Resources to prepare your training sessions

Get to know your participants

In order to be able to design appropriate and relevant training workshops, it is recommended that trainers/facilitators conduct a Training Needs Analysis with their participants. Through this process, the trainer/facilitator can begin learning about the contexts, the expectations, the technical baselines, and the current understanding of the relationships between feminism and technology of their intended/expected participants.

There are various ways to do this process, depending on the time available, access to participants, and resources on-hand. Here we provide guidelines for three different types of Training Needs Analysis:

Note: Conducting a pre-training needs analysis does not mean that the Expectations Check during the first session of the training workshop is no longer necessary. It is advised that any workshop should still include that session to confirm and reaffirm the pre-training needs analysis results.

Ideal training needs analysis

• Preparation time: More than one month
• Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire (Annex 1)
• Baseline Interview Questions (Annex 2)

In this scenario, the trainer/facilitator has ample time to plan and design the training workshop, which means they have the time to connect with the participants, the participants have time to respond, and the trainer/facilitator has time to process the responses.

Given that there is proper lead time for the training planning and design, there are three methodologies in the ideal scenario:

Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire for Participants (see Annex 1 for the questionnaire). In this questionnaire, there are questions about the participants' use of technology and tools, as well as their understanding and knowledge of feminist tech concepts and online GBV, and their expectations for the training workshop. Using this questionnaire, the trainer/facilitator will be able to get a better picture of the needs and realities of the expected participants.

Follow-up Interviews with Participants. Based on the results of the questionnaire, the trainer/facilitator can get a sample of the expected participants to take part in an interview. Ideally, the sample should include all the participants, but a minimum of 50% (depending on the number of participants) should be met. Participants who had outlier/unique responses to specific questions (i.e. the ones with the most experience and the least experience in technology; or the ones with the most knowledge and the least knowledge about feminism and technology; or the ones who have very specific expectations from the training workshop) should be part of the interview process. Usually, these interviews with participants take 60 minutes maximum.

Consultation with Organisers. In this stage, the trainer/facilitator meets with the organisers to share the results of the questionnaire and the interviews, and the proposed training plan and design. Here, the trainer/facilitator also confirms that the design and plan meet the organisers' goals and agenda. It is assumed here that throughout the entire process, the trainer/facilitator has kept in touch with the organisers.

Realistic training needs analysis

• Preparation time: Less than one month
• Use: Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire (Annex 1) OR Baseline Interview Questions (Annex 2)

This scenario is more common. More often than not, a trainer/facilitator has less than one month to plan and design a training workshop due to resource constraints.

Given the time constraints, the trainer/facilitator will need to short-cut the Training Needs Analysis process, and depending on an initial consultation with the organisers, choose between conducting the Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire, or interviewing 50% of the expected participants (see Annex 2 for Baseline Interview Questions).

Base-level training needs analysis

• Preparation time: Less than two weeks
• Use: 10-Question Training Needs Analysis Survey (Annex 3).

In this scenario, the trainer/facilitator has less than two weeks for planning and designing the training workshop. Here, the trainer/facilitator barely has time to get to know the participants before the training workshop and may distribute this questionnaire at the start of a workshop or as participants enter the workshop. While there are a few ways to make up for this lack of pre-training needs analysis during the workshop itself – Expectations Check, or running a Spectrum of Technology Use Exercise, or the Women's Wall of Technology Firsts, we still recommend trying to have the participants respond to a 10-Question Training Needs Analysis Survey (see Annex 3).

Resources

Annex 1: Comprehensive training needs analysis questionnaire for participants

linked here as an .odt document

Annex 2: Baseline interview questions

The purpose of this interview is to short-cut the Comprehensive Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire for Participants. So it will cover the general topics covered by the questionnaire, but with less detail. These interviews are supposed to be 60 minutes long. Each set of questions should roughly take about 10 minutes.

