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Domestic Violence and Online Safety

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a challenging topic personally, legally, and for society. Some people are in abusive relationships whether they know it or not, some people don’t know how to help a person in an abusive relationship, some people don’t understand the dynamics of domestic abuse, and the legal system doesn’t always protect victims. Many organizations have information available online for victims, some of which are listed at the end of this post. However, victims may not feel safe seeking information online when it seems that there are so many ways online activity can be tracked. Seeing a pop-up ad for the last thing searched for on Amazon is obvious but, having search information retained in browser history could place victims at a heightened risk of violence. Victims should be aware of the risk of searching for assistance online and consider taking some precautions. If it is not possible to search for information using a device that will not be accessible by the abuser, such as a computer in a public library or a friend’s computer, there are ways to browse in private.

How to Browse in Private

Many browsers offer ways to browse privately. Private browsing allows online searching without search history being retained. However, private browsers and search engines are never 100% anonymous. The internet provider, an employer, website owners, and law enforcement may obtain access to online activity. Even so, some privacy will improve safety when browsing online.

Google Chrome offers “incognito” windows which are obvious because the browser background is black not white, helping you to quickly identify which type of window you have open. Unfortunately, this very feature may result in questions about the use of the incognito window. More information about private browsing can be found when opening an incognito page. Mozilla Firefox has a similar feature called “private browsing” which is indicated by a small purple icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Microsoft Edges offers an “InPrivate” browser window which is indicated by a Blue “InPrivate” tab which remains visible if the browser is in the privacy mode. Microsoft offers a short explanation of the “InPrivate” mode once a page is opened and provides a link to a lengthy overall privacy statement regarding overall browser privacy. Caution: all browsers indicate that they will save bookmarks and downloads.

Another way to search in private is to use DuckDuckGo, a search engine designed specifically to protect privacy. DuckDuckGo can be searched through any browser and can be added to Chrome as a default search engine instead of Google. Users will be able to open an incognito window to curb browser tracking and DuckDuckGo will prevent search history tracking.

Where to Find Help

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a primary source of information for victims, advocates, and educators in Pennsylvania. PCADV, like many online providers of information on domestic violence, has incorporated important safety features into their website to help protect victims of domestic violence. In the lower right corner of every page is a box that looks like this:

Clicking on the arrow after the “About Browsing Safety” statement will direct to another page that explains how the safety feature works, what is protected, and what is not. Upon going back to the previous page, only the red button will be visible allowing for a quick escape from the page should the need arise. Clicking on the red exit button will direct to another default page such as the Weather Channel, Google, or another innocuous page. From this redirect page, the “back” button will be disabled.

Like PCADV, the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers a quick escape button in the form of a large purple X in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. A banner at the top of the page indicates that when using the Microsoft Edge browser, clicking on the X will redirect to a Google search screen and users will not be able to re-enter the site by clicking the “back” button.

In all cases, victims of domestic violence should seek assistance in the safest way possible.

Domestic Violence Resources:

Websites:

Resources available via the CAT:

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