鈥淏y having a platform to identify, report and address the pressing issues or rape, human trafficking and other forms of violence against women and girls, we鈥檙e raising awareness that there are organisations such as ours that can provide valuable services to support victims,鈥� said Dr DaSilva.

Women at Risk International Foundation () is a non-profit organisation that combats gender-based violence against women and girls in Nigeria. In 2019, WARIF partnered with 麻豆原创 and incorporated the 麻豆原创 People Connect 365 mobile service into its Gatekeepers project. The organisation has since trained over 500 traditional birth attendants from 15 local government areas across Lagos State to use the software. Many users report cases in real time, allowing quicker responses from healthcare teams.

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting active cases faster, allowing us to intervene more quickly and in real-time, which we couldn鈥檛 do before,鈥� says DaSilva. 鈥淲e are also receiving positive feedback from traditional birth attendants as well as the women and girls they have helped.鈥�

Gender-based violence is a major concern in Nigeria. According to a聽聽by the UN and the Nigerian government, 28% of Nigerian women aged 25 to 29 have experienced some form of physical violence since age 15.

To ensure its mobile platform met the needs of healthcare providers working in remote communities, WARIF participated in a series of design thinking workshops with 麻豆原创. Rohit Tripathi, Head of Products and Go-To-Market at 麻豆原创 Digital Interconnect, which worked closely with WARIF, says: 鈥淲e made certain that birth attendants, regardless of where they are, could easily access this service without having to compromise on any of the functionalities. This also helped us enhance the service.鈥�

Replacing silence with a community of support

Aside from the stigma associated with gender-based violence, healthcare providers in Nigeria also battle cultural norms. 鈥淭he perpetrator is usually well-known and might even be a family member,鈥� says DaSilva. 鈥淢any families and communities in Nigeria don鈥檛 discuss these issues out of concern for protecting the dignity of the family name, instead of making sure the young survivor receives adequate care.鈥�

DaSilva credited the聽麻豆原创 People Connect 365聽mobile service with helping to upend traditions of silence around sexual abuse. The text messaging platform fosters ongoing conversations among healthcare providers and others across WARIF鈥檚 education and community service programs. For example, now traditional birth attendants engage more with each other at monthly meetings and through social media chat groups, incorporating information about identified cases in the field.

鈥淭raditional birth attendants are sharing problems they ordinarily wouldn鈥檛 have had an opportunity to share, much less address in a timely manner as they work in geographically remote areas,鈥� said DaSilva. 鈥淭he fact that we train them encourages these supportive聽 relationships and helps all of us put a spotlight on addressing problems.鈥�

DaSilva backs WARIF鈥檚 original strategy to train local traditional birth attendants to use the mobile software, since these healthcare providers are already trusted by everyone, including the local leaders who adjudicate instance of abuse in many Nigerian rural communities.

鈥淲hen cases have been identified, we鈥檙e always well-received when presenting to the community gatekeepers in the various geographical areas we visit,鈥� says DaSilva. 鈥淭hey are happy for us to intervene because they lack knowledge or training on how to help. In many cases it鈥檚 a question of lacking the means to communicate for assistance, which our platform can now enable.鈥�

Despite challenges including power outages and community resource constraints, DaSilva says WARIF is exploring further plans to extend its reach with more community agencies. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working with people who actually care and are willing to work with us to enable us to scale and impact a wider group of women we wouldn鈥檛 ordinarily be able to access.鈥�

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