Tech tackles scourge

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: DESCRIBED BY PRESIDENT AS SA’S 2ND PANDEMIC

The command centre received 138 000 calls, and 4 270 were GBV-violence related.

Vodacom app will support victims in terms of response and prevention.

It has been described by President Cyril Ramaphosa as South Africa’s second pandemic. But gender-based violence (GBV) can’t be cured by a vaccine. The victims of the scourge have to rely on a combination of their own wits and the support structures of society and the communities around them.

Now, mobile technology is being roped in to give these resources new capacity and capabilities. And it comes at a deeply symbolic time.

Last week marked the beginning of the global United Nations (UN) campaign, 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, running until 10 December.

The UN recognises 25 November as International Day of No Violence against Women, and 10

December as International Human Rights Day, adding to the symbolism of the campaign.

Last Thursday, Vodacom launched a new app, called Bright Sky, to support victims.

Taki Netshitenzhe, chief officer for external affairs at Vodacom South Africa, reminded us that “significantly more women and children suffered at the hands of the abusers during the Covid-19 lockdown, when they were confined to their homes”.

So how does technology come to the rescue?

“Our programmes look at prevention, response and victim support. On prevention, we’ve got a GBV command centre, which was established in partnership with the department of social development in 2014.

“The centre does not just focus on GBV. It receives calls from people from all walks of life, on different societal distresses. But through our integrated artificial intelligence (AI) technology, we are able to isolate GBV cases and be able to give accurate statistics.” According to current research, one in four women experience violence by men and are five times more likely to be killed.

According to Vodacom, the economic cost to fight GBV in South Africa is between R28 billion and R42.4 billion a year, which includes the social services, shelter and health care needed to respond effectively to the crisis.

Netshitenzhe shares shocking numbers on the increase in the amount of general calls and GBV calls during the pandemic.

“Between January and the end of March this year, the command centre received 17 400 general calls. And 393 of these calls were GBV-related. From the end of March, which was the beginning of the lockdown, to mid-November, the command centre received 138 000 general calls, and 4 270 of these calls were GBV-violence related. This means an average of about 19 000 calls per month, with 600 GBV cases.”

The technology used in the command centre includes USSD short codes, SMS, voice, and video conferencing – along with geolocation, which allows calling patterns to be mapped without compromising anonymity.

“The good thing about this integrated technology is that, because we are able to tell where the hotspots are, it then assists government to prioritise resources, and deploy them accordingly.”

Vodacom provided R4 million in funding for a call centre, managed by government-employed social workers.

In 2016, Skype was roped in to give access to the deaf community, using both text and social workers trained in sign language to counsel anyone who calls the account, HelpMeGBV.

And now, a multi-faceted app has been added to the mix.

“It is available in the app stores on Android and Apple, it is free to download, which means you do not incur a data cost. For South Africa, we are also zero rating use of the app. The app also has links to other sites which users can access for free, like the department of social development and the SA Police Services.”