Can I Get a Vaccine and Keep My Information Private?

A photograph of a COVID-19 vaccine vial and syringe.

Vaccines are top of mind for so many of us these days. When will I be able to get one? When will my family and friends get theirs?

One question that many survivors are also asking is, how can I get a COVID-19 vaccine and make sure my location information stays private? While state and territory immunization registries have been around for many years, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought them to the forefront, as local governments work to coordinate vaccine distribution. Check out Safety Net’s new resource Vaccine Registries & Survivor Privacy for detailed information about how vaccine registries work and the privacy options that are available.

NNEDV Joins Communities Against Rider Surveillance Coalition to Help Ensure Survivor Privacy

The Safety Net Team at the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) recently joined the Communities Against Rider Surveillance (CARS) coalition to help ensure the privacy and safety of survivors are centered as cities across the country consider using Mobility Data Specification (MDS).  MDS is a system developed to help governments and regulators manage the shared mobility industry, that includes bikeshares, scootershares, and rideshares, and eventually other forms of connected transportation. The CARS coalition is a group of concerned citizens, privacy and civil liberties advocates, and transportation innovators committed to making city streets safer and more manageable while protecting rider privacy. As technologies like MDS emerge that allow local governments to track and direct people’s personal movements, CARS is working to ensure that riders maintain privacy and choice in the trips they take. We join the coalition in asking cities to engage with survivors and other local residents in a public dialogue before implementing vehicle tracking programs that could threaten rider privacy, and to be transparent about how they use, share, and secure location data. To learn more about how MDS impacts survivor privacy, check out our new resource: Scooters, Rideshares, and Taxis: Is Your Ride Private? Mobility Data Specification (MDS) and its Impact on Victim Safety. To learn more about Safety Net’s work with CARS, reach out to us at safetynet@nnedv.org, and to learn more about the coalition, including the status of MDS in your area, please contact CARS Member Outreach at keeley@stopridersurveillance.com.

Voting Safely in the 2020 Election

This year has proven to be a year like none other. The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every facet of our lives and survivors have faced unprecedented hurdles. Participation in the 2020 general election will be no different. 

Voting is a fundamental right and civic participation is an essential key to maintaining the health of a democracy. At the same time, it is crucial that barriers to voting are eliminated and safety and privacy are always ensured. There are many things for survivors to consider. These range from figuring out how to juggle work and child care,  to protecting their health when casting a ballot in person , to safety plan so that they are able to cast their ballot without the abuser escalating their behaviors,  and to understanding voting requirements in their state or territory and how those processes may impact their privacy and safety.

Voter registration privacy (or the lack thereof) differs across states and territories. Some allow people to check their voter registration status online, which sometimes includes their current address. (A list of state-specific links to check your voter status can be accessed at vote.org – you can look up your registration without sharing your personal information with the vote.org website, just keep scrolling down past the welcome and you’ll see a list of specific states. You can use this tool to check that you’re registered correctly, and you can also use it to see what someone else could learn about you if they know some of your basic information already.)

For many survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking, privacy is inextricably connected to safety. Physical safety, emotional safety, economic safety; the list goes on. And it’s important to remember that privacy can be just as important to survivors who are still connected to their abuser as it is for those who have successfully fled.

With all this in mind, we have updated our Voting & Survivor Privacy resource that takes a deeper dive into the topics above, including information about voter registration privacy, online voter registration, automatic voter registration, and a new section on voting safely and privately. Read through the resource and share it with survivors in your life, so they can get out and vote in the upcoming election and beyond!

What’s New: Changes and Details with Communication Platforms

As you know, technology is ever-evolving. With the sudden need of programs to rapidly switch to digital services during COVID-19, NNEDV’s Safety Net team is working diligently to keep the field up-to-date on all of the changes and new information we receive. We have been talking with companies, testing products, and working to better understand how each platform works, and the implications of using them.

Many of our recent conversations with companies have been fruitful. We have been double-checking their features, and looking at their privacy and security options, accessibility features, and policies on sharing and storing data. Excitingly, some are moving to make changes we have suggested, and beginning to plan for how they can incorporate our feedback to not only better enhance their products, but to ensure their products can be used by all, especially those with strict confidentiality obligations. 

