"Create an environment that protects women, rather than selling anxiety!": Participatory Threat Modeling with Chinese Young Women Living Alone

TL;DR

This study uses participatory threat modeling workshops with Chinese young women living alone to identify interconnected privacy, security, and safety risks, and proposes practical mitigation strategies, a guidebook, and policy recommendations.

Contribution

It introduces a human-centered threat model based on participatory workshops, highlighting interconnected risks and mitigation strategies for women living alone in China.

Findings

Identified digital and physical safety risks faced by women living alone.

Documented mitigation strategies including device configurations and social practices.

Developed a practical guidebook and policy recommendations for safer living environments.

Abstract

As more young women in China live alone, they navigate entangled privacy, security, and safety (PSS) risks across smart homes, online platforms, and public infrastructures. Drawing on six participatory threat modeling (PTM) workshops (n = 33), we present a human-centered threat model that illustrates how digitally facilitated physical violence, digital harassment and scams, and pervasive surveillance by individuals, companies, and the state are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. We also document four mitigation strategies employed by participants: smart home device configurations, boundary management, sociocultural practices, and social media tactics--each of which can introduce new vulnerabilities and emotional burdens. Based on these insights, we developed a digital PSS guidebook for young women living alone (YWLA) in China. We further propose actionable design implications for smart home devices and social media platforms, along with policy and legal recommendations and directions for educational interventions.