by NortonLifeLock, Facebook (now Meta), Apple, Kaspersky, Airbnb, Malwarebytes, and Match Group) provided unique and vital content to increase the knowledge and skills of those working with survivors to respond to technology abuse, support survivors in their use of tech, and harness tech to improve services. This year, over 630 advocates, legal professionals, privacy experts, and technologists from across the country and world, including 43 states, three territories, and six countries joined us for this annual event. 

 This is a moment to step back, reflect, and take note of all that we accomplished. It’s also a moment to identify what we want to do differently in the year ahead of us to improve our work and what we bring to this space. We are proud of the work that we did and we will continue to grow this work and ourselves as we move into 2022. Thank you to everyone who has supported our team and the work of NNEDV over the last year. 

Partnering for Security

This past Fall, Safety Net partnered with NortonLifeLock to host two webinars on Privacy and Security Tools for Survivors. The first webinar looked at tools including two-factor authentication, password managers, and social media account settings. The second webinar took a deeper dive into security and privacy planning when survivor are relocating.

“We discussed strategies for common scenarios,” says NortonLifeLock’s Paige Hanson, who presented on the webinars, “like relocating with existing devices and accounts and keeping physical locations confidential, keeping the devices and accounts themselves private and inaccessible, and setting up new devices and accounts.”

It is so important for everyone to learn more about how to increase privacy and security with devices and accounts, and these webinars helped attendees with the basics. One attendee wrote, “I appreciate all the resources and tips that were provided. Cyber Security is not something I'm a subject matter expert on, so I want to know as much as I can when helping develop a safety plan with a survivor- and these things are very important!”

If you haven’t updated your account or device security in a bit, here are a few quick tips:

• Change the passwords for your apps and accounts. Use different passwords for accounts that contain sensitive or personally identifying information.

• Set up additional security such as two-factor authentication.

• Add a screen lock. This could be a passcode, pattern, or your fingerprint, for example.

• Use an anti-virus security app.

• Check your privacy & security settings. Look for privacy and security checkup tools for each platform that can guide you through the changes you can make. 

• Ask friends and family to get your permission before they share anything about you.

NNEDV is grateful for NortonLifeLock’s support and their commitment to increasing security for survivors. On Norton’s blog, they wrote, “through our partnership on the Safety Net Program, we’re addressing the intersection between technology and safety helping to create safer spaces for victims and potential victims and end technology abuse.” We look forward to continuing to build capacity around privacy and security planning for those who work to support survivors.

If you missed the webinars, you can watch the recordings:

Tools for Online Privacy and Security

• English, with captions and ASL interpretation:

• Spanish version

Device and Account Security in Safety Planning for Relocation

• English, with closed captions:

• Spanish version