Experts and technologists to jointly find solutions to help victims of violence
KATHMANDU, June 3, 2013 – Worldwide, gender-based violence is the leading cause of death of women aged 19 to 44, more than war, cancer or car accidents. In Nepal, it is reported that one-third of married women have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence from their spouse. Violence against women carries a high a cost for society and is a major obstacle to development.
Experts and technologists will come together to address the challenges of violence against women by finding innovative technological solutions to issues surrounding prevention, response and awareness at the Violence Against Women Hackathon organized in Kathmandu on 16th June, 2013. The event will be jointly organized by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, Young Innovations and the Computer Association of Nepal.
Around the world, technological tools are being mobilized for social impact. The hackathon will help use these tools to find solutions that can be implemented to assist the victims of violence and the agencies that work to support them.
The hackathon will bring together key stakeholders and local communities to identify specific problems related to the causes and prevention of violence against women including lack of awareness and access to information, justice, support for victims and rehabilitation. The hackathon will then provide a unique forum for collaborative problem solving resulting in concrete software solutions, drawing on the talents of volunteer technologists and the knowledge of practitioners in the field of domestic violence. The main day of the hackathon will be a marathon development session, producing rapid prototypes of solutions developed through this collaboration.
The Violence Against Women Hackathon is open to all app creators, developers, designers and students who can register to be a part of the event at www.vawhack.org.
