TRUE CALLER’S EFFORTS TO END HARASSMENTS TOWARDS WOMEN

Truecaller’s Bold Campaign Brings Awareness to Harassment

 

By Mary Kibe

 

Truecaller is a technology company of Swedish origin. They have

been present in Kenya and across the world for over 10 years now.

There commitment to technological innovation and bringing

technology to the masses is reflected in over 270 million active users

trusting us globally.

It is with great pride that they inform  that Truecaller launched a

nationwide campaign titled #ItsNotOk aimed at supporting women

in acting against phone call/SMS based harassment. The campaign is

in continuation of the utmost priority to the safety of the women in

the country and is a testament to Truecaller’s relentless pursuit of

ideas that safeguard the interests of women through community-

based action.

Over the years, they have received countless complaints and

feedback on the issue of harassment through calls and messages.

Owing to the lack of research available on this topic and the

significant increase in the cases of harassment, they took on the

responsibility themselves. As per the latest edition of Truecaller

Insights: Understanding the Impact of Harassment Calls & SMS for

Women in Kenya , one in five women reported receiving

sexual or inappropriate calls, but only 2 out of 10 women have said

to have taken some action against harassers. In the list of actions,

they said , reporting to law enforcement or authorities there

a 6% dismal chance.

Today, over 1 million women in Kenya use Truecaller as their first

line of defence against calls and SMS based harassment. As part of

this edition of the campaign, they have taken up print publications

and outdoor sites to spread the message. The primary objective of

the campaign is to get more women to report such harassment, that

occurs through phone calls and SMS, to the right authorities without

any fear. The website: www.truecaller.com/itsnotok-ke  has been the

resource centre for the campaign over the last few years and has a

wealth of information including the full report, resources on what

action women can take along with real and unscripted interviews of

real women from across the world who faced such harassment and

want to tell their stories.