NNEDV Launches “DocuSAFE,” A New Evidence Collection App for Survivors

May 7, 2020

UPDATE: As of October 1, 2023, the DocuSAFE application will no longer be available for download. To find helpful information on efficient documentation management, we encourage you to visit our Safety Net team’s website at TechSafety.org.

New tool will help survivors collect evidence of technology-facilitated abuse, harassment, or harm

Today, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) will launch DocuSAFE, a free mobile application for victims of crime, on a national webinar for service providers, allies, and others. This app was created by NNEDV, in partnership with 3Advance, and with funding from the Office on Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice.

“We are pleased to partner with the Office on Victims of Crime to create such a meaningful and important resource for survivors. We know that this tool can be used as one part of the safety planning process for a survivor, and can help survivors collect, store, and share evidence should they choose to do so,” said Deborah J. Vagins, President and CEO of NNEDV. “Ultimately the DocuSAFE app will help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence document the technology-facilitated abuse they are experiencing.”

What is Technology-facilitated Abuse?

Technology-facilitated abuse is the misuse of technology as a tactic of abuse to monitor, track, harass, stalk, or control a victim. This may include misusing tracking devices to monitor someone’s location, listening in on conversations, monitoring phone or computer activity, using technology to impersonate someone, sending harassing or threatening messages, or posting content about someone online with the intent to harm them.

“DocuSAFE will give survivors a new way to document, store, and share evidence of technology-facilitated abuse, such as harassing text messages, threatening social media posts, or online impersonation,” said Erica Olsen, Director of the Safety Net Project at NNEDV. “Documenting abuse can help show patterns, identify escalating behavior, and provide evidence to law enforcement or a court.”

What DocuSAFE Does

Survivors can log individual incidents through photos, screenshots, or video documentation of threatening messages, harassing social media posts, unwanted repeated phone calls, or online impersonation, among other abusive behaviors.

“By storing documentation of abuse in one central location, survivors can more easily identify the abuse that is occurring and the extent to which it is occurring, including possible escalation of the abuse,” said Cindy Southworth, Executive Vice President of NNEDV. “While not all survivors may choose to pursue legal action against the abusive person, for those who do, this app may be used to document and store evidence of the abuse that can be transferred to law enforcement or a judge during a legal proceeding. The app provides options for sharing the content if and when the survivor chooses to.”

For more about technology misuse and evidence collection, visit TechSafety.org.

This product was supported by cooperative agreement number 2017-VF-GX-K030, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.