The following are some of the new details we want to share. Please note, we do not endorse any one of these products. We cannot recommend software products or say if a product is or isn’t compliant with the federal confidentiality laws. What we can do is offer information we gather from the software companies, and information about best practices related to confidentiality, privacy, and safety while using technology to communicate with survivors. Use our Video Conferencing & Digital Communication Platforms Chart to learn more.  

1. Gruveo is now offering a free 45-day trial during this public health crisis and has instituted a 20% discount for all non-profits.

2. ResourceConnect is offering online chat for free during this pandemic.

3. Cyph is offering a discount for its telehealth package.

4. Doxy.me is offering services for free for a limited time for new customers and has an additional privacy protection option available with a signed agreement.

5. Zoom has an additional privacy protection that stops the company from collecting user (survivor) identifying data when the agency signs an additional agreement. Depending on the subscription you already have, this additional feature may come with a cost. Zoom discounts available through TechSoup.org.

6. News reports have come out about “Zoombombing.” If using Zoom for public purposes (where link is shared widely), make sure to change the default setting so that only the Host can share their screen or files, and use options to mute/unmute participants.

We have seen an overwhelming amount of questions about what company to choose. We have created a new resource to help programs compare services and understand their options. We encourage you to use this information along with information from the vendors directly to make agency-specific decisions. We also have a new handout on Digital Written Consent to Share Information.

 We are constantly learning and advocating for important changes. We will work to keep this new chart and other resources updated with the information we know about these vendors as it becomes available.

2020 US Census: Considerations for Survivors of Domestic Violence

This month, the US Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency, is mailing forms to all households across the country, as they work to collect demographic data on everyone residing in the United States. The count is mandated by the US Constitution and is conducted every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts the population in the United States and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each home will receive an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire—online, by phone, or by mail—between March 12-20.

Providing private information about where you live and who you live with can prompt concerns about privacy and safety for survivors of domestic violence. This is especially true for those who’ve left their abuser and are living in a shelter, those who have relocated to a new home and are working to keep their address private, and those who have enrolled in state address confidentiality programs.

We’re happy to announce the release of a new resource crafted for survivors and victim advocates, 2020 US Census: Considerations for Survivors, that provides important information related to the US Census and key safety and privacy considerations for survivors of domestic violence. Please check it out and feel free to reach out to us with any related questions!

Follow the embedded link to read the Census Bureau Statement on Coronavirus and the 2020 Census. Stay up to date on the US Census Bureau’s response to COVID-19 by checking their Newsroom

NNEDV Commends Uber on its U.S. Safety Report, Urges More U.S. Companies to Follow Suit

Today, NNEDV joined Uber announcing its December 5 release of their U.S. Safety Report. The Report — the first of its kind — includes data about sexual assaults related to Uber rides in 2017 and 2018. Sexual assault is vastly underreported, and this is a groundbreaking step in raising awareness and encouraging survivors to share their stories. The Report also includes information about steps Uber has taken to support survivors and prevent violence before it ever occurs.

“Uber has been a longtime partner in standing against sexual assault – not just through accountability and transparency, but also by supporting survivors, eliminating barriers to reporting, and taking steps to prevent violence and harassment,” said Cindy Southworth, NNEDV Interim Chief Executive Officer and member of Uber’s Safety Advisory Board. “We call on other companies to follow Uber’s lead by partnering with anti-violence organizations to release similar.”

Sexual violence is a pervasive crime that occurs everywhere from the home to public spaces and during our movement in between, including in cars, buses, planes, trains and wherever we walk. Rideshares are no exception, and Uber’s Safety Report, for the first time, documents the experiences of both riders and drivers.  

NNEDV urges all companies, whether they be engaged in transportation or other sectors of the economy, to both collect and share similar data on the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence and work with the community to take steps to prevent it and raise awareness. 

The movement to address and end sexual and domestic violence will only succeed through a multi-level approach. This includes industry leaders like Uber partnering with organizations like NNEDV to make significant strides in changing in cultural norms.

