In today’s data-driven world, even essential services are moving to the cloud at an exponential rate. Online services are increasingly offered as the default, or sometimes the only, option. While often welcomed as a positive, inclusive development, a dependence on online services and technology comes with many questions. In this article, I will discuss information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their role in reducing gender-based violence (GBV) among migrants, and introduce an online platform, Signpost, that works to deliver accurate, two-way information to refugees.
Though leaving one’s home in the hopes of a better life in a new, foreign environment is undoubtedly a hard and possibly dangerous journey no matter the age or gender, forced migration has been reported to be particularly grueling on women and adolescents who are the main prey of human traffickers and sexual predators (SFRC 2020). GBV is alarmingly common in certain refugee camps and among displaced migrants, but is not merely the side effect of being on the move; The New Humanitarian reports a surge of migrants fleeing abusive conditions in Central America and Mexico where femicides and domestic violence are of particular concern.
Once they arrive at their destination, migrants often struggle to access information about how to cope in the new country. Acquiring information about legal procedures, where to access education or employment often requires some level of comprehension of the local language as well as access to ICTs. While access to information for those experiencing GBV can be life changing, migrant women are significantly disadvantaged when it comes to obtaining information resources (O’Donnell & Sweetman 2018). Simultaneously, the possession of material resources alone, such as mobile phones, can hardly solve issues that are at times embedded in cultural values and traditions, or that require close monitoring –something numerous scholars have previously recognised. I will, therefore, use Dorothea Kleine’s theory of a ‘resource portfolio’ to discuss Signpost’s effectiveness later on.
About violence amongst migrant women and ICTs
As a means of addressing GBV, the use of ICTs represents a double-edged sword. On the one hand, women experiencing abuse may find a safe haven in the various help channels provided by NGO apps, help lines, and online communities. Through social media for instance, women can gain the emotional support that eventually enables and encourages them to seek help. In some instances, ICTs can even assist migrant women find shelters such as Casa Rut in Italy (Olaniran 2017).
On the other hand, those very ICTs also facilitate channels for the perpetrators of GBV to act. As these platforms mediate and perhaps even expedite harassment and sexual abuse, social media has shown to be increasingly hazardous for women and especially young women. According to a study conducted in Jamaica, women in the age bracket 18-23 were reported to be most likely to experience harassment online (Thakur 2018).
Even when women are aware of platforms such as Signpost, there may be many obstacles standing between them and help. To break it down, access can be divided into three a’s: access, affordability and ability. Statistically, women represent the minority of those with access to ICT and are reported to be 23% less likely to use mobile Internet (GSMA 2020). But these figures are even more drastic among refugees; At Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda, women are 47% less likely to even own a mobile phone (GSMA 2019).
When women do own a mobile phone, its use can be heavily restricted by a male family member (O’Donnelly & Sweetman 2018). In some cases, men wield this power to determine when and how women may access community and ICT services (Olaniran 2017). In some communities, women’s use of social media is even frowned upon at a national level due to suspicions that women’s activity on these platforms might encourage unfaithfulness and result in women running away with their online lovers (Miller et al 2016).
Moreover, women report being less able and confident using technology (GSMA 2019). As women are more likely to have inadequate literacy skills and lower income, they are equally excluded from ICTs in terms of ability and affordability.
Introducing Signpost
To address some of the obstacles to information among migrants and refugees, the Signpost project was launched in 2015. Signpost is a collaboration between the International Rescue Committee (ICR) and Mercy Corps and was developed with the support of tech companies including Facebook, Cisco, Google and TripAdvisor (Signpost white paper). The project aims to provide accurate, easy-to-access information for refugees in their own language and uses platforms that refugees already use such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Earlier this year, ICR reported that over 1.5 million people had been reached through Signpost’s interactive services. It is now supporting projects such as Refugee.Info (mostly targeting refugees arriving in Europe), CuéntaNos (in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras), and InfoPa’lante (for Venezuelan refugees in Colombia).
We do not assume that we know what people need – instead, we meet them where they are, on the digital platforms they already use, to discuss, respond and adapt.
Signpost
The turbulent Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras) where CuéntaNos operates is infamous for the forced migration that’s created by organised crime and violence. In addition to general information about emergency services and essential advice, CuéntaNos offers a multitude of resources for women who might be experiencing sexual abuse or harassment. By serving the refugees on platforms “they are already on”, CuéntaNos works to lower the barrier to ask for help. With lockdowns enforced around the world, such efforts truly deserve to be in the spotlight. Reports of domestic violence during Covid-19 have been on the rise and pose an equally alarming problem among migrant and refugee communities.
