7. Mobile phones

The use of mobile or cell phones is becoming increasingly common in today's society with over 5 billion connections worldwide. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for nearly half of all connections, and other regions such as Africa, South America and Eastern Europe are also seeing rapid growth.  There are more women using mobile phones all across the world than with access to a personal computer.

The mobility, convenience and affordability of mobile phones have made it a key communication tool. Mobiles help keep all sorts of vital information at our fingertips – much more than just our contact lists. We use it to stay in touch with each other, conduct businesses and remind ourselves of important notes and events. As internet connection and cameras become a standard feature in most mobile phones, we also use it to find information, get entertained, and capture moments in our lives.

Mobile phones have become an important platform for us to exercise our right to expression, information and opinion, and many people around the world have use them to document violations and engage in public and political participation. Initiatives such as Hollaback and Harrass Map help shame aggressors at the same time that they raise awareness to the problem.  For many women, mobile phones are a life line to help. Many women and girls are also choosing to exercise their purchasing power through buying mobile phones because of their usefulness and importance in today's context.

Because mobile phones have become such a central part of our lives, it's important to be aware of some of the associated risks and vulnerabilities. Mobile phones are small and made to travel with us and as a result are frequently lost, or targeted by thieves. As they get more advanced there are increasing points of vulnerability to be aware of regarding your personal safety and privacy. Since you also store a lot of information about your friends, family and contacts on your phone, protecting your privacy also means protecting theirs. 

Mobile phone safety tips

• Consider password-protecting your phone as a way to keep your directory and messages private both if the phone is lost or stolen as well as if you feel that your partner is monitoring your phone calls.
• Be aware that many family plans report on numbers dialed and messages sent to the owner of the plan, so your usage history may not be confidential.
• If you feel you are being monitored by your partner and cannot password protect because you fear for your safety, consider having an alternate SIM card for phone numbers, calling and messaging that you need to keep private.
• As cell phones are easily lost and stolen, think twice before storing intimate photos on your cell phone. Learn how to permanantly erase such images or keep them in a password-protected file on  your phone.
• If you are receiving harassing messages for example from an ex-partner, do not delete them. They are an important record if you need to provide documentation to the police or the provider.  If you are receiving harassing phone calls, check if your phone has call-recording ability to keep a digital recording of your harasser.
• Nowadays many phones are smart phones with internet access and instant messaging services. Safety tips for those services also apply to your cell phone.
• There are many campaigns to recycle old cell phones - either for parts or to benefit people in need, for example, survivors in women's shelters. Before donating make sure you erase all your personal data.  Remove your SIM card and erase usage history by doing a hard reset.  Instructions will vary per phone model so consult the  manual or the internet on how to do this properly.

Learn more about the risks of mobile phones and good practices to be safe.