- Organization
- H.O.P.E Nevis Inc (Helping our People Excel)
- Type
- Civil Society
- Years
- 2020
- Countries
- San Cristóbal y Nieves
Many instances of abuse that used to occur offline have been transferred to online spaces or intensified by the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Particularly, women, girls, and the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately affected by severe forms of online abuse including revenge porn and cyber-stalking. This problem is exacerbated in small closely-knit communities like the Caribbean where it is difficult to recover from or avoid abusers. Unfortunately, the affordances and barriers to online safety are severely understudied in the Caribbean. The aim of this project is to empower Caribbean citizens by understanding perceived threats to their personal data and barriers to having control by collecting and analyzing empirical data to assess how the use of ICTs contribute to or hinder users’ online safety and recommending technological and educational interventions that could reduce the prevalence of safety threats. The methodology employed for this study will include two main elements: the deployment of a large-scale survey, and an online behavioral study to gather direct input from Caribbean citizens. In addition to publications in academic venues, dissemination activities will include a publicly available website with a dashboard that highlights the insights learned about the needs of vulnerable groups and using research insights to develop an educational awareness campaign.
