Data Activism

Data activism is a specific type of activism which uses the production and collection of digital, volunteered, open data to challenge existing power relations. It is a form of media activism; however, this is not to be confused with slacktivism. It uses digital technology and data politically and proactively to foster social change. Forms of data activism can include digital humanitarianism and engaging in hackathons. Data activism is a social practice that is becoming more well-known with the expansion of technology, open-sourced software and the ability to communicate beyond an individual's immediate community. The culture of data activism emerged from previous forms of media activism, such as hacker movements. A defining characteristic of data activism is that ordinary citizens can participate, in comparison to previous forms of media activism where elite skill sets were required to participate.

Data activism is the act of providing data on events or issues that individuals feel have not been properly addressed by those in power. The social practice of data activism revolves around the idea that data is political in nature. Data activism allows individuals to quantify a specific issue. By collecting data for a particular purpose, it allows data activists to quantify and expose specific issues. As data infrastructures and data analytics grow, data activists can use evidence from data-driven science to support claims about social issues.

There are two classifications of data activism, as outlined by Sarah Braman. There is re-active data activism and pro-active data activism. Re-active data activism occurs when citizens protest against civil rights threats allowed by governing powers. The second, pro-active data activism, is when citizens use data activism that encourage the possibility of civic engagement and advocacy. Both forms of data activism use the collection and distribution of open data to educate and inform others on specific issues.

It was discovered that in the United States between 180,000 and 500,000 rape kits were left unprocessed in storage in forensic warehouses. Registration and entry of criminal DNA had been inconsistent, which caused this large backlog in date rape kits. The delay in analysing these DNA samples would approximately be six months to two years. The information from rape kits was mean to be entered into the forensic warehouse database, but there was a disconnect between the warehouse system and the national DNA database Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that left these rape kits unexamined. Testing these rape kits is important in identifying and prosecuting offenders, recognizing serial rapists, and providing justice for rape victims. The Ending the Backlog Initiative brought attention to this issue by demanding that the data from these rape kits be processed. It was this initiative that brought this issue to the attention of the United States government, who began stated that this was unacceptable and put $79 million in grants would be used to help eliminate the backlog of rape kits. The quantification of this data changed the ways in which the public perceived the process of analysing rape kits. This data was then used to gain the attention of politicians.

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