Pathways to safety: Fighting gender-based violence with an innovative chatbot
Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. It is not limited by economic or social boundaries – or national borders. It strips survivors of their safety, their health, their dignity, and their free will.
And it is not spoken about. So often, it remains hidden, either dismissed or even justified by cultural norms or values – an accepted part of the dynamic of male-female relationships.
Particularly in areas where GBV is prevalent within patriarchal systems, how do you overcome structural and physical barriers to reach out to survivors? How do you begin to help? One answer lies in technology.
As part of our mission to end all forms of violence against women and girls, to challenge the entrenched patriarchal systems and empower women, ActionAid Arab Region (AAAR) launched a chatbot to combat GBV in Jordan. The project was dubbed “Darb Alaman” – Safe Pathway.
This innovative and easy-to-use platform uses already available and widely popular social media platforms in Jordan, like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, enabling women to request confidential support or guidance when they are harmed, or feel threatened or intimidated. It provides information and support in an anonymous and low-threshold manner, that is accessible to everyone.
In all our programs, AAAR promotes women’s leadership, challenging existing power imbalances by shifting power to women, particularly those who are most vulnerable. By ensuring women and girls have easy and quick access to GBV services, the chatbot is challenging a patriarchal system and culture which downplays the protection and rights of women. It effectively puts power back in the hands of the survivor, who is given the knowledge, tools and support to take back control of their rights and body.
In order to make the chatbot an effective tool that worked – and was welcome – it was designed both strategically and empathetically based on a series of consultations and with meaningful engagement with women, especially those in refugee communities, to co-develop solutions against systems which enable GBV. By creating a tool which is based on existing popular platforms in Jordan and with a design guided by the users themselves, AAAR ensured community buy-in.
Since its creation in 2020, the GBV chatbot has grown significantly. In 2022 alone, it was used by 3,402 women in Jordan, and through it the team provided direct psychosocial support services to 250 individuals. The success stories demonstrate the systemic change in patriarchal power dynamics that the chatbot has managed to achieve.
The biggest challenge that the chatbot has faced is making people aware that it exists. To spread the word, AAAR worked with local authorities, UN Agencies and NGOs, presenting the platform’s main functionalities and encouraging these stakeholders to raise awareness of the tool amongst their service providers.
It was advertised through social media, and partnerships with local influencers significantly increased the number of users, particularly amongst the youth. To reach the most marginalised communities, the team reached people through a careful campaign of word of mouth from community leaders and existing users. The community network AAAR built fostered trust and encouraged dialogue and acceptance, particularly in rural areas where approaching a sensitive topic like GBV is challenging.
We don’t want to stop there.
AAAR aims to continue increasing the tool’s uptake, reaching an ever increasing number of women in Jordan and soon in neighboring countries, as GBV is endemic to the whole region and beyond.
To further shift the power, we would like to make the chatbot even more accessible by investing in technology that increases inclusiveness. To make this a reality, we have collaborated with local associations focused on people living with disabilities, who have provided valuable feedback.
Even in its initial phase, the chatbot proved to be a solution that challenges the distribution of power within the Jordanian patriarchal and non-inclusive system – and now we want to increase its potential. This innovative tool enables systemic change by making support for survivors of GBV easier to navigate and it empowers women through the creation of peer-to-peer support networks that foster joint actions to tackle inequality.
With each new user, we get closer to dismantling a system which has stigmatised and excluded women and other marginalised groups for centuries.