COVID Adaptation: How can we include women and girls through remote engagement?

Women's Protection and Empowerment

We are reposting this episode from 2018 at at time that could not be more relevant. With the covid-driven programmatic adaptations happening everywhere and many shifting towards the use of digital technology because of social distancing and mobility constraints, it's more important than ever that we are acknowledging the massive digital gender gap, not making assumptions about access, and planning for remote adaptations that are inclusive and not harmful to women and girls in humanitarian settings In 2017, we conducted a research project in Lebanon to answer several key questions: what are women and girls’ access to mobile phones and the Internet, what are the barriers to their access (real and perceived), and what are their desired uses and safety concerns? In working with potentially vulnerable populations such as forcibly displaced women and girls, is mobile technology the appropriate channel for communication, service provision, information dissemination, awareness raising, and empowerment activities? In this episode, we discussed the reason we conducted this research and our findings and recommendations, including safety planning, planning for shared use of mobile devices, and community assessments, among others. * * * * If you want to read the research findings, search for Safety planning for technology: displaced women and girls’ interactions with information and communication technology in Lebanon and harm reduction considerations for humanitarian settings in the Journal of International Humanitarian Action or visit jhumanitarianaction.springeropen.com/articl…0031-x