Confidential reporting application helping victims to report sexual gender based violence

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 500 women exposed to Sexual Gender Based Violence-SGBV have been able to receive help through SafePal, an application that allows victims to report their dilemma confidentially.

SafePal has been able to close the gap on the many Sexual Gender Based Violence related cases that have gone unreported for many years due to the confidentiality it provides the victim and thereby eliminates stigma.

Emmanuel Kateregga, the Communications and Community Service Manager SafePal, says the application is mainly focused on offering post-violence support to victims.

He says victims of Sexual Gender Based Violence can use the application to report to authorities without exposing their identities until a point where one might need physical support like counseling.

According to Kateregga, to access the application one needs a smart phone and the download it from Google play store for installation on the phone.

He says the app also enables the user to help another person who needs support by contacting the support center on their behalf.

He says while confidentiality is on top of their priority, follow up of the victims is always done by the case managers who assess one’s condition to decide whether they require safe shelter and legal redress in order to keep them safe.

Kateregga says that they expect the app to spread to other parts of the world since Sexual Gender Based Violence is a global phenomenon, which needs to be addressed urgent.

Rachael Monica Achen, the Learning and Advocacy Officer SafePal, says their studies show that many people are still shy on reporting sexual violence because of public perception.

She says the confidentiality of the victims is one way of allowing women and girls to report cases without their characters being questioned or judged by the public. Even when the app is not yet largely embraced by the public, the team is optimistic that it will eventually be since new innovations are being embedded into the app like creating Short Message Service (SMS) platforms and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code for people who cannot access smartphones.

Nurah Shariff Nantume, the Programs Manager SafePal, says there are many forms of sexual violence, which may not necessarily be physical but rather emotional and psychological such as cyber bullying. She says such forms of sexual violence have a psychological effect on the victim. She says they have already trained over 2700 peer educators countrywide to help carry the message to people who are dying silently in sexual violence.

About Safepal 

It was developed in 2015 as a result of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Hackathon (HackForYouth) Competition where 80 participants from over 20 countries met in Kampala to develop and devise the most innovative mobile app to promote Sexual and Reproductive Health.

According to the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 22% of Ugandan women between 15 and 49 years of age experience sexual violence annually. However, only 13% are able to report to authorities and seek help.

*****

URN