As valuable as such services can be for migrant women and the victims of GBV, do they really manage to make a fundamental, effective change? It is something perhaps yet to be seen. Nevertheless, as it has been argued that the ultimate goal of development is agency and the freedom of choice, I will use this as a basis to examine Signpost further.
Signpost and the choice framework
Stemming from Amartya Sen’s ‘capability approach’, many scholars have developed various development frameworks advocating the importance of agency and freedom of choice. Dorothea Kleine similarly discusses ‘the choice framework’. Simply put, it defines development as the existence of choices as well as individuals’ ability to further use the choices to achieve desired outcomes (Kleine 2010).
Since Signpost’s stated vision is to “not assume they know what people need” but rather to offer tools and resources, their approach to improving refugee conditions seems to follow a similar line of logic to the choice framework’s. Many of Signpost’s projects also specifically address the disadvantages and hardship migrant women may experience. For example, Cuéntanos El Salvador provides informational resources for women, including where to find legal advice, emergency contact numbers, and information on how to recognise GBV. In addition to phone calls to the legal advice services, women can in most cases opt to communicate through WhatsApp – a service that’s often free or a low-cost alternative to traditional modes of telecommunication.
One could say that by providing easy-to-access information, Signpost’s projects are expanding the migrants’ horizons in terms of the ‘existence of choices’. But that is only the first dimension of the choice framework. There are many more factors to consider in order to truly realise freedom of choice. As per Kleine’s framework, the second dimension is the ‘sense of choice’. This refers to an individual’s awareness of the choices at their disposal. The ‘use of choice’ dimension allows individuals to actually make a choice, and lastly, the ‘achievement of choice’ is measured by “whether the outcome matches the choice expressed” (Kleine 2010:680).
Whether or not an individual has agency to act upon these choices makes a huge difference. Kleine, for instance, lists ten ‘resources’ that make up the ‘resource portfolio’ and which in their turn determine one’s agency. But how does Signpost manage to facilitate this?
Signpost addresses a number of the factors listed in the ‘resource portfolio’, first of them being the geographical resources. By offering an online alternative, Signpost arguably erases the geographic obstacles to accessing services. Another one is information, emphasised by many as one of the most essential factors in the quest for true freedom of choice. Moreover, the added sense of being part of an online community may increase one’s social resources by expanding their networks.
Nonetheless, several of the resources seem to remain unaddressed. Simply offering online services does not solve the issue of the gendered digital divide and, therefore, their needs in terms of material resources. As Kleine maintains, human resources such as education, health and skills are essential for a person’s ability to choose, but a lack in this regard is hardly either solved with online services exclusively. Although Signpost may improve refugees’ capacity to envision a better future and thereby enhance their psychological assets bank, the lack of other elements such as self-confidence, optimism and resilience may prevent a victim of GBV from choosing a different route.
Though equipping migrant women with resources that may enable them to make their own informed decisions is helpful, we may see that online services such as Signpost alone may not be sufficient in addressing the shortage in the various resources. Furthermore, the adamant biases in data collection makes gaining a proper understanding of GBV and migrant women significantly harder. I will, therefore, continue to discuss the gender-gap in the use of data.
Data & the gender-gap
Collecting accurate data on GBV and migrant women can be crucial for holding decision-makers to account or demanding a change. But the emphasis needs to be on accurate. Arguably, when data-based decisions are being made, the results seem to disproportionately favor men. This is likely the result of the biases in data collection processes, where women might be excluded, misrepresented or lumped together with male incidents. In the case of data on homicides in the Northern Triangle, for instance, where governments have failed to get to grips with the massive issue, violence against women is often unreported or lumped together with the data of their male counterparts. (The New Humanitarian 2020).
These pressing biases in today’s data-driven world inspired Caroline Criado Pérez to write her praised book: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a world designed for Men (2019), in which she explores numerous aspects of life that benefit men far more than women but that are hardly ever questioned.
One of the most important things to say about the gender data gap is that it is not generally malicious, or even deliberate. Quite the opposite. It is simply the product of a way of thinking that has been around for millennia and is therefore a kind of not thinking. A double not thinking, even: men go without saying, and women don’t get said at all. Because when we say human, on the whole, we mean man.
Caroline Criado Pérez
Correspondingly, David Miliband, CEO of International Rescue Committee, recognises the current bias in data and addresses it in an opinion article published by The Guardian. He writes that if we are to implement what has been learnt during the past decades and truly create a better world for women and girls, they “need to be counted in gender-disaggregated statistics”. For example, the fact that migrant women are often undocumented means they may be excluded from health services and support. Collecting their data and providing documentation could thereby substantially improve their well-being.
