AURORA app

Digital ecosystem that transforms society positively through the generation of safe digital spaces for women, which will lead to community awareness of women's rights and opportunities for them: AURORA app.

The figures of gender-based violence against women in the city of Bogotá D.C. are the main reason for the existence of AURORA app. This problem affects all women in the city. However, it is the poorest and least educated women who perpetuate a stagnation in socioeconomic advancement due to the lack of opportunities that allow them to build their life projects. 

The study by the Veeduría Distrital de Bogotá entitled "How safe do women feel in public space and public transportation in Bogotá D.C.?", which found that eight out of 10 women (out of a sample of 3,089 women over 14 years of age) have suffered some type of sexual harassment in the city. This document also reveals that seven out of 10 women feel at risk of suffering harassment or some type of sexual assault in public transportation (Distrital, 2022, p. 7-10), so that the physical and psychological integrity of a certain part of the female population in the city is at risk, due to the latent problem of sexual crimes that surrounds them. In conclusion, there are data that allow us to deduce that the use of cell phones with internet connection can be a mechanism for women in Bogotá D.C. to mitigate certain negative effects of sexual crimes in the city. Additionally, the relevance of AURORA app can also be reflected in that, according to figures from the Colombian State, 81% of Colombian women have access to the internet (MINTIC, 2018).

There have been efforts to reduce gender-based violence in Bogotá, specifically, Transmilenio and the District Mayor's Office have created campaigns such as "Me Muevo Segura" to provide support to women who suffer from violence in public spaces (Transmilenio, 2019), however, these kinds of strategies have not been so successful in reducing the rates of sexual crimes. In addition, Mariana Trujillo, lawyer of the Legal Directorate of Women's Link Worldwide assured that impunity for sexual crimes in the country exceeds 90% (Trujillo, 2018).

Due to the above, there are shortcomings in the system that should protect women in Bogota, so it is necessary to think of alternatives to build safe spaces that provide reductions in the percentages of gender-based violence in public spaces. In this order of ideas, there are mobile applications such as UrSafe that alert the police and frequent contacts when women activate the application through an emergency keyword that recognizes their voices (UrSafe, n.d.). 

However, market options such as those mentioned above have not been effective in reducing gender-based violence because they have not been sufficiently disseminated and have not been accompanied by training on their long-term use. Therefore, it is necessary to devise solutions to transform the environments in which women develop their daily lives, since the technology that most women use in their cell phones has the potential to be efficient and effective in mitigating certain negative effects of violence. Also, Hootsuite assured that Colombia is one of the countries where social networking services are consumed the most (Alvarez, 2022, p.1 ). 

app for iOS and Android programmed with languages such as Swift and Java, technology such as GPS tagging of users and the use of government geospatial databases for the marking of dangerous areas of the city and a backend that uses Firebase, all of the above is related to the map (mapbox) and GPS location. The virtual training sessions are developed with the use of digital audiovisual tools. While for the legal support tools, we use AI. Through AURORA app, women will be able to connect with each other, share experiences and advice, and find support and resources to help them deal with the challenges they face.

One of the key features of AURORA app is a map that allows women to identify the most dangerous areas of the city and also women's opportunity centers where the government offers for free, shelter, legal and psychological support to women, but these centers are little known to them. Regarding dangerous areas, we not only want to mark them, but also to transform them. That's why we are partnering with Externado University of Colombia to provide in person training and support to women in these areas.

By creating a strong and engaged community of women, we hope to empower us to speak out against violence and advocate for our rights. This is why we also seek to provide virtual training to women in entrepreneurship, legal tools and leadership, so that they can promote their life projects with the use of the AURORA app.

We have a working prototype of the AURORA app in which women can do everything that has already been explained, but they can also promote their life projects and generate a safer community for women in the city, and have a way to fight against gender violence.

To determine AURORA app's project plan, my team and I conducted a survey directed to the female population of Bogota D.C., so we obtained 194 responses (and 182 of them would use our app on a daily basis), where the majority of the population is within the age range of 26 to 35 years old. But as we anticipated previously, the main target of the app are women who suffer from gender violence in Bogota or are constantly exposed to risk areas due to lack of information, the public is intersectional because we are also interested in women of different socioeconomic classes, of different skin colors, with different levels of education, in different areas of the city, of different ages, that have the latent risk of being raped and abused which makes up a large percentage of the city's population, since, according to district figures 8 out of 10 women in Bogota have suffered some kind of sexual violence.

It should be noted that we want to achieve a minimum number of users in the first year of 1000, but taking into account that in Bogota there are approximately 3,747,944, and 8 out of 10 have suffered sexual violence, we would like to reach 2,998,355 users in the long term, because also according to our research data almost 82% of women in Bogota have a cell phone and an active internet connection. AURORA app is a mobile app that aims to empower women in the city by providing them with a tool to fight against gender violence. The app provides support for women in case they need it and promotes their life projects through virtual education. With GPS tagging of users and access to government geospatial databases, the app can help women to find safe places and resources in case of emergency. The app also has a backend using Firebase, which allows for quick and easy access to important information and resources. Overall, AURORA app is designed to help women in the city to feel safe and supported, and to empower them to pursue their goals and aspirations.

