For LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations, having digital literacy skills is more than just understanding apps and websites - it's about empowerment, safety, and human rights in the current digital world.
The threats are real and rising. LGBTQ+ people face elevated risks of cyber harassment, doxing attempts, and privacy violations that can transform into real-world discrimination, violence, and trauma. (source) At the same time, our community is at risk for our data being leaked and exploited by unscrupulous actors through online scams and data breaches. (source)
Developing digital literacy skills like privacy controls, secure browsing, identifying misinformation and protecting devices is quite literally a matter of safeguarding our identities, relationships and very existence in the digital age. It's how we fight back against technology-enabled hate and reclaim autonomy over our information.
This is why LGBT Tech is expanding our Digital Navigator program to include our new initiative to help improve access to digital skills resources and create a library of free, accessible resources from data security basics to online safety planning for LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations.
For LGBTQ+ nonprofits and organizations, it's crucial to have access to digital literacy resources that can empower them to develop and implement their own proactive online safety practices. Having well-defined protocols for areas like account security, safe browsing habits, identifying misinformation campaigns, and incident response planning is essential for LGBTQ+ organizations. Our goal is to help educate and equip the LGBTQ+ community with the knowledge needed to be proactive and make informed decisions around digital security and mitigating online risks in an inclusive and accessible format.
This is why at the upcoming TransTech Summit on March 30th, LGBT Tech’s Digital Navigator, Arin Rook, will be presenting a digital safety planning virtual workshop. We'll cover fundamental online safety concepts then provide tangible tools for attendees to use to begin developing their own tailored digital safety policies and procedures for their own organizations.
Whether you're an individual looking for tips on navigating the internet safely as your authentic self, or a queer-led organization requiring resilient systems - the path to realizing our collective liberation in the modern digital age will require our community to become confident, protected, and empowered online. We hope to see you virtually at the Summit.