Poll: UN Women, Crawn Trust launch GBV reporting App
Crawn Trust Executive Director Daisy Amdany speaks during the linda katiba campaign launch at Serena Hotel, Nairobi last year. The organisation and UN Women have launched an App for reporting violence meted against women in polls.
What you need to know:
- The app, called SayVu, will target 1,000 women political candidates and their agents in the first phase.
- It seeks to secure women during and after elections by minimising the response time of emergency services and other authorities in particular the police.
- SayVU would complement the National Police Service response structures.
Crawn Trust and UN Women have launched a mobile application for reporting and responding to violence meted against women in elections.
In its first phase, the App called SayVu, will target 1,000 women political candidates and their agents. It will ensure they get relevant and effective assistance as quickly as possible if need arises.
Speaking last Friday during its launch at Sarova Stanley Hotel Nairobi, UN Women GBV Specialist Mary Njeri, said the app would ensure candidates get relevant and effective assistance as fast as possible if need arises.
“When situations of mayhem arise, women and children bear the brunt of it. This app is very timely because this election period, we have encountered many cases of women candidates being harassed, thrown out of their houses and others being physically assaulted,” she said.
Send alert
The app is expected to secure women during and after elections by minimising the response time of emergency services and other authorities, in particular the police.
“You just need to press the emergency alert button and within two seconds, all responders including those you have listed will know your location and that you are in trouble. It has the option of shaking to send an alert in the event that things are very bad and you can get help in real time,” said CRAWN Trust Executive Director Daisy Amdany.
The application also allows users to send a distress signal in an emergency situation to a command centre even when the phone is locked.
With the easy to use app, users can send a recorded voice message, a video and their global positioning system (GPS) locator, which would allow them to be found.
Dr Charles Otieno, a consultant with the National Police Service said the police are dedicated to supporting women candidates and keeping them safe during the electioneering period.
Response structures
“For the last three months, we have worked with all county commanders, sub-county commanders and officer commanding station (OCS) around the country, and trained them on the SayVu app to be able to respond to violence facing women candidates,” he said.
Dr Otieno added that the app, which had been received positively would complement the National Police Service response structures.
“All women candidates will receive special numbers for each county and region in the event that they cannot get through the app for various reasons. There are 28 dedicated police officers across the country who will respond to alerts from women candidates,” noted Dr Otieno.
Ms Njeri observed that there are barriers surrounding women who want to become leaders in the country. She urged stakeholders to continue supporting women to exercise their constitutional right to contest various seats.
SayVu is a paid application that costs Sh10 daily, Sh30 weekly and Sh150 monthly. Other plans are Sh450 quarterly, Sh900 semi-annually and Sh1,800 annually.
“We feel that if safety is paramount, we should be willing to contribute a reasonable amount towards the same,” stated Ms Amdany.