1. Tell me about yourself. Your organisation, your role there. Where are you based? Which communities do you work with?
2. What are the challenges you face in your work when it comes to using the internet? Is this a challenge that the communities that you work with face as well? In what way? How are you or your community members addressing these challenges?
3. What internet applications do you use the most? Do you use them for work or for your personal life?
4. Which device do you use the most? What kind of device is it? What operating system does it run on?
5. What are your top concerns about using the internet and the applications that you use? Do you feel like those applications are secure?
6. Can you tell me what your top three expectations are about the training workshop?

Annex 3: 10-Question training needs analysis

1. Name, organisation, position, and description of the work that you do.
2. What kind of communities do you work with, and what are their main issues?
3. How long have you been using the internet?
4. What operating system do you use the most?
5. What kind of mobile phone do you have?
6. What are the apps that you use the most?
7. What are the top three concerns you have about your use of technology and the internet?
8. What are the top three security tools/practices/tactics that you use?
9. What do you think are the top three issues around feminism and technology?
10. What do you want to learn from the training?

Evaluate your training: Training evaluation tools

Why evaluate?

• To do it better next time.
• To design follow-up support for participants around the workshop learning objectives.

Process

+/-/delta This is a simple method for participants and trainers to share input. We suggest doing this at the end of a workshop for single-day workshops, and at the end of each day for multi-day workshops. We suggest simple feedback methods for the end of workshops because people will tend to be fatigued, with attention wandering, by the end of a training period. A method like this can be quick and participants can choose to share details based on their preferences.

Ask each participant to consider and share things they think were good, things that were bad, and things that should change.

Depending on the time available and the resources you have on hand, participants can write their responses on pieces of paper and hand them to the facilitator, or you can go around and get each participant to say their responses out loud while a facilitator writes them down.

After everyone has shared, trainers/facilitators sit together, share their own +/-/delta reflections as facilitators, and review the participants' +/-/delta reflections. You can use these to:

• Create a list of learnings to share with other trainers/facilitators.
• Make adjustments to this and future workshops.
• Design your follow-up with participants.

One-week follow-up Follow up with hosts and participants to share any resources from the trainings you are able to share (facilitation guide, slides, handouts, etc.) and any reflections you may have about the workshop and next steps.

Three-month follow-up Follow up with the hosts and participants to ask about the impact of the workshop. This is a good time to ask people if they have implemented tools and tactics, revisited their own strategies, etc., as a result of your training.

Intersectionality and inclusivity

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live in single-issue lives.” – Audre Lorde

What is intersectionality?

intersectionality is a framework that recognizes the multiple aspects of identity (such as race, caste, gender) that enrich our lives and experiences and that compound and complicate oppressions and marginalizations.

Here is an example to understand intersectionality in context: Between 25% and 50% of women experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. But this aggregated number hides the ways that multiple oppressions compound such violence. Women of color are more likely to experience gender-based violence than White women and wealth privilege can help to insulate some women from some forms of violence. Bisexual women are far more likely to experience sexual violence than other women. Transgender people are also more likely to experience hate violence than cisgender people. In short, all women may be at risk for gendered violence, but some women are far more at risk.

How do I practice intersectionality in conversations?

Those of us with identity privilege (example: white, straight, cis, able-bodied identities) can have a harder time including those who are oppressed in our feminism. That is why it is important to focus on creating inclusive, respectful spaces where the lived experiences of all women are valued and understood. Here are 5 quick pointers you can keep in mind to create intersectional and inclusive conversations.

