Cyber Abuse & How to Stop It

Santa Cruz CPVAW and community partners invite you to a virtual conference: Cyber Abuse & How To Stop It

Join the Commission for Prevention of Violence Against Women (CPVAW) in the City of Santa Cruz as we mark our 40th anniversary, along with our community partners and an internationally known panel of speakers, for our virtual event entitled "Cyber Abuse & How To Stop It."

In conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness month and Cybersecurity Awareness month, this event intends to raise awareness about different forms of online and tech-facilitated abuses such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying, doxing and social media harassment, online forms of sexual exploitation, and more. Through a mix of presentations, a panel discussion, and a workshop, our speakers will share ways to prevent such abuses and provide resources on how to keep you, your family, and your community safe.

RSVP is required to receive the Zoom link. The link will be sent closer to the date of the event.

Event Schedule

9 AM - 9:10 AM: Opening and a welcome message from Dena Loijos, CPVAW Commissioner and Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, Santa Cruz Community Health Center

9:10 AM - 9:40 AM: An overview of online and tech-facilitated abuse, presentations by:
Rachel Thomas, Director of the Sowers Education Group
Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women

9:40 AM - 9:55 AM: Question & Answer with Ann Simonton, Founder and Director of Media Watch and current CPVAW Chair, speakers, and the audience

| Break |

10 AM - 10:40 AM: Panel Discussion: Safety and Prevention
Anjana Rajan, Chief Technology Officer, Polaris Project
Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Brielle Roundtree, Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence Hotline Coordinator, Trans Lifeline
Diana Freed, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Computer and Information Science at Cornell University
Moderator: Roya Pakzad, CPVAW Commissioner and Founder and Director at Taraaz

10:40 AM - 11:00 AM: Question & Answer

| Break |

11:10 AM - 11: 40 AM: Cybersecurity Training Session
Diana Freed, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Computer and Information Science at Cornell University
Julio Poveda, Ph.D. student, the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM: Closing and community partners acknowledgment by Karen Madura, CPVAW Commissioner and Owner of Brady's Yacht Club

? About the Speakers (in alphabetical order)

Taina Bien-Aimé: Taina Bien-Aimé is the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), one of the oldest international organizations dedicated to ending trafficking in women and girls and commercial sexual exploitation as practices of gender-based violence and discrimination. Prior to this position, Taina was the Executive Director of Women's City Club of New York, an advocacy organization that helps shape public policy in New York. She is also a founding Board member of and later served as the Executive Director of Equality Now (2000-2011), a human rights organization that works to promote the human rights of women and girls globally. Taina holds a Juris Doctor from NYU School of Law and a License in Political Science from the University of Geneva/Graduate School of International Studies in Switzerland.

Diana Freed: Diana Freed is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Computer and Information Science at Cornell University. Her research interests lie broadly at the intersection of human-computer interaction, computer security and privacy, law and mHealth. Diana’s research focuses on advancing the current understanding of how digital technologies are used as tools of abuse in the context of intimate partner violence and youth interpersonal relationships. She is a Facebook Fellow and was previously a Cornell Digital Life Doctoral Fellow, a Data and Society Research Institute Fellow, and has received a Cornell Serve in Place Grant, and an Engaged Cornell Graduate Student Grant. She was a recent visiting scholar at NYU and is a graduate of NYU and Columbia University. Her research has been published at conferences including USENIX Security, CHI, and CSCW and featured by media outlets such as The New York Times, MIT Technology Review, Wired, and Time Magazine. She is also a volunteer at the Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA).

Eva Galperin: Eva Galperin is Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Director of Cybersecurity. Prior to 2007, when she came to work for EFF, Eva worked in security and IT in Silicon Valley and earned degrees in Political Science and International Relations from SFSU. Her work is primarily focused on providing privacy and security for vulnerable populations around the world. To that end, she has applied the combination of her political science and technical background to everything from organizing EFF's Tor Relay Challenge, to writing privacy and security training materials (including Surveillance Self Defense and the Digital First Aid Kit), and publishing research on malware in Syria, Vietnam, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan. When she is not collecting new and exotic malware, she practices aerial circus arts and learning new languages.

Julio Poveda: Julio Poveda is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research interests are human-centered security and cybersecurity. He obtained his Master's degree in Information Security and his bachelor's degree in Systems and Computing Engineering at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. He is also a volunteer at Cornell University's Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA).

Anjana Rajan: Anjana Rajan is the Chief Technology Officer of Polaris, an NGO that uses data-driven strategies to disrupt and prevent human trafficking and modern slavery. She is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur whose expertise is applying technology to human rights and national security issues. Anjana is the former CTO of Callisto, a nonprofit that builds cryptographically-advanced technology to combat sexual assault. Recently, Anjana was a Tech Policy Fellow at the Aspen Institute, where she created privacy-preserving methods to eradicate mass gun violence caused by white supremacist terrorists. Previously, she spent several years in London working at Palantir Technologies building big data platforms for international clients. Anjana was a Knight Scholar at Cornell University and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Operations Research and Information Engineering. Anjana is also a former elite triathlete who raced for Team USA.

Brielle Roundtree: Brielle Roundtree (she/her/hers) is Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence (DIPV) Hotline Coordinator at Trans Lifeline. She is an African American transgender activist whose personal experiences of workplace discrimination ignited her passion to help fight discrimination in hopes of building a future where all persons receive the gift of economic freedom. Brielle’s resiliency is most proudly demonstrated in her founding and facilitating Bridging the Gap Bookclub. Through Bridging the Gap, Brielle helps youth of color in her community navigate their own life experiences by creating support systems of friends, families, allies, and allowing members to share experiences and cultivate love and understanding amongst LGBTQ+ people and their families. Brielle is the National Association of Social Workers 2021 Citizen of the Year and star of OUTtv’s docuseries The Tranzform, highlighting life of three Black trans women in the south.

Rachel C. Thomas: A graduate of UCLA and a personal survivor of human trafficking, Rachel has extensive experience teaching, training, curriculum writing, public speaking and mentoring. As director of Sowers Education Group and lead author of Ending The Game: An Intervention Curriculum for Survivors of Sex Trafficking, Rachel has helped millions to become more aware of human trafficking and has helped hundreds of survivors break the bonds of attachment to traffickers and the lifestyle of commercial sexual exploitation. Recently, Rachel was appointed to the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking for a term of 2 years. http://www.RachelCThomas.com

? About the Partner Organizations

Monarch Services: Monarch Services offers immediate crisis response to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking through a 24-hour confidential, bilingual crisis line. Learn more at https://www.monarchscc.org/

Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center: Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center provides crisis intervention services and support to survivors and their families as well as quality childcare and education for families and teen parents. Learn more at http://www.wafwc.org/

KidPower: Kidpower is the global nonprofit leader in personal safety education for all ages, teaching skills for strong relationships and the prevention of harm. Learn more at https://www.kidpower.org/

Santa Cruz County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART): SART Provides survivors of sexual assault immediate, competent and compassionate response via an interdisciplinary team approach that includes the coordinated participation of medical, forensic, legal, advocacy and law enforcement services.

About the Commission

Since its establishment in 1981, Santa Cruz City CPVAW has envisioned a violence-free world. Through supporting prevention programs and public policy, our vision is to end sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence in the city of Santa Cruz, and our mission is to collaborate with local stakeholder partners and law enforcement to ensure best practices to respond to and prosecute violent crimes against women.

Learn more about the Commission’s work on our website, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/city-manager/commission-for-the-prevention-of-violence-against-women
https://www.facebook.com/SCCPVAW/
https://www.instagram.com/santacruzcpvaw/