Tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day

This is not a tech training. It’s a friendly, choose-your-own-pace day where survivors can explore tools, learn skills, and restore digital confidence—on their own terms. Whether someone wants to scan their device, ask one quiet question, or draw a comic about their least favourite app—this day holds space for it all.

Overview

  • A Full-Day Happening
  • Time: 10:00 – 17:00
  • Style: Open-space, hands-on, survivor-led
  • Audience: Survivors of partner abuse
  • Facilitators: Tech allies & trauma-aware support staff
  • Atmosphere: Empowering, choice-driven, no-pressure

Schedule

TimeActivity
10:00–10:30Arrival & settling in (tea, biscuits, soft music)
10:30–11:00Welcome circle & map of activities
11:00–12:30Morning session: open stations & soft support
12:30–13:30Lunch buffet + quiet corner or chat
13:30–16:00Afternoon session: open stations & soft support (round 2)
16:00-16:30Closing circle with options for silence, drawings, or talking
16:30–17:00Celebration: music, mocktails, badges, takeaway kits

Zones & Stations (open all day)

ZoneWhat happens there
Phone CheckScan phones (real or demo) with Pirogue or walkthrough
App PermissionsDiscover what apps know and tweak permissions
Red Flag RoleplayMock scenarios to spot manipulation and red flags
Password TentLearn secure passphrases and what not to use
Journaling CornerSafe note-taking with secure apps or paper
Stealth & BrowsingTry private browsers and set up burner accounts
Help NookOne-on-one chats for questions or quiet tech support
Art & CollageRelaxed creativity station, phones optional

Food & comfort

  • Drinks, snacks, and soft seating always available
  • Lunch: relaxed buffet, dietary needs respected
  • Low-stimulation rest areas available for downtime
  • Music optional (always off near the quiet stations)

Zones & stations

Stations are open all day unless noted otherwise. Survivors are invited to visit them in any order, stay as long as they like, or skip entirely.

Phone & laptop check – “My phone’s acting weird”

  • Use a demo device or your own
  • With Pirogue (if shelter has one, or we bring one)
  • Scan, review results, talk it through
  • No scare tactics—just calm explanation

Takeaway: A printed or emailed scan report, a follow-up plan (optional)

App permissions detective – “Why does this app need my camera?”

  • Hands-on exercise
  • Learn how to find sneaky permissions
  • Guess which app is the worst snooper

Mini-competition: “Biggest privacy violator” earns a joke certificate

Roleplay theatre – “Is this message real?”

Live or printed scenarios you can join or observe:

  • “Nice guy who just needs your GPS password”
  • “That email isn’t from Apple, is it?”
  • “Oops—someone added a device to your account”

Activity: Spot the trap, rewrite the ending

Password challenge tent – “Build one I can actually remember”

  • Try common password guesses
  • Make passphrases that work (e.g. “bread-squirrel-pizza-22”)
  • Play with fake accounts to test strength

Win: A zine called “Passwords Don’t Have to Suck”

Quiet journaling station – “I need to think for a bit”

  • Standard Notes, Joplin, or plain notebooks
  • Guided prompts (e.g. “What surprised me?” / “I want to remember this later”)
  • Pens, stickers, washi tape, and privacy

Option: Zip up a copy of your notes for later, encrypted

Stealth & privacy tips – “How do I browse without leaving footprints?”

  • Try DuckDuckGo, Tor Browser, Firefox Focus
  • Learn about incognito modes (and what they don’t hide)
  • Burner accounts and secret inboxes—how they work, when they help

Optional: Take home a “private browsing kit” USB

Quiet support nook – “Can I talk to someone about this thing?”

  • One-on-one chats with tech ally or support staff
  • No pressure, no notes unless requested
  • Just human-to-human support

Bring questions or fears—no tech expertise needed

Creative space – “I don’t want tech, I want colour”

  • Draw your phone’s “inner life”
  • Create a comic about “The Day I Took My Account Back”
  • Make collages out of old device manuals and privacy policies

Art can go home or stay anonymous on the “Power Wall”

Take-home goodies

  • A USB kit with:
    • Secure journaling tools
    • Private browser
    • Zines and bookmarks
  • Zine: “First Moves—Taking Tech Back”
  • Contact sheet for digital support orgs
  • Fun sticker: “App Detective” / “I Outsmarted a Tracking Cookie”
  • Print-at-home badges available too, for shelters with printers

Final party (16:30–17:00)

  • Cake and music (or hot chocolate and silence—your pick)
  • DIY badge station (“App Detective”, “Incognito Queen”)
    • Make badges
    • Reflect with staff or peers
    • Dance (or watch)
  • USB giveaway table
  • Optional group zine table: fold & take away what you liked today
  • Quiet support space for last questions or follow-up planning

Trauma-informed principles

  • No one is asked to share their story
  • No one is assumed to know tech—or not
  • Survivors decide what “safe” means
  • All helpers trained to support with compassion, not control
  • Everything is optional. Nothing is pushed.

Support and materials to put the event on


Workshop planning & getting funding for shelters

A tailored specifically for shelters or frontline organisations who want to organise and fund a local instance of the tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day. It’s inspirational, practical, and ready to be adapted for local funding applications or internal planning docs.

Cost estimate tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day

A cost guesstimate for running the Tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day. This is designed for up to 20 participants at a shelter or community venue, with both a low-budget version (DIY/volunteer-powered) and a realistic full-cost version that respects people’s time and pays facilitators fairly.

Funding template for the tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day

A funding template shelters can use to apply for local, regional, or small foundation grants to run a tech safety for survivors choose-your-own-pace-day. It’s written to be adaptable for a variety of funding schemes—straightforward, mission-aligned, and ready to copy/paste into common grant portals or Word forms.