1. Executive Summary

In this report, we explore how digital innovations are shaping gender justice and safety for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Africa.

While digital tools offer powerful means to enhance reporting, safety, and advocacy, they also pose ethical and privacy risks for survivors.

Drawing on international ethical frameworks and policy developments, this study highlights opportunities to build safe, inclusive, and survivor-centered digital ecosystems and programs.

It also concludes with practical recommendations for organizations/individuals to better collaborate in developing or using technology in SGBV response.

2. Background and Objective

Despite progress in digital transformation, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence continue to face systemic barriers to safety and justice.

Digital technologies such as AI-based reporting systems, geolocation apps, and survivor hotlines offer new possibilities for prevention and response.

However, without ethical safeguards, data protection, and survivor consent, these same tools can amplify harm.

The objective of this report is to investigate how digital innovation in Africa is advancing gender justice in safety and protection in particular sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) while examining the ethical and policy frameworks supporting these innovations.

3. Thematic Analysis: Review of Existing Digital Apps Addressing SGBV 

To better understand how digital innovation is shaping pathways to gender justice, this study mapped and analyzed a range of existing and emerging safety and support applications across Africa and beyond.

The selected apps represent diverse approaches to addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) including prevention, reporting, emergency response, and survivor empowerment.

Each app was assessed in relation to its function, core features, geographical origin, and potential limitations, alongside the ethical considerations that align with the research objectives of ensuring survivor safety, data privacy, and gender-responsive technology design. 

The comparative table below summarizes these insights and highlights the opportunities and challenges within the growing ecosystem of digital tools for SGBV prevention and response.

Across the reviewed apps in the table, we can gather that: 

1. Digital tools are diversifying pathways to gender justice.

   There is a clear trend toward using AI, geolocation, and digital storytelling to address different aspects of SGBV from emergency response to prevention and empowerment.

   This reflects a growing recognition that technological advancement can bridge access to justice, psychosocial support, and community safety.

   
   

2. Fragmentation limits systemic impact.
   Despite innovation, the ecosystem remains disconnected. Few apps integrate directly with national helplines, justice systems, or survivor services, leading to duplication and underutilization.

   Strengthening interoperability, referral pathways, and cross-sector partnerships is critical to move from isolated tools to holistic digital safety ecosystems.

   
   

3. Ethical gaps persist across all solutions.
   Each app faces risks related to data privacy, survivor consent, and algorithmic bias.

   Without clear governance frameworks and survivor-centric safeguards, technology meant to protect can unintentionally expose users to secondary harm or digital surveillance.

   This confirms the research’s emphasis on ethical and rights-based digital innovation.

   
   

4. Access and inclusion remain uneven.
   Many tools depend on smartphones, stable internet, or paid subscriptions, excluding rural and low-income women; the very groups most at risk of SGBV.

   A gender-just digital future therefore demands inclusive design, localization, and affordability strategies.

   
   

5. Emerging local innovations show promise.
   The Apps show a growth in feminist tech innovation centering survivor storytelling, localized support, and community-driven safety networks.

   Scaling local models could create replicable, contextually grounded approaches for Africa.
   
   

4. Core Ethical Principles in SGBV Innovation and Programming

This report also synthesized key guidance from CARE, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Inter-Agency GBVIMS Data Protection Protocol, as well as the World Bank and International Rescue Committee (IRC) frameworks on research and data ethics.

It aims to provide a coherent set of standards to ensure safe, ethical, and effective SGBV programming. Across all frameworks, several foundational principles consistently emerge:

• Do No Harm: Safety and security of survivors, participants, and staff must guide all decisions

• Survivor-Centered Approach: Services and data processes must prioritize dignity, choice, and confidentiality of survivors

• Informed Consent: Consent must be explicit, informed, voluntary, and revisited throughout interventions

• Confidentiality & Privacy: No identifying details should be collected or shared unless essential and with explicit consent

• Non-Discrimination & Equity: Services must be inclusive, with special attention to marginalized groups

• Accountability & Oversight: Ethical approval (Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent) is required for sensitive SGBV data collection

5. Safe and Ethical Data Collection

5.1 What Data to Collect

• Avoid collecting personal experiences of SGBV unless the study is designed to directly inform SGBV programming and appropriate safeguards are in place

• Data should be minimal, relevant, and purposeful (principle of data minimization)

• Where possible, rely on secondary data or aggregate indicators

5.2 Who Should Collect SGBV Data

• Only trained SGBV specialists should collect sensitive, personal SGBV disclosures

• General program staff may collect contextual information (e.g., attitudes, knowledge, risk factors), under the guidance of SGBV experts

5.3 Storage and Protection

• Paper files: Must be locked, coded (no names on files), and accessible only to authorized staff

• Electronic files: Must be encrypted, password-protected, backed up securely, and protected by antivirus/security updates

• Access should follow the principle of “need-to-know” only

6. Ethical Use of Technology in SGBV Programming

Technology presents opportunities (e.g., hotlines, remote case management, safe reporting apps) but also risks (surveillance, data leakage, technology-facilitated SGBV).

