Violent extremism is the beliefs and actions of people that assist or use violence to attain ideological, non secular, or political targets. Examples of violent extremism embrace terrorism and politically motivated or communal violence, equivalent to tribal clashes and civil wars, amongst others. Combatting violent extremism stays a key aim for a lot of governments, worldwide growth organizations, and native NGOs, primarily as a result of menace such a violence poses to lives and livelihoods. A part of the measures concerned contains gathering insights on points that would foster extremism amongst communities and deploying the mandatory interventions, equivalent to educating communities and aligning safety actions.

The function of the cell phone in combatting violent extremism

With the rise and rise of cell phone penetration globally, cell has turn out to be one of the efficient channels to ship and gather info, each of that are integral to combatting violent extremism. This will take course in quite a lot of methods and approaches, together with:

• Growing and distributing counter-narrative content material by creating and distributing content that challenges the narratives and ideologies of extremist teams and supplies different views. These supplies will be distributed by social media, messaging apps, and different cell platforms.
• Offering early warning and reporting programs that permit people to report potential threats and extremist exercise in actual time.
• Providing de-radicalization and rehabilitation packages to people who’ve been radicalized or are prone to radicalization. This will contain creating cell apps or on-line assets that present info, counseling, and different assist to people who need assistance disengaging from extremist teams.
• Constructing neighborhood resilience and selling social cohesion by mobile-based platforms that join folks and promote dialogue and understanding.
• Offering schooling and awareness-raising concerning the risks of violent extremism and easy methods to counter it. This will contain creating cell apps or on-line assets that present info and assets to assist folks perceive the problems and take motion to fight violent extremism.
• Intelligence gathering on extremist teams, their leaders, and their actions.

General, cell know-how could be a highly effective software within the combat in opposition to violent extremism, however it is very important use it responsibly and ethically. It is usually important to work carefully with communities and different stakeholders to make sure that any efforts to fight violent extremism utilizing cell know-how are efficient and sustainable.

Utilizing surveys to fight violent extremism

Surveys are one of the efficient methods to assemble insights from folks on the bottom concerning just about something. In combatting violent extremism will be integral to gathering info and insights concerning the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of people and communities that could be prone to radicalization or involvement in violent extremist teams.

Surveys can be utilized to:

• Determine danger components for radicalization equivalent to poverty, unemployment, lack of schooling, and publicity to extremist ideologies.
• Assess the effectiveness of counter-radicalization packages and to determine areas for enchancment.
• Develop focused interventions by gathering details about the particular wants and issues of people and communities prone to radicalization. This info can be utilized to develop focused interventions that tackle the particular points and challenges dealing with these teams.
• Measure the affect of interventions designed to fight violent extremism. This will contain surveying people and communities earlier than and after an intervention to evaluate adjustments in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
• Monitor and monitor change in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors over time. This will contain surveying the identical people or communities repeatedly to evaluate adjustments of their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors over time.

Limitations of utilizing surveys to fight violent extremism

Whereas surveys could be a invaluable software within the combat in opposition to violent extremism, they do have sure limitations, together with:

• Self-selection bias: Surveys depend on people to willingly take part, and people who don’t take part might have completely different attitudes or beliefs than those that do. This will result in self-selection bias, the place the outcomes of the survey is probably not consultant of the inhabitants as a complete.
• Social desirability bias: Surveys typically depend on self-reported knowledge, and respondents could also be inclined to offer socially acceptable solutions relatively than their precise beliefs or behaviors. This will result in social desirability bias, the place the survey outcomes might not precisely mirror the true attitudes or behaviors of the inhabitants.
• Privateness and safety issues: Surveys can put members in danger if the info shouldn’t be saved confidential or if the survey is perceived as a means for the federal government or different teams to assemble intelligence on people and communities.

Given the sensitivity of violent extremism, it is very important be sure that the survey design is acceptable and that the info is collected in a means that respects the privateness and confidentiality of the members. It is usually important to investigate the info in a rigorous and unbiased method. Surveys ought to be performed in partnership with native communities to make sure that the survey is culturally and contextually applicable and that the outcomes are utilized in a means that advantages the neighborhood.

Working with GeoPoll to fight violent extremism utilizing cell

GeoPoll repeatedly works with growth organizations, governments and different stakeholders to succeed in all forms of populations, even in areas which can be onerous to succeed in, for instance, attributable to violence and unrest. Utilizing our distinctive mobile-based strategies and international protection, we conduct distant surveys and assist ship one-way messages to folks in chosen geographies and demographics. To be taught extra about our work in combatting violent extremism and different options, don’t hesitate to contact us.