Faizel Patel – 26/11/2020
As the country marks 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (GBV), Vodacom has launched an app designed to aid in the fight against the scourge of GBV.
The launch of the Bright Sky app coincides with the United Nations 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
This year’s campaign takes place under UN’s 2020 global theme: “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”
Takalani Netshitenzhe, External Affairs Director for Vodacom South Africa, says Bright Sky is part of the company’s vision to use core capability – technology – to respond to some of the societal challenges plaguing our society in this milieu.
“Digital technologies have become a positive enabler in this GBV crisis that we are facing. The app is part of our prevention strategy to strengthen prevention through awareness and education and will also augment the response by the law enforcement agencies through some of its functionalities.”
Bright Sky SA app is free to download on both iOS and Android devices on the App Store and Google Play Store and is available in three official languages: English, IsiZulu and Sesotho.
It provides support and information for anyone who may be in an abusive relationship, or for those concerned about someone they know. It is available in three official languages: English, IsiZulu and Sesotho.
Bright Sky’s features include a short questionnaire to help users identify different forms of abuse and the types of support available.
It gives the user information about GBV, the different forms of GBV, and various case studies. Using geolocation, the app provides information on support services available in South Africa, including a directory of police stations, hospitals and NGOs across the country
The app does not share anyone’s personal details and ensures the complete privacy of its users.
According to the GSMA 2020 Report, smartphone adoption continues to rise rapidly in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, reaching 50% of total connections in 2020, as cheaper devices have become available.
The second phase of the Bright Sky app will introduce certain features via the USSD platform to cater for people without smart devices.
Vodacom will also zero-rate the app, so that users do not incur any data costs when using it.
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