Towards Inclusive Justice Technology: Developing and testing the Justice Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

This study o ers actionable insights for technology developers, legal service providers, and policymakers seeking to improve access to justice through digital innovation. This study introduces and empirically tests the Justice Technology Acceptance Model (J-TAM) an extension of the well-established Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), developed specifically to map the drivers and barriers of acceptance of justice technology in underserved communities. J-TAM retains TAM's core constructs of perceived usefulness and ease of use, while incorporating additional factors such as trust, legal awareness, digital access, social influence, and household support. Drawing on survey data from 428 women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the study uses descriptive and inferential statistics to assess the relationship between these variables and intention to adopt justice technology. All seven hypotheses were supported, with perceived usefulness, trust, and ease of use, emerging as the strongest predictors. The findings provide empirical validation of the J-TAM framework and demonstrate the need for inclusive design in justice technology services. The study has implications for inclusive justice innovation and global access to justice research.

Keywords: justice technology, inclusion, access to justice, user-centered design, sub-Saharan Africa