Since 2014, NNEDV has worked with Uber on their efforts to improve their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, including its Driving Change initiative and its Safety Advisory. In 2015, NNEDV teamed up with Uber to offer safety and privacy tips for riders on the Uber app. Many survivors of domestic violence use Uber, both as drivers and as riders, and NNEDV deeply appreciates Uber’s commitment to openly addressing sexual assault and to creating innovative ways to improve safety.

More information is available at https://www.uber.com/us/en/safety/womens-safety/.

Keeping Survivors in the Driver’s Seat: Our Focus on Confidentiality

As professionals and experts in the field, advocates go to work every day helping survivors reclaim their lives. But it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day rush of the work, and sometimes we forget that we aren’t the driver of this journey - we’re just passengers along for the ride. When we get off track, we start to think a survivor should automatically give us the information we ask for, that they should trust us to collect and share their information as we see fit because we’re experts and we know what’s best. But we have to put the brakes on that thinking, and remember that survivors are the experts of their own experience. It’s our job to help educate them about their options, and the potential impacts and outcomes of their choices, so that they can make an informed decision. When we do this, we’re giving them the keys, ensuring they’re the ones who are in control and driving the bus,* and that we’re doing our job by helping them navigate!

Safety Net kept very busy over the summer and early fall of 2019, working to help organizations across the field improve their understanding and practice of confidentiality. To help agencies ensure they’re providing survivor-driven services and developing policies that support a survivor’s right to privacy, we hosted four national webinars, facilitated a listening session for state and territorial coalitions on mandated reporting, launched new materials, and held an outstanding two-day conference– Strictly Confidential: Protecting Survivor Privacy in Federally Funded Programs.  

Summer 2019 Highlights

Webinars:
For anyone who missed the webinars, and for those who’d like to revisit them, you can check them out using the links below:  

• Fundamentals & Framework: Understanding Confidentiality & Our Obligations

• Data Breach Notifications & Survivor Confidentiality

• Survivor Data: Collection, Retention & Deletion Best Practices

• Official Demands for Information: Subpoenas, Warrants, Court Orders, Auditors & Monitors

Resources:
Newly-created materials, which were all added to our Confidentiality Toolkit, include:

• Data Breaches & Victim Service Providers: Considerations for Developing Effective Policies

• VAWA Grant Conditions, Victim Privacy, and Effective Oversight Procedures

• Summary of U.S. State and Territorial Laws Related to Advocate Confidentiality & Privilege

National Conference:
The 2019 Strictly Confidentiality conference was in such high demand that we had to make a wait list and get creative with seat set-up! We loved seeing everyone so interested and engaged in wanting to learn more about survivor-centered best practices. Advocates, attorneys, court officials, and others came from across the country to learn more about how they can ensure they’re providing survivor-driven services. The conference content was designed to help advocates navigate complex federal confidentiality obligations, through in-depth analysis, peer sharing, and scenario problem solving. Participants explored the many layers of privacy, confidentiality obligations, and their intersections with technology in a tangible way. Topics included:

• Understanding and applying legal confidentiality obligations

• Navigating the mandated reporting and confidentiality overlap

• Building community collaborations while maintaining confidentiality

• Upholding confidentiality in emergency situations

• Navigating language access and confidentiality

• Handling official third party demands for survivor information

• Selecting and using databases

• Implementing best practices for agency use of technology

• Minimizing risk via intakes and data retention policies

• Understanding data breach notification laws

• Ensuring valid releases of information.

We hope all this new content is helpful to service providers and we look forward to hearing your feedback so we can continue to improve this work. We’re also grateful to our grant partners at Danu Center’s Confidentiality Institute, to our funders at the Office on Violence Against Women, and to the advocates who are out there doing this work every day. When we provide services based on confidentiality best practices, we’re helping survivors understand they have a right to privacy, that they remain in control of that privacy, and they can make the decisions that work best for them.

*The “survivor drives the bus” phrase was coined by our grant partner, Alicia Aiken, Director of Danu Center’s Confidentiality Institute :)

Cyber Safety for Survivors of Domestic Violence

Did you know October was both Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Cybersecurity Awareness Month? Do you know where your devices are and if they are locked? Read on for some great tips as these two issues are more connected than some may think!

