At Away From Keyboard (AFK) Inc., our work is grounded in one core belief:
Prevention matters most before harm escalates.
AFK was established to address the growing emotional, psychological, and social impacts of unsafe digital environments, particularly for children, young people, carers, women, and vulnerable communities.
Our impact is measured not only by the support we provide directly, but by the conversations we help shape, the awareness we strengthen, the systems we influence, and the protective environments we help communities build before crisis occurs.
Through our Unsafe by Design framework, AFK connects global digital safety discussions with practical local prevention, safeguarding, education, and advocacy.
AFK’s work focuses on:
We recognise that many forms of technology-facilitated harm are difficult to measure once they occur because:
Our approach therefore focuses on strengthening prevention earlier.
AFK’s work focuses on strengthening protective environments and reducing vulnerability before harm escalates.
Our prevention outcomes include:
Unsafe by Design is AFK’s overarching prevention initiative focused on addressing how digital systems, online environments, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies can contribute to exploitation, coercion, emotional distress, and community harm when safety is not built in from the beginning.
The initiative was developed following international advocacy engagement connected to human rights, digital governance, and peacebuilding discussions in Geneva.
Unsafe by Design recognises that many online harms are not isolated incidents. They are often shaped or amplified by:
The framework connects:
Since 2023, AFK has contributed to:
AFK’s work spans both grassroots community engagement and broader systems advocacy.
AFK delivers trauma-informed education and prevention-focused engagement supporting:
Our workshops and discussions focus on:
These initiatives aim to strengthen:
AFK contributes to local, national, and international discussions focused on prevention, safeguarding, and ethical technology.
This work includes engagement connected to:
AFK’s advocacy focuses on:
AFK contributes to international discussions examining how AI systems can better reflect trauma-informed, human-centred, and safeguarding-focused approaches in high-risk contexts such as family violence and vulnerability assessment.
This work helps ensure prevention, relational safety, and human wellbeing are considered earlier in technology design and governance processes.
AFK Founder Sarah Barnbrook serves as Co Vice-Chair for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Industry Connections Activity:
User-Centred Principles for Artificial Intelligence Used in Evaluating Family Violence.
This multidisciplinary work explores how artificial intelligence systems can better reflect:
AFK’s work also contributes to broader discussions around:
This reflects our belief that digital safety is not only technical.
Safety is also:
Alt-TAB is an Unsafe by Design initiative developed to encourage earlier consideration of:
before technologies, systems, or digital processes are deployed.
Alt-TAB reflects AFK’s belief that prevention should begin before harm occurs, not only after harm becomes visible.
AFK engages with organisations and networks across:
This includes engagement connected to:
This cross-sector engagement helps connect emerging digital risks with practical prevention and safeguarding responses relevant to communities.
AFK’s work has been recognised through:
These opportunities help amplify prevention-focused conversations relating to:
AFK believes meaningful prevention requires:
We are committed to continuing our work supporting children, carers, educators, and vulnerable communities while advocating for safer, more inclusive, and prevention-focused digital futures.
Because everyone deserves to participate in digital life safely, confidently, and with dignity.
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