Global Issue - Sexual and Gender Based Violence
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is a pervasive global issue, with UN Women reporting that 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience some form of SGBV in their lifetime. This includes acts ranging from sexual harassment such as catcalling, touching, and groping, to more severe forms like sexual violence, including rape, domestic violence, and intimate partner violence. However, it's important to recognize that the reported statistics underestimate the true prevalence due to significant underreporting.
One significant challenge in addressing SGBV is the fact that approximately 80% of SGBV cases go unreported to the police and other authorities. This underreporting creates an obstacle for governments and institutions striving to create safe public and private spaces. Many survivors choose to remain silent, fearing marital consequences, further abuse, or not fully comprehending that they have experienced a form of GBV. Consequently, the global issue of SGBV raises fundamental questions, such as what factors contribute to variations in prevalence across different regions and whether there are distinctions in the nature of SGBV between developed and developing nations.
Solution - The Safecity App
The Safecity app, established in December 2012 by ElsaMarie D’Silva in response to a horrific gang rape case in India, provides a technological solution for understanding and combatting SGBV as a global issue with local and cross-border implications. Safecity functions as a crowd-mapping platform, allowing victims of SGBV to anonymously report their experiences. These reports are then incorporated into a map that visualizes trends in SGBV on a street-level scale. One of Safecity's distinguishing features is its collective analysis of cases rather than examining them individually. This approach enables the identification of systemic patterns, transforming SGBV from an occasional problem into a systemic issue. Unlike traditional reporting methods, Safecity's data-driven insights empower institutions to address the root causes of SGBV, leading to more effective solutions.
In addition to data collection, Safecity offers a secure space for survivors to share their stories, designed with their needs in mind. The app is user-friendly and equips individuals, communities, and authorities with actionable insights that are both locally targeted and globally relevant. As a transformative and innovative tool, Safecity marks just the beginning of creating lasting, systemic change toward safer cities.
Crowdmapping Sexual Violence in 10 Countries
The Crowdmapping Sexual Violence in 10 Countries project was designed to empower and support ten peer organizations, all part of the Vital Voices network, across the globe in the implementation of Safecity within their local contexts. By harnessing evidence-based data collected through the Safecity app, these organizations can advocate for more effective initiatives to combat violence against women and girls in their respective communities. Moreover, this endeavor provides a unique opportunity to consolidate best practices from a global perspective, demonstrating the value of crowdsourced data in violence prevention.
The grant supporting this project aimed to accomplish several critical objectives, including expanding Safecity's language accessibility, enhancing the capacity of ten organizations in utilizing the Safecity platform, customizing Safecity to align with their branding and resource requirements, and fostering local social media advocacy campaigns. These campaigns, backed by virtual social media training and mentoring, equipped the peer organizations with the tools and knowledge needed to take a leading role in advocating for change within their countries. In conclusion, after monthly hour-long sessions, through this project Safecity and the peer organizations were able to create a ripple effect of empowerment and awareness, ultimately contributing to safer and more inclusive communities worldwide.
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