Section A: Intro
Our case study focuses on the violence and safety of women in South Africa, a country where gender-based violence (GBV) case numbers are extremely high. Statistics have become even more shocking during Covid-19 as women are forced to stay home and spend more time with their abuser. In the first week of lockdown, SAPS recorded over 2300 cases of gender-based violence which, by mid-April 2020, had increased to between 500–1000 calls a day. Vodacom reported that their support centres saw a 65% increase in calls from women and children seeking desperate help. Just by looking at the statistics, it is clear that gender-based violence is a serious and urgent problem. South African women face this domestic pandemic every day — we want to be a part of the solution.
Section B: Identifying the problem
We identified the problem by looking at how women are endangered and how the safety of women is compromised in South Africa. As mentioned above, GBV statistics are incredibly high in South Africa and only continue to rise during the pandemic. However, this does not disregard the assault women experience daily; whether it’s in the streets, the workplace or in the comfort of their own home, women are at an exceptionally high risk of being attacked or endangered.
The United Nations has a list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals look to invite all countries, no matter their financial situation, to succeed in the prosperous running of their country. The main goal of ending poverty can’t be achieved by simply growing the economy of a country. It must also be accompanied by tackling social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities to make sure it will be sustainable for every individual all while combating climate change and protecting the environment. The goals also provide recovery for the current COVID-19 situation our world is experiencing.
Our given SDG from the United Nations is Gender Equality. While Gender Equality has progressed over the last few decades, there are still issues with women being misrepresented financially and in leadership roles. Discriminatory laws and social norms that hinder women are still around today. The COVID-19 situation has greatly affected the progress that has been made and could even reverse some of it. Women’s unpaid work has increased due to the closing of schools and the increased needs of older people. Did you know 60% of women work in informal settlements? Due to more women working in insecure labour markets are at more risk than men of falling into poverty.
The SDG (sustainable development goal) we chose is the topic from 5.2 which is, “Eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.” Our target will be focused on Gender-Based Domestic Violence, specifically in South Africa. With an underlying domestic violence pandemic on the rise, it is relevant to have a fast, efficient response time to a crisis, specifically in times of urgent need. With our specific SDG target being domestic violence, our focus is to bring security and assistance to any vulnerable South African female in no time.
Our SDG’s focus on gender violence, within the South African context, is more relevant and urgent than ever. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people are forced to stay within the four walls of their homes. This leaves the metaphorical ‘window to the world’ to only one’s social media device. This means females are in a vulnerable position to experience domestic violence with very little immediate help. The only gateway to getting help for these women would be from those outside their immediate situation through their devices. In the previous 12 months, 243 million women and girls, aged 15 to 49 years old, across the world have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, this number is likely to grow with multiple impacts on women’s wellbeing. Wide under-reporting of domestic and other forms of violence has previously made response and data gathering a challenge, with less than 40% of women who experience violence seeking help of any sort or reporting the crime. Less than 10% of those women seeking help go to the police. The women in South Africa are in dire need of help.
Our chosen local organisation that deals with our SDG target are the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC). This organisation’s vision is the creation of a safe and secure society and a human rights culture, where women and children are empowered to exercise their full rights. The organisation is located in Manenberg close to the Cape Flats, a hotspot for issues such as unemployment, high rates of crime, child abuse, domestic abuse, and gangsterism. Their main three goals are working in partnership with organisations that advocate ending violence against women and children, providing 24-hour emergency shelter, short and medium-term residential care, and childcare services, and lastly, prioritising awareness of women’s rights on issues such as gender-based violence.
The people that are most impacted by our chosen SDG and target according to our organisation are South African women. Through different programmes, the SBCWC aims to help as many women impacted by gender-based violence. One example is the Residential Programme, which provides 24-hour emergency response for women and their children who are being abused in their own homes and no longer feel safe within their homes.
We interviewed a member of the SBCWC with the following questions:
1. What are some of your organisation’s current strengths?
“ The fact that we’ve been in existence for over 20 years, we’ve got trained and experienced social workers and professional councillors, we are the largest shelter for women affected by GBV in South Africa, we are the first centre in the world that established a substance abuse in-house program for women affected by GBV, we are the only shelter that takes a mother with male children up to the age of 17 (everyone else only takes up to the age of nine), we believe a family that has already been traumatised cannot be separated, we have our own electrocardiogram (ECG) centre on board”
2. What are some of the things your organisation is struggling with?
“ Our first huge struggle is just as we were addressing COVID-19 in March 2020. I must just say, the Department of Health actually congratulated us because we took a part of our premises and used it as a quarantine section, we had access to PPEs immediately, we have an organisation that comes in once a week to sanitise our whole building free of charge. However, we had a huge fire in the building and this was the accommodation section for the women in residence. We had to remove 100 women and children. Since then we’ve displaced them and they are living in our training centre hall. And to date, the state still hasn’t repaired the damage! Due to our winter storms in Cape Town, the damage has just got worse. There’s been a lot of in-house issues because of the anger surrounding this problem, but you can’t believe how the community pulled together. For six months no one took sick leave.
