PRESS RELEASE: Global Partnership is Crowdfunding to Create Digital Resource for Volunteer Rape Crisis Counselors
Indonesia, 22 February 2016 – Code Innovation is leading a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to create a Rape Crisis Counseling mobile app to support rape survivors and their advocates as they access medical care anywhere in the world. “One in five women will be raped in her lifetime,” says Elie Calhoun, Director at Code Innovation. “Where rape crisis centers and their volunteer counselors exist, they provide a vital resource to survivors and their communities. But rape crisis counseling isn’t a luxury – it should be available to everyone who needs it, regardless of where they live. And anyone who wants to become a volunteer rape crisis counselor should be able to access the basic training they need to support survivors as they access critical health services.”
“DCRCC is pleased to be collaborating on this important global initiative,” says the DC Rape Crisis Center, the oldest rape crisis center in the U.S. “It is important that the International Community come together to not only address gender based-violence, but create resources and tools to enable self –determination and freedom for all. This mobile app does just that, it is a game changer for being able to educate and access resources for sexual assault survivors in a timely manner.”
The Rape Crisis Counseling app will digitize information and training for volunteer rape crisis counselors, who accompany and advocate for sexual assault survivors in emergency rooms as they access crucial medical services to prevent pregnancy, HIV and STIs. The app will also serve as an in-hand resource for family, friends or colleagues who accompany a rape survivor to the health center, and for survivors accessing medical care alone, to help navigate the medical system and to get the care they need to begin the journey to healing.
###
To support the campaign, visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rape-crisis-counseling-app/x/3176191#/story
For updates, visit http://codeinnovation.com/blog/.
About the DC Rape Crisis Center
Since 1972, the DC Rape Crisis Center has been making a significant contribution to the health, economic, social and cultural well-being of society. Dedicated to creating a world free of sexual violence through conscience and action, DCRCC’s call to action obliges us to build the capacity to respond to survivors of sexual assault with compassion, dignity and respect, regardless of race, class, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, ability, age or religious affiliation.
About Code Innovation
Code Innovation digitizes and scales programs that help vulnerable populations. We create educational materials and social innovations that strengthen communities and enable them to lift themselves out of poverty. We've had projects in more than a dozen countries and specialize in challenging, low-resource environments.
For more information, please contact:
Elie Calhoun, Code Innovation, Tel. +62-812-3802-3425, email: elie@codeinnovation.com