1. Self-reflect and recognize your privileges: Taking up the difficult work of investigating our own privilege is key to intersectional feminism. It is a good practice to look within ourselves and take upon the desire to learn about issues and identities that do not impact us personally. Being privileged doesn't necessarily imply that our existence oppresses another community. What it means is there are certain experiences we don't have to go through because of who we are.
2. Decenter your perspective: It’s important to understand that feminism is about more than ending sexism — it’s also about ending all the interconnected systems of oppression that affect different women in different ways. There are things that our privileges allow us to take for granted - able bodied people don’t always notice ableism, and White people don’t always notice racism. So make an effort to avoid centering feminism around yourself or people of privilege.
3. Listen to each other: On the feminist issues where we hold privilege, it's crucial to listen to the experiences of all women, including those women who don't to see the world through a more inclusive lens You can't walk the walk if you don’t know where the walk goes. So if you are a White feminist, be mindful that you are not talking over or for people of color.
4. Think about the language you use: If you are a non-Muslim feminism, be wary of saying things like “It must feel hot outside in a veil”. Using terms such as #PussyPower can alienate transgender women who may not possess these body parts. These are two examples of the many ways in which the language we use can ostracize women. It is good practice to constantly check ourselves and how we talk about women who do not look like us, or who lead lives different from our own.
5. Be willing to make mistakes and correct for them: Adopting an intersectional framework is not an easy process. So, sometimes despite our best efforts at being inclusive, we may slip up and get called out for our mistakes. Rather than becoming defensive, recognize that being called out is not really about your worth as a person, and that you can apologize and adjust your behavior to avoid repeating the same mistake.
6. Recognize that everyone brings knowledge to the table: Recognizing that everyone brings knowledge to the table helps to lessen the distance between us and challenge the idea that some of us know more than others when really we all know some things more than others. Working together to learn from each other (as the activities in these modules are designed to achieve) helps everyone gain most from this experience.

Additional resources

• https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/why-our-feminism-must-be-intersectional/
• https://www.bustle.com/articles/117968-5-reasons-intersectionality-matters-because-feminism-cannot-be-inclusive-without-it
• https://www.elitedaily.com/women/feminism-inclusive-women/1507285
  
  
  

Notes for holding up a healthy conversational space

A conversation on gender-based violence can evoke different responses from different individuals based on their personal experiences and privileges. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind while talking about this sensitive issue.

1. All participants do not have the same level of privilege

While the included modules offer many activities and resources, many discussions are not just intellectual exercises for everyone ― people who face discrimination or have experienced violence are potentially dealing with a mental health issue.

2. Importance of trigger warnings

Trigger Warnings allow those who are sensitive to the subject of discrimination and violence to prepare themselves for discussing about them, and better manage their reactions. Remember, the key to an effective Trigger Warning is being specific - if a Trigger Warning is not specific enough, it could refer to anything from eating disorders to bullying. Thus, it’s a good idea to follow Trigger Warnings with specialized lists of content. For example, while discussing a case study on partner violence, you could specify beforehand, “A quick heads-up: This discussion contains instances of Rape, Abuse, and Partner Violence. If you feel triggered, please know there are resources to help you.”. For those who need the warning, this helps them prepare for the discussion, and for others, this helps sensitize them to the fact that those around them can find the discussion hard going.

3. Do not pressurize someone to talk about their experiences

Forcing someone to talk about a sensitive event is making someone re-live the experience and all of the negative emotions that come with it. Some people just aren’t ready to open that box of worms. Instead, give people room to explore the trauma and the the time to open up when they are ready.

How to help someone who feels triggered

Even with the best of preparations, sometimes precautions don’t work because triggers are usually individual specific. Here are a few steps you can take to help someone who feels triggered by an ongoing discussion.

1. Recognize

Recognize that your content could be hurtful to someone.

2. Apologize

Apologize for saying something that hurt the person. Remember that the apology is about the person who has been hurt, and not about you. Avoid justifying or defending your words or actions and be sincere about your apology; it is not personal.

3. Empathize

Empathize by trying to understand why the person may be hurt. You can do this by actively listening to the person who is feeling triggered.

4. Rectify

Continue the discussion by avoiding a repetition of the said trigger. Remember that triggered reactions can temporarily render people unable to focus, regardless of their desire or determination to do so. Be open to participants leaving the conversation if they feel uncomfortable. Make sure they have access to help if they need it. It is advisable to have a mental health professional on board for such emergencies at events.

If a professional is not present at the venue, here are a few resources that can enable you to help someone who’s been triggered:

• https://www.rainn.org/articles/flashbacks
• https://www.bustle.com/articles/87947-11-ways-to-help-a-friend-whos-been-triggered-because-it-is-most-definitely-a-real

Feminist practices and politics of technology

FPT embodies both a critical perspective and analysis of technology. It poses questions and defines issues relating to technology from feminist perspectives, taking into account various women's realities, women's relationships with technologies, women's participation in technology development and policy-making, power dynamics in technologies and feminist analysis of the social effects of technologies.

