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Researchers develop framework for a digital toolkit that could enhance the global online safety of women and girls
Left to right: Jessica Mitchell, CU Brussels Hub; Dr Lindsay Balfour, Project Principle Investigator; Caroline Read, UK Mission to the EU; Professor Adrienne Evans, Project Co-Investigator; Gregg Jones, Director of the CU Brussels Hub
Monday 25 November 2024
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Coventry University researchers have developed a comprehensive framework for a digital toolkit that could provide essential resources for victim-survivors of gendered violence online.
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) has been recognised as endemic by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and involves the use of digital platforms – such as social media, websites or messaging apps – to perpetrate and amplify violence against women. This can include threats, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyberbullying and stalking, all of which infringe women’s rights and compromise their safety.
To address the increasing dangers experienced by women in the online world, Professor Adrienne Evans and Dr Lindsay Balfour from Coventry University’s Research Centre for Postdigital Cultures have collaborated with support services like WalkSafe, Refuge, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Women in Data and the End Violence Against Women Coalition to co-design a framework for a digital toolkit.
A report has been created outlining the design of the toolkit, which includes resources for training modules, safety app checklists and guidance for people and service providers. The prototype toolkit includes a search engine to help users access digital safety advice, self-protection tips, reporting mechanisms and legal options, as well as sector-specific recommendations to enhance responses to TFGBV in healthcare, law and education.
Funded by Coventry University’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), the co-design of this digital toolkit is part of a wider series of initiatives led by Professor Evans and Dr Balfour, including an international collaboration with Universidad Complutense de Madrid to expand the research and address TFGBV across Europe.
This project aims to address TFGBV across Spain and the UK through a collaborative approach with several Spanish not-for-profit organisations to co-develop multilingual resources.
Through this, the project aims to provide effective, flexible international solutions that reflect both the unique regional issues and the broader UK and European frameworks, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act and the EU's Digital Services Act.
This collaboration included a two-day summit at Coventry University’s Brussels Hub, where experts from the policy, government, advocacy, education and technology sectors discussed best practices for addressing TFGBV, focusing particularly on emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and immersive technologies.
There is urgent need to address emerging forms of technologically- facilitated gender-based violence, including artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. Policy and literacy must work together to ensure we are prepared to confront, and adapt to, the future risks of digital violence.
Dr Lindsay Balfour, Principal Investigator
As digital technology becomes more embedded in our lives, it enables new and more harmful forms of gender-based violence. Through these initiatives, we are working to protect women’s rights in the digital age and ensure that these resources can be adapted to meet national and international challenges and safeguard all women.
Professor Adrienne Evans, Co-Investigator
Read the report on the toolkit.
Find out more about the Research Centre for Postdigital Cultures.
