Safety planning for technology: displaced women and girls’ interactions with information and communication technology in Lebanon and harm reduction considerations for humanitarian settings

The appropriate use of mobile technology for service provision, information dissemination, empowerment activities, and data collection in humanitarian settings can have several benefits on both the micro and macro levels for women and girls. Strengthened self-esteem, access to information to support their decision-making, and broadly, gender equality by leveling access between men and women are all benefits. For service providers, technology can extend reach and expand access opportunities. However, these advantages need to be reconciled with two critical challenges: (1) the unique barriers for women and girls to access and utilize technology and (2) the risks that technology might increase harm or gender-based violence, even if unintentionally. The use of technology in humanitarian settings has a gendered imbalance, meaning women and girls face more obstacles than men due to their gender. For women and girls, access and usage are negatively influenced by socioeconomic and cultural barriers. This includes both individual and ecosystem factors including prohibitive cost of devices, attitudes toward women and girls’ use of phones and the Internet, issues of security and harassment, and technical literacy and confidence. Though the current humanitarian environment beckons further exploitation of mobile technology for the benefit of women and girls, caution is needed. With an estimated 35% of women worldwide experiencing physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, safety is a crucial component to consider in how women and girls can utilize information and communications technology and how humanitarian service providers should be responsible for their access to technology. The threat of gender-based violence impacts how women interact with technology. Service providers need to plan for safety first. Any consideration of information and communications technology introduction should include an understanding of the globally common and locally unique barriers to access and usage, necessary service precautions before implementation, and key opportunities to increase safety measures. The latter includes specific beneficiary messaging, mobile data collection procedures, and planned safety measures for shared or borrowed devices among other recommendations. This article aims to provide practical recommendations for service providers on how to safely introduce information and communications technology into programming for women and girls.