Omaim Al-Baghdadi (She/Her) is a researcher, masters candidate and a research assistant at Western Sydney University specialising in intersectional feminism, racism and oppression studies from a postcolonial perspective. She is currently completing a Masters of Research from Western Sydney University. Her thesis focused on the inaccessibility of mainstream domestic abuse support and legal services for Women of Colour. She has previously worked for numerous services that provide domestic abuse support.

Nicole is Head of Safety at Uber ANZ, and is committed to building solutions to improve safety outcomes for women and vulnerable people.

For the last twenty years, Nicole has worked across a range of industries in a health and safety remit, including construction, mining, rail, defense and technology.

Her role at Uber includes overseeing the prevention of serious incidents as a result of person to person interactions and road safety accidents. This includes developing safety policies and processes, and implementing innovations that support the safety of every Uber app user.

She balances Uber’s value of “Standing for Safety” with spending time with her two young children and volunteering with the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club.

Karen Bentley, is the CEO of WESNET, Australia’s national peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services. Karen has worked across the Violence Against Women sector since 1997 as a senior executive in the Australian Public Service, as a consultant, in frontline services and in WESNET. Always a tech enthusiast and strong anti-violence advocate, Karen has a particular focus on the intersection of technology and Violence Against Women, and is regularly called upon to provide advice to governments, policy makers and technology companies. Karen has trained thousands of frontline workers and other professionals about technology safety and is a co-founder of the Safety Net Australia project. Karen has a BSc(Hons) from ANU and began her career in a science lab before joining the Australian Public Service where she worked across several agencies. She has also worked as a consultant to numerous non-government organisations and in leadership positions in the health sector. She is passionate about ensuring gender equality and ending violence.

Sarah Biordi

Technology Safety Specialist, WESNET

In her two years as a Technology Safety Specialist at WESNET. Sarah Biordi has worked with victim service providers, telecommunication providers, financial institutions, technology companies, app developers, law enforcement and policymakers to improve safety and privacy for victims of intimate partner abuse. She has provided more than 60 face-to-face and online trainings to over 4,000 practitioners and other interested parties in Australia on issues of technology-facilitated abuse, privacy, and victim safety. She has also participated on national and international committees that address privacy, technology, and safety. Sarah led the ACCAN-funded WESNET App Safety Centre project which, in partnership with Dr Jenna Condie and Dr Garth Neal from Western Sydney University, and Dr Robert Merkel,  impartially reviewed and assessed some popular safety, security and privacy apps. Sarah is currently leading the Commonwealth-funded WESNET training component of the Cyber Safety Pasifika (CSP) project in partnership with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This presentation will be included in the CSP Tier 2 Cybercrime Investigations course. Sarah feels honoured to be in a position to support women and children suffering family and domestic violence through WESNET’s Safety Net Australia Project.

Joanna Colautti

Technology Safety Specialist, WESNET

e: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Joanna Colautti 

Joanna Colautti is a Technology Safety Specialist for WESNET where she provides training and technical advice on technology safety issues to front-line service providers. Prior to joining WESNET Joanna worked as a domestic violence solicitor at Djirra (previously known as the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service Victoria), civil law/family law solicitor at Legal Aid NSW, Health Justice Partnership solicitor at Women’s Legal Service QLD and Early Intervention Family Law Solicitor/ Domestic Violence Solicitor at the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre. Joanna has extensive experience working directly with clients who have experienced domestic and/ or family violence and assisting them with the legal issues that arise as a result of experiencing this abuse. Joanna provided face to face legal advice, casework assistance and court advocacy in the legal areas of family law, child protection, domestic violence orders, debt and victims compensation.

Libbi Cunnington (She/her)has had over 25 years of experience working in the tertiary and community sector managing community development and projects and programs for young people and for those experiencing marginalisation in our community.

Libbi is passionate about amplifying the voices and opinions of women and girls with disabilities and others whose voices and opinions are not heard because of poverty, access to justice, inequality, ableism, sexism, ageism and racism. Enthusiastic and committed to genuine and meaningful co-design to deliver initiatives, services and tools that are community-led.

Molly Dragiewicz is Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University. Dragiewicz is an internationally award-winning criminologist who studies violence and gender. She is currently working on research about technology-facilitated coercive control and domestic violence and in the context of post-separation parenting. Dragiewicz won the 2019 Saltzman Award for Contributions to Practice from the American Society of Criminology Division on Women and Crime; 2018 Domestic Violence Prevention Leadership Award from the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre Gold Coast; 2017 Robert Jerin Book of the Year Award for Abusive endings: Separation and divorce violence against women from the American Society of Criminology Division on Victimology.

