Ending Domestic Violence with the help of technology! 

Globally, an estimated 1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime, and most of that violence is perpetrated by current or former intimate partners. 

In 2020, 81’000 women and girls were killed worldwide, 58% of them by an intimate partner or family member.  

The numbers are shocking, and they don’t even include other forms of domestic violence, like psychological or financial abuse, or the assumed large number of survivors who never report. The numbers of men and children affected are even harder to estimate, but also they are far too high. 

This has to end! Every person, everywhere in the world deserves help to break free from domestic violence. We need to ACT now!

If you agree, then take an active stand right now and help us at Spring ACT to raise awareness by joining our 5-5-5 CAMPAIGN!

We at Spring ACT have developed an innovative technology to empower survivors of domestic violence. Sophia is the world’s first chatbot making it possible for survivors to gather potential evidence and learn about their rights and options. 24/7, anonymously and without leaving a digital trace. A technology recognised by the President of Switzerland with the Swiss Future Prize.
HELP US bring Sophia to every person in need, whichever country they are in. DONATE TODAY!

You can even nominate a country where you want us to launch Sophia next! Learn how - and more about Sophia the chatbot - further below.

How does the 5 - 5 - 5 movement work:

Help us to empower survivors of domestic violence everywhere by doing three simple steps:

RUN 5 km* 

DONATE € 5**

NOMINATE*** 5 friends to do the same

* Running, walking, rolling, whatever is in your ability to move forward.
** 5 CHF, 5 USD, 5000 XOF, 50 MYR, 50 BS or the equivalent in your country

*** Take a picture after your run giving us a High-Five, post it on your social media and tag us and your 5 friends.

🇵🇪 In Peru, you can donate here via our partners, Fundacion Oli.

Take a picture after your run giving us a High-Five and tag us and your 5 friends.

🌍 EXTRA CHALLENGE: Where do you want to see Sophia next?

YOU: You can donate your run to one country, where you want to see Sophia launched next. 

WE: After the campaign, Sophia will be launched in the country with the most runs 💪

HOW: Name the country in the message box when you donate or tag Spring ACT when you post your photo on social media and tell us which country you donate your run to.

We'll update our social media weekly with the countries in the lead.

Why donate?

The interest in our chatbot Sophia has grown faster than we expected and we now urgently need your help! By becoming a supporter and/or making a donation, you can help us ensure that we can safely bring Sophia to survivors of domestic violence around the world. Those affected need our help NOW.

With the raised funds we’ll make Sophia available and improved by country (e.g. integrate more languages, local information of each country, and add more local organisations working in the field).

5-5-5 Campaign - Goals

This campaign has two main goals: 

1. Raise awareness about domestic violence, 
2. Make Sophia available to more survivors.

Your participation directly contributes to our efforts to end domestic violence by getting "Sophia" out into the world. Your donation helps improve and expand "Sophia". The technology used will allow more survivors to gain access to information and start taking steps to break free. The more the public participates through social media, the more the silence will break around domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a silent pandemic that has only worsened during the COVID pandemic, but we now have the technology to effect change. Most of us believe domestic violence only affects women and children, but a silent unknown number of men are victims of domestic violence too. During this campaign, we will share relevant information about domestic violence around the world, as well as the subterfuge with which any of us may know someone in a violent relationship, or we ourselves may be unknowingly in one! We have the ability to put an end to this man-made pandemic!

The success of this campaign depends on you, rising to ACTion and helping us in making a difference in the fight against domestic violence. You have the power to spread the word of our campaign and call to ACTion to create change by volunteering with us.

For all of the survivors of domestic violence, together let's make this campaign truly global!

-------------------------- MORE DETAILED INFORMATION --------------------------------

​​Organisers: Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology. – 

At Spring ACT we combine action, compassion, and technology. Our vision is to empower people to take action and help eliminate global social injustices.  In this campaign we focus on helping end domestic violence through our chatbot Sophia. Accessible through popular messaging apps or via sophia.chat and available 24/7, currently in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Quechua. 

Some of our recent milestones :

• Winner of the  Swiss Future Prize 2022 by the President of Switzerland
• Semifinalist in MIT Solve Global Challenges 2022
• Launch of Sophia in Switzerland (December 2021)
• Launch of Sophia in Peru (May 2022)
• Grew to 80+ volunteers across five continents
• Partner at the Start Global Hackathon
• Prototype of Dots. – the alternative league aid app

Sophia: The world's first messaging chatbot empowering survivors of domestic violence

More than 1 in 4 women,  1 in 7 men and 3 in 4 children globally experience domestic violence in their lifetime . However, the dark figure, the real number of survivors who never report the abuse, is yet to be uncovered.

