How technology can help and harm domestic violence survivors

by Juo-Hsi (Sylvia) Peng

Editor’s Note: With the advent of technological advances affecting our everyday lives, so many members of the Asian American community are being left behind. As digital access moves from being a benefit to an absolute necessity for all communities, understanding the needs of our emerging and diverse population becomes even more important. This summer, we partnered with the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) to host a Community Action Project with a team of scholars and interns. The project focused on story collection about the importance of internet and technology for our communities. The blogs focus on students and digital access, businesses and social media, and domestic violence and technology and will be released over the next few weeks. While data on Asian Americans and digital engagement fail to paint a complete picture, we know that the stories collected from this project can help shape the discussion around our community and digital access.

Technology is often associated with innovation, advancement, and improvement. Despite the positive changes that technology has brought to our everyday lives, when it comes to issues of domestic violence it can be both part of the problem and part of the solution.

Rebecca* is a social worker at a New York nonprofit organization. Her nonprofit provides counseling and resources for Mandarin-speaking victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking. Having worked in her community for a decade, she has witnessed how advancements in technology have affected domestic violence.

Jia*, one of Rebecca’s clients, was left with no source of income after escaping from her abusive home. Rebecca recalls accompanying her to apply for food stamps. “When we entered, we were greeted by self-operated kiosks. The Human Resources Administration (HRA) system had been completely computerized.”

At the end of the application process, the HRA system encourages applicants to download the HRA mobile app, which displays the user’s account balance, future appointments, and instructional resources. To ensure accessibility, there are vendors outside of the HRA building that offer free smartphones for low-income households.

Most of the federal and state services are online, and web-mapping services allow clients to travel with independence. “There is [even] a system that notifies our clients through text messages when the perpetrator has been released from jail,” Rebecca says.

However, these privileges are not accessible to everyone. Rebecca continues: “Obviously, the abundance of resources the internet offers can only be accessed by clients who know how to use the devices and have the language skills to navigate the sites.”

Furthermore, many aggressors use technology to assert their control. Jane*, a client from China, had a husband who worked in IT. He created her email, social media, and mobile ID accounts, which allowed him to change all her passwords once she left to seek help. “It was frustrating that the manipulation and control lingered on even after she had escaped,” Rebecca adds.

Rebecca explained her nonprofit had to change to adapt to the new dangers that technology brings. To prevent location tracking, Rebecca and her coworkers always ask their clients to turn off their phones when entering the organization’s building or shelter. “We purposely do not provide internet connection in our shelters because any wireless connection increases risks.”

Fortunately, Rebecca’s organization has not yet experienced breaches in confidentiality, aside from a few times when the abusive spouse answered the client’s phone. However, one incident has always stood out to Rebecca:

“Julia* wanted to make sure that the first time she escaped, it would be successful.”

Her husband is extremely controlling, and her safety would be further compromised if she ever attempted to leave. “When she finally did, we helped her change her phone number. Immediately after, she got a call from her husband from her new number. It really scared her. We were extremely worried for her safety. Also, because she was living in our shelter at the time we didn’t know if our information security had been breached.”

After investigation, Rebecca found out that Julia’s husband accessed her new phone number through their mobile service provider. Because he listed himself as the owner of the phone, he had full access to the account’s customer information. He also knew the password to his wife’s email and was notified about the number change. Knowing passwords to mailboxes, voicemail, and location are all considered a violation of one’s privacy, but Rebecca’s clients, either due to language challenges or technological naivete, often rely on their partners to create these accounts for them.

“Our clients are on average 40 years old. There aren’t many resources out there, with the exception to classes for seniors, that teach how to do simple things online, such as browsing the web and setting up an email account. Even if these programs existed, not many of them are accessible to non-English speakers.”

To tackle the issue, Rebecca’s organization provides technology classes as part of their job training workshops. They provide tutorials for smartphones, tablets, and computers while touching upon programs such as Microsoft Excel, Word, and Google maps. But while many government services in the New York City district, including HRA, offer Mandarin translation for their online applications and resources, Rebecca expressed a need for more language accessible technology classes for the public.

“If we can teach them [victims of domestic violence] how to use simple technology, then they wouldn’t be so trapped when the abuse escalates.” Many immigrant victims choose to stay with the aggressors because they lack the language, financial, and residency status to independently support themselves or their children. Technological literacy could be another toolset to empower these women to leave their abusive homes.

Rebecca is currently taking virtual courses for her master’s degree in social work. The University’s online classes eliminate the long commute time, thereby allowing Rebecca to still work full time. An immigrant herself, Rebecca joked that she is not very technologically savvy either and does rely often on her loving husband. However, she soberly adds that not all immigrants have the same social and financial support. Without proper structures in place to assist, immigrant and low-income families will be left further behind as technology continues to advance.

*The names and personal details have been altered to protect the confidentiality of the clients and social workers. However, all the examples are recounts of real incidents.