Martijn Grooten has worked in digital security for more than 15 years and has always been interested in the impact technology has on vulnerable groups and people. He currently works as Digital Security Threat Analyst at Internews, is a fellow at the Civilsphere Lab, a coordinator at the Coalition Against Stalkerware, a volunteer at CETA and an advisor to the DeStalk project. Martijn is based in Athens, Greece.

Dr Diarmaid Harkin is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Deakin University. In 2020 he authored the book ‘Private Security and Domestic Violence: The Risks and Benefits of Private Security Companies Providing Services for Victims of Domestic Violence’. He also has a developing expertise in the intersection of technology and domestic violence. In 2019 he co-led a research project into the threats of the consumer spyware industry. He has worked with WESNET and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner on research into technology-facilitated forms of abuse. He is currently researching technology-facilitated abuse in the Pacific and is leading a project into the use of CCTV by domestic violence organisations.

Dr Mary Iliadis’ research expertise are in the areas of domestic, family and sexual violence, victims’ rights, legal representation for victims of sexual offences, and procedural and substantive justice for victim/survivors. Her work is situated within broader debates about the role, rights and treatment of victims of gender-based violence in adversarial legal systems, and outlines prospects for the transfer of policy and practice between national and international jurisdictions.

Amelia Klein is a solicitor at the Financial Abuse Service, a NSW-wide service for those with money problems arising out of an intimate partner relationship. They provide advice and casework services to victim-survivors of financial abuse and other types of family violence. Amelia provides advice on a wide range of issues, and assists clients in obtaining debt waivers, hardship arrangements, and other practical solutions to difficult financial circumstances. Many of the cases Amelia manages involve aspects of technology abuse and ensuring victim-survivors receive advice and practical assistance appropriate to their current circumstances and safety requirements.

Amelia has experience in a number of areas of law including family law and civil litigation from their five years in generalist practice, and has seen the impact of family violence across many of those areas of law. Amelia holds a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and is passionate about access to justice and empowering individuals to self-advocate.

Buddy is the Senior Director for Law Enforcement Programs at Match Group and our 15+ brands including Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, OKCupid and international brands like Meetic, Pairs and HyperConnect. Buddy oversees a team that provides cross-portfolio support focusing on trust & safety intelligence, root cause analysis, critical safety insights to inform safety products and safety initiatives. Her areas of responsibility include leading the Critical Safety Team, which supports brands on high-profile, high-risk critical safety incidents; Underage Safety focused on ensuring that we are looking for the right signals and evaluating portfolio and industry insights and trends to inform underage & child safety initiatives; and law enforcement partnerships, outreach, and initiatives focused on building strong relationships with law enforcement, NGOs, and law enforcement safety experts. Additionally, our team fosters relationships with other tech and industry leaders to drive cross-industry trust & safety collaboration, knowledge share, and scalable impact.

Robert Merkel was previously a lecturer in Software Engineering at Monash University, and a Research Assistant at Deakin University.  He has acted as a consultant for WESNET on several occasions.  He now works as  a software developer in the private sector.Robert Merkel was previously a lecturer in Software Engineering at Monash University, and a Research Assistant at Deakin University.  He has acted as a consultant for WESNET on several occasions.  He now works as  a software developer in the private sector.

Julie is the Chair of the WESNET Board and has worked in the anti-violence against women sector for more than 30 years. 

In June 2021, Julie was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia “For significant services to women and children experiencing family violence”.  She is also the Chief Executive Officer of Annie North Inc. women’s refuge and domestic violence service and has led innovative and good practice responses to women and children experiencing violence for almost three decades.  Julie is passionate about educating the community about the drivers of violence against women so that everyone can contribute to the social change needed to prevent it.  Whilst any violence is wrong, and can be perpetrated by anyone, gendered-based violence against women is particularly prevalent with high levels of resulting harm.  The social context of violence against women is gender inequality and how that intersects with other social inequalities.  She believes that if we all do our bit to challenge violence against women, challenge rigid gender stereotyping, challenge dominant unhealthy forms of masculinity, and support women and girls to have more independence and decision-making in public and private life, the world will be a better place for everyone.

Justine’s experience merges significant experience in legal and external relationship management. In her career at Telstra she has supported CEO, Andy Penn as Chief of Staff, led the Strategic Policy and Transformation group in Sustainability, External Affairs and Legal, along with leading a global team of lawyers as Legal Executive and Business Partner for Telstra Enterprise.  Justine is also proud to be on the board of the Telstra Foundation, Telstra’s purpose-led philanthropic arm.  Prior to Telstra, Justine worked in-house in the electricity sector after starting her legal career in private practice.   

Born in Perth, Justine studied law at the University of Western Australia. She has a personal passion to inspire and develop diverse and engaged teams committed to positively impacting our planet, business goals and broader communities.

