International Women’s Day Spotlight: GPI DPhil Researcher Aims to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence Through ParentText

© UNICEF/UNI211976/Haque

As the world celebrates International Women's Day with the theme of "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality," a GPI DPhil researcher is taking strides towards eliminating violence against women and girls by working within the ParentText chatbot intervention framework. Moa Schafer’s research aims to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) by integrating IPV prevention content into the ParentText parenting programme, which is aimed at parents and caregivers of children aged 0 to 17 years.

“Given the increase in evidence surrounding the intersections that exist between different forms of violence in the family, including violence against children and IPV, ParentText seeks to address both forms of violence concurrently,” says Schafer.

ParentText sends automated messages to users through social messaging platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, with specific parenting and family relations content in the form of text messages, audios, videos, and comics. The programme also includes modules on positive parenting, learning through play, and online safety, as well as content on sexual abuse prevention, partner relationships, and gender equitable behaviours in the family.

The use of digital technology to deliver an intervention offers a number of unique opportunities, both in terms of allowing content to be more personalised to increase user engagement, as well as improving programme sustainability and scalability. Pilot studies of ParentText are currently being rolled out in numerous countries, including Jamaica, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, with preliminary results soon to be available.

While it is important to recognise that technological innovations are not without their challenges, including identified issues such as gender gaps in digital access and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, digital technology offers a number of unique opportunities for eliminating gender inequality and eradicating violence against women and girls. 

With ParentText, Schafer and her team hope to contribute to the efforts towards building sustainable and scalable solutions for eliminating violence against women and girls and ensuring a gender-equitable future.