Another huge challenge is that the government subsidies only 45%. So every single year we have to look for R8 million and fundraise in a climate that is not economically healthy.”
3. Are you experiencing any issues with your website — what could be improved?
“ We really believe in our staff having continuous training and being upskilled so that we can keep up with new trends and stay informed, but with us being in Zoom meetings at the same time we keep losing connectivity. Some of our staff have to leave work to go home to attend these meetings because of Wi-Fi issues. Somebody was saying the other day that we really need to update our Facebook but nobody has the time to do it.”
4. Have any new struggles arisen since COVID-19 came about? For example, maybe women aren’t calling in as much because they are stuck in a room with their abuser due to isolation during COVID-19?
“We did notice that we weren’t getting as many calls initially when COVID-19 lockdown began. We were 45% empty, but only for the first month or so. As soon as the restrictions were put on alcohol, within three days every shelter was full. Alcohol and abuse go hand-in-hand. A lot of women are forced to drink with their partner or use drugs. One of our other struggles is people are getting very tired now. We limit people going out to hospitals, we use a lot of funding to send them to private doctors. The solidarity fund has been fantastic in the way they have supported us with transporting our clients, granting us PPEs. Just people in general and the community is great — once a week people will donate pots and pots of food which just helps us to keep going.”
Further online research found other issues of:
1. The SBCWC has struggled in the past with the women having experienced challenges such as missing out on valuable counselling while they were attending training courses.
2. Another one was that of limited contact between the women and the job skills manager and lack of formal training in C.V. writing, interviewing skills, and job-seeking strategies.
3. Due to the 3 month maximum stay at the shelter, women felt it was difficult for them to meaningfully participate in the programmes and courses.
With the approach of a peak in an underlying domestic violence pandemic, it’s relevant to address issues around this devastating topic, with statistics proving that 1 in every 3 women in South Africa has, in some form, experienced physical or sexual violence. Because of the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic, the spokesperson for the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children said that they have an overflow of women and children, especially when the alcohol sales restrictions were lifted, and they have experienced too few helping hands in times of deep distress. The stress, the shift in society, loss of income and decreased access to services can exacerbate the risk of violence for women because of the current state in South Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the stress, access to health services, hotlines, crisis centres, shelters, legal aid, and protection services might also be reduced, making it difficult for women in dire need to access the few sources of help that would usually be available. How can we encourage South African women to stay at home knowing that violence from their intimate partner is likely to increase? With the new digital age and lockdown forcing us to stay home, where do these women go, if not by escaping through the window of their personal devices? With statistics showing that 40% of the South African population are active social media users, which’s equivalent to 22.8 million people out of an estimated population of over 57 million people, this is likely to increase.
The goal is for the service to be a cheap or, where possible, free solution to women through the means of a meaningful digital social innovation (DSI) which can also help the SBCWC with their data and Wi-Fi issues and social media platforms, which are believed to drastically improve both the employee and customer experience. By utilising social media to benefit the user through the means of first-hand professional help, many women’s needs can be met in no time with little to no cost involved. Therefore SBCWC employees will not have to worry about connection issues and their social media platforms but rather focus on the victims of abuse. If we all work together as a community, both in the present and online, we can tackle this monster called “abuse”.
Section C: Understanding your users
Understanding the user means knowing what will best serve your users/customers’ needs and wants. In this case, one of the main users, women and girls, need reassurance that they are in a safe environment wherever they are and that they don’t have to worry about any aggressive surroundings.
You first have to understand the people involved and how they can contribute to the solution in order to attain the most successful impact on all components. The problem at hand is eliminating any form of violence against women and girls in both public and private spheres completely. To solve this problem there will be many key factors that include the evaluation of the user’s needs, behaviours, values and general facts about them.
The majority of our research comes from online research and interviews with employees that we have conducted. With this vital information attained, we were able to make some noteworthy points about the SBCWC and its staff, the governmental and COVID-19 effects on the organisation and possible digital improvements that can be made for the website.
Stakeholder mapping is the act of taking all the stakeholders of a product, project, or idea and visually laying it all out on one map. They mainly work with 3 concentric circles (more can be added if necessary) with the levels of importance decreasing as you move away from the centre. The innermost circle is the “core” stakeholders, followed by the “direct” stakeholders and “indirect” stakeholders. As you can tell from the titles of the second two, they are either the stakeholders that directly or indirectly interact with the product, project, or idea or are directly or indirectly influenced by the product, project, or idea. Stakeholder maps also show the relationships and exchanges between the stakeholders.
