About
This guide and resource offers suggestions for alternative ways to protest, through forms of collective organisation, the use of everyday materials and the subversion of commonplace technology.
Originating from the UK Disability Rights Movement, our key focus has always been on making protest accessible and provoking discussion about what accessibility means and how we can address and combat denial or lack of access — in its many and varied forms.
We develop DIY and DIWO (do it with others) tools and processes that facilitate collaborative making and communicating — as real and immediate ways to achieve greater accessibility, accountability and more meaningful interaction.
We work and stand in solidarity with Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) and hope that our tools can be used to help further these causes by promoting and facilitating greater engagement and inclusivity.
We agree with and advocate for safe and peaceful protest, taking into account NHS social distancing and isolation guidance — which you can find here.
What is Proxy Protest?
Proxy protesting is an alternative method of engaging in traditional, site specific protests, which is grounded in the Social Model of Disability — the belief that people aren’t disabled, but that society is disabling — as an attempt to make protest radically accessible and inclusive to those who can’t physically attend.
By pairing one person who is onsite at a protest, with one person who is offsite, the onsite protestor acts as a proxy for the offsite protestor, broadcasting them into that physical space.
Through the subversion and physical repositioning of video calling technologies both onsite and offsite protestors move, talk, interact and engage on behalf of one another.
The offsite protestor responsibly and safely documents the live events to protect the onsite protestor and provide external accountability and evidence of their actions and others. All the while both protestors can engage on their collective and individual terms - in mutually agreed solidarity.
How It Works
Onsite & Offsite Video Calling:
We would advise using messaging apps with end-to-end encryption, such as Signal or Whatsapp where possible as a means to provide an extra layer of security and prevent interception.
Offsite Documentation:
The documentation of events can be done through screen recording and in-built screenshot programmes and functionalities such as Quicktime (mac), Screen recording (iPhone) VLC (windows/mac) and Screen Recorder (android).
However this should not be externally broadcast or live-streamed without first blurring out faces and distinguishing features. You can find a useful guide to image and video capture on Witness, an image scrubbing tool here and guidance on using YouTube’s own facial blurring feature here.
Note
Please keep in mind that no tool is perfect, and form of communication totally secure, so use them at your own discretion.
How To Instructions
Offsite:
Use video calling software you’re comfortable with, trust and have agreed on with your onsite counterpart.
Record and document your screen, should you wish — although we advise against externally live-streaming or broadcasting content without first blurring out faces and distinguishing features of those in the footage.
Consider your own presentation and what you feel comfortable with — perhaps obscuring your own face, using a mask, avatar, artwork or message might be preferable to you.
Note:
Be aware of what services you use, the fees for use and the data they collect
Onsite:
We’ve put together some instructions for making a simple sash from everyday materials to position and secure your mobile device.
The sash design references the historic use of wearable items as symbols of solidarity among civil rights and equality movements — most notably the Suffragettes.
This sash is used to securely position the mobile device on the chest, creating a hands-free means of operating as an onsite protester. It also emphasises the connection between the onsite and offsite protesters while providing a steady viewing position for your offsite counterpart.
The positioning acts as a subversion of the functionality and aesthetics of ‘body cams’ — the one-way tool of surveillance and image capture. It instead is used to provide accountability as well as facilitating and promoting dialogue and engagement rather than fear of surveillance.
Note:
This design may not be suitable for everyone and should only be taken as suggested guidelines for the sort of thing possible using everyday materials.
We cannot accept responsibility for their personal creation and use, as well as any damage caused to person or property.
We welcome design suggestions and improvements, so please get in touch if you have any.
What you will need:
1x Smartphone / mobile device with video calling capability
1x Case for the mobile device
1x Pair of headphones & mic
1x Sash / scarf (or other fabric material long enough to wrap around yourself)
4x Elastic bands, roughly the width of your mobile device when gently stretched
Stretch two elastic bands over the length of the empty smartphone case, at regular intervals and avoiding obscuring the camera
Put the smartphone in the case, making sure the two elastic bands are still in position.
The elastic bands should now be comfortably sandwiched between the smartphone and case, which should also still be securely together. If the smartphone and case do not still fit together, they won’t stay secure and should not be used.
Turning the phone over, check the elastic bands run vertically down the back of the phone case
Loop the third elastic band over the top of the smartphone
Once looped over, pull and twist the elastic band so that it crosses over itself at its centre
Pull the elastic band back over the top of the smartphone again, the two loops should now tightly and securely sit across the width of the phone. If they do not feel secure, you may need to use an elastic band with a smaller diameter
Repeat this process with the fourth elastic band, at the bottom of the phone
As before, once looped over, pull and twist the elastic band so that it crosses over itself in the centre
Pull the elastic band back over the top of the smartphone again, the two loops should now tightly and securely sit across the width of the phone. If they do not feel secure, you may need to use an elastic band with a smaller diameter
Check your sash material will fit underneath the two vertically stretched elastic bands. The two bands should be loose enough to allow the sash underneath, but tight enough to keep the sash in place if the elastic bands aren’t lifted
Feed the sash underneath these two elastic bands
Keep feeding the sash through until the smartphone is roughly in the middle of the material
You may need to make adjustments to ensure the sash doesn’t catch against the elastic
Once happy with the position, flatten and smooth the sash out
Holding the smartphone in one hand position the sash diagonally across your torso
Take one end of the sash over your shoulder
Take the other end of the sash around the lower torso and check you are happy with how the sash and smartphone sit
Bring both ends of the sash around to your front and tie their ends together
You may want to use some form of fastener or double knot
Use a method you feel works with the material, is secure and comfortable
Attach headphones and other accessories you may want to use to communicate with your offsite counterpart
Optional Accessories:
Unlimited Mobile Data
Power Pack
Megaphone with Audio Jack
Portable Speakers/Sound System
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Who To Pair With
Proxy Protesting works best on a one-to-one basis between trusted allies, as a means to create a more meaningful and direct interaction between the onsite and offsite participants.
Consider what accessibility means to you and how you would want to best achieve it.
How can you make protest accessible to disabled people, people with impairments, people in difficult living situations or people who are self-isolating.
Resources
Contact & Disclaimer
We are always looking to explore new ways to create tools and processes to accommodate for all forms of communication and access. We also acknowledge that we may not always get it right, but always seek to adapt, learn and share – so are always open to discussion.
Our tools are provocations for how to rethink and positively act, they are free and open for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike-NC 4.0 International Licence and as such are open to development and refinement.
If you think there is an issue or problem with how we communicate, display and share our information, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate or change this.
Equally if you have any references, resources or thoughts you would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you.