Activist Onele helps women to report abuse through app

Onele Nobongoza wants people to gather important multimedia assets after they had encountered any form of abuse.

The mobile app, Kwanele, can be used to securely store images, audio and videos which could be used at a court of law, at a police station or a Thuthuzela Care Centre when a person has laid a complaint against an abuser – this could be sexual or physical abuse

Beautiful News said this could advance justice in South Africa’s courts as this could be used as evidence against the perpetrator.

In an interview with the online publication, Nobongoza said: “Just one in every nine cases of sexual abuse makes it to the police station,” adding that these are just the numbers on record.

According to Beautiful News, the biggest barriers for victims are fear of intimidation, stigma and the lack of information on how to report.

The stigma is very much reported in communities where survivors of abuse are often blamed and shamed for their horrific experiences, some people are also intimidated by those who had perpetrated these acts on them, making them feel like they are the ones who are at fault and secondary victimization occurs when they report these cases to the police.

The app, which brings hope to many women, was developed by a GBV start-up which leverages on mobile technology to protect vulnerable people especially women.

Nobongoza said she and the team take it upon themselves to disseminate information which can empower women.

“We go to the youth to educate them about gender-based violence, and the youth can inform others in their community and family members,” Nobongoza explained.

Editor’s note: Onele Nobongoza wants people to gather important multimedia assets after they had encountered any form of abuse. This asset, this could be photos, audio and video recordings which could be used at a court of law, at a police station or a Thuthuzela Care Centre when a person has laid a complaint against an abuser – this could be sexual or physical abuse.

Description: The mobile app, Kwanele, can be used to securely store images, audio and videos which could be used at a court of law, at a police station or a Thuthuzela Care Centre when a person has laid a complaint against an abuser – this could be sexual or physical abuse.

Editor: Anirlé de Meyer

Project manager: Anirlé de Meyer