Violetta

Gender-based violence remains a pervasive global issue. As per the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide encounters some form of violence. In Mexico, over 66% of women have experienced some type of violence throughout their lives, in contexts such as family, school, workplace, public places, or within their romantic relationships. About 97% of adolescent dating relationships in the country experience violence, but alarmingly, less than 10% of these victims reach out for professional help. The year 2020, marked by the pandemic, drastically reshaped our global interactions, accentuating the significance of physical and mental health, collaborative efforts, and connectivity through technology. However, the increase of domestic violence, often hidden from public view, remained largely unaddressed. By the end of 2020, emergency calls to 911 in Mexico pertaining to violence against women surged by 31.5%. Violetta emerged as a response to the dual challenges of escalating violence and the scarcity of safe spaces. 

Similar to the surge in violence, the pandemic intensified the challenges that women face in achieving optimal standards of sexual and reproductive health, particularly affecting young women. One prominent issue has been the limited access to comprehensive sexuality education, which has hindered women from making informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Problems related to sexual rights and reproductive health are exacerbated by a lack of access to information due to various barriers, resulting in inadequate preparedness among women and girls to navigate their sexuality and reproductive lives within their respective contexts. We firmly believe that education and equipping individuals with the right tools are essential for navigating situations where the infrastructure for reproductive health is deficient. Our solution aims to offer a user-friendly interface to improve communication between experts and patients, by providing better information and results.

Violetta is a free, confidential and digital resource offering support, information, and a path to professional help through its chatbot and web application. Though initially developed as a resource to address violence during the pandemic lockdowns, Violetta's vision was always rooted in prevention. Its approach prioritizes the creation of healthy relationships, ensuring that early signs of violence are tackled before they intensify, addressing the issue at its core and empowering its users with tools that will allow them to build healthy relationships with themselves and with others sustainably. Our product encompasses four core components:

Conversational Chatbot: Operating on WhatsApp, this chatbot uses predefined and automated paths to guide conversations on a variety of topics, including sexual safety self-love, emotions, romantic relationships, family dynamics, breakups, and violence.

Educational Web Application: Through this platform, users can access answers to frequently asked questions, detailed insights on various topics, and additional resources that offer a range of educational tools and information.

Professional Network: Integrated within the chatbot, this feature allows users to connect with a professional psychologist, either through text or a phone call. Additionally, they can access a directory filled with valuable resources, including shelters, medical and legal assistance centers, abortion clinics, pertinent government agencies, and other NGOs that focus on related issues. 

Data Analysis: Each interaction with the chatbot generates data, providing insights on user needs and the situations they face. This statistical data collection identifies crucial patterns, enhancing our understanding of the issues we cover without jeopardizing user privacy and safety.

Violetta is dedicated to fostering healthy relationships. Recognizing the universality of relationships in everybody's lives, the breadth of our impact can be vast. Violetta is for individuals who:

1. Have any type of question, uncertainty or concern regarding their relationships with themselves or with others.

2. Don't have a safe, private,and well-equipped space to explore these concerns without risking their safety, confidentiality, comfort or overall well-being.

We've identified three primary groups within our users:

The first group comprises individuals who are beginning to navigate or question their relationships. They may be starting to engage in romantic relationships or simply starting to reevaluate their existing ones. For these individuals, Violetta serves as an educational tool – providing information and promoting reflection. 

The second group is composed of individuals facing specific dilemmas in their relationships. Whether it's a complex situation they're entangled in or a significant decision they're contemplating, Violetta stands by their side as a confidant and guide, offering practical advice and consistent support. 

The final group includes individuals who suspect or recognize they're in a violent or abusive situation. These might be individuals just realizing the nature of their relationship, with Violetta helping them identify relevant signs of violence. Once acknowledged, or for those already aware, Violetta acts as a referral tool, leading them to immediate help from a professional. 

In Mexico, gender-based violence, especially sexual violence, predominantly affects women, and this is reflected in the demographic composition of our users, with about 80% identifying as female. Moreover, there is a pronounced concentration in the age group of 18 to 25, an age bracket marked by important transitions in sexuality, relationships, education, or careers. By understanding these dynamics, we've tailored Violetta's tools and resources to best address the needs and challenges faced by these individuals, while remaining accessible and beneficial to anyone else irrespective of their age or gender.

