NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association’s Smart Rural Community (SRC) has released a report describing how small broadband providers can help address domestic violence and sexual assault in rural areas.
The report looked at how broadband-connected, wearable technology can protect those at risk of domestic violence and sexual assault and empower those who work with them.
SRC’s report — “Connected Technology for Survivor Safety: Mitigating Domestic Violence Risks in Rural Spaces” — emerged from a panel discussion in 2023 between Judge Frederick T. Moses of Hocking, Ohio and Liz Kohler, the founder and CEO of Nexion Solutions, which developed a broadband-enabled wearable emergency response device.
The panel discussion led to a partnership between Kohler, Elizabeth Brown, the marketing manager for Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. in Guymon, Oklahoma, and Matthew Crook, operations coordinator for Northwest Domestic Crisis Services, Inc., which also is in Guymon. The tree deployed Nexion’s devices in the panhandle area of Oklahoma.
“This issue carries special resonance not only where incidences of these crimes occur at proportionally higher rates in rural than urban spaces, but also where access to safety and support services may not be as readily available,” Joshua Seidemann, who edited the broadband industry report about domestic violence and sexual assault.
“Geographic, social and emotional isolation can combine with economic challenges to exacerbate risk factors as well as barriers to intervention and care.”
The report on domestic violence and sexual assault was written by Kohler, Brown and Crook and provided to almost 850 small broadband providers.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse isn’t the only issue the broadband industry is addressing. The telecommunications industry is involved in combating the related problem of sex trafficking. In August, Telecompetitor spoke with Chris Lovell, the chief operating officer of Iowa broadband provider CLtel and Andrea Lowe, the marketing director of the Guardian Group, an organization that fights trafficking.
Lovell and the Guardian Group started Operation IFAST in 2023. It trains broadband providers’ employees to watch for and report signs of sex trafficking and report potential trafficking. There is no monitoring of internet activity, and employees are never asked to engage with potential traffickers or their victims directly. The program is supported by NTCA.