Offline solutions
With technology as the main focus in solving gender violence, are we ignoring other possible options? Some Latin American countries seem to have found an alternative route to fighting GBV. Women’s Police Stations first appeared in Brazil and have since then spread through to other countries worldwide (QUT Centre for Justice 2015). These stations employ solely female officers who are trained in sensitively addressing experiences with GBV and have been found to be hugely successful.
Powerful institutions –such as the church– could also play an important role. In Latin America in particular, they are looked to in times of need. In his article on ICTs and GBV in Jamaica, Thakur (2018) states that churches facilitate a venue for women to seek refuge, to discuss their experiences, and to educate men so as to prevent gender-based violence. Something similar could be considered as a complementary solution to try to reduce GBV among migrants.
Concluding reflections
While ICTs can perhaps lower the threshold to access essential services, many key resources in the ‘resource portfolio’ that Kleine discusses remain unaddressed. Moreover, the anonymity of such online interactions is possibly a hindering rather than an emancipatory feature. Gaining trust –consistently reported as one of the main challenges in the field– is arguably even more challenging on online channels. The above mentioned issues together with the anonymous nature of the online world prompts the question whether platforms such as Signpost make services more approachable or whether technology in fact sets an additional barrier between migrant women and a helping hand, especially if they are used as a primary or exclusive measure. While online services can facilitate the first step to finding help, I would question their ability to substitute traditional face-to-face communication that presumably facilitates the building of more genuine, long-term relationships between refugee women and aid workers.
Most importantly, due to ICTs being shaped by power inequalities and gender norms, the way they are implemented in development and migration should similarly be viewed through a gender lens.
On the blogging experience
Being able to share my reflections on the topics of this module with a wider online community has been both challenging and thrilling. While the possibility of creating livelier, more varied discussion with a diverse audience has been exciting, the public nature of the content has also added pressure and a stronger sense of responsibility when publishing posts. Since a successful blog post is not only measured by the style and language of text but also SEO scores and traffic, it has added nuance to my writing abilities. The greatest challenge has been balancing between the academic writing style and the SEO approved style; making it approachable according to the analytical tools while maintaining the fundamental idea of scholarly reflection. An equally important part of creating a ‘successful’ post is understanding your audience; what are the readers interested in, when do they consume content online, and what prompts them to react and preferably even comment? It has been fascinating to explore different routes to learn what appeals to the audience on social media or what trend word searches lead online browsers to one’s website.
In the end, sharing ideas and thoughts and, subsequently, having others acknowledge them, is key to initiating any kind of change or discussion. Hence, this exercise turned out to be immensely educational in practicing a novel writing style and learning to overcome the challenges of publishing your ideas on the world wide web.
Word count: 2495
References
Carrington, K (2015). Women’s only police stations to combat violence against women. QUT Centre for Justice.
https://blogs.qut.edu.au/crime-and-justice-research-centre/2015/03/08/womens-only-police-stations-to-combat-violence-against-women/
Criado Perez, C. (2019) Invisible Women: Data Bias in a world designed for Men. Abrams Press. New York.
Downer, M. (2019) Sizing the mobile gender gap in refugee contexts. GSMA.
https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/region/africa/sizing-the-mobile-gender-gap-in-refugee-contexts/
GSMA report: Connected Women: The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020.
https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GSMA-The-Mobile-Gender-Gap-Report-2020.pdf
Kleine, D. 2010: ICT4WHAT?—Using the choice framework to operationalise the capability approach to development. Journal of International Development 22:5, 674–692.
O’Donnell, A. & Sweetman, C. 2018: Introduction: Gender, development and ICTs, Gender & Development, 26:2, 217-229.
Signpost Whitepaper: Empowering through responsive information services: an evidence review of the Signpost project.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e611876d8757b66ab11c979/t/5ef14caed15ac858b6997daa/1592872111518/Signpost_Evidence_Review.pdf
United States Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations report (2020). Global Forced Migration: The Political Crisis of Our Time. https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2020%20SFRC%20Report%20-%20Global%20Forced%20Migration%20-%20The%20Political%20Crisis%20of%20Our%20Time%20(1).pdf
Westbrook, J (27 Feb 2020). How Mexico and Central America’s femicide epidemic drives and complicates the migrant crisis. The New Humanitarian.
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2020/02/27/Femicide-migration-Central-America-Mexico-US-Mexico-women-violence