 For survivors of domestic and sexual violence, the Internet can quickly become a scary place to interact. Concerns about privacy invasion, stalking, harassment, impersonation, non-consensual intimate image sharing, and other threats can leave people feeling like they have no choice but to avoid online entirely. It’s easy to feel vulnerable and exposed online, so we’ve put together some tips for those who might be looking to feel safer while still staying connected. As Domestic Violence Awareness Month and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month end, we thought it would be a good time to offer some thoughts and tips for survivors to think about.

Adjust Social Media Settings

While online sharing continues to rise in popularity, so do social media security risks. Staying on top of social media account settings can help reduce some of those risks to safety and privacy. By switching your accounts to private mode, you can help prevent other users from viewing your personal information and profile without your permission. Almost all social media platforms also allow you to block people as well; this can be especially helpful if there are people in your life that you don’t want to interact with on social media, or as a remedy to help stop harassment on that platform. A simple “block” can make a big difference. But before blocking someone, consider how this may impact your ability to know if their abusive behavior is escalating, and your ability to document their abusive behavior. Once you block someone, you won’t be able to see what messages and comments they are trying to send you.

 If you’re especially concerned about online privacy, you may also want to consider refraining from posting in real-time, or posting anything that may give an indication of your location. For instance, if you’re at a restaurant, you may want to wait to post about it when you get home, or you may decide that posting about it would be putting more information out about your general location than you are comfortable with. These are simple ways to avoid any potential interactions with people who happen to see your social media and will try to show up where you are, or to prevent them from getting any idea about your location. You may also want to avoid tagging specific locations of restaurants, bars, houses, neighborhoods, etc. as these can leave a trail about your daily patterns for someone looking for clues of it on your social media profile.

For more information about how to navigate social media check out our resources: Privacy & Safety on Facebook and Safety & Privacy on Twitter: A Guide for Survivors of Harassment & Abuse.

Protect Your Devices While on The Go

 It’s no lie – many of us don’t go anywhere without our phones, and sometimes even our laptops go everywhere we go. They’re in our bags, our pockets, and our hands. Sometimes we're using our own data plan, but other times we need to connect to public WiFi. When we do this, it’s important to understand how vulnerable our devices can be while connected to a public Internet connection. For example, while working in a cafe on your laptop, that free Wi-Fi you’re connected to is not as safe as you think. If you can afford investing in a virtual private network (VPN), it can help give you the security you need while on the go. A VPN creates a private network within a public Internet connection. VPN’s mask your IP address, which helps keep your web browsing hidden.

If a VPN isn’t an option you can currently invest in, making sure to only browse sites that use https: protocol can help increase your privacy. While someone may still be able to snoop and see you are on a specific site, they wouldn’t be able to see the details of what you are doing on that site, or what you are looking at on that site.

Arm Your Home Network

Many people might think to lock their doors and windows at home, but may not know how to keep their Internet connection secure. Secure internet connections start with the router. The router communicates between the Internet and all of the devices in your home to deliver a Wi-Fi connection.

When purchasing and setting up a Wi-Fi router there are several things to keep in mind. Do you have any fireplaces or thick walls that will block a signal or weaken signal strength? These structures can block or intercept your Internet connection. Also, make sure the router you’re going to buy is the right size for your home and the amount of devices that will be connecting to it. Security is another important topic to be mindful of as you choose a router. Routers that aren’t secure are vulnerable to being hacked, and once hacked, someone can potentially install viruses or malware onto any of your devices. Find a router that has network level protection, including automatic updates, signed firmware updates, and device quarantine. Last but not least, find a router that is easy to navigate and control. Look for other features that might be helpful to those who are using it in your home. This includes parental controls, guest networks, and network management. Don’t skimp on a router - it helps more than you think. For more on WiFi security, check out our resource WiFi Safety & Privacy: Tips for Victim Service Agencies & Survivors.