FPT defines our approach to training. It defines the core values that comprise feminist technology training. It is based on the experiences of women and feminists in and with technology training.

FPT is a growing idea. How it has been defined so far can change and mutate through practice, discourse and experience, and because politics and contexts change.

FPT recognises and advocates that feminist practices of technology cannot be devoid of a feminist perspective and analysis of the politics of technology.

FPT views technologies in two ways: on one hand, technology has resulted in new issues for women and in new permutations of women's issues; on the other hand, technology provides new solutions and approaches to addressing women's issues. It grounds new technologies to women's issues, interrogating how women's realities influence how technologies are developed, used, appropriated and benefitted from as well as how technologies are changing women's realities. It also looks at technologies with a strategic and creative eye, assessing how they can be developed and appropriated to support and facilitate women's rights agendas.

As a perspective, it does not define what the conclusions and issues are. Rather, it poses questions and issues that would lead to exploring and interrogating technologies from feminist perspectives.

Some of the questions include:

As an approach to training, FPT has core values that define 'feminist technology training'. It springs from the experiences of the FTX trainers as participants and facilitators of technology training. Most of these reflect the values that have already defined 'feminist training'. The difference is that these values are specifically relevant to technology training contexts.

The core values include:

Participatory / Inclusive

Feminist training recognises that the trainer has as much to learn from the learners as they do from her and from the other learners. As such, training will be designed in such a way that will facilitate exchange and discussion.

Feminist training allows for various ways of learning and communicating to accommodate different learning styles.

Feminist training allows for differences in opinions, in experiences and in contexts. It does not assume that all of the participants come from the same background, and it has to be flexible enough to accommodate differences.

Secure

Feminist training is a space where the participant feel safe in two ways: in their learning – that they can ask questions, raise issues, divulge information that will not be rejected, belittled and divulged without their consent in their understanding of technologies – that they are aware of the (possible) risks of certain technologies (i,e. Privacy in social networking sites, safety in using the internet to publish alternative content, etc.)

Grounded in women's realities

Feminist training should be based on the needs and realities of the participants. This means, that technologies that will be tackled will have to be appropriate and relevant to the participants. This also means that discussions on technologies must take into account the context of the participants.

Appropriate / sustainable technologies

Feminist training should prioritise technologies that the participants can apply, appropriate and use after the training for their work.

Free and Open Source software will be given priority, but only if the participants can sustain their use post-training.

Transparent / open

Feminist trainers are aware of that they have their own agenda for the training and they make their goals apparent to their participants. This means having processes where expectations from participants and trainers are negotiated and agreed upon.

Creative / strategic

Feminist training is an opportunity to look at technologies strategically and creatively to appropriate them in ways that are relevant to the participants' contexts.

Emphasising the role of women in technology

Feminist training highlights women's contribution to technology development, use and policymaking. Women like Ada Lovelace and others who have significantly contributed to technologies are great role models, specifically for learners who have fears regarding technologies.

Furthermore, this contributes to correcting the mis-representation of women in the history of technology.

Emphasising women's control of technology

Feminist training is not afraid to get into the deeper aspects of technologies (in development and in policy-making) and emphasis on 'control' and full understanding of how technologies work (and not just on use) must be made.

Fun!

Feminist training should be a space where women can have fun with technology to break down barriers that affect women's relationships and control over technologies.

Our feminist principles of participation

This document has been developed by WRP APC as a guide for ourselves and partners hosting learning and capacity building events, such as Take Back the Tech campaigns, Feminist Tech Exchanges and conversations around the Feminist Principles of the Internet. You can find a pdf version here. 