The danger lies where you should be safest: In your own home. Globally, less than 40% of survivors ever seek help or report, and less than 10% go to the police . Upon the emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, lockdowns around the world led to a corresponding drastic rise in domestic violence , trapping survivors at home with their abusers.

“Sophia" is the world’s first chatbot programmed to empower survivors of domestic violence to Gather potential evidence, Assess their rights, and Learn about their options (GAL). Regardless of location, connecting with Sophia only requires a smartphone, computer, or tablet with internet access. Without needing to download any additional app, survivors can receive 24/7 assistance from Sophia without leaving a digital trace or overuse of mobile data which might be in short supply.

By working with on-the-ground domestic violence organisations, legal advocates, and survivors themselves, Sophia is tailored to local laws and practices and the needs of the survivors to direct them to the right sources for help. "Sophia" has deliberately been programmed to be instantly scalable to any country in the world with the right funding and local partners. With the help of committed ACTivists from all over the world, Spring ACT has already prepared the backend and initial text for “Sophia”, and the prototype is ready to be tested.

Testimonials from survivors:

"For so long, I had no clue whether what I was going through was bad enough to warrant help - and some people in my life actively told me it wasn't. It took many long months to believe that I deserved help, let alone to take action - I can only imagine how much faster I would have gotten help if I'd had Sophia." – F. from Lausanne, Switzerland

“Sophia permet de ne pas se sentir seule au monde et d’être aidée et accompagnée. Elle donne des ressources qui permettent de briser les chaînes qui retiennent.” – T. from Saint-Louis, Senegal

"Sophia is needed, when you're in the midst of the abuse, you know it's wrong, so much so that you can't tell a soul. … It’s hard to see the truth and to have Sophia it is safer and more comforting to be able to have a way to verbalise this, as it may have made me realise years before how impossible the situation truly was, and saved me mental and physical scars in the process.” – Z. from London, UK

“Sophia is offering a necessary helping hand in the situation when we feel scared, alone and weak and can make a true difference in women's lives and mental health.” – K. from Croatia

“Meine Interesse daran ist sehr persönlich, denn leider bin ich Teil der Dunkelziffer. Weil es in meinem Lebensabschnitt wo ich Sophia so sehr gebraucht hätte, keine Sophia gab. Und wie Sie bestens wissen, “If there are no photos and no witnesses, it did not happen.”  Aber es ist passiert. Und es gab keine Hilfe. Und das kann so nicht sein. Für meinen Fall ist es zu spät, aber Sophia könnte die Antwort sein für so viele andere Frauen die noch nach mir kommen.“ – H. from Zürich, Switzerland

Support us

- Join the 5-5-5 movement and engage your friends by tagging them on your social media.

- Become an official ACT Supporter

- Follow us on social media ( LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook , Twitter ) 

- Subscribe to our monthly Newsbytes

MORE ABOUT US

Our Founder: Rhiana Spring

Rhiana Spring is an award-winning international human rights expert and an entrepreneur . Rhiana has worked for the United Nations, Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and diverse legal teams on four continents. She has defended the most vulnerable individuals and spearheaded multinational human rights projects across Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe.

Our Team

All this has been made possible thanks to our incredible team that include 80 ACTivists from all around the world. From Switzerland to Senegal, Singapore, and Santo Domingo (and even the High Seas), our ACTivists bring their personalities and expertise from professions such as health workers, lawyers, engineers, as well as, musicians, navy officers, and many more, to make a whole that is stronger than it's individual parts. Throughout the entire process, we are accompanied by courageous survivors of domestic violence and expert partner organisations, ensuring that Sophia helps in the best way possible.

Our Partners:

We are supported by our wonderful partners:

• Microsoft
• ETH-Lausanne
• ZHAW INLPP 
• Zendesk
• SODK – Konferenz der kantonalen Sozialdirektorinnen und Sozialdirektoren
• Day One Leadership
• Les Ateliers
• Twaa
• Oli Foundation
• Promsex
• Whiz

Credits:

Video production: Arthur Bourgeois and Evie Gibson

ACTivists Coordination: Simon Sundaraj Kühn
Music: Benjamin Tissot