Verizon Foundation

The Safety Net Project

"It has been my 4th time attending Safety Net's training of trainers and once again, I am amazed by the workshops you have put together. This conference not only gives me the knowledge I need to work safely with victims and survivors but also gives me the practical tools to train the domestic violence and sexual assault programs on the statewide level. Thank you so much for recognizing the important role technology plays in the victim services field and thank you so much for your leadership in this movement. I can't show you enough gratitude for being one of the scholarship recipients to be able to attend this valuable training." Yahui, Washington State

As lead sponsor of the national Technology Safety Training of Trainers, Verizon is helping put technology resources in the hands of victims of domestic violence.

Survivors of domestic violence are using technology to search for help and rebuild their lives. Their advocates at local domestic violence shelter and hotline programs are harnessing the benefits of technology to broaden their reach and enhance their delivery of services. Unfortunately abusers and stalkers are misusing technology to stalk, monitor, and harm their victims.

The Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence Fund (NNEDV), based in Washington, DC, is teaching the field how to encourage positive and safe technology use, while identifying and holding offenders accountable when they use technology as another tool of power, control, and terror.

Each year, the Safety Net Project at NNEDV brings together state-level domestic violence advocates and allies for a national Technology Safety Training of Trainers to learn more about how technology can enhance victim safety and how to better hold offenders accountable. This year marks Safety Net's 6th annual National Training of Trainers (ToTv6), and in August 2008 participants from across the United States (and two from Canada and Austria) met in Pittsburgh for four intense days of workshops, hands-on demonstrations, and creative curriculum classes.

State-level advocates are heading home filled with cutting-edge technology curriculum and specific plans on how to share this critical information with victims of domestic violence, their advocates, and law enforcement in their communities. As one participant stated, "I plan to share this content statewide through the New Jersey Coalition and to our response teams. I also plan to include this material in our two annual trainings for frontline advocates."

As the technology experts for the field working to end abuse, the Safety Net Project also helps domestic violence programs ensure that technology is used to provide services to all survivors of violence, including those who are Deaf or have vision loss. The Training of Trainers again hosted multiple sessions on assistive technologies, testing website accessibility, and implementing video relay services. Many participants were pleased to learn about online website accessibility testing services - one participant stated: "The website accessibility workshop was so helpful - our organization's website will definitely have a facelift because of what I learned today."

The Training of Trainers ended with visioning workshops intended to ensure that technology benefits are reaching all survivors of domestic violence and sessions were held on harnessing technology for rural communities, African American survivors, and Older/Aging survivors. Participants in these well received sessions were excited to be visioning how the network of technology-savvy advocates could be doing more to reach more survivors. One remarked: "I like the way that we look at both the positive ways that we can use technology as well as how to help victims navigate the risks posed by stalkers and abusers."

NNEDV's Technology Safety Training of Trainers has a proven history of success: after last year's 5th annual training, ToT participants reported a 39% overall increase in knowledge and provided 127 technology and victim safety trainings in the 6 months following the training. In addition:

• 66% included information about using technology to increase survivor safety on their organizations' website,
• 70% provided training about using technology to increase survivor safety to staff within their own organizations,
• 71% increased technology security practices within their organizations,
• 83% provided technical assistance related to using technology to increase survivor safety to advocates, allies and survivors, and
• 89% shared information about using technology to increase survivor safety, articles and/or materials through a listserv with constituents.

To learn more about how technology can be a tool for victims of abuse and how victims can safely navigate stalkers misuse of technology resources, go to: http://www.nnedv.org/safetynet

Links to Internet Safety Tips: http://nnedv.org/internetsafety.html
Links to Safety Net Publications: http://nnedv.org/resources/safetynetdocs.html
 (or http://www.nnedv.org/safetynetdocs)