IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 19

Leading Edge
Not Another Panic Button: Meaningful
Inclusion in Technology Development
Toby Shulruff
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281 USA
 HackatHons and otHer well-intentioned
efforts to solve social problems using technology
must also include the meaningful participation of
affected individuals and communities. Otherwise,
technologists may start from an incomplete or monolithic
understanding of the problem, as illustrated
by common technology solutions for gender-based
violence (GBV).
Panic button apps are an example of a " solution "
built from misconceptions about GBV. These apps
are designed to allow users to contact emergency
services or a trusted contact by tapping the screen
or shaking the phone. This approach is based on the
popular conception of sexual violence as random
attacks by strangers, when in fact the vast majority
of sexual violence is committed by someone known
to the victim [1]. These apps also replicate a core
feature of any phone-the ability to make a phone
call by tapping the screen.
When technology solutions are designed to
address less common scenarios, they divert needed
innovation resources from more widely effective
approaches. For example, nearly half of the Americans
admitted to surveilling a partner or ex-partner
using technology [2]. Online harassment targeting
people based on gender is all too prevalent and
can have devastating effects [3]. Technologists
could re-focus efforts on addressing these far too
common realities.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2021.3101918
Date of current version: 2 September 2021.
User-centered design approaches require the
meaningful inclusion of diverse voices from the earliest
stages of problem definition [4], increasing the
likelihood of success for a technology solution. This
approach is applicable in many use cases beyond
GBV. As with curb cuts in sidewalks for wheelchairs
and strollers, solutions designed with users and
communities as partners can end up making life
safer and easier for everyone.
Partnering witH users and communities from
the start is crucial to designing technology in the
public interest. What we do not need is another
panic button.

 References
[1] M. Breiding, S. Smith, K. Basile, M. Walters, J. Chen,
and M. Merrick, " Prevalence and characteristics
of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner
violence victimization-National intimate partner and
sexual violence survey, United States 2011, " Morbidity
Mortality Weekly Rep. Surveillance Summaries, vol.
63, no. 8, pp. 1-18, 2014.
[2] NortonLifeLock, " Nearly half of Americans
admit to 'stalking' an ex or current partner
online, " BusinessWire, Feb. 21, 2020. [Online].
Available: https://www.businesswire.com/news/
home/20200212005192/en/
[3] Amnesty International, " Amnesty reveals alarming
impact of online abuse against women, " Nov. 20, 2017.
[Online]. Available: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/
news/2017/11/amnesty-reveals-alarming-impact-ofonline-abuse-against-women/
September
2021
0278-0097/21©2021 IEEE
19

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200212005192/en/ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200212005192/en/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/11/amnesty-reveals-alarming-impact-ofonline-abuse-against-women/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/11/amnesty-reveals-alarming-impact-ofonline-abuse-against-women/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/11/amnesty-reveals-alarming-impact-ofonline-abuse-against-women/

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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