Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SaRe-DiGT (Safety and Resilience through Digital Practices: A Participatory Study with Women at the Intersection of Gender-Based Violence and Immigration in Norway)
Période du rapport: 2022-09-01 au 2024-08-31
The project investigated the interconnectedness of digital technologies and gender-based violence (GBV) in the experiences of migrant women living in Norway. It aimed to examine the ways in which digital technologies can help migrant women mitigate the harm caused by GBV and facilitate their processes of reaching out to support and achieve safety from violence. The project also investigated how digital technologies intersect with GBV dynamics that women were already exposed to, creating more harm in their lives, and hindering their ways to safety. It particularly focused on the experiences of migrant women survivors of GBV because GBV-related resources and services were documented as less accessible for migrant women due to factors such as language barriers, lack of cultural competence of the services, or distrust of authorities. In this context, as technology-facilitated anti-violence advocacy and support practices are increasingly popularized in GBV service practices, the project aimed to explore if such digital practices can be used in transformative ways to reduce help-seeking barriers that migrant women encounter. The project also sought to understand the implications of widespread digital transformation efforts that can be witnessed in Norway and beyond. Digitalization policies in Norway focus on developing effective digital governance practices to increase the accessibility of state services for citizens. The crucial impact of these policies and digital practices in GBV service provision and in the lives of migrant GBV victim-survivors, as a previously unexplored topic, was a central focus of the project.
The project was designed as a community-based partnership project that involved various collaborations with GBV-related service organizations in Norway. These collaborations informed the project implementation strategies and ensured the project's success in identifying and representing the needs and priorities of GBV victim-survivors. The project findings are based on the qualitative data collected from primary stakeholders (practitioners in GBV services and migrant GBV victim-survivors) engaged through collaboration efforts established throughout the project period.
This project mainly addressed how women's interaction with technologies, including access and use, is shaped by the dynamics of GBV and the already existing socio-economic inequalities in their lives. It showed how women's needs, interests, and priorities concerning the use of technologies were configured within the ever-shifting contexts of their everyday lives, where they both anticipate the risk of digital harm and imagine the possibilities of using technologies to seek and achieve safety, well-being, and self-determination.
The findings showed that many migrant women encountered inequalities in their access to and use of technologies, especially those who were from socio-economically disadvantaged and marginalized settings. Many of them have not had enough opportunities to access technological devices, which has resulted in them being unable to develop their knowledge and competence in using technologies. Such inequalities become a significant barrier to their access to digital GBV-related resources. Similar to the barriers encountered in accessing in-person resources, online platforms that can be potentially useful for information-seeking and reaching out to support were mainly experienced as inaccessible. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the women's interaction with technologies was intensely monitored and controlled by the perpetrators in their lives. It was revealed to be nearly impossible for them to freely, autonomously, and privately engage with technologies due to the coercive control of dynamics in their intimate relationships. More than being experienced as resources for information, connection, support, safety, and well-being, digital technologies were often experienced as distressing and troubling. GBV, mainly digital forms of violence, intersecting with precarious circumstances reinforced by migration processes, led to further isolation and harm in migrant women's lives.
The findings also illustrated how, at times, digital technologies were experienced as more beneficial and empowering. This, however, mostly occurred once after they separated from their violent partners –since before, none could afford to interact with technologies without risking their safety further. The findings revealed that the women were able to expand their space of safety while engaging with technologies as they had more chances and opportunities for free, autonomous, and private access and use of technologies. Through these chances and opportunities, they were able to develop their confidence and skills to safely engage with technologies in ways that make them feel less isolated and independent. Their engagement with digital technologies has played a crucial role in their processes of rebuilding their well-being and belongingness in society.
Throughout the project period, the project findings were disseminated through several conference/workshop presentations and lectures in multiple academic settings. A one-day conference was organized in May 2024, including keynote presentations from renowned academics, focusing on different aspects of the GBV-technology relationship. The conference also hosted a panel where the main project findings were discussed, followed by the presentations of the community partners involved in the project, through which they shared their experiences and insights on the service, legal, and policy implications of technologies in the GBV field in Norway. This conference is considered an impactful knowledge dissemination activity as it reached out to a diverse set of audience, including academics/researchers from multiple disciplines, a high number of service providers in working GBV related fields (e.g. police, shelter workers, mental health practitioners, child protection workers), and university students.