In a society where healthy relationships can be the bedrock of mental and physical health, and hence of the prevention of violence, many are underserved in terms of having platforms to address their relational concerns. Violetta aims to bridge this gap, ensuring that every individual, regardless of their relational stage or challenge, has a safe space to turn to.

Violetta emerged from the shared vision of four young women navigating their early post-college years during the onset of the Covid pandemic. Recognizing a significant societal challenge, they channeled their passion, personal experiences, and heightened awareness of violence into crafting an innovative solution. Violetta was founded on the understanding that we are perpetually in relationships, and our overall well-being is intrinsically tied to the health of these connections, a premise deeply recognized by its four founders. Now, Violetta is supported by a team of ten young women from diverse backgrounds who not only share this understanding but also believe that Violetta offers a direct solution.

Given that our target audience comprises women of similar ages and backgrounds as those in our team, its women-centric nature is essential for the advancement of our mission. The first hand understanding, empathy, and unique perspectives our team members bring to the table shape the direction and depth of our interventions. This approach ensures that our strategies and solutions are rooted in the lived realities of those we aim to assist, as we inherently prioritize and validate the experiences and narratives of girls and women. This enables us to create tools that are more resonant and effective.  

To understand the needs of those we serve and ensure their active engagement in the development of our solution, we have implemented a comprehensive approach:

• Data Generation and Analysis: At its core, Violetta is committed to generating data that offers a clear insight into the problems faced by our users. Through analyzing user interactions, we gain an understanding of the primary topics of concern, how users relate to these topics, their emotional undertones, and demographic data. This allows us to make data-driven decisions and tailor our platform to the specific contexts of our users.

• Community Engagement and Feedback: Regularly interacting with our community through social media and other communication channels is essential. We solicit feedback on what topics resonate with them and what areas require more work. Through analyzing open-field responses, we gain raw, unfiltered insights into user needs and preferences.

• Advanced Analytical Tools: Utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP) aids us in discerning patterns and relationships between various topics discussed by our users. This not only offers a deeper understanding of the problems but also guides us in creating content that's tailored to address specific concerns.

• Expert Network Collaboration: To ensure our approach remains grounded and informed, we have established a network of experts in related fields. Engaging with them provides us with diverse perspectives, allowing us to incorporate valuable insights and make our solution more holistic and effective.

In summary, the design and implementation of our solution are heavily informed by continuous data analysis, direct community feedback, technological tools, expert insights, and the expertise and insights our team brings both personally and professionally, ensuring that it remains relevant and aligned with the needs of the communities we serve.

Violetta's innovation lies at the intersection of technology, early intervention, and holistic understanding of violence prevention. This combination offers great potential for unparalleled reach, a sustainable solution to violence, and innovative decision-making.

Accessibility: As a completely free, confidential, and digital platform, Violetta leverages the pervasive reach of technology, ensuring that help is not only a few clicks away but also guarantees user's privacy. This combination removes traditional barriers, allowing more individuals to seek assistance without the concerns of cost or exposure.

Preventive approach: While many interventions react to violence after it has occurred, Violetta is distinguished by its preventive emphasis. By focusing on the earliest signs and underlying factors of violence, we not only curb its escalation but also provide sustainable, long-term solutions that foster healthier relationships from the outset.

Data generation: With Violetta, we're not just offering a solution; we're also generating invaluable data. By collecting and analyzing information often overlooked in traditional measures, we can reveal previously unrecognized patterns, trends, and opportunities. This iterative feedback not only drives the continuous refinement of our platform but also paves the way for better informed strategies to address the issue of violence. 

Violetta contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, specifically targeting 3.7, which seeks to "ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information, and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes" by 2030. Violetta enhances access to critical information and education related to sexual health and safety. Recognizing that certain contexts—due to different barriers—might prevent individuals from obtaining this type of information, our platform acts as an accessible medium for inquiries related to sexuality and more. Moreover, there's potential for Violetta to evolve further, linking users directly to sexual health services, just as it currently connects them with professional psychologists.

