Shifting Tech PowHer

Systemic, patriarchal power dynamics impede women’s and girls’ communciation and leadership during crises and security threats, including in the Covid-19 pandemic. To address this gap, VOICE will lead a multi-country program on gender-based violence (GBV) risk mitigation, prevention, and response that helps communities prepare for, detect, and respond to emerging pandemics and health security threats. We will alter the ways in which communities/organizations are able to engage in this response, both through research into why responses still fail in spite of localization targets, and by creating a path toward greater future access to resources/decision-making power, and an increased role in preparedness efforts through tech and non-tech approaches.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown significant health inequalities globally and  is the latest in a series of infectious disease emergencies, including Cholera, Ebola, SARS, Chikungunya, HIV/AIDS, H1N1, and influenza. Each of these further impact health disparities, and safety/security for women and girls globally. 

Incidents of violence against women have increased worldwide since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Confinement is fostering the tension and strain created by security and health concerns. Isolation has increased for women with violent partners, separating them from the people and resources that can best help them. Health systems are stretching to breaking point, with additional pressures with Covid-19 response, not meeting the needs of all communities, and leaving women and girls most at risk.

Number of people affected (Reported by the World Health Organization)

Mexico : 229,353 confirmed cases and COVID-19 deaths from January 2020 to June 2021.

Guatemala: 265,662 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 8,361 deaths.

India: 29,439,989 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 370,384 deaths.

Pakistan: 942,189 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 21,723 deaths.

Thailand: 189,828 confirmed cases and 1,402 coronavirus-related deaths reported.

Kenya: 174,773  confirmed cases with 3,378 deaths.

South Sudan: 10,688 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 115 deaths.

Uganda: 58,515 confirmed cases. Surge of cases have been reported and active lockdown is occurring.

While the number of Covid-19 cases/deaths show the current impact in each country we will be serving, millions of people will be impacted by this work overall through VOICE's solution. 

This solution will promote the achievement of long-term sustainable outcomes and greater understanding for the COVID-19 pandemic impact-including the prevention of the spread of misinformation and helping individuals, especially vulnerable women and girls protect themselves and their communities against increased violence. This solution will help to change  how information is delivered, since local organizations would be viewed as leaders. We will also focus on connecting women and girls through local organizations to build a strong network to  help combat loneliness, stress, depression, and other mental health impacts of disease outbreak, including GBV risk mitigation, prevention and response.

VOICE will co-create tools and provide resources that support institutional capacity through local organizations in 9 countries (India, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, South Sudan, Thailand and Uganda) to demonstrate outcomes, amplify evidence-based solutions, and help the communities to better understand the COVID-19 response, and increase the potential for future preparation for, detection of, and response  to emerging pandemics and health security threats and co-occurring issues.

VOICE’s solution is intended to impact communities as a whole, but our work will be focused on local organizations which serve women and girls. This work will address the urgent need to reduce the risk of future health security threats and address the co-occurring issues that arise during emergency and crisis events. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic alone has been in the millions across the countries VOICE will serve.  We anticipate identifying  10 organizations in each country to partner with and having a direct impact on at least 5,000 beneficiaries per country, with indirect impact reaching millions. The target population will include economically disadvantaged individuals, refugees, internally displaced people, women and girls and the family and friends they take care of.

VOICE's solution provides a tech/non-tech based approach t hat is focused on the most underserved/at risk because of race, ethnicity, age, gender, or income—from the lack of available credible information, and the means to communicate the implications of health crisis and security impacts. VOICE will have a primary focus on preventing the spread of misinformation and inspire individuals to protect themselves and their communities through information campaigns and behavioral nudges. This will be done through a localized approach.  We will also have an indirect impact on combating loneliness, stress, depression, and other mental health impacts (including violence) of disease outbreaks.

VOICE has implemented Covid-19 response through an additional project, along with UNICEF.  We have deployed a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community already that matches our Solution. 

VOICE is dedicated to creating a world changing technology for movement building and access to information for leaders and organizations working to expand the rights of women and girls.  The technology we develop will allow organizations and leaders to map and monitor crises outbreaks, conduct mobile surveys and collaborate within countries and across movements and across countries and continents and movements in real time. 

No other single technical hub exists for women/girls to build their movements together to effectively manage information and respond to global health crisis events safely and securely, addressing issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and co-occurring acts of increased violence, and VOICE will change this. 

VOICE will host a digital platform that includes: 

• Resource Connection Hub-to help sustain, develop and share information in a safe space. 

• Allows for capacity-sharing to enable crisis response that is informed by women and girls who know best what is happening in different crisis situations.Provide instant virtual technical support-to strategize about preventing the spread of misinformation and inspire individuals to protect themselves and their communities during crisis and emergency events, combating co-occuring issues that promote violence and stem from loneliness, stress, depression, and other mental health impacts of disease outbreaks.

• Network-building-facilitating collaboration, co-generation of ideas, strategies and actions, and support solidarity-building amongst and between organizations and movements locally, regionally, and globally.

Through research and innovative technology, VOICE amplifies locally driven, sustainable and evidence-based solutions from some of the most challenging conflicts and disaster-prone areas of the world. We are currently supporting over 400 women- and girl-led organizations, thus reaching over 1,000.  In year one we expect this number to increase significantly and within five years, we expect that we will be reaching at least 5,000 women- and girl-led organizations and frontline women practitioners.   If each of at least 1,000 organizations were benefiting from our support in some way, we would be reaching at least 30,000. 

