Xavier Africa and Botswana Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre (BGBVC) have collaborated on the development of a digital gender-based violence reporting tool aimed at providing support to survivors. The Digital Gender-Based Violence Reporting Tool (Ame), developed and managed by Xavier Africa, is a WhatsApp chatbot that allows survivors to report instances of gender-based violence. Once reported, the chatbot connects survivors to BGBVC’s trained counselors who provide them with instant feedback through the chatbot. They are also given the option to continue their conversation with a counselor via voice call over WhatsApp as opposed to an email or phone call which can be cumbersome for victims of abuse who often find themselves in dangerous situations where they cannot access phones or computers easily.”

The Digital Gender-Based Violence Reporting Tool (Ame), developed and managed by Xavier Africa, is a WhatsApp chatbot that allows survivors to report instances of gender-based violence. Once reported, the chatbot connects survivors to BGBVC’s trained counselors who provide them with instant feedback through the chatbot. They are also given the option to continue their conversation with a counselor via voice call over WhatsApp.

Ame is a WhatsApp chatbot developed and managed by Xavier Africa. It allows survivors to report instances of gender-based violence anonymously, in their own time and on their own terms. Ame provides instant feedback through the chatbot, connecting survivors to BGBVC’s trained counselors who will provide them with further support if needed.

According to BGBVC, 1 in 3 women and girls experience physical or sexual intimate partner violence during their lifetime; this means out of every 15 Batswana women 2 may have experienced physical violence and 1 may have experienced sexual violence by an intimate partner (WHO, 2018).

You are invited to join us in celebrating the launch of the Digital Gender-Based Violence Reporting Tool, a collaboration between Xavier Africa and Botswana GBV Prevention and Support Centre (BGBVC).

The initiative is aimed at increasing women’s access to justice by providing them with an accessible reporting mechanism. The tool enables women to report gender-based violence cases directly from their mobile phones or computers.

According to BGBVC, 1 in 3 women and girls experience physical or sexual intimate partner violence during their lifetime; this means out of every 15 Batswana women 2 may have experienced physical violence and 1 may have experienced sexual violence by an intimate partner (WHO, 2018).

“The situation of COVID-19 has hit women and children hardest as they face increased risk of domestic abuse, rape, and other forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV). In addition, many victims are not able to access existing support services because they fear that they could be exposed to infection if they leave their homes. We are therefore very happy to be able to use technology to create this digital solution that fills that gap in such a critical time for our nation and the world” says Ms. Lorato Moalusi, Chief Executive Officer at BGBVC.

This is a very important time for Botswana and the world. The situation of COVID-19 has hit women and children hardest as they face increased risk of domestic abuse, rape, and other forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV). In addition, many victims are not able to access existing support services because they fear that they could be exposed to infection if they leave their homes. We are therefore very happy to be able to use technology to create this digital solution that fills that gap in such a critical time for our nation and the world” says Ms. Lorato Moalusi, Chief Executive Officer at BGBVC

In collaboration with Xavier Africa and BGBVC (Botswana GBV Prevention Support Centre), we have developed an innovative reporting tool called Ame (which allows survivors of gender-based violence in rural areas where there is no physical reporting mechanism available or when people can’t travel because of COVID-19 outbreak; it allows them to report online via WhatsApp or phone calls through our call centre number +267 75 874 043‬. This helps provide immediate psychological support following disclosure while ensuring privacy by allowing users complete control over their personal details shared on the platform only if necessary.”