Ensure Tech Safety and Regain Your Power for Survivors of Domestic Violence

My passion and my yoga teaching is all about helping women move from feeling uncomfortable in their own skin to feeling more at home in and trusting of their bodies. We can become disconnected from our physical bodies for many different reasons, one of which is domestic violence.

It can be extremely difficult to feel safe in your own body after experiencing it as an unsafe place. It can also be difficult to feel safe anywhere, especially in a tech-filled world where information is so easily shared. Today I've partnered with Techwarn.com to share tools you can use to move towards feeling safe in your body and safe in the land of technology.

Domestic violence is one of the most abusive experiences whose prevalence has only increased throughout the entire planet. This type of abuse involves violation of control and power, and can happen in different forms.

Yoga is one tool that can help you re-connect with and regain a sense of agency and power over your own body. Trauma, domestic violence or otherwise, is not only an event, but an experience held in the body. The body remembers and traumatic experiences can keep us trapped between regret of the past and fear of the future. They might have us hold or guard our bodies in various ways, keep stress levels high, and prevent us living our lives as fully as we'd like.

The yoga mat can be a safe place where we begin to reconnect with ourselves, experience our bodies as positive places to inhabit, and regain our power over our own body. When that sense of power is taken away from us, we need opportunities to learn to bring it back inside, where it belongs. For many survivors of domestic violence, the time on the mat may be the first time that they are able to feel safe, breathe freely, and feel good in their body again. So much of the yoga we practice on the mat can also be used off the mat in our every day lives, which provides survivors tools to proactively regain their agency and their sense of personal power and safety. 

As you come to feel more empowered to make choices about your physical body on and off your mat, you also can start to make informed choices about your safety in other areas of your life. Domestic violence takes more than just the physical form. Mostly it happens through our phones and computers. To ensure your personal information and tech devices are safe, Techwarn.com has provided the most effectively ways of ensure your tech safety. Here are four steps you can take, today. ​

image courtesy of pixabay.com

1. Ensure You Can Trust Your Devices

Abusive people usually go for the most vulnerable things, which are your phone and computer. Getting a loophole to manipulate your devices enables them to monitor everything you do.

So, to be sure that you can trust your device, scrutinize it properly and look for anything unusual. To do that, check for any missing screws, unfamiliar scratches, or even loose parts. If you notice any of these, then take action as someone might have placed a device inside to monitor your activity. The best thing to do when this happens is to restore factory settings or seek help from a professional.

2. Secure All Crucial Files and Data

Storing vital data and files in a mobile device is normal as it’s the easiest and safest place that anyone considers. However, in case a device falls into the wrong hands, then that might lead to a huge loss, especially when vital things such as passwords are stored there.

So, if you can’t trust your device, use online storage services. Dropbox and Spideroak are among the best and safest options right now. The best thing about using such services is that they allow you to store a lot of files and data. Also, you can access all that data even after losing your device. After signing up, secure your account with a unique password. That way, you can be sure that nobody can access it without your permission.

Using two-factor authentication in your cloud account also helps in making it safer. That way, someone will need a code that’s usually texted to you to access the account. This trick helps limit anyone trying to access the account as he/she has to verify identity first.

3. Secure Communications

Using a trusted device to communicate is easier and convenient. However, what do you do when you’re not sure whether you can trust your device? If you don’t think you can trust your device, then only use encrypted communications. Communication apps such as Telegram, Viber, Signal, and WhatsApp have encryption features you can use. That way, nobody can read your chats even if they manage to tap it, which makes communication safer.

Protecting your email with two-factor authentication also helps secure communications. You will be notified every time someone logs in your email account, so you can review the activity. If it wasn’t you, then changing the password can help regain security and control. Additionally, secure your online presence with a VPN.

4. Have a Strong Financial Independence

Most domestic violence perpetrators can take advantage of if they notice that you entirely depend on them financially. One of the best ways to avoid that is to ensure your bank account is in your name. This way, it becomes easy to keep off abusers. 

You can also ask for advice from the bank to know how someone close like a relative or spouse might have access to your account without your permission. Knowing that helps you identify the measures to take to make it difficult for anyone to mess up with your financial independence. Also, ask the bank to ensure that your bank account has a high-risk flag. Doing that creates a huge barrier for anyone trying to access the account or enquiring any information about it hence keeping your finances safe.

As you can see, there are many ways to secure your tech devices as a domestic violence survivor. Therefore, make use of most if not all of them so as to keep your devices and vital data safe.

What has helped you feel safe in your body and in your life after surviving domestic abuse? 

Start to reclaim your power with this sweet yoga flow!