All Experiences Matter: Designing Safety Tools for Vulnerable Groups in the Caribbean

Threats to online safety continue to be an extensive problem for social media users. In particular, women and the LGBTQ+ community are often disproportionately affected by severe forms of threats that could transfer to risks to their physical safety. However, safety tools and platform policies often assume users are more homogeneous which may not acknowledge the varying needs of vulnerable populations affected by social oppression. This problem is exacerbated in small closely-knit communities like the Caribbean where it may be difficult to recover from or avoid abusers. Although legislation for online safety exists, they are enforced in few countries throughout the region, and there are few cases of victims being heard in court. My dissertation work attempts to address this problem by developing a holistic understanding of how to design safety tools that acknowledge cultural differences, legislative constraints, and social oppression for vulnerable groups.