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
| Time | Activity |
|---|
| 10:00–10:30 | Arrival & settling in (tea, biscuits, soft music) |
| 10:30–11:00 | Welcome circle & map of activities |
| 11:00–12:30 | Morning session: open stations & soft support |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch buffet + quiet corner or chat |
| 13:30–16:00 | Afternoon session: open stations & soft support (round 2) |
| 16:00-16:30 | Closing circle with options for silence, drawings, or talking |
| 16:30–17:00 | Celebration: music, mocktails, badges, takeaway kits |
Zones & Stations (open all day)
| Zone | What happens there |
|---|
| Phone Check | Scan phones (real or demo) with Pirogue or walkthrough |
| App Permissions | Discover what apps know and tweak permissions |
| Red Flag Roleplay | Mock scenarios to spot manipulation and red flags |
| Password Tent | Learn secure passphrases and what not to use |
| Journaling Corner | Safe note-taking with secure apps or paper |
| Stealth & Browsing | Try private browsers and set up burner accounts |
| Help Nook | One-on-one chats for questions or quiet tech support |
| Art & Collage | Relaxed 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
- 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
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.
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.
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.