We have produced this in a spirit of collaboration and co-ownership to encourage creating spaces both online and onground, that are framed as feminist and facilitate safety and fun for all as well as promoting and upholding principles of diversity, creativity, inclusivity and pleasure. We come from many communities, cultures and faiths and embody a beautiful diversity of physical, social and psychic realities. Through creating safe, fun and caring spaces, we enable engaged participation, deeper learning and the possibility of growing dynamic, responsive and caring movements.

These are the framing principles we value and apply in the spaces and events we co-create.

The principles in action

Create a safe space for all participants.

As far as possible, for example through an online survey, get to know your participants beforehand. Ask for specific needs they might have such as physical access, dietary requirements, particular travel fears or safety requirements. Ideally the venue should have light and air, be quiet and be free from surveillance and interference from non-participants. During the event, gently encourage participants to be open about subjects which might cause them distress and to take responsibility for alerting facilitators if they feel uncomfortable.

Be respectful.

Negotiate with participants at the start of the event about what is needed for a respectful and nurturing environment. Encourage deep listening – meaning that we give our full attention to each other. Acknowledge that there are things that our privileges allow us to take for granted – for example, able bodied people don’t always notice ableism, white people don’t always notice racism.

Be collaborative and participatory.

As trainers/facilitators be well prepared, open and aware of your own agenda for the event and make your goals apparent to the participants. Have processes where expectations from participants and trainers are negotiation and agreed upon -- for example, use smaller groups if some people are not comfortable speaking in plenary. Ground learning in women’s lived realities and use methodologies that prioritise participant voices and experiences. Recognise that everyone brings learnings to the table.

Recognise and value diversity.

Acknowledge differing levels of privilege in the room as well as our multiple identities. Ensure that intersectionality does not make people feel more excluded and ‘different but encourages the harnessing of diversity of identities and experiences as an opportunity for learning, exchange and enriching the space. Help people recognise that a discussion on ableism or racism is not necessarily targeting the able bodied or white people in the room as perpetrators of discrimination and encourage people to listen, think and explore systemic discrimination.

Respect the privacy of participants.

Ask for consent on photographs and directly quoting participants / giving attribution for documentation. Agree on the use (or not!) of social media. Co-develop a privacy agreement for the event. If there are discussions on sensitive issues such gender-based violence, racism, homophobia or transphobia, recognise that some participants may not be ready to speak about these things. Do not push discussion about personal experiences if this causes distress. Always ensure there is a trained person available to support participants who have experienced trauma.

Be aware of language use and respect language diversity.

Acknowledge the languages of all participants and as far as possible offer interpretation/translation. As a rule, everyone should speak clearly and slowly, and feel comfortable asking about acronyms or terms that are not understood. Ask that people think about the language they use and not to use terms that might be oppressive or offensive to others. Request that people be open if they feel offended and use these as learning opportunities. Content may involve technological terms or language that is considered academic and that could be new to some participants. Challenge the tyranny of technological terms! Make content understandable and intriguing and emphasise taking control of and growing a full understanding of how technologies actually work.

Handle disagreement constructively.

Act fairly, honestly and in good faith with other participants. Encourage empathy and take the time to rectify any disagreements, any uncomfortable or hurtful words or behaviour that may occur. Create an atmosphere of openness and facilitate space for apologies and/or explanation if needed.

Embed politics and practice of self and collective care.

Acknowledge that self-care is different for different people and depends on who we are and where we are located in our lives and contexts. Self-care and collective care impact each other. So make time for people to breathe, connect with bodies and hearts, through ritual or embodied practice, to release any tension or anxiety. As holders of space, be mindful of and try and clear any stress in the room so that people can show up to the collective and participate fully. Invite participants to suggest self-care practices.

We encourage people to read APC’s Sexual Harassment Policy can be found here:  APC_Sexual_Harassment_Policy_v5.1_June_2016.pdf

FTX Safety reboot convening 2018 draft agenda

Overall design and activities

Goals of the convening

• Bring together feminist practitioners and trainers working on digital safety and self-care to unpack, understand, apply, adapt, contextualise and deepen the FTX: Safety Reboot curriculum on feminist digital security which APC WRP is building.
• Create a space for skill and knowledge sharing on methodologies, approaches and pedagogies for building confidence, growing knowledge and uptake in this area by women's rights and feminist activists in different movements.
• Integrate feminist work on the politics of care and well-being into the field of digital security and promote and support political kinship, solidarity and a deepened understanding of the feminist practice of technology.
• Facilitate building a trusted network of feminist trainers and facilitators for collaborative work, continued exchange and active solidarity in this area.