A recent open access co-authored peer-reviewed article, titled Conceptualising TechViolence Nexus: Experiences of ambiguities at the intersection of digital coercive control and (socio)digital inequalities, is also considered as a primary written outcome of the project, published in the Journal of Social Science and Humanities Open [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101112]. Additionally, a project website has been developed to disseminate relevant project outcomes, and two podcast episodes discussing the main project results were produced and published on the website as a public dissemination strategy.
This project mainly addressed how women's interaction with technologies, including access and use, is shaped by the dynamics of GBV and the already existing socio-economic inequalities in their lives. It showed how women's needs, interests, and priorities concerning the use of technologies were configured within the ever-shifting contexts of their everyday lives, where they both anticipate the risk of digital harm and imagine the possibilities of using technologies to seek and achieve safety, well-being, and self-determination.
The findings showed that many migrant women encountered inequalities in their access to and use of technologies, especially those who were from socio-economically disadvantaged and marginalized settings. Many of them have not had enough opportunities to access technological devices, which has resulted in them being unable to develop their knowledge and competence in using technologies. Such inequalities become a significant barrier to their access to digital GBV-related resources. Similar to the barriers encountered in accessing in-person resources, online platforms that can be potentially useful for information-seeking and reaching out to support were mainly experienced as inaccessible. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the women's interaction with technologies was intensely monitored and controlled by the perpetrators in their lives. It was revealed to be nearly impossible for them to freely, autonomously, and privately engage with technologies due to the coercive control of dynamics in their intimate relationships. More than being experienced as resources for information, connection, support, safety, and well-being, digital technologies were often experienced as distressing and troubling. GBV, mainly digital forms of violence, intersecting with precarious circumstances reinforced by migration processes, led to further isolation and harm in migrant women's lives.
The findings also illustrated how, at times, digital technologies were experienced as more beneficial and empowering. This, however, mostly occurred once after they separated from their violent partners –since before, none could afford to interact with technologies without risking their safety further. The findings revealed that the women were able to expand their space of safety while engaging with technologies as they had more chances and opportunities for free, autonomous, and private access and use of technologies. Through these chances and opportunities, they were able to develop their confidence and skills to safely engage with technologies in ways that make them feel less isolated and independent. Their engagement with digital technologies has played a crucial role in their processes of rebuilding their well-being and belongingness in society.
Throughout the project period, the project findings were disseminated through several conference/workshop presentations and lectures in multiple academic settings. A one-day conference was organized in May 2024, including keynote presentations from renowned academics, focusing on different aspects of the GBV-technology relationship. The conference also hosted a panel where the main project findings were discussed, followed by the presentations of the community partners involved in the project, through which they shared their experiences and insights on the service, legal, and policy implications of technologies in the GBV field in Norway. This conference is considered an impactful knowledge dissemination activity as it reached out to a diverse set of audience, including academics/researchers from multiple disciplines, a high number of service providers in working GBV related fields (e.g. police, shelter workers, mental health practitioners, child protection workers), and university students.
A recent open access co-authored peer-reviewed article, titled Conceptualising TechViolence Nexus: Experiences of ambiguities at the intersection of digital coercive control and (socio)digital inequalities, is also considered as a primary written outcome of the project, published in the Journal of Social Science and Humanities Open [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101112]. Additionally, a project website has been developed to disseminate relevant project outcomes, and two podcast episodes discussing the main project results were produced and published on the website as a public dissemination strategy.
The insights and perspectives gained through this project are considered to be crucial to identifying migrant women's digital inclusion and participation needs and the barriers they encounter in achieving these needs. The primary societal impact of the project lies in its relevance to the rapid digital transformation occurring in Norway and worldwide where digital participation is central to integration. The project raises crucial concerns regarding over-relying on digital strategies in support of citizens due to their risks of reinforcing already existing inequalities. Therefore, through dissemination and exploitation of the findings, the project is expected to inform legal and policy frameworks addressing GBV and digital violence, countering digital inequalities, and promoting digital inclusion of vulnerable populations.