The Orbits principles for tackling TGBV

Read our principles for intersectional, survivor-centred and trauma-informed responses to tech abuse in tech, research and policy — and review the Orbits field guide draft.

Since last year, Chayn and End Cyber Abuse have been working together on Orbits: a global field guide advancing intersectional, survivor-centred and trauma-informed interventions to tackling tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TGBV). We’ve documented our own insights and practices and spoken to practitioners, activists, researchers and survivors around the world to generate and refine ideas about how to design effective and nuanced solutions to TGBV. Last summer, we published version one of our principles for technology, research and policy, and then held a series of workshops to develop, refine and apply these principles with peer organisations and the global ecosystem working to end tech abuse.

Here is the final version of our Orbits principles. These principles form the bedrock and scaffolding for the rest of the field guide and will be referenced throughout.

Safety

We must make brave and bold choices that prioritise the physical and emotional safety of users, especially if they have been denied this safety at many points in their lives. Whether it is the interface of our platform or the service blueprint, safety by design should be the default.

Agency

Abuse, inequalities and oppression strip people of agency by removing power and control of the narrative from the survivor. By honouring the survivor’s wishes and how their story is told and used, we can create an affirming experience. This requires seeking informed consent from survivors at every step and providing information, community and material support. Users should be critical to their own path to recovery, and the design of interventions for it.

Equity

The world as it currently exists is not just. Systems are set up to work for dominant groups and do not do justice to the differing needs of people. As such, all of our interventions need to be designed with inclusion and accessibility in mind. Survivors are not a homogenous group and they will not all benefit from the same types of support. We must consider how positionality, identity, vulnerabilities, experiences, knowledge and skills shape trauma and recovery, and create solutions that leave no one behind.

Privacy

Privacy is a fundamental right. Due to the stigma, victim blaming and shame associated with GBV, the need for privacy is greater. A survivor’s personal information including their trauma story — such as data, images, videos, or statements — must be kept secure and not disclosed, unless the survivor decides to do so. At the same time, we should remove unnecessary obstacles from users getting to the information and help they require.

Accountability

We must build accountability into the systems that enable and facilitate harm, and the interventions addressing it. This includes being open and transparent about what is being done, how, and why; creating and nourishing constructive feedback loops that catalyse change. It also means openly communicating about what is working and what isn’t. To build trust, this communication should be clear and consistent. Accountability requires change to be sustainable and long-term, not one-off.

Plurality

There is no single-issue human, and to do justice to the complexity in human experiences, we need to suspend assumptions about what a user might want or need and account for selection and confirmation bias. Harms manifest in different and disproportionate ways for people living at the intersection of multiple oppressions, these lived realities must be recognised and we should never assume a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Power redistribution

Too often, the power to make decisions is concentrated in the hands of a few. Instead, power must be distributed more widely among communities and individuals who are impacted the most by tech abuse. Interventions should be co-designed and co-created with survivors.

Hope

Abuse can leave us feeling hopeless. Users do not need to be unexpectedly and constantly reminded of their own traumas or struggles. The language, images and processes we use can often be triggering of abusive experiences, prioritising sensationalism rather than healing, or are shocking for the benefit of an audience rather than the survivor themselves. Interventions should be designed to be an oasis for users, by being empathetic, warm and soothing and motivating people to both ask for and embrace the help on offer. It should validate their experience as we seek out collaborative solutions and offer hope for the future.

Using these principles, we have now produced a draft of the guide and circulated it for comment to everyone who has contributed to Orbits so far, and members of our community. The draft will be open for comment until February 25th. If you’d like to review the guide, please get in touch — we’d love your feedback! We will be incorporating the comments in January, and releasing the final version of the guide in spring. To request an invitation to our launch event, email us.