Day 1: Grounding ourselves and our work

The first day will be about talking about rooting the convening on three levels:

• the context that brought everyone together: WRP´s work, FTX safety reboot, the plans for a feminist commons, etc
• the world that we live in and do our holistic security work: discussion of issues that we face, and that our participants face
• what it means to be a feminist trainer

Proposed activities

• Participant intros and agenda setting (This might happen on two levels: one with the participants from the FTX Convening and the TBTT Global Meet-up, and again in the FTX space.)
• Part of the morning will be merged with the TBTT Meet-up
• Grounding ourselves holistically [title pending] (session to be led by Sandra and Cynthia)
• Visualising where we work in, who we work with and who we are as trainers
• A session on the world in which online gender-based violence happens (merged with the TBTT folks)

Day 2: Challenging ourselves

The second day will be mostly about having facilitated sessions about the challenges we face as trainers, and different ways of doing the training work that we do. These suggestions are largely based on the responses to the survey that we sent to the participants. We can accommodate about 5, 1.5 sessions for this day.

• Integrating well-being and self-care in our work (to be led by Sandra and Cynthia)
• Digital Security At The Grassroots (Bishakha volunteered to lead this)
• Organisational security (co-facilitated by Bex and Dhyta)
• [Late afternoon] Fish bowl session on risk assessment (convergence with the TBTT Meet-up)

Other possible topics.

• Re-imagining how we train (storytelling, the use of art, avoiding fear-based tactics, not using military language, etc)
• Re-imagining risk assessment
• Countering online gender-based violence

Day 3: Exploring ways forward

This day will do focused work on the FTX modules. At the end of Day 2, it would be good to have teams of people who are looking at the parts of the FTX Safety Reboot that they want to work on more.

On Day 3, we give them time to look at the parts and to reflect on the following questions:

• How will this module be useful in your context? How would you change it? What would you add?
• What are the points in the module that will cause your participants stress? And how will you address that?
• What do you need as a trainer - facilitator to be able to apply this module? Skills, knowledge, experience, prep work?

And in their teams, they can discuss suggestions for improvement.

(I really want to have time for folks to try out activities with each other, and perhaps with the TBTT folks. But that would take time. So any ideas around how we can do that would be welcome.)

Day 4: Working together?

For this day, maybe leftover work from Day 3. But also, have conversations about:

• sustaining ourselves as trainers
• the feminist commons
• how we work together in the future, opportunities for collaboration
• what happens to the FTX modules

We will also be interfacing with the TBTT folks towards the end.

Visualising where we work in, who we work with and who we are as trainers

Activity 1

Here, we ask the participants to draw one our two typical folks that they work with in their trainings, with focus on the following parts:

• Head: what do they know, what issues do they grapple with
• Heart: what is important to them, what do they value, what do they believe in, what are their fears
• Hands: what are the skills they have, what do they bring to the training
• Feet: where are they? what contexts do they live in

This activity will allow for time for self-reflection, but the processing will happen in small group discussions.

Here, we aim to begin to start grounding the work in the realities and contexts of the people that our participants work with.

Activity 2

Using the same method as above, ask the participants to draw themselves.

Give them time to reflect on the the drawings that they have done.

Activity 3

In small groups, have time for to discuss the following questions:

• What are the threats our communities are facing? How has it changed?
• As activists and part of social movements, how does our work as trainers contribute to the cause?
• What are the limitations of training as an intervention? Are there other capacity development modes we should be exploring?
• What are the gaps between who we are as trainers and who the folks we work with?
• Given the activities, what does it mean to be a feminist trainer?

Debrief

Then we come back to the big group and have a discussion about what the groups talked about.