Nowadays, it seems like everyone has a social media account, its like a prerequisite for staying on the loop. From personal stories to how a friend celebrated their birthday and where did that family go for a vacation to the state of the world like what is status of that country after an earthquake or who is the new Vice President. But no matter how beneficial social media is, it also became a channel for abuse.
A few months ago, I came upon an app that aims to inform women about their rights, how to keep themselves safe online and how to counter technology related violence against them. The Foundation for Media Alternatives, the organization behind the Take Back The Tech Philippines, in collaboration with 8layer Technologies a free and open source company, developed the AksyonVAW app which debuted in Google Play Store sometime February.
The app has some real life scenarios as examples for identity theft, cyber bullying and online harassment. Each storyline presented allows the user to make choices on what would they do if the situation arises.
At the end of each story, tips are given to the user on how they can prevent these things from happening to them. Also included are republic acts and a brief explanation about it.
What I loved most about the app is that it shows realistic consequences if we didn’t report it to the authorities and how it can affect one’s mental health.
If you want to report technology related violence here is a link for that. https://ph.takebackthetech.net/mapit/reports/submit
Kudos to Foundation for Media Alternatives and 8layer Technologies for making an app like this!
AksyonVAW is available in Google Play Store.
Amor Fati 