Tools for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence

Written by:  Luana Yoshikawa-Scanlan, PRIME
During a pandemic, service providers can redirect social services and psychosocial support through online, phone, social distanced mechanisms. Several tools for communicating safety and reducing fear during pandemics were piloted prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Digital interventions have been confirmed to promote and enable safety behaviors (Decker, et al., 2020). Virtual interventions have been successfully tested to address gendered burdens and their impact specifically on women (Viveiros, et al., 2020). 
A few surveys indicate that victims prefer guided online support and found web-based interventions ‘supportive and a motivation for action’ (Hegarty, et al., 2019, Jewkes, et al., 2020, Koziol-McLain, et al., 2018). 

The following web-based applications can help victims establish safety:            https://www.myplanapp.org/
myPlan – the app content, interface and implementation can be adapted for use in American Samoa. A study in Kenya demonstrated its high feasibility, and the acceptability of community-partnered technology-based safety planning interventions like this (Decker, et al, 2020). MyPlan has a ‘My Safety’ risk assessment section that converts responses to validated levels of exposure to danger. The ‘My Priorities’ section is an interactive visual aid to set priorities for safety – gauging importance between priorities such as privacy, severity of violence, wellbeing of children, social support etc. and emphasizes importance of safety and inclusiveness (Glass, et al., 2015, Decker, et al., 2020). ​