Ending violence against women: Can technology help?

Experts from across the globe will attend the eSafe Relationships conference at the University of Melbourne today to share information and ideas on the use of technology to prevent and respond to violence against women and their children.

The day will include technology demonstrations, panel discussions on indigenous, same sex, rural and disability needs as well as safety decision aids, culminating with a public discussion panel on the question “Does technology do more good than harm?”

University of Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence Against Women and their Children (MAEVe) Co-Chair  and conference convenor Kelsey Hegarty said the event was designed to find technological solutions and share current tools to combat violence against women.

“We have experts from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and they have all come to the University of Melbourne to discuss the problems and determine what interventions are most needed support and protect women and their children from violence,” Professor Hegarty said.

“As part of the ‘Technology in Action’ showcase, we will also be launching our new website Not the only one, designed by Dr Laura Tarzia, a web platform designed to help survivors of domestic violence safely tell and share stories and combat isolation,” she said.

Speakers include: Professor Kelsey Hegarty, Dr Cathy Vaughn, Professor Cathy Humphreys, Dr Laura Tarzia, Professor Nancy Glass, Professor Jane Koziol-McLain, Clementine Ford, Dr Anastasia Powell, Mark Oliver (Emerging Technologies, Tigerspike), Emily Maguire.