A Framework to Understand Women’s Mobile-Related Safety Concerns in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

"Mobiles (and the internet) have become conduits for threats that have always existed (e.g. bullying) as well as new ones (e.g. online identity theft). Mobile-related safety concerns are wide ranging and include unsolicited harassing phone calls and text messages, cyberbullying, online harassment, mobile theft and feeling unsafe or uncomfortable when purchasing or topping up devices."

This report from GSMA and their fieldwork partner Context Consulting analyses women's safety concerns based upon more than 30 stakeholder interviews, primary qualitative research in Egypt and India, and secondary research. It "also investigates and maps existing initiatives that tackle safety concerns and provides actionable recommendations for stakeholders on how to address them."

Key findings include the following:

1)"Women’s mobile-related safety concerns can be categorised into three types: ‘physical world’, ‘voice and SMS’ and ‘online’..." Physical world threats include, for example, phone theft, street or sales point harassment for public use, and domestic violence triggered by use. Voice and SMS includes harassing, scamming, and threatening messages. Mobile internet includes stalking, spying, identity and data theft, exposure to inappropriate content, and bullying.

2 )Sixty initiatives were reviewed and categorised into: these ten categories:

• "Anonymous top-up" or adding minutes of credit without disclosing one's number
• female-friendly distribution models, especially with female sales agents;
• call and message blocking;
• web filtering and online security;
• online service provider security settings;
• educational initiatives on safety;
• emergency call services and helpline;
• panic button apps;
• harassment mapping platforms for users to report harassment and other safety issues;
• wearables technologies that can send alerts for help.

Case studies of Egypt and India provide examples of some of these initiatives.

3) Safety concerns reduce mobile access and use for women, and lead to revenue loss for the industry, in four main ways:

• "Reduced customer acquisition: Fewer women start using mobile due to safety and harassment concerns.
• Reduced average revenue per user (ARPU): Women limit or stop using mobile, particularly mobile internet.
• Increased churn: Women change their phone number/SIM (and potentially mobile provider) to avoid harassment and other threats.
• Reduced handset and data revenue..."

4) Stakeholders can address mobile-related safety concerns by:

• "Understanding the scale, impact and drivers of mobile-related safety concerns in their own contexts;
• Designing, launching and/or supporting effective initiatives to tackle mobile-related safety concerns. To make the initiatives effective, the private sector should consider establishing a business case for them, designing them for women with lower literacy and digital literacy, ensuring they are well supported with marketing and incentivising and training agents to promote them;
• Raising awareness of women’s mobile-related safety concerns and the urgent need to address them;
• Promoting the positive role mobile can play in making women feel safer;
• Helping women feel safer when using mobiles and mobile internet by raising their awareness of safety-related initiatives, improving their digital skills and building their digital resilience;9
• Strengthening measures to protect women against internet-related abuse and harassment."

The report concludes that: "Tackling women’s mobile-related safety concerns will have wider socio-economic benefits, both in terms of helping to accelerate digital and financial inclusion for women and creating a significant commercial opportunity for the mobile industry. The GSMA estimates that if mobile operators in low- and middle-income countries could close the gender gap in mobile ownership and mobile internet use today (as a result of addressing safety concerns along with other barriers such as cost and digital literacy), this would generate an estimated incremental revenue of $15 billion over the coming year."