Designing Safe Technology: A Governance Framework for Organisations

SAFECHAIN™ · Digital Safeguarding

Designing Safe Technology: A Governance Framework for Organisations

By Samantha Avril-Andreassen, LLB (Hons), LLM, LPC, FRSA
Founder, SAFECHAIN™

Technology has become fundamental to modern life.

We unlock our homes with smartphones. We manage our finances online. We communicate through messaging platforms. We share our location with family members. Artificial intelligence assists decision-making. Connected devices increasingly shape how we work, live and interact.

Every technological advancement brings new opportunities.

It also introduces new safeguarding responsibilities.

For many organisations, digital safety remains primarily a cybersecurity issue—focused on preventing unauthorised access, protecting data and responding to cyber threats.

Those responsibilities are essential.

But they are no longer sufficient.

Technology must also be designed to protect people.

The question organisations should now be asking is not simply:

"Is our technology secure?"

It is:

"Is our technology safe for the people who use it?"

That distinction marks the difference between technical security and safeguarding governance.

Technology Is Never Neutral

Technology itself is neither good nor bad.

Its impact depends upon how it is designed, governed and used.

The same location-sharing feature that reassures a parent their child has arrived safely can be weaponised by an abusive partner.

The same smart lock that improves home security can become an instrument of coercive control.

The same artificial intelligence that improves customer service can be exploited to manipulate, impersonate or intimidate.

Technology does not create abuse.

It can, however, enable, amplify or conceal it.

Design choices matter.

Moving Beyond Cybersecurity

Many organisations have invested significantly in:

• cybersecurity;

• fraud prevention;

• privacy compliance;

• information governance;

• regulatory compliance.

Far fewer have considered how their technology might unintentionally facilitate coercive control, economic abuse, stalking or technology-enabled harassment.

Cybersecurity protects systems.

Safeguarding protects people.

Modern governance requires both.

What Is Safe Technology?

SAFECHAIN™ defines Safe Technology as:

Technology that has been designed, implemented and governed to minimise opportunities for abuse while supporting the safety, autonomy and dignity of the people who use it.

This extends beyond technical resilience.

It considers how technology functions within real human relationships, recognising that not every risk originates from an unknown cybercriminal.

Sometimes the greatest risk comes from someone the victim already knows.

The SAFECHAIN™ Digital Safeguarding Framework

SAFECHAIN™ proposes six governance principles for designing safer technology.

1. Safety by Design

Safeguarding should be considered during product design—not after harm has occurred.

Risk assessments should examine how legitimate features might be exploited for coercive control, stalking or harassment.

2. Survivor-Centred Control

Users should be able to:

• separate shared accounts safely;

• revoke access quickly;

• review connected devices;

• understand who has access to their information;

• regain control without increasing risk.

Technology should restore autonomy—not complicate it.

3. Transparency and Accountability

Organisations should ensure users can clearly understand:

• what information is collected;

• who can access it;

• how long it is retained;

• how permissions are managed;

• how decisions involving AI are made where applicable.

Transparency builds trust.

4. Safeguarding by Default

Products should include safety features as standard wherever appropriate.

Examples include:

• emergency account separation;

• privacy-first settings;

• visible access histories;

• discreet reporting options;

• clear permission management;

• secure recovery processes.

Safety should not depend upon users knowing hidden settings exist.

5. Cross-Sector Collaboration

Technology-facilitated abuse rarely affects one organisation alone.

Effective safeguarding requires collaboration between:

• technology providers;

• housing organisations;

• police;

• financial institutions;

• healthcare;

• education;

• domestic abuse services;

• regulators.

Protection improves when information, expertise and governance evolve together.

6. Continuous Governance

Technology changes rapidly.

Governance must evolve alongside it.

Regular reviews should consider:

• emerging technologies;

• new safeguarding risks;

• changes in legislation;

• user feedback;

• incident analysis;

• lessons learned.

Governance is an ongoing responsibility—not a one-time exercise.

Institutional Fragmentation™

One of the greatest barriers to digital safeguarding is that responsibility is often divided across organisational boundaries.

Cybersecurity teams focus on technical risks.

Safeguarding teams focus on people.

Legal teams consider compliance.

Product teams prioritise usability.

Risk teams monitor operational threats.

Each performs an essential function.

Yet without coordination, critical safeguarding issues may remain invisible.

This is Institutional Fragmentation™.

The technology functions exactly as designed.

The governance surrounding it does not.

Questions Every Organisation Should Ask

Before introducing any new technology, organisations should ask:

• Could this feature be exploited to control another person?

• Have survivors been involved in testing or consultation?

• Can users safely leave shared digital environments?

• Are safeguarding professionals involved in product governance?

• Are AI systems independently reviewed for potential harm?

• Can staff recognise technology-facilitated abuse?

• Does our incident management system capture safeguarding risks?

• Who is accountable when technology contributes to harm?

These questions should become as routine as cybersecurity testing.

Safe Technology Is Good Governance

Safe technology is not achieved through software alone.

It is achieved through leadership.

Boards, regulators, executives, developers and frontline professionals all share responsibility for ensuring technology protects the people it serves.

Safeguarding should never be considered an optional enhancement.

It is a governance obligation.

The SAFECHAIN™ Perspective

SAFECHAIN™ views digital safeguarding as an essential component of organisational governance.

The future of safeguarding will depend not only on stronger laws or more advanced technology, but on organisations designing systems that anticipate how technology may be misused before harm occurs.

Technology should strengthen trust.

Not undermine it.

Innovation should expand freedom.

Not create new opportunities for coercive control.

The safest technologies are not simply those that are difficult to hack.

They are those that are difficult to weaponise.

Looking Ahead

Digital innovation will continue to accelerate.

Artificial intelligence, connected homes, wearable technology, financial platforms and smart infrastructure will increasingly shape how society functions.

The organisations that lead the future will not simply be those that build the most advanced technology.

They will be those that build the safest.

Because safeguarding should never be an afterthought.

It should be part of the architecture.

This article reflects SAFECHAIN™'s governance analysis of digital safeguarding and technology-enabled abuse. It is intended to promote professional discussion and organisational learning. It does not constitute legal, regulatory or cybersecurity advice.

SAFECHAIN™

Building governance systems that protect people as well as data.

Copyright

© 2026 Samantha Avril-Andreassen. All Rights Reserved.

Published by SAFECHAIN™

This publication is protected by international copyright law. No part of this article may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system, translated, adapted or published in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except for brief quotations used for academic, educational, journalistic or review purposes with appropriate attribution.

SAFECHAIN™, Institutional Fragmentation™, Participation Integrity™, Disclosure Integrity™, Jurisdictional Integrity™, The Cumulative Harm Model™, SAFECHAIN™ Digital Safeguarding Framework, SAFECHAIN™ Seal of Integrity™, Quick Exit™, Stealth Mode™, Journal Lock™, and all associated SAFECHAIN™ methodologies, standards, governance models, publications and intellectual property are proprietary works of Samantha Avril-Andreassen.

This publication is intended to promote professional discussion, organisational learning and safeguarding practice. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, cybersecurity or professional advice. Organisations should obtain specialist advice appropriate to their operational and regulatory obligations.