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1. 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.

2. 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. 

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.

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.

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