ONLINE TOOLS FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Reported by Luana Scanlan 
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). 
iCan Plan 4 Safety – is an online safety and health intervention proven effective in a Canadian study (Ford-Gilboe, et al., 2020). This is an example of a web-based tool that can be created for American Samoa.
https://icanplan4safety.ca/
 
Safer & Stronger Program – is a set of two web-based tools (male and female) for abuse awareness, support and safety planning using videos featuring survivors sharing their experiences. https://saferstronger.research.pdx.edu/solution/safer-stronger/
Where resources are limited, such as in American Samoa where many do not have safe, consistent access to internet, a safe system of alert using low/no tech is a critical need to provide victims with little/no resources entry points to alert advocates of their needs. 
Solutions include adapting existing safe spaces for women into ‘phone booth stations’ accommodating limited seating/gathering guidelines for COVID, ‘no-dial or offline chat’ phone options, service integration in high traffic areas frequented by women like grocery stores, pharmacies, markets; alert chains using objects or code words to signal for help.  To be effective the alert systems should not be widely known beyond survivors at risk and victims. Under the guise of Pandemic messaging, the information can be disseminated to the target audience however there must be always a clear referral pathway to safety.