Violetta also aligns with the overarching ethos of SDG 3: "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages." By emphasizing the importance of healthy relationships and emotional well-being, we support multiple facets of health. Emotional and psychological well-being is intrinsically linked to physical health, affecting an individual's stress levels, immune function, and overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, the insights and data we gather can serve as a foundation for a deeper understanding of the various components that constitute health. By creating a space where individuals feel safe and empowered to seek information and help, we're fostering a community mindset that prioritizes well-being, prevention, and early intervention— critical aspects of achieving the targets set by SDG 3.

Violetta, an automated chatbot, is currently operated through Natural Language Processing (NLP) automation. This cutting-edge technology allows Violetta to interact with users in a highly responsive and efficient manner. With NLP automation at its core, Violetta has the capability to understand and interpret user input, enabling it to provide relevant information, answer questions, and even engage in meaningful conversations.

We are currently working on integrating the capabilities of ChatGPT with our tailored database. This ensures responses are grounded in our ethical framework while utilizing ChatGPT’s advanced communication features for fluid interactions. Our continual training and enhancement of Violetta are anchored on several pillars:

• Psychological theories that resonate with our core mission.

• Expert content curated by our in-house psychologists.

• Predetermined response guidelines ensuring appropriate communication, such as using emojis and avoiding the use of swear words.

Data-driven insights power our work. We meticulously record user metrics, engagement patterns, conversation topics, and subtopics. We’re working on the creation of a metric dashboard that will offer a panoramic view of Violetta's impact and user engagement, spotlighting:

• Filters: gender, postal code, referral sources, session counts.

• Trends in topics: from self-love, family dynamics, breakups, to varying forms of violence.

• Subtopic analytics: exploring nuances like body relationships, familial ties, relationship red flags.

• Heat maps pinpointing peak user times.

• Conversion rates, capturing the journey from interest to active user.

• Geographical user distribution by postal code.

• High-risk user identification, based on mentions of sensitive subjects like self-harm or violence.

• User feedback metrics, encapsulating both quantitative ratings and qualitative experiences.

• A comparative analysis of responses powered by our database versus those solely reliant on GPT. This helps in identifying knowledge gaps for Violetta.

• All this data is systematically stored in our SQL database, and our dashboard, driven by tailored API calls, represents this data in easily digestible, visually engaging formats.

A pivotal development on our horizon is sentiment analysis. We aim to measure users' emotional states before and after their engagements with Violetta, ensuring we not only answer their queries but also positively impact their emotional well-being.

Addressing sensitive subjects like sexual safety, self-esteem, violence, relationships, and self-harm necessitates a grounded theoretical foundation in line with our mission and vision, and informed by expert psychologists. Violetta's design is rooted in this principle.

The initial training blended ChatGPT's conversational abilities with curated content authored by our psychologist team, all within an ethical framework. This framework was meticulously developed in sync with expert opinion and aligned with UNESCO's AI usage guidelines.

For a holistic and robust training, we conducted thorough analyses of several AI platforms, presenting them with challenging queries such as 'I want to kill myself' or 'I don't let my wife go out'. We evaluated responses from: ChatGPT, Pi, Yana, HuggingChat, Luzia, Kai and Violetta AI. These insights, as interpreted by our psychologist team, helped define both the tone of communication and the conceptual foundation Violetta should employ. Additionally, we established clear boundaries, ensuring Violetta refrains from delving into areas like religion, legal counsel, politics, personalized advice or inciting violence. 

To validate its efficacy and appropriateness, Violetta undergoes rigorous testing by diverse users and our expert team. This preemptive measure ensures anomalies are addressed before launching. Even post-launch, we undertake a swift testing regimen to ascertain reliability.

While we strive for perfection, we acknowledge the potential of outliers. In such rare instances where Violetta might deviate from expected responses, we've crafted a contingency communication plan and legal safeguards to protect both users and our team.

Upholding user anonymity is paramount to us. Conversations remain anonymous, and our database is fortified with robust security measures. Any interface with our system mandates a secret key and IP-based authorization, ensuring stringent data protection.

Our team consists of 10 people of which 9 work full time and 1 works half time. 

3 years

Our current operating costs for 2023, up to October, have reached a total of $175,923.92 USD.