As an architecture student and programmer, my knowledge of both design and development allows me to understand the needs of the users and the technical possibilities of the solution. My background in architecture gives me a deep understanding of the built environment and how it can affect women's daily lives, which is important in creating a safe and empowering application. My partner, who is a finance professional and also a programmer, brings a unique perspective on the financial viability of the project and the ability to implement efficient and sustainable business models.

My experiences in life, volunteering and work have helped me understand the experiences of those we serve. As a woman, I have faced some of the same issues that the app seeks to address, and my understanding of these issues is a valuable asset in creating a solution that truly meets the needs of the users. In addition, my experience as a volunteer and my involvement in community work gives me a better understanding of the needs of the community and the impact of structural violence on women's daily lives.

Our team is representative of the people we serve, as we are both women and understand the issues women face in the city. Our unique combination of knowledge, training and experience allows us to offer an innovative and effective solution to the problem of structural violence that women face on a daily basis. We are driven by passion and commitment to positively influence society through this project.

I spent a year volunteering in a legal clinic against violence against women, and in this process I got to know the problem in depth. Subsequently (at the end of 2022), I surveyed almost 200 women to validate the need and usefulness of the AURORA app.

Now, thanks to the functional prototype that my partner and I made, we were able to do pilot tests in January of this year and women from the university and passersby have liked the app and have told us about 180 women who would be willing to use it in their daily lives, but our goal is to reach more women -close to 1000 in the first year-.

AURORA app, offers a new and significantly improved approach to the problem of structural violence that women face on a daily basis. Our app addresses this problem by providing women with a tool to fight gender-based violence and access resources and support, using innovative features such as GPS tagging to identify dangerous (and safe) public areas and access to government geospatial databases of the district, information that no other women's app has used in Bogota to improve the safety of women in the city. 

AURORA app is unique in that it not only addresses the immediate needs of women facing structural violence, but also promotes their life projects through virtual education. Also, we recognize that the bureaucratic procedures before the judicial branches or state entities to do paperwork or to assert rights is difficult, so we also want to offer at very low cost the construction of petition rights and guardianships (in Colombia it is a legal instrument to enforce rights and is called, without translation: tutela) through artificial intelligence. This holistic approach empowers women not only to feel safe and supported, but also to pursue their goals and aspirations.

AURORA app could be catalytic in the sense that it could change the market for mobile apps that address issues of gender-based violence. Our app is the first of its kind to use geospatial databases, virtual education and artificial intelligence to empower women (although we also want to do face-to-face support sessions in the areas most marked by users as the Universidad Externado de Colombia is supporting us). We hope that our solution will inspire other developers to create similar applications and address this problem in other cities around the world.

We are confident that AURORA app will serve as a model for other cities to replicate and adapt, which could enable a greater positive impact from others in this area. Our app could also inspire other initiatives and programs in the field of gender-based violence prevention and women's empowerment, creating a ripple effect of positive change first in Latin America and then in other continents.

Our impact goal for the coming year is to empower at least 1,000 women in Bogotá to feel safe and supported, and to promote their life projects through virtual education. To achieve this goal, we plan to implement the following strategies: (i) Conduct user research and testing to ensure that the AURORA app meets users' needs and is easy to use; (ii) Develop partnerships with local organizations working on issues related to gender-based violence, such as shelters and legal aid clinics, to increase the app's reach and provide access to additional resources for users, while continuing the support of the local mayor's office; (iii) Conduct marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the app and reach a wider audience of women in Bogota; iv) Use data analytics to measure the effectiveness of AURORA app and improve it based on user feedback; v) Continuously monitor the app's performance, troubleshoot issues and improve the user experience; vi) Offer virtual education courses to improve women's skills and empower them to carry out their life projects; vii) Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide legal support to enforce rights in Bogota. In our opinion, with these strategies, we will be able to empower at least 1,000 women in Bogota to feel safe and supported, and to promote their life projects through virtual education, ultimately achieving a significant impact on their lives, and thus triggering a domino effect so that more women use the app in the second year and it becomes a crucial tool for more women in their day-to-day lives.

The core technology of the AURORA app is a combination of GPS tagging, access to government geospatial databases, artificial intelligence, Firebase backend and Mapbox map. The application uses GPS tagging to identify safe and dangerous areas for women, allowing them to make informed decisions about their daily movements. The application also accesses government geospatial databases to provide accurate and up-to-date information on the location of resources such as shelters and legal aid centers. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the AURORA app provides legal support for the construction of documents that serve to assert their rights in Bogota.

In addition, the application uses Firebase as a backend, allowing quick and easy access to important information and resources. Mapbox Map is used to provide a user-friendly interface for users to navigate the application, and was programmed for iOS and Android using Swift and Java, respectively.

