Meet The Woman Behind The Background Check Service Preventing Gender-Based Digital Crimes
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR GARBO COME ABOUT?
In 2016, I met someone on an online dating app. We started dating, and unfortunately, the relationship quickly got financially, verbally, and physically abusive. He had access to my email, phone, and location. It felt like there was no way of escaping. Around May 2017, my work found out about my situation and helped me create a safety plan. When I thought I could finally move on with my life, that's when the harassment began. I would block him on all virtual platforms, but he would still find a way to contact me. The tipping point was when he sent explicit emails to my coworkers and posted about me on the internet. Imagine waking up to this drama. That's when I knew I had to do something.
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE REPORTING HARASSMENT TO THE AUTHORITIES?
To my great disappointment, the police told me they had no idea what to do since it was online harassment and not a matter of physical danger. I immediately filed for an order of protection, which proved to be completely ineffective. Restraining orders can only be active once they are served. Unfortunately, we couldn't find him for a while, but once it was served, he violated it right away. I spent countless hours working with a lawyer and sitting in the court system. Needless to say, it was a complete nightmare.
From that painful experience though came the idea for Garbo. I thought to myself -- What if there’s an easier way to find people accused of domestic violence or sexual abuse? So I put up a splash page saying “Find people in companies accused of domestic violence," and within a week, had over 500 sign-ups.
Seeing such a positive response to this idea motivated me to pursue it. I spent the first year working on the legality of the work and by July 2019, we were an official 501(c)3. I’m grateful because my board helps me move quickly. I’m trying to make my nonprofit move like a tech startup.
HOW IS GARBO HOPING TO CREATE CHANGE?
The digital age is introducing us to more strangers. When you think about it, there are millions of people using online dating apps, which means more opportunities for harassers to target multiple people. We’re primarily addressing the problem of gender-based violence in the digital era.
Our goal is to hold people — and the system — accountable. Right now, not all county data is created equal. Some counties haven’t digitized their data while other counties only have it available behind expensive paywalls. Our goal is to make conviction and warrant data more accessible to the public. Ideally, we would like to have a domestic violence registry open to the public.
ANY SELF-CARE TIPS FOR SURVIVORS OF RELATIONSHIP ABUSE?
Take your broken heart and turn it into art. Do something with your pain to make something beautiful.
Some days are just not good, and that’s ok. I am still healing from my trauma. It’s a journey. Sometimes, it’s okay to just get through the day. Allow yourself the space and the time to do things. Be kind to yourself. Listen to your needs. You don’t need to be a superhero every day.