2015 Campaign Highlights

Published on: 22 February 2016
It's February 2016, and we here at APC are working on Take Back the Tech! plans for 2016, which will involve an increased focus on supporting you in developing and implementing creative, strategic action in local communities.
 
We ended 2015 with another successful 16 Days Campaign, and we want to thank you for playing an important role, whether you developed your own campaign, took part in our suggested actions or supported the broader TBTT campaign on social media.
 
If you did not have a chance to browse our survivor story gallery during the campaign, it's still up on the site. Twenty-three survivors and those who work with survivors shared their stories through videos, essays, poems, radio shows and comics. The gallery represents 17 countries from Argentina to Zambia and gives a variety of perspectives on the intersection of technology and violence against women.
 
Local campaign actions ranged from a game jam in the Philippines to a Take Back the Tech! festival in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This year campaigners in Turkey led a new social media campaign with the hashtag #thisisviolencetoo (#budasiddet in Turkish), which trended on Twitter and especially encouraged people who identify as LGBTQI to share their stories of technology-related violence.
 
Online we encouraged you to talk about safety apps, and here are some highlights from that discussion:
  • Either no safety apps are available in the Czech language or they aren't marketed well enough for many Czech users to be aware of them.
  • Women are seeking apps that can protect them from violence that happens online. 
  • Some new apps were introduced to us, such as iUDAME.
You can still use the TBTT tool for rating safety apps, and don't forget the template for making your own digital safety roadmap
 
From @takebackthetech, the highest Twitter reach during the campaign came from the following tweet, which reflects your belief in the importance of women writing online:

Popular Tweet
 
We want to hear more from you. What do you hope to see from Take Back the Tech! this year? How do you want to build the movement? How can we support you in localising TBTT and making it yours? What ideas for 2016 do you want to share with fellow campaigners? Let us know in the comments below or write to us at ideas@takebackthetech.net.
 
Many thanks for another great campaign. Let's make anti-VAW action in 2016 even better!