Overall, the combination of GPS tagging, geospatial databases, AI, Firebase backend and Mapbox map allows the AURORA app to provide a comprehensive solution that not only addresses immediate needs, but also promotes long-term empowerment, and hope for a better life for women in the city.

Currently, our solution, the AURORA app, has not yet been launched but we already have a working prototype that has been tested by users in voluntary evaluation groups 129 times, and we surveyed 194 women and 182 indicated that they are willing to use the AURORA app. However, we plan to serve at least 1,000 women in Bogota over the next year. Our app is designed to provide a comprehensive solution that addresses not only the immediate needs of women facing structural violence, but also promotes long-term empowerment through virtual education and legal support. We believe that by reaching at least 1,000 women in Bogota, we can have a significant impact on their lives and then focus on mass use of the app to one day reach as many of the nearly 4 million women in Bogota who suffer from gender-based violence as possible.

There are currently several barriers that could limit our impact in the coming year: i) The development and launch of a mobile application requires a significant amount of resources, including funding for development, marketing and user research. Limited funding could restrict our ability to fully implement our plans and reach our impact target of serving at least 1. 000 women in Bogota, however, we are very proud to ensure that over 80% of the app's development is nearly complete; ii) Accessing government geospatial databases and providing legal support through AI may require compliance with certain legal requirements, such as obtaining necessary licenses and permits; iii) Navigating these legal requirements could be complicated and time consuming, however, so far we have had contact with the city mayor's office and they have given us permission to use the databases, but we mention this risk because we do not know what kind of issues the use of AI to make documents for the defense of women's rights may unleash (although we have already investigated and specifically tutelas and rights of petition do not require lawyers and can be made in any way, so the risk will be more with respect to media reaction from the lawyer community); iv) AURORA app addresses a sensitive and complex issue, and cultural barriers could hinder the widespread acceptance and use of the app, especially because of the perception and sexist criticism of our project.
For all of the above, we are confident that SOLV[ED]'s support will allow us to overcome these challenges.

We are currently working with the Universidad Externado de Colombia to provide face-to-face training to women in the most dangerous areas (according to the marks of the users and the official data of the mayor's office) in order to make these areas safe. Additionally, we have the support of the Aspire Institute in order to obtain mentoring, implementation support and granting for our project.

Our business model for AURORA app is based on providing value to women in Bogota who face structural violence through a comprehensive solution that addresses not only immediate needs, but also promotes long-term empowerment.

We provide our users with a mobile app that uses GPS tagging, access to government geospatial databases and artificial intelligence to provide a safe navigation tool, virtual education and legal support. The app will be free to use, and our revenue will be generated through advertising women-only targeted. In addition, we plan to charge a very low cost for each legal document provided through AI legal support.

We also plan to generate revenue by selling low-cost T-shirts with empowering phrases and safety tips for women, and by offering personalized tutoring to women and girls who need support for their formal studies.

Our main clients are women in Bogota who face structural violence, and our main beneficiaries are low-income women who will have access to a comprehensive solution that addresses their immediate needs and promotes long-term empowerment.

Our aspiration is to obtain from this competition $15,000 USD in grant funds that will be distributed between: programming costs, database costs, mapbox costs, lease or venue costs for operations headquarters, marketing, and volunteer expenses for face-to-face training in the city areas, as well as computers and technology needed to maintain and scale our operations. This will allow us to launch and expand AURORA app, reach as many women as possible and have a real impact on their lives. It should be noted that we want to rely on volunteers and foundations that work on these gender issues, although at the moment we are a total of 5 people, we want to achieve in the first year to have a team of 36 volunteers distributed in different sections of AURORA app in order to achieve the positive change that women in Bogota need in the city and their lifes.

The financial sustainability of the AURORA app includes a combination of different sources of income and grant support. First, the app will always be free to use its most relevant features, so the app will be free to use and our main source of revenue will be advertising in the women-only oriented app. This will allow us to reach a large number of users while generating revenue. Secondly, we plan to charge a very low cost for each legal document for the defense of rights provided through AI legal support. This will allow us to provide a valuable service to our users while generating revenue, although for people who do not have money we have a team member who is a lawyer who will be able to provide free legal support in cases that require it (although we hope to expand into the area of legal volunteers in the future). Thirdly, we plan to generate revenue by selling low-cost t-shirts with empowering phrases and safety tips for women. This will allow us to promote our brand and generate income while consolidating a brand that accompanies women in the city. Fourth, we will offer one-on-one tutoring (different from the open and free classes in entrepreneurship, legal tools and leadership) to women and girls who need support for their formal studies will allow us to generate income by providing a valuable service to our users. Fifth, we will seek grants from a variety of sources, especially university and government competitions. For all of the above, our goal is to have a balance between the different sources of income, so that we can continue to offer the comprehensive solution that is AURORA app.