PERSONAL SECURITY

At the completion of training, determine pros and cons of being a public-facing abortion provider, recognizing this may change over time. Determining how public-facing to become may be influenced by the local environment, family situation, race, religion, or other aspects of identity. This stance may evolve as career, personal relationships, and the political environment change. It is also important to consider personal security precautions. It may be safer to begin with tighter security and become more lax in the future, than the reverse. Taking some basic precautions may also help reduce the stress of living and working in an environment where it is possible to be a target.

Here are some tips to consider for maintaining personal and online security:

• Set social media accounts to private
• Avoid personal photographs connected to your name online
• Avoid having your name on public records (ie apartment/home lease or mortgage, car registration)
• Opt-out of having your private information accessible to data-mining companies by following instructions in the “privacy statement” or in website FAQs.
  • Most sites require that you send a written letter with some proof of your identity and statement that your safety is at risk. There is no cost for doing this. More information and a sample letter are available for you here.
  • For instructions on removing yourself from data aggregator sites, we recommend these guides:
    • Michael Bazzell’s Extreme Privacy Opt Out Workbook
    • Yael Grauer’s Big Ass Data Broker Opt Out List
    • Abine’s Opt-out Guides
    • DeleteMe and Kanary are paid services that submit removal requests to data aggregator sites for you
• When applying for jobs, consider discussing what protections are offered to staff. Talk to providers in your area about their own personal security precautions and develop your safety plan before you get started rather than to remedy problems after they occur.
• National Abortion Federation can provide personal security assessments, staff preparedness training, law enforcement assistance, referrals for security, security alerts, and incident reporting mechanisms for members.
• Prochoice Action Network has personal security tips for more specific advice.
• See Ch 10: Preparing for Security Emergencies

Here are some additional resources related to both provider and patient safety:

• Digital Defense Fund Guides Library (including Online Privacy Checklist & Foundations of Organizational Digital Security)
• Keep Your Abortion Private and Secure and Digital Security for Abortion & Pregnancy Privacy (Digital Defense Fund)
• MoFo Privacy Tips for Protecting Reproductive Rights (Ceros)
• Stop Weaponizing Open Records Demands (SWORD)
• Surveilling the Digital Abortion Diary