New B.C. program gives domestic abuse survivors doorbell cameras

New B.C. program gives domestic abuse survivors doorbell cameras

Doorway to Safety program will distribute 3,000 doorbell cameras across the province

A new program is offering free doorbell cameras to survivors of domestic abuse across British Columbia.

The Doorway to Safety project, led by the B.C. Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH) in partnership with Tech Safe B.C., will provide 3,000 Ring doorbells to people right across the province.

The doorbells, donated by Amazon Canada, will also include a subscription for the life of the device — which provides video recording and additional safety features.

"Sadly, there’s a need for safety planning for a whole host of folks across British Columbia," said Amy FitzGerald, executive director of the B.C. Society of Transition Houses.

An independent report by lawyer Kim Stanton, commissioned by the province, found 48 per cent of women in B.C. over the age of 15 had experienced intimate partner violence.

FitzGerald said she has heard from people working with victims of domestic abuse that this kind of technology could be useful for them, but cost has been a barrier.

She said the doorbells are meant to be one aspect of a survivor's broader safety plan.

They will be distributed in all regions across the province by workers running frontline programs that provide housing to women experiencing domestic violence.

Frontline workers will work with each recipient to determine the best type of device for their situation, and will offer virtual and in person training about the safe use of devices.

"Safety planning is complicated, the woman knows what’s best for her safety," said FitzGerald.

"For some people, it’s going to give them that added sense of security as to who’s outside their house or who’s in their house even."

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Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of the Battered Women’s Support Services, says while a device like this cannot necessarily stop abuse from happening, it can help survivors feel safer in their homes.

"It provides a sense of safety, it provides some information," said MacDougall.

"That sense of safety can be really meaningful when there’s a threat."

She said video footage can also be useful evidence in court proceedings for those who have experienced domestic abuse.

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But she said information gathered by a doorbell camera — like who lives in the home, a person's schedule, information on who visits that home — could also be used against survivors if it falls in the wrong hands.

"One of the biggest concerns is around information getting into the hands of third parties, such as law enforcement, Amazon, or abusers," she said.

"That kind of protocols and safety practices and disclosures would need to be clearly defined."

FitzGerald said there will be no reporting or information available on who the devices go to.

"It is designed that this is for the women and the use of the footage is for them," she said.

Michelle Gomez is a writer and reporter at CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at michelle.gomez@cbc.ca.