But this is a low estimate, because once we start making sure that our network is informing blockchain developments in relation to identification in low-resource settings, our reach will be well into the millions given the vast number of refugee and displaced individuals and families around the world. 

VOICE’s team of experts, who collectively have over 150 years of experience working in some of the most intense natural and human made disasters and conflicts around the world, will work directly with local women and girl leaders to drive this action. Our work will be guided by women- and girl-led organizations, and women and girls themselves. 

Within our network we will identify a cohort of women and girls from low-health and security crisis affected settings whom we will make sure are very informed about a variety of digital technologies, including blockchain.  On an on-going basis we will work with them to identify ways to advance their influence and to be part of key design, thought-partnering and decision-making consultations and events to make sure that emerging digital technologies, such as blockchain for increased access to credible inoformation and communications paths that ensure they are directly are informed by their lived experiences and what is feasible from a low-tech to no tech and low literacy and numeracy reality.

VOICE's work will ensure goals and objectives align with UN Sustainable Development goals that improve gender equality, health and well-being, reduce inequality and build sustainable communities. 

Executive Director:  Provide oversight, build out solution to establish goals/outcomes-1 FTE

Operations/Partnerships Manager: Provide technical leadership on project design/implementation; ensure best practices-Contract

Technology/Innovation Head: Manage identification/development of technologies, bring technologies/partners-Contract

Research Coordinator: Manage project-related administrative duties/timelines-Contract

Movement Building Leader: Design/implement programs for feminist movement building with women- and girl-led organizations-Contract

VOICE works on crisis preparedness in conflict/disaster settings to promote equality, create leadership opportunities, and eradicate violence. The VOICE co-founders alone, bring over 40+ years of professional experience working in countries throughout the world as experts on violence against women and girls in conflicts, disasters and development settings. They both have significant experience in shaping UN/donor policies; raising millions of dollars; defining cutting-edge interventions; and driving UN entities, NGOs and research groups to develop innovative tools. The vast majority of VOICE’s work has taken place in fragile and conflict-affected countries. 

VOICE has a proven track record of holding the humanitarian sector accountable for its promise to protect women and girls in humanitarian settings. Among other things, VOICE has raised the alarm bell on shortfalls in funding for GBV in emergencies; VOICE has advocated in mainstream news to amplify the voices of over 600 women humanitarian workers on the harassment they face in the sector;  and VOICE has deployed teams to improve interventions and accountability to women and girls in humanitarian settings with high refugee case-loads. 

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, VOICE supported women-led organizations in over fourteen countries.We are continuing to expand these efforts by hosting virtual learning sessions, facilitating network building, implementing capacity-sharing workshops, and defining a partnership model that centralizes women’s rights organizations – all while documenting the impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls in emergency settings.

VOICE prioritizes diversity of professional, cultural and lived experiences, and values bringing together experts and emerging young professionals. We are dedicated to listening to, respecting and supporting diverse voices, and creating an inclusive workplace culture that brings together individuals with a broad range of skills, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. This includes for women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ employees and partners, and ensuring that workplace provisions are made to be accessible for those with disabilities.

We are committed to ensuring our processes and culture mirror the feminist values that drive our whole body of work on gender equality, women’s leadership, and addressing violence against women and girls. 
VOICE’s approach centers the forward movement of women’s rights, with an emphasis on disadvantageous economic structures that oppress women and entire communities, and ignore their basic needs and human rights. We see with a racial justice lens, committed to overthrowing systems of oppression. 

VOICE is applying to Solve because we believe that our approach/solution promotes equality, will create leadership opportunities, and eradicate barriers for women and girls that are most impacted during health/secutiry crisis events. There reamains  a gender divide in accessing credible information to promote safety and security  that limits women's potential, and undermining gains made in gender equality in recent decades.  
When women have access to needed information to react and respond to crisis and feel safe and scecutre, their freedom to engage fully increases and response and outcomes improve. 
VOICE would like to bring a needed Solution to this space, we need partners in this space, to include an organization like VOICE that exists to support women- and girl-led organizations maximize their potential.  This solution needs to be in the lead to support the voices of women and girls to be heard and to lead the change that is needed with building pathways to employment that are meaningful for women and set the stage for girls in years to come.

In recognition of the gender divide in digital access that excludes women and girls, VOICE will address the active exclusion of women and girls and their organizations that occurs due to limited access to literacy and information technology. 

In particular, we are looking for partners to help us do this (Girls Who Code, might be a partner in this space for VOICE). This will involve the identification of various tech and non-tech solutions for connecting with these groups and sharing up-to-date and essential information to women and girls on COVID-19 and violence against women and girls. This will be based on consultations with a range of different groups and organizations to identify needs, including access to technology and preferences for the global platform to be created.

VOICE works closely with refugee and IDP populations.  We support solutions that promote refugee resilience, self-reliance and integration.  We would use this prize to engage specific populations more readily in our work. 

VOICE is a cutting-edge feminist organization working to end violence against women and girls in conflict, crisis, and disaster settings around the world. We would focus this prize specifically on regions where tech and innovation would have the greatest impact for women and girls.