Financial systems are not neutral, they are embedded in broader social and gendered contexts and are shaped by them.

Being gender-inclusive in financial tech (fintech) design inherently requires a trauma-informed lens. Fintech tools are often designed from a gender-neutral perspective, which assumes all users have similar needs, risks, and relationships to money. This approach overlooks how financial control and coercion are gendered.

This factsheet outlines the principles of the trauma-informed approach, their definitions and examples of their application to financial technologies.

This brief present three key principles to guide the development of effective responses to technology-facilitated financial abuse in the context of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Identified through literature from Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and grounded in consultations with survivors.

Service providers are incorporating these principles when designing solutions and practices to better support survivors, reduce harm, and prevent the misuse of financial technology. The brief outlines case studies of emerging, innovative practices that reflect these principles, aiming to enhance survivor safety, promote trauma-informed interventions, and raise awareness of this growing form of abuse.

The term innovative practices is used intentionally rather than “promising” or “best practices,” as these initiatives are still relatively new and require further evaluation to fully understand their effectiveness and long-term impact.

The Women’s Information for Safety and Empowerment in Trades project is designed to enhance workplace safety and gender equity for women entering skilled trades. The project aims to equip women entering employment in trades with information about their rights and resources for employees who experience sexual harassment while at work. It will also raise awareness to women’s experiences in trades and highlight practices that support safe and healthy work environments for women.

Advancing Equality: Addressing Workplace Harassment through Policy Change in the STEM Sector is an initiative aimed at raising awareness and driving collective action to tackle systemic challenges faced by women in STEM across Ontario. Women in STEM face persistent barriers, including gender bias, discrimination, and sexual harassment, which hinder their success and career progression. This project emphasizes cross-sector collaboration, bringing together industry leaders, survivor advocates, and gender equity experts to conduct research and co-develop impactful, evidence-based solutions. By fostering partnerships across diverse systems, the initiative seeks to create safer, more inclusive workplaces for women.

_{This project has been funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada’s Women’s Program}

While the research base about technology as a means to perpetuate intimate partner violence has grown, there is limited information available about how technology can support women experiencing violence. With the increasing prevalence of technology and the significant role that cell phones and the internet have in people’s everyday lives, there is a need to understand how survivors are using and could use technology to increase their access to supports and safety.

This report examines the intersections between intimate partner violence, legal help and technology. It draws on data that was gathered through interviews and surveys with survivors of intimate partner violence and explores the experience of survivors in using technology to access legal information and support.

Access to justice is a human rights and equity issue that is significant to all Canadians, including women experiencing violence. In the last decade, technology has been identified as a potential mechanism to address the barriers to justice. Technology has changed how organizations and sectors deliver legal services, information and support. While there is a common narrative around technology in literature as a tool to perpetuate violence, there is a need to understand how technology can improve survivor’s access to justice and help facilitate their safety.

This literature review explores the literature at the intersections of these three areas of discourse – violence against women, access to justice and technology. It explores the role of technology in increasing survivor’s access to legal information and services as well as potential risks and considerations.

Technology and violence against women are closely connected. While technology can help women access information and services, it can also be used to perpetuate violence.

This infographic looks at the ways in which technology and gender-based violence are related.

Technology creates new ways to perpetuate violence against women, including sending harassing text messages, tracking someone using the GPS on their device or threatening to share someone’s private images without their permission.

This infographic looks at the different types of technology-based violence and ways we can address it.

Technology-based intimate partner violence encompasses acts of abuse that are committed with the use of technology to exert power or control over a current or former spouse. While the causes and consequences of this form of violence remain largely the same as other forms of violence against women, the use of technology can create new mechanisms to exert controlling behaviour.

This issue brief explores the definition of technology-based intimate partner violence and discusses different types, including harassment, stalking, isolation and impersonation. The issue brief also suggests some ideas for preventing and responding to technology-based intimate partner violence.