Safer Internet Day: Tech Safety is Survivor Safety
Technology plays a huge role in our daily lives, and for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), it can be used to cause serious harm. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence can involve using digital tools to monitor, harass, threaten, or control someone. This can involve tracking, accessing accounts without consent, impersonation, or ongoing digital harassment.
As technology changes, so do the ways in which abuse can happen. New apps, devices, and platforms can create new risks, which is why safety planning, and the tools survivors rely on, must stay up to date.
This Safer Internet Day, we are highlighting the importance of digital safety and sharing our updated Tech Safety Toolkit, an online resource designed to support survivors, service providers, and allies. Informed by trusted digital safety resources, including TechSafety.ca, the Toolkit reflects today’s technology and the real challenges survivors face, offering practical information and clear steps to improve digital safety.
The toolkit includes information on how to:
- Identify different forms of tech abuse
- Protect privacy and stay safer online
- Document and collect evidence of tech abuse
- Navigate technology-related abuse in family court
A key update to the toolkit is the addition of new family court resources, including summaries of cases involving tech abuse, sample wording for court orders, an incident-tracking template, and a tipsheet on collecting evidence. Together, these tools are designed to support safer outcomes and informed decision-making for survivors engaging with the legal system.
Technology should not be a tool for control or harm. Let’s work toward a safer digital world!
Additional Resources:
Tech Safety Toolkit: Identify, manage and document tech abuse – Luke’s Place