How do you stay safe online as an activist? In an increasingly digital world, this question is an urgent one, especially for feminist activists facing harassment, surveillance, and exclusion.
We need safer digital spaces. This means addressing digital security, which protects data and online activity, and advocating for digital rights, which addresses how technology reinforces discrimination and exclusion, particularly against groups that have been structurally pushed to the margins. According to Team CommUNITY, a community-based membership network that brings together digital defenders, digital rights are an extension of human rights in the digital age. Fighting for these rights means addressing issues such as surveillance, censorship, disinformation, and the impact of AI, which disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people, journalists, children, and activists. What began as a fight for privacy and freedom of expression now also includes fighting for digital equity, access, literacy, and labour rights.
Our grantee-partners around the world are doing just that. They are:
- developing feminist tech tools and networks,
- tracking and documenting online gender-based violence,
- sharing practical online safety tips, and
- advocating for more inclusive and just digital policies.
Keep reading to discover their tools and tips aimed at making the digital space safer for feminist activists – and for all of us!
Numun Fund: changing tech and philanthropy
Numun Fund is the first fund focused entirely on feminist tech. They support groups around the world to build and grow the tech tools and networks that feminist movements need. Numun Fund sees digital technology as a key part of how movements organise and create change. Their work helps connect feminist tech communities, strengthen social justice movements, push for change in the tech world and in philanthropy, and support the creation of technologies that work for most people, not just the powerful few. To receive news about feminist tech, subscribe to their mailing list.
Language: English
Based: worldwide
Delete Nothing: tracking online gender-based violence
Delete Nothing is a queer feminist tech initiative which operates a trilingual online documentation tool that tracks tech-related gender-based violence in Sri Lanka, especially as experienced by girls, women, and queer and trans people. The tool is part of a bigger website with resources and support links which explain what this kind of violence looks like, how to deal with it, what legal protections are out there, and where to get help, as well as tips on how to document incidents. You can also find it on we-gitalheroes, a learning platform about digital rights, security, and online know-how for young people.
Using feedback from the tool and interviews with grassroots and civil society groups, Delete Nothing put together Digital Shadows: Understanding Online Gender-based Violence, a report that shows what online gender-based violence looks like in Sri Lanka, how it’s changing, and how it affects people. It includes recommendations for activists, governments, researchers, and tech platforms.
Languages: Sinhala, Tamil, and English
Based in: Sri Lanka
Demystifying the ‘F-word’ – Feminism In India
Feminism in India is an award-winning digital intersectional feminist media platform that makes feminism accessible, especially for young people. It aims to break the stigma around the ‘F-word’ and build awareness through media, art, tech, and community. The platform amplifies the voices of women and communities that are pushed to the margins.
Feminism in India has published several reports, including Online Violence Against Women in India, which analyses the threats faced online by women and communities that are pushed to the margins in India, and examines how Indian laws affect these problems. Another key resource is their Media Ethics Toolkit On Sensitive Reportage, a practical guide for journalists on how to report on sexual violence with care.
Language: English
Based in: India
Who has access to technology? – Flame
FLAME (Feminist Leadership and Mobilization on the Edge), or Bainbian Nuli in Chinese, stands for women’s power at and on the edge. They imagine a culturally diverse, sustainable, and safe society where gender and sexual minorities live with dignity and equal rights. Their work focuses on making technology more accessible and inclusive for women and queer communities.
For FLAME, access to tech isn’t just about infrastructure, it’s also about language, affordability, and the power to connect, speak up and be seen. They’re reclaiming tech for everyone. FLAME also offers resources like an online game in Traditional Chinese about fighting digital gender-based violence, and links to support services for those experiencing online harm.
Languages: traditional Chinese, English
Based in: Taiwan
Dish of the day – Transfeminist Network of Digital Care
The Transfeminist Network of Digital Care researched how funders can better support human rights groups with digital safety. Their report, Digital Care and Philanthropy, explores the barriers these groups face, like lack of time, tools, and long-term support. It also offers practical steps for philanthropy to help, such as creating spaces for collaboration among funders and helping human rights organisations build autonomous digital infrastructures. Their approach sees digital security as part of everyday care, not just a tech issue, and calls for more local, inclusive, and sustainable solutions.
The network also created a playful, multilingual site called Dish of the Day, where digital safety tips are served like dishes. It invites you to think about tech use the way we think about food: something that can be intentional, political, and nourishing. The site offers ‘dishes’ in the form of simple tips: like checking your privacy settings, using strong passwords, or using free software. For extra spice, they suggest tools for things like file sharing, encrypted calls, and video meetings. Don’t forget to do the dishes (wipe your date when you’re done) and never accept food from strangers (phishing).
Languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish
Based in: Brazil
Care Kit for a Dissident Internet – Luchadoras
Luchadoras is a feminist collective active in physical and digital spaces. They share stories, promote the use of information and communication technologies, build a safer and more inclusive internet, and create spaces where the knowledge, strength, and power of women is recognised and celebrated. On their website, they also offer tips on how to stay safe online.
Their Care Kit for a Dissident Internet is a toolkit for those who don’t feel fully safe or seen online. It brings together voices from trans inclusive feminist communities to challenge dominant tech narratives and imagine a freer, more caring internet. Inside, you’ll find reflections on online activism, collective resistance to digital violence, and strategies for self- and community care. It begins by breaking down what we mean by hate speech and why it matters, then explores alternative ways of being online – grounded in solidarity, creativity, and mutual support. Mama Cash has always been a trailblazer. Since 1983, we have funded movements that tackle the interconnectedness of all injustices. They know that rights aren’t passively requested – they’re actively fought for. Today, we’re proud to support the numerous feminist movements that are unstoppable forces of change, and that are pushing fearlessly for a world where women, girls, and trans and intersex people can live freely and boldly.
Language: Spanish
Based in: Mexico