Dr Michael Salter is a Scientia Fellow and Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of New South Wales. He is an internationally recognised expert in the study of child sexual abuse, complex trauma and gender-based violence. His published work includes the books Organised Sexual Abuse (2013, Routledge) and Crime, Justice and Social Media (2017, Routledge) and over fifty papers in international journals and edited collections. He is the President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation where he has served on the Board of Directors since 2018. He sits on the editorial boards of the journals Child Abuse Review and the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.  

 Dr Salter is a member of a number of national and international advisory groups, including: the Research Working Group of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, the Expert Advisory Group of the eSafety Commissioner, the Advisory Group of White Ribbon Australia, and the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Advisory Group of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. He is the academic member of the National Plan Advisory Group to inform the development and implementation of the National Plan To Prevent Violence Against Women and Their Children. Dr Salter is a key advisor to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection where he has undertaken a range of projects on strategic responses to child sexual exploitation.  

Julie Sarkozi, Practice Director for Law Reform and Education at the Women’s Legal Service Queensland, has been working to improve legal responses and protections for women and children experience domestic and sexual violence for over 10 years.  Up until the last year, Julie was a legal representative for victim-survivors of sexual offences in response to applications to access and otherwise use their counselling records in the court proceeding full-time.  Julie has been a lawyer for 18 years and has also worked in the areas of domestic violence and family law, and criminal law.  A big focus of Julie’s work in the past five years has been advocacy to change the definition of consent and the mistake of fact laws, victim survivor rights in the court system and modernising our legal responses to domestic and sexual violence.  Julie has appeared at many forums, and in media over the years on these issues including The Guardian,  ABC – on line, Radio and television News, the Drum, Channel 10 – NEWS and the Courier Mail.  Julie has developed and provided training in the areas of sexual assault counselling, Qld Sexual Assault laws to interpreter and translator training courses organised through IWSS, as well more recently developing and presenting on the issue of ‘Coercive Control’. 

Ms. Cindy Southworth, Head of Women’s Safety at Meta, focuses on empowering women to connect online and combating issues such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images that disproportionately impact women. Prior to joining Facebook/Meta, she was the Executive Vice President at the U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence (nnedv.org) and founder of the Safety Net Technology Project (techsafety.org). She is a founding board member of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters (gnws.org). Ms. Southworth has a master’s degree in Social Work and has worked to end violence against women for over 25 years at international, national, state, and local advocacy organizations.

Caroline is the Head of Customer Vulnerability at CBA. She sits on a range of industry working groups to provide input into the development of industry guidelines to support customers in vulnerable circumstances, and to understand the shifting global and domestic landscape on customer vulnerability.

Her role is focussed on improving processes, services and systems across CBA to ensure extra care is provided to customers in vulnerable circumstances, with a  specific focus on financial abuse. The work that she does supports CBA’s Next Chapter Program – a bank-wide commitment between CBA and its customers to help end financial abuse.

Most recently Caroline has led CBA’s response to the issue of Abuse in Transactions Descriptions. She has built a program of work to support customers who are impacted by domestic and family violence, and who are recipients of technology-facilitated abuse. The program includes enhanced identification techniques using AI, a suite of interventions to support impacted customers and punitive actions which can be taken against perpetrators.

CBA was one of the first banks in Australia to implement artificial intelligence (AI) technology and machine learning techniques to detect abusive behaviour in transaction descriptions within the CommBank App and Netbank. The model allows the Bank to proactively identify instances of technology-facilitated abuse, a targeted form of domestic and family violence. The AI model complements the Bank’s automatic block filter that was implemented last year across its digital banking channels to stop transaction descriptions that include threatening, harassing or abusive language.

She continues to work with relevant authorities, such as police and community sector organisations on how CBA can improve their approach to the issue.

Delanie has an honours degree in Women’s Studies and a PhD in Sociology. Her post-graduate studies focused on the impact of trauma on women’s mental health. She has worked in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault for over 15 years, providing support and referral to victim-survivors, as well as conducting community research. Delanie’s research has focused on violence against women with disabilities, the medicalisation of women’s trauma, the use of technology in domestic violence, and childhood sexual abuse.

Sam works in Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google Australia, with a focus on privacy, safety, misinformation, defamation and security.  She is an accredited mediator, technology lawyer and policy advisor with over twenty years experience working within the digital media and technology sectors both in Europe and Australia. 

Prior to joining Google, Sam established the regulatory function at the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia and worked as General Counsel and Asia Pacific Legal Director for Yahoo!’s Australian business.   Sam also spent ten years working in London as a corporate attorney for Microsoft where she supported the MSN business through a period of exponential growth and contributed to the launch of the Xbox consoles across Europe.