What we have learnt from our stakeholder map for this project is the importance of each of the stakeholders involved in our project as well as how they link to and impact one another. Another interesting thing is how many people could be helped by our project if it were to come to life.
A stakeholder map showing off the important links to our digital social innovation
The chosen titles we decided to focus on were those of the women and children being abused, the IT technicians, SBCWC employees, counsellors and the reaction unit. These titles play a vital part in working together and bettering the lives of the women affected by GBV. The organization itself is focused on women and children being abused so naturally, they are a critical part of the case study. The counsellors and employees interact with the women and children and help the organisation materialise to be what it is. The IT technicians are responsible for creating the DSI, maintaining the website and making sure all online interfaces run smoothly. And lastly, the reaction unit is crucial in rapid response if there is a victim in need. All 5 of these jobs play a vital role in ensuring that the organisation carries out the tasks that it sets out to do.
Below are persona profiles that link to our target group:
Women and children that have experienced violence in public and private spheres are directly impacted by the outcome of SBCWC. They are the core of the program and will be the main users of the DSI, with the success of the digital social innovation impacting them the most.
The design team forms a very integral part of the SBCWC, attaining all the needed information and elements to create a digital social innovation that suits the goals and target of the organisation. The design team is directly linked to the organisation helping the business become easier to access.
IT technicians also form a core part of this organisation assisting with the link between women in need and the organisation by improving network issues throughout the SBCWC such as Wi-Fi.
SBCWC employees who work for the organisation help identify the women and girls in need of help from violence and point them in the right direction of assistance if they cannot help them personally.
SBCWC employees who work for the organisation help identify the women and girls in need of help from violence and point them in the right direction of assistance if they cannot help them personally.
Welfare workers act as a link between the women in need and other SBCWC employees that are filtered down into different departments to assist these women’s needs. The welfare workers will make sure you are exactly where you need to be.
With the government only providing 45% of the funds to run the organisation, donors make up the 55% left to run smoothly. People providing donations to this organisation fully understand the harsh environments/situations women have to deal with. Donors are directly linked to SBCWC, helping the organisation attain the funds they need to continue operating and expand in order to help more women in need.
With the goal of protecting these women, there has to be a reaction unit. When contacted this unit will rush to the side of any woman and girl in distress. The reaction unit is indirectly connected as it is not your first connection to the organisation but is used in emergencies where help is needed immediately.
Section D: Finding a solution
The problem within the SBCWC was a connectivity issue, specifically speaking about Wi-Fi which is not always reliable, especially when dealing with emergency situations where women need help immediately. Some women in need do not always have access to data or Wi-Fi which can be a problem if they urgently need to speak to the organisation and get help. The solution was to create a digital social innovation that is independent of network connectivity to provide every victim with the access that they need regardless of the network connection that they have. This digital social innovation will not only have the option to call for immediate emergency services but also provide the victims with online services such as counselling or getting in touch with welfare workers so that victims do not physically have to go into the SBCWC.
Project Goals:
- According to the Sustainable Development Goals by the UN, the Gender Equality goal is the target that aims to “eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation”. Our project focuses on this by aiming to end GBV in Cape Town.
- Provide an alternative platform that doesn’t use data, due to issues with Wi-Fi at the SBCWC, so that employees have more focus and energy for the woman affected by GBV.
- To improve the reachability of all SBCWC employees from the reaction unit, to the counsellors by the creation of a simple yet effective DSI.
The main objective of the project:
- Establish a programme that will close the gaps in the organisation through the creation of a DSI that will eliminate the issues the SBCWC employees are facing, and allow victims of GBV women in Cape Town to be attended to in the most efficient way possible. This will be achieved through the creation of a USSD or zero-rated website specifically for the organisation so that the victims will be able to select what they are in need of, with a quick menu that requires no Wi-Fi or airtime and get hold of precisely who they need.
A minimum viable product (MVP) is the main idea for our solution to help our target group. Our MVP is the simple idea of establishing a more direct approach for victims of GBV to get in contact with the people they need. We want to allow the victims to be able to access numerous services (counselling, welfare workers, reaction units) in SBCWC that they are needing in one simple digital social innovation.
An underlying domestic violence pandemic occurring, and it has become essential and relevant to have a fast, low cost and easy-to-access platform specifically in times of urgent need. Violence is not biased when considering one’s colour of skin or income therefore it’s important to have a platform that can be used by women in any income bracket. Research shows that the majority of females in South Africa who experience domestic violence stay with an abusive partner due to financial hardship and reliance on their contribution. Oftentimes these women struggle to stay employed because of multiple factors, from emotional well-being to health issues and not having the luxury of sick leave. We even found the words from a victim in an online academic article saying, “I am trapped. I need to stay. I won’t make it on my own with all the children. Also need the money from him.”
