Talking About Violence

• Violence against women is increasing

•  Rape and attempt to rape in the fiscal year B.S. 2069/70 reached 922

•  WOREC reported 198 cases of Violence Against Women in Shrawan, 2070. Domestic violence was the highest reported case

• Recent cases

•  Sita Rai •  Rape of minors, by family members

Talking About Violence   

According  to  the  Demographic  Health  Survey  of  2011:  

• Sexual Violence:   •  85% of women aged between 15-49 years, who have

experienced sexual violence have never told anyone •  8% have told someone •  7% have sought help

• Physical Violence: •  66% of women aged between 15-49 years have never

told anyone •  12% have told someone •  22% have sought help

Responding to Violence Against Women

• More than 2300 organizations working to end Violence Against Women

• Limited coordination and communication

• Consequences •  Victim has to repeat their traumatic experience

several times •  Holistic support is not easily available as

organizations focus on a particular area •  Information asymmetry: organizations that could

support a case sometimes may not know the latest updates about a case

Understanding Violence Against Women

• Paucity of data and information on violence against women • Strong evidence on the extent of the problem, the causes and the consequences is difficult to obtain • News on VAW compiled by a few organizations • Many sad stories on VAW, but few on the survivors succeed to reclaim their lives

Technology and Violence Against Women

• What  role  can  informa=on  communica=ons  technology  (ICT)  play  in  addressing  some  of  challenges  faced  by  vic=ms  and  others  who  work  to  end  VAW?   • Why  ICT?  

– As  of  June  2013,  mobile  penetra=on  has  reached  70%  and  25%  of  Nepal’s  popula=on  have  access  to  the  Internet. – These  numbers  will  only  grow  

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Fight VAW

An initiative to use accessible

Information and Communication Technologies in fighting

Violence against Women in Nepal

www.fightvaw.org

Components of FightVAW

Registering of Complaints / Problems through telephone

Components of FightVAW

Registering of Complaints / Problems through mobile sms

•  Informed your closed ones for immediate support through smart phone application

•  Report problems/through the application rather than SMS or voice call

Android based Smart Phone Application

Components of FightVAW

What after complaints / Problems are registered ?

•  Complaints accessed and transcribed by dedicated CSO representatives working in the field of VAW

•  Individual cases followed-up for the benefit of the victim

•  Tracking of cases and follow-ups carried out for each individual cases

Some more components of Fight VAW

Some more components of Fight VAW

Some more components of Fight VAW

Organizations in Action

What do we aim to achieve ? Fight  VAW  as  An  Integrated  plaSorm  to:

•  Provide  an  alterna've  means  to  report  experiences  of  violence  through      a  24-­‐hour  help  line  and  SMS

•  Increase  the  speed  at  which  a  vic'ms  gets  support  from  CSOs •  Enhance  coordina'on  and  collabora'on  among  different  CSOs  working    

 to  support  the  vic=m •  Compile  informa'on  on  CSOs  working  all  across  Nepal  on  VAW  and    

 make  it  available  in  one  plaSorm •  Monitor  the  media  for  latest  news  and  updates  on  VAW  and  make  it    

 available  in  one  plaSorm  and  build  the  ini=al  infrastructure  necessary      to  compile  data  on  VAW  in  one  central  loca=on

The Actors

How Did it Come About?

• Hackathon

• World Bank’ commitment to support the ideas generated by the youth from the IT sector and the civil society

VAW Hackathon – June 16, 2013

VAW Hackathon Snapshot

100 + Participants

18 Teams

3 Winners

Self Help - 3rd Winner

•  Mobile Application that can send SMS to police, pre-selected trusted network about the location of victims in case of the incident of violence.

•  Anyone can report about VAW to selected organizations using the app

Team Members Kabindra Shakya Nhasala Joshi Kipendra Kushi Anish Parajuli, Binisha Shrestha

Mero Katha (My Story) – 2nd Winner

Collect, share and discuss stories that inspire people to report cases of VAW using both online platform and offline community.

Team Members Yukti Lal Marik Wolf Price Jayanti Mala Chapagain Olin Thakur Inge Patsch

Your Voice Our Support – 1st Winner

•  Voice Recording of complaints through the use of mobile phones and landline phones

•  CSO network to access them and take necessary action Team Members

Susan Joshi Namita Pradhan, Sundar Man Vaidya

What does FightVAW means to us at the moment ?

A pilot design to use innovative use of home grown ICTs to address the use of Violence Against Women An opportunity explore collaboration and coordination among different stakeholders

What are we doing next ?

• Implement the pilot program till June, 2014 together with our collaborators and partners on selected locations

• Monitor and document early impact stories • Fine-tuning of the system based on feedback received during the pilot implemntation

Our vision for the long run

•  Create ownership of the system among different stakeholders •  Figure out a mechanism to sustain the system with active

Government engagement and ownership •  Make a case for Nepal in fighting the issues of VAW using

ICTs at a global level

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www.fightvaw.org