Iris

Audio: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X8e8vSGJn5_Wv8E6QUdF_CvvSEWkxTpp?usp=sharing

Inspiration

Describe the problem your solution addresses?

1 of 3 women globally experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime (WHO). Pre-COVID-19, these numbers are typical, however, a worldwide pandemic can lead to increased stress on victims leading to exacerbated circumstances. Support networks, such as schools and offices, are leveraged with Mandatory Reporting procedures if domestic violence is suspected. These avenues are now non-existent as socially distancing becomes the norm in the United States (ChildWelfare.gov). Since the beginning of the pandemic, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has experienced a 12% increase in contacts per week moving from 12,750 to around 14,280. On a localized level, New York alone has reported a 30% jump in cases in April 2020 compared to 2019. How might we alert assistive community services to domestic violence occurrences if the victims live with their perpetrator and may not be able to seek help openly?

Why did you pick this solution and how does it address the problem?

Abusive behaviors depend on power and control. The Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that 78% of calls to police-reported domestic violence come from the victim themselves, and in only 7% of those cases the suspect was on the scene when officers arrived. Providing an avenue for victims to circumvent tipping off their abusers, which often result in retaliation, allows the victims to remain safe for longer. Current popular applications, Noonlight and Positive Pathways focus on support but these apps advertise assistance and are ineffective in an environment with closer inspection and heightened control over the victims. So, how do we mimic the non-threatening safe space of an office in a house shared with the abuser? Game applications are found on almost every phone and are thought to be harmless fun. Leveraging this ideology, Iris has hidden access to assistive services through a card matching game.

Track

Health - Advanced Track Ideate 2020 Project

What it does

Our target user, a domestic violence victim, can download the app, disguised as a simple matching game, to secretly seek help on domestic violence while living with their abuser. This allows them to get resources on domestic violence; but, more importantly, it also contacts the authorities and their emergency contact(s), if any, immediately.

How we built it

Figma was used to build the prototype. We designed the application to be based around a game to prevent the app to be able to be downloaded and utilized more often when a victim is under higher scrutiny by the abuser.

Challenges we ran into

Most of us were beginners in Figma before the project and were not previously acquainted with each other. Different time zones also threw us for a loop (not the paradox kind)! Throughout all of this, we have become stronger, strengthening our skills in design, research, and branding.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of building high-fidelity screens in Figma to showcase user flows. Domestic Violence is prominent across the world as 1 in 3 girls are affected in their lifetimes (that we know of and are reported). We are honored to be able to assist our sisters to feel safer and empowered in these terrible circumstances.

What we learned

We researched current statistics and systems in place in relation to before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, performed competitor analysis to understand user pain points with current solutions, and gained more knowledge on how to leverage the design tool, Figma.

What's next for Iris

We hope to add a feature that allows the domestic violence victims to collect evidence on their abuse long-term if they are unable to leave immediately and build a stronger case in the legal system against their abusers. Incidents are typically not well documented and have a hard time in court because of this. This problem is unfortunately far from over and we pledge to continue on this project to give avenues for women to speak up, be heard and have the right to be in a safe environment. In terms of our app's current features, the 'Strategies' page of the Help section would be developed to provide clear and concise information about domestic violence. We are also going to add more localized information and resources based on location permissions.

Transcript

Aria said the abuser "was using COVID-19 as a scare tactic so that she would not leave him.” This tactic is becoming more and more common during the pandemic as abusers assert more control and power over the victims. Iris engages with women who are disproportionately affected by domestic violence.

Aria is one of these women. She’s a mother and had plans to escape. However, those plans fell through because the pandemic has forced her to shelter-in-place with her husband. Her husband is in full control of the family’s finances and billing, giving him full access to what Aria does both offline and online.

Her only option is to make plans secretly, away from her husband's scrutiny. Soon, the abuse will become too much, and she requires immediate help! That’s where Iris comes in. Iris is an app disguised as a matching game that allows victims to discreetly alert authorities about their domestic violence occurrences while living with their perpetrator. We chose a simple matching game so that it wouldn’t draw too much attention from other people in the household.

Home We made it look like a normal game by including multiple levels of difficulty to the matching game. We chose to color the buttons to make it clear to anyone about the different levels of difficulty.

Top Navigation Bar Tap 3 times to alert authorities and immediately record audio. For a user who does not know the intended use of this app such as Aria’s kids, they would not think about tapping this navigation bar 3 times. This prevents accidental calls that may further endanger the victim.

Home button In the case where the victim is not ready to alert authorities, the victim will tap on the home button found on the navigation bar to stop any emergency call and return to home screen.

Help button

• Since this is disguised as a game, it makes sense to include this button on the screens visually to look for help on the gameplay.
• Under the disguise of a game help section, resources for domestic violence are actually found under 4 sections that would be found in an ordinary game because this app intends to empower these victims:

1. How to Play
2. Instructions on how to use this app and set up permissions to access the victim’s location and microphone
3. Progress bar to show progress in viewing instructions

4. Clear back and forward buttons

5. Invite Friends This is where the victim can add emergency contacts to be notified immediately when they alert the authorities through the navigation bar.

6. Strategies This is where the victim can find tips on identifying the type of abuse they are experiencing and how to create an action plan to escape.

7. More Games This is where the victim can find help centers and hotline numbers for their needs. Our mission is to empower domestic violence victims to access and use Iris in times of need with the hope to reduce domestic violence. We hope to further this project to encompass documenting incidents to further legal action and credibility of the victim. Victims often are not aware of their rights, the legal actions they can take, and what is required to go through the courts. This is more of a long-term process and can be excruciating to go through even with proper documentation. No one, no one… has the right to jeopardize one's need to feel safe.

References

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Built With

• figma