Therefore, the use of a USSD corresponding with a zero-rated website can be useful to women in dire need. In this modern-day between 20 to 22 million people in South Africa use a mobile phone, which accounts for about one-third of the country’s population. The current COVID-19 pandemic and the underlying gender-based violence pandemic both compound the victim’s personal issues which don’t make the situation any easier. Due to this, women experiencing domestic violence are left vulnerable with only the gateway of their devices to help them get out of an uncomfortable situation. Thus, a platform like a USSD paired with a zero-rated website will immediately help women. In addition to other features like donating, online counselling and welfare assistance, these two platforms can be of great help to women and be at their disposal any time.
A USSD is a platform that allows you to send limited communication without a data connection and without incurring SMS costs. Its function usually entails short requests and commands, and these messages can only contain a maximum of 160 characters or a session length of 180 seconds. Therefore, because this platform doesn’t allow for audio, video, or images, an additional platform like a zero-rated website is required to fulfil its duties like online counselling and legal assistance through a welfare worker.
These USSD functions include:
- Dialling *72292# which is the abbreviation for the organisation “SBCWC”.
- Select postal code. Then suburb code. The organisation is located in Cape Town, meaning that this platform is limited to this area until we expand to the rest of the country.
- Select Neighbourhood (A-E, F-J, etc). Using letters to select the first letters of your neighbourhood can save time and make it easier to find your neighbourhood name.
- Select street.
- Select street number.
Once this is complete an armed response team will be sent to the victim’s neighbourhood for patrol.
Zero-rated websites are either subsidised by an organisation or by the mobile network themselves to allow users free access. Research has shown that the Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa (ISPA) has announced that almost 1,000 local websites are either already zero-rated or are currently in the process of it. Therefore, this means that any South African with any device, from a feature phone to a smartphone can access these websites. Mobile networks in South Africa including Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom, which have various zero-rated educational and data management portals, can help organisations with critical needs especially in a vicious pandemic faced by women that experience GBV.
Our zero-rated website will have features such as the armed response unit similar to that on our USSD platform but with expanded services such as a donation and online counselling sections, welfare assistance and a section demonstrating what the organisation is about and how to book into the shelter.
Once a woman in need partakes in either of these platforms, the SBCWC organisation will get involved and keep the female’s identity private unless legal action is necessary. When communication has gone through these platforms and other means of communication is needed, for example, a phone call, audio or online meeting, the costs involved in the follow-ups will then go through the SBCWC. Most of the functions are provided through the means of our zero-rated website. These women matter to us and that’s why we want the means of our communication with them to be simple, efficient and easy.
The competitors feature map is a map to visualise the company’s product or service in its industry’s competitive landscape through competing with or complimenting others in the field. This strategy is used for any new initiative, it’s to identify the audience type, price, propositions, market share, features, capabilities, revenue etc. It’s mainly used to identify areas of opportunity, strengths and weaknesses for the present and future and how these changes will affect the business.
Some of our MVP’s features against our competitors are the use of an unstructured supplementary service data, “USSD”, which allows for quick, easy and low-cost responses from the organisation and a zero-rated website for fulfilling our promised services.
A task-orientated flow diagram shows the actions of the user as they move from screen to screen with each selection they make. This system creates an effective and easy flow through the DSI, while the users’ needs and intentions are uncovered and getting closer to meeting them. These flow diagrams assist us to identify if there are any gaps in the system with the communication between the DSI and the user. Identifying these minor gaps will allow us to fix those areas whether they be the flow and smoothness of the system, functionality or navigation. In the end, we want the most convenient and easy to read DSI for our users as information is the most important thing to get across to women and girls who may be in an aggressive, uncomfortable or unavoidable situation.
Below is a flow diagram for our USSD:
Below are flow diagrams for our zero-rated website:
Section E: Conclusion
Let’s be present in this pandemic by remembering to keep on our protective masks on but taking off the mask of ignorance. We are now fully aware and understand the implications of what gender inequality looks like in the sphere of gender-based violence. One in every three women has, in some form, experienced domestic violence. This is a serious pandemic that few people are talking about. How are we going to improve on this? With the basis of our SDG, gender equality, we chose the topic of eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres and chose the local organisation, Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC) as our organisation to develop our digital social innovations of a USSD and zero-rated for. We aim to move towards taking the necessary precautions to make it through these trying times. Due to this, females experiencing domestic violence are left vulnerable with only the gateway of their devices to help them get out of uncomfortable situations.
The second half of this project will include the designing and prototyping of our two solutions. These two platforms of the USSD and zero-rated website will be built, developed and tested by our team of 5 to help improve the overall communication at the SBCWC. They will indeed be of great help to women by having it at their disposal at any time. We are breaking ground with the use of a USSD for vulnerable women and can surely help improve South Africa to face a better tomorrow.
