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. 

Image showing Needs Assessment finding. Text says "The most common types of tech abuse (harassment, limiting access to tech, and surveillance) have increased during the pandemic.

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.

Quote from Summit: "It can be tempting to tell survivors of tech abuse to get rid of a device or get off social media. But we need to move away from victim-blaming and toward strategic, empowered use of tech." Said by Toby Shulfuff.

 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.