Women’s experiences of safety apps for sexualized violence: a narrative scoping review

Abstract

Background Sexualized violence against women is a significant human rights problem worldwide. Safety apps have the capacity to provide women with resources to prevent or respond to experiences of sexualized violence. Methods The aim of the following study was to review the scope of the literature on women’s experiences of safety apps related to sexualized violence. The databases Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus were systematically searched, and seven studies were included in this review. Results Thematic analysis identified the following themes in the literature: (1) security; (2) accessibility; and (3) knowledge. Conclusion The gaps in the literature are identified and implications and recommendations for future research is discussed.

Mobile Apps for the Personal Safety of At-risk Children and Youth: Scoping Literature Review (Preprint)

“…Most of the literature found on mobile apps focused on health and fitness [3,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. There were also some studies on personal safety apps, but most of them either covered a wide age or older demographic, were focused on sexual violence against women, or were focused solely on app development with no associated evaluation [16,[24][25][26][27][28]. Consequently, only 68 articles were eligible for full-text screening.…”

New Technologies for Combatting Sexual Violence in Conflict and Non-conflict Settings

“…Indeed, one study ultimately excluded East Asia and the Pacific region because of the comparative paucity of apps available for download (Eisenhut et al, 2020: 3). Surveys on research related to women's safety apps has identified that the majority of research has taken place in the United States (Doria et al, 2021). Moreover, most surveys were comprised of college women, only one study reported the sexual orientation of the participants (the sample was almost entirely heterosexual women), and, where ethno-racial makeup was reported, the studies were comprised of a majority Caucasian/White sample group (Doria et al, 2021).…”

“…Nevertheless, studies have identified that using apps provided a great sense of privacy or anonymity than obtaining information from in-person services, and additionally gave users a greater sense of privacy because of the ambiguous/discreet design of the apps in question (Doria et al, 2021). Additionally, the reviewed literature suggested that participants experienced a greater sense of security because the apps helped them avoid judgment/stigma associated with SGBV, which also led to participants having a sense that the apps provided more objective/unbiased help than seeking assistance through friends or family.…”

“…Additionally, the reviewed literature suggested that participants experienced a greater sense of security because the apps helped them avoid judgment/stigma associated with SGBV, which also led to participants having a sense that the apps provided more objective/unbiased help than seeking assistance through friends or family. The surveyed literature additionally identified that information and safety planning strategies provided in apps helped to increase a sense of empowerment among users, although several studies identified a need to improve the knowledge provided in SGBV safety apps, thereby increasing the apps' value as "all-in-one" resources for support information, and emergency planning (Doria et al 2021).…”

“…In the literature surveyed for the Doria et al study, surveillance and privacy nevertheless emerged as a large concern for participants, including surveillance from partners (Doria et al, 2021). Recommendations to help address privacy concerns included: using innocuous names for apps or allowing users to rename apps, password protecting apps, and including an emergency exit on each screen apps (Doria et al, 2021).…”