Our operating costs comprise both fixed and variable components:

Fixed Costs (Consistent regardless of user volume):

• Human Capital: 57% of our budget is allocated for human capital, which covers talent acquisition, retention, and training.

• Administrative Costs: 5% of our budget is dedicated to administrative expenses, including office rent, management platforms, and legal and accounting assistance.

Variable Costs (Fluctuate with user volume):

• Platform Operation: 28% of our budget is directed towards platform operation, covering expenses related to conversation storage, messaging, mailing, channel creation, data analysis, and maintenance.

• User Acquisition: 10% of our budget is allocated for user acquisition efforts, encompassing activities such as advertising and events.

To achieve our objective of expanding access to our tools and accommodating our growing team's needs in the upcoming year, we anticipate a substantial increase in our budget. This increase is necessitated by several factors:

• Team Expansion: Our team has grown significantly over the course of this year, requiring additional resources.

• Integration of AI Technology: We are in the process of integrating AI technology, specifically GPT, into our chatbot, which entails associated costs.

• User Base Growth Strategies: We are implementing strategies aimed at significantly increasing our user base, which will entail additional expenses.

Given these developments, we estimate that our projected operational costs for the next year will increase. To accommodate these changes and ensure we can effectively realize our goals, we anticipate that our projected budget for the next year will be $361,050. This funding will support the growth of our project, enabling us to adapt, innovate, and continue delivering valuable services to our expanding user base.

In our pursuit to further our work in 2024, we are seeking funding in the amount of $100,000. This choice of funding reflects a careful consideration of the financial requirements and opportunities associated with our project. We want to use it to support our platform operation costs. Here is a detailed breakdown of our cost allocation and the specific purposes for which we plan to utilize this funding:

Chat Fuel:

• Monthly Cost: $261.18

• Annual Cost: $3,032.58

• Purpose: Funding for Chat Fuel is essential to create and maintain the conversation paths for our chatbot. It ensures that the chatbot remains responsive and effective in engaging with users.

WhatsApp:

• Monthly Cost: $5,520.55

• Annual Cost: $66,296.84

• Purpose: This funding is allocated to cover messaging costs per user via WhatsApp. It enables us to facilitate seamless communication with our expanding user community, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.

Professional Help:

• Monthly Cost: $2,209.89

• Annual Cost: $26,518.74

• Purpose: The professional help budget ensures that expert assistance is available at all times to support our users. This ensures a high level of service quality and addresses user inquiries and needs effectively.

Mailchip:

• Monthly Cost: $165.74

• Annual Cost: $1,988.91

• Purpose: Mailchimp is a platform that supports our mailing services for customers. It allows us to maintain effective communication channels with our user base.

GPT Integration (Omdena/Nación AI):

• Monthly Cost: $1,657.42

• Annual Cost: $19,889.05

• Purpose: This funding is allocated to cover the costs associated with licensing and support provided by Omdena/Nación AI for incorporating GPT technology into our chatbot. It empowers us to leverage this advanced technology, enhancing our project's capabilities.

In total, our budget allocation for these key components amounts to $117,726.12 annually. With a contribution of $100,000 we will be able to fund almost 85% of our platform operating costs, ensuring continued success and growth of our project, enabling us to continue providing high quality tools for the creation of healthier relationships. 

The Cure Residency offers a multifaceted opportunity that can significantly amplify the impact of our work. While all aspects of the Residency are invaluable, mentorship and networking stand out as particularly transformative for our initiative.

Navigating the future direction of Violetta will require guidance from experts who have been through similar paths. The mentorship component will offer us a chance to refine our strategies, validate our approaches, and uncover potential pitfalls before they manifest. With experienced mentors by our side, we can anticipate challenges, tap into their wealth of knowledge, and ensure our solution remains innovative and effective. Their feedback, insights, and guidance can help us make data-driven decisions, iterate on our solution, and continuously improve to better serve our user base.

The world of innovation thrives on connections. The networking opportunities provided by the Cure Residency can open doors to collaborations that might have otherwise remained out of reach. Interacting with a diverse set of professionals, innovators, and stakeholders will not only give us fresh perspectives but also access to resources, potential partnerships, and channels to scale our impact. Being part of a network of like-minded individuals and organizations can lead to synergistic collaborations, where the combined impact is far greater than what each could achieve alone.