A guide for Canadian women experiencing technology-facilitated violence: Strategies for Enhancing Safety ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guide is adapted for women and anti-violence support workers in British Columbia (BC), Canada, by the BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH), with the generous permission of The Women’s Services Network (WESNET)’s Safety Net Australia Project. Both the BC and Australian editions include materials developed in cooperation with the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s (NNEDV) Safety Net Project, United States. We recommend women and anti-violence workers living in Australia and the United States contact WESNET’s Safety Net Australia and NNEDV’s Safety Net Project for relevant resources and guides. BCSTH gratefully acknowledges the funding of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Civil Forfeiture Office which has made the development of this guide possible. Written by: Rhiannon Wong Contributing Editors: Amy S. FitzGerald and Tanyss Knowles Design: Hannah Lee ©2019 BC Society of Transition Houses, Technology Safety Project. This report, or any portion thereof, may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever as long as acknowledgment to the BC Society of Transition Houses is included in the product. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 What is Technology-Facilitated Violence against Women? .......................................................................... 5 What Should You Do If You Are Experiencing Technology-Facilitated Violence? ........................................ 8 General Technology Safety Planning Tips ..................................................................................................... 9 Safer Strategies for Technology Use ........................................................................................................... 11 Technology-Facilitated Violence Log .......................................................................................................... 21 Technology-Facilitated Violence and the Law ............................................................................................ 23 You’re Not Alone, There is Help Available .................................................................................................. 24 2 INTRODUCTION Canadian women experiencing violence and British Columbia’s anti-violence workers are increasingly identifying perpetrators misuse of technology as a means to carry out violence against women. Technologies such as mobile devices, apps, computers, the internet, social media, location tracking tools, stalkerware and forms of audio and video surveillance can be used to stalk, impersonate, threaten and harass women and girls. In 2012, with funding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH) surveyed anti-violence workers across Canada about the prevalence of technology misuse and violence against women.1 98% supported women and girls who have been threatened and/intimated via technology. 69% supported women and girls who have been impersonated through emailing, online profiles, or other technologies. 72% supported women and girls whose accounts have been hacked. In October 2016, BCSTH distributed the same technology misuse survey to BC’s transition housing anti- violence workers and PEACE counsellors. 109 of BC’s anti-violence workers reported that: 94% supported women and girls who have been threatened and/intimated via technology. 66% supported women and girls who have been impersonated through emailing, online profiles, or other technologies. 64% supported women and girls whose accounts have been hacked. From the statistics above, we know that women and anti-violence workers require guidance and resources on how to handle this new form of violence. Like our sisters at NNEDV and WESNET’s Safety Net Projects, BCSTH acknowledges that women cannot control, predict nor are they responsible for the actions and behaviour of their perpetrator. However, knowing this, our unique collective technology safety projects can provide women and girls experiencing technology-facilitated violence with enough information to strategically use technology in ways that can enhance their safety and take back some control if they believe they are being stalked, monitored, or abused through a perpetrator’s misuse of technology. 1 https://bcsth.ca/publications/technology-misuse-survey-infographic/ 3 The information provided here will help women: To recognize common forms of technology-facilitated violence against women. Understand practical steps to increase privacy and safety. Learn tips on preserving evidence so perpetrators are held accountable. Look at an example of a technology stalking log to help track what is happening. Know where they can go for more help. In addition to this guide, BCSTH has developed an online “Technology Safety and Privacy Toolkit for Women Experiencing Technology Facilitated Violence” which provides women with specific in-depth information for a variety of technologies. If you find that you need more information about a specific technology listed here or the technology being misused is not listed here, please refer to our online toolkit at www.bcsth.ca/techsafetytoolkit. Nevertheless, this safety planning guide is not an exhaustive safety planning checklist that will guarantee women’s safety because the misuse of technology as a means to perpetrate violence against women is constantly changing and sometimes hard to detect and predict. As well, BCSTH recognizes that technology-facilitated violence happens to women and girls of all ages, but this guide is focused on adult women experiencing technology facilitated violence thus we use the language violence against women throughout this document. For BC resources related to young people and technology facilitated violence see: http://www.westcoastleaf.org/our-publications/is-that-legal/ 4 What is Technology-Facilitated Violence against Women? Perpetrators are increasingly misusing a variety of telephone, surveillance, computer technologies, apps and social media platforms to harass, terrify, intimidate, coerce, and monitor women and girls. Perpetrators are also misusing technology to stalk women and girls before, during, and after perpetrating sexual violence. It is common for a perpetrator to misuse multiple technologies at once while also using more traditional power and control tactics such as withholding access to the couple’s children and/or finances. COMMON FORMS OF TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED VIOLENCE Harassment: the misuse of technology by someone to repeatedly contact, threaten or intimidate you when you do not want them to and it makes you feel afraid. This may be happening to you if you’re: Being sent abusive, threatening or insistent text messages and/or emails. Receiving persistent Facebook, What’s App, SnapChats or other online platform messages. Continually being tagged on social media such as on Instagram or Facebook. Receiving posts of abusive and/or continuous comments and replies to social media posts. Stalking/Criminal Harassment: misusing technology to knowingly and/or recklessly harass someone that causes that person to reasonably fear for their safety or the safety of someone they know. In Canada, this includes: repeatedly following a person from place to place or anyone known to them; repeatedly communicating with, either directly or indirectly, with another person or anyone known to them; besetting or watching the dwelling-house, or place where the other person, or anyone known to them, resides, works, carries on business or happens to be; or 5 engaging in threatening conduct directed at the other person or any member of their family.2 This may be happening to you if the perpetrator is: Using apps, location trackers, stalkerware to learn your whereabouts and follows you from place to place. Using technology (apps, social media, texts, instant messaging) to repeatedly communicate with you directly or indirectly. Using web cams, hidden cameras, apps to watch you at their home, work, or as you carry on your daily business. Impersonation: the hiding behind technology to pretend to be someone else as a tactic of further violence and control, for example to damage a woman’s reputation or relationships. This may be happening to you if you’re: Receiving replies from strangers regarding an unknown advertisement that links them to you as the person who posted the ad. Receiving angry responses from friends and family in response to messages/emails/communications that you did not write. Your employer receives an unauthorized resignation email seemingly from you. Receiving communication from a perpetrator impersonating a new partner or friend to “catfish”/ get close to you and connect with you. Receiving notifications that your accounts are closed or you’ve changed passwords or cancelled your utility accounts. Monitoring/Surveillance: the misuse of technology (by either having physical access to the device or remotely) to learn, know about or follow another person’s communications or activities. This may be happening to you if the perpetrator is: Logging onto your smartphone, email or social media accounts to monitor your activities. Using apps, spyware or key-stroke loggers to learn your location. Inserting a GPS tracker into your car or purchased GPS enabled watches and other accessories.