6.1 Benefits

• Expands access to remote services (hotlines, apps)

• Facilitates safer reporting and case management

• Supports positive social norm change through digital campaigns

• Strengthens evidence generation for advocacy and programming

6.2 Risks

• Breach of sensitive survivor data → risk of re-traumatization, stigma, violence

• Misuse of digital platforms by perpetrators (e.g., surveillance by intimate partners)

• Replication of bias/discrimination in algorithmic tools

• Over-reliance on technology in contexts with low digital access (widening the digital divide)

6.3 Guiding Digital Principles

• Safety by default/design: Build privacy and safeguarding features into technology from the outset

• Purpose limitation & data minimization: Collect only what is necessary, store it briefly, and plan for safe disposal

• Participatory approaches: Survivors and communities must co-design interventions

• Security ≠ Safety: Even with high cybersecurity, risks remain. Continuous risk assessments are essential

• Accountability: Tech providers and nonprofits must assume responsibility for long-term data management and security.

7. Data Sharing and Governance

African countries are progressively adopting legal and policy frameworks to guide digital safety and privacy. Examples include:

• Kenya’s Data Protection Act (2019): Establishes consent, data minimization, and processing safeguards

• African Union Data Policy Framework (2022): Promotes gender-responsive data governance across the continent

• Nigeria’s Data Protection Regulation (NDPR): Encourages responsible digital data management with emphasis on privacy rights

• South Africa’s POPIA Act: Protects personal data, including sensitive categories such as gender and health information.

Despite these advances, gaps remain in enforcement, awareness, and cross-sector collaboration.

Many SGBV-focused technologies still lack clear ethical oversight or risk mitigation mechanisms, especially in community-led or grassroots initiatives.

For proper data sharing and governance; 

• Information must never be shared with third parties without survivor consent and adherence to agreed data-sharing protocols

• Data must be aggregated and anonymized before publication or policy advocacy

• Programs must establish data breach management protocols and conduct regular audits

• Data ownership should remain with survivors; organizations are only custodians

8. Oversight, Training, and Accountability

• Institutional Review Boards (IRBs): Required for sensitive SGBV research, especially involving personal experiences

• Staff Training: All staff handling SGBV data must be trained in confidentiality, consent, safeguarding, and secondary trauma prevention

• Ongoing Monitoring: Programs must establish oversight structures, with SGBV specialists advising MEAL and ICT teams

• Alignment with Global Standards: Guidance must be consistent. For example WHO, UNFPA, IRC, and World Bank ethical frameworks on VAWG and humanitarian data ethics.

9. Report Recommendations

1. Adopt a survivor-centered ethical framework that combines core data protection standards. Align all initiatives with these principles by embedding them into organizational policies and enforcing compliance across all SGBV-related activities through regular oversight.

2. Develop context-specific data protection protocols that account for local risks, laws, and digital environments. Put in place safeguards tailored to local conditions, legal requirements and digital realities. This includes conducting regular legal and risk assessments, adapting to evolving contexts, and ensuring staff are trained to uphold both technical and ethical standards.

3. Apply a risk-benefit analysis before collecting or using sensitive SGBV data, including technology-based interventions.

4. Limit data collection to essential information, avoiding sensitive SGBV disclosures unless necessary and ethically justified.

5. Ensure informed consent is active, ongoing, and accessible in multiple formats.

6. Build safeguarding into technology by design. Require that all apps, platforms, and digital tools include features like anonymous reporting, discreet interfaces, and multi-layered encryption from the start. This embeds survivor safety directly into the technology itself.

7. Strengthen staff capacity through mandatory training on SGBV ethics, digital safety, and trauma-informed approaches.

8. Commit to accountability and transparency with survivors, communities, donors, and oversight bodies. Publish frequent reports detailing how data is collected, stored, shared, and protected, including any breaches or corrective actions. Facilitate community feedback sessions to ensure survivors and stakeholders trust the system.

Conclusion

Digital innovation has immense potential to advance gender justice in Africa. However, ethical, legal, and design gaps must be addressed to ensure that technology empowers rather than endangers survivors.

A coordinated approach anchored in ethics, policy, and practice can transform digital spaces into pathways for safety, dignity, and justice.

Furthermore, ethical SGBV programming requires balancing the urgent need for data and digital solutions with the paramount obligation to protect survivors from harm.

By applying a unified framework rooted in do no harm, survivor-centeredness, informed consent, confidentiality, and data minimization; organizations can harness the benefits of technology and data responsibly while upholding the rights, dignity, and safety of survivors.

Additional Resources

Training and resources on Safety by Design (SbD) by the Australian Government eSafetyCommissioner. Click this link to take you to the website. 

Resources about National Models for Women’s Safety Online (NMWSO) and Online safety by IREX. Click this link to take you to the website.

Acknowledgment 

This report was independently validated by the support from:

Andrew Bodo, Research and Project Development - The Teen Mental Health Bipolar Foundation 

Emmanuel Kiplangat Cheruiyot, Founder/CEO - Emkaco Enterprises 

Emmanuel Were, Director Programmes - Community Development and Sustainable Organization 

Ivy Kinyua, Independent Consultant 

Kristine Yakahama, Coordinator Maternal Nutrition - Good Health Community Programs

🔗Connect with the author, Miriam Ngomi🔗

🔗Connect with the author, Kwoba Magero🔗

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