 Enable Additional Authentication

When logging into online accounts, or even some phones and devices themselves, there’s often an option for an additional form of authentication. This is known as two-factor authentication, and it allows the user to add an extra layer of protection to their account or device by not only creating a complex and difficult password, but allowing a special code to be sent to their phone every time a login occurs. This means that if someone is trying to login to your account or device and it isn’t you, you’ll know about it and be able to stop them from going any further. This is especially important for email accounts where you might have more personal or financial information that you wouldn’t want others accessing. For more on password security and two factor authentication check out our resource Passwords: Simple Ways to Increase Your Security. 

Confidentiality Conference Registration is Open!

REGISTER NOW!

Advocates are saying:

“Some survivors don’t reach out because they’re worried about mandated reporting requirements. This gets in the way of us being able to help.”

“What if no one on staff speaks the survivor’s language? How do we find a translator they feel safe with? And what agreements should be in place to protect victims’ privacy?”

“We get pressure from our community partners to share victim information. When we don’t, they get frustrated and that makes collaboration difficult.”

“We don’t have a policy for how to handle confidentiality obligations if there’s an emergency at our shelter.”

Is your agency facing similar difficulties?

Mark your calendar and join us September 9th & 10th in Atlanta, GA for the 2019 National Confidentiality Conference – Strictly Confidential: Protecting Survivor Privacy in Federally Funded Programs!

This training, provided by the National Network to End Domestic Violence and The Confidentiality Institute will help you, as victim service providers, navigate complex federal confidentiality obligations, through in-depth analysis, peer sharing, and scenario problem solving. Participants will explore the many layers of privacy, confidentiality obligations, and technology in a tangible way. Learn how to implement best practices related to privacy and confidentiality while providing survivor-centered services, and how to build strategic relationships with community partners, while respecting your information sharing limitations.

The conference will cover a variety of topics including:

• Mandated reporting

• Community collaborations

• Upholding confidentiality in emergency situations

• Navigating language access and confidentiality

• Handling official third party demands for survivor information

• Selecting and using databases

• Agency use of technology

• Implementing survivor-centered best practices

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of these issues and will be given resources and tools to better serve survivors. Click this link for a copy of the full agenda.

Can’t wait to see you there!

This conference is OVW approved.

Please contact us with any questions. 

Data Privacy Day 2019: Location Data & Survivor Safety

As we mark Data Privacy Day this year, data about all of us is increasingly collected, shared, and sold: our likes, our account activity, even our movements throughout the day. This is a concern for anyone who owns a mobile phone or uses the internet. But, for survivors of domestic violence, this erosion of privacy can be a risk to safety.

It is important to be clear about the line between consumer privacy risks that anyone might find concerning, and specific risks to the privacy and safety of survivors. Weak consumer privacy protections impact all of us, and yet they can become particularly dangerous for survivor privacy and safety, if exploited by abusers. At the same time, strengthening one can strengthen the other.

For example, location data gathered from the very technology that makes mobile phones work is for sale, as Motherboard revealed in a recent article. They report that cell phone companies, “are selling access to their customers' location data, and that data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the country.”

The risk for survivors is that an unauthorized person like a private investigator could find a survivor’s location at the request of a client who is abusive. While we haven’t yet heard about a case where a survivor was located, those who work with survivors will wonder, “What can we do to support survivor safety?”

An option we often suggest in the safety planning process, is that a survivor can turn off location sharing in their apps and in their device settings. But in this case, location data is generated as the phone pings nearby cell towers, and this has to happen for the phone to receive calls and to use data – basically to work in the way a mobile phone works.

So, our usual advice to turn off location sharing in settings won’t help. Here are other options:

• Consider leaving the phone behind when traveling to places you don’t want the abuser to know about, and carry a second phone that the abusive partner doesn’t know about

• Turn off the phone or put it in airplane mode (where cell signal and WiFi are off)

• Put the phone in a signal blocking bag or container.

• Remember that the moment the phone connects back to the cell network in a new location, the location data will be tracked.

The big picture take away is that everyone has an interest in working for stronger data privacy protections – for general consumers, and even more so for survivor safety.

Phone location is not the only risk survivors face. Here are some additional resources to increase survivor privacy online and when using mobile devices:

• WiFi Safety & Privacy

• Online Privacy & Safety Tips

• Password Safety