website design? rape survivor comms?

[nerdflighter]

can somebody come onto this post or my inbox and talk about how communities for survivors of violence (sexual/otherwise) are structured? and if you had the ability to design a community for survivors, what would you really want? what features are indispensable and which ones would be amazing to have? I'm working on a website for refugees to connect with other refugees (please ask me about it) and I'm trying to look at the closest analogues that I know of that have established communities - I'm also looking at reddit subs for abuse survivors. I want to know what makes these spaces work, and I want to know how to make them as easy to work with as possible. everything you can give me, please.

Comments

[siderea]

P.S.

Oh, right. On behalf of everyone in or from Africa, India, and Latin America, and about half of China: screw the desktop, it's all phones all the time.

Seriously, none of this "we'll also make it accessible on the phone" nonsense. Like, I'm strongly recommending that you don't even make a desktop version, to force you to prioritize the phone experience.

See: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/920460.html and read the comments for more info and links.

[wellthisisnice]

Oh, definitely go with mobile-friendly design! The main reason i decided to create a website about asexuality in my native language, beside lack of truly accessible 101 info, was that even though most anyone uses their phone as their primary access to the Internet nowdays (especially for non-work stuff) the only mobile-friendly ace resource available was Facebook, which is not very... human-friendly. Especially for older, neurodivergent, and disabled folks, and those fleeing violence and abuse.

This video has some tips on how to build mobile-friendly websites.

This is even more relevant in refugee communities, that we know use their smartphones as sometimes their only way to find resources and connect with others. It can also be used against them, so take that into consideration when building the site too.

Related to that, remember to look up universal and accessible web design. Accessibility checklists are great for this, and some of these considerations can be useful not only for disabled users, but also for those you may not be fluent in the language(s) your website is built, since accessible informational design offers simplified language and multiple info clues (like, for example, consistent colors and icons).

[nerdflighter]

good point about Accessibility! and thanks for the links, I'll look into them <3

[nerdflighter]

I have a friend (very new friend) who works with refugees from all over the world. she's interested in exploring if there's a collective refugee identity and how refugees from different contexts can support each other.
she was talking about how a lot of refugees are very isolated in the places they end up in, so in spite of having an immediate community, they're extremely isolated from the rest of the world.
I'll bring up your points to her, though, and see what she says.
I picked rape survivor comms as the closest analogue to what I was trying to have, but obviously they're not the same situation and many things will have to be adapted and changed.
Thanks for the input! I'll get back to you on the other stuff