EY Cape Town to host hackathon on gender-based violence

EY’s Cape Town office is set to hold a Hackathon on gender-based violence at the end of this month, as a range of innovators get together to help tackle the growing menace of violence against women in South Africa. The event is the first of a four-hackathon series organised by the US Embassy. 

The primary partner in the event series is Silicon Cape, while a number of other illustrious firms are lending their resources and expertise to the event. These include Amazon Web Services, Dimension Data, HackON, GirlHype, Nu Beginning, DreamGirls Academy, TechPearls, Future Females and The Loudhailer.

Participants in the Hackathon at the EY premises will include a range of players in the tech sector, ranging from software developers to IT professionals, students and innovators. Those involved are looking to tackle violence against women in South Africa, which is reported to be on the rise across the country.

Femicide rates in South Africa are reportedly amongst the highest in the world, to the extent that a woman is murdered every three hours in the country. Rape figures are equally staggering, with some reports placing the number of daily rape reports at as high as 114 incidents.

Technology has a crucial role to play in tackling this scenario, as explained by Itumeleng Moloko, who is a Conselling Service Manager at People Opposing Women Abuse. “Tech solutions can be particularly useful in places like rural South Africa where the police are far away but women have smartphones that can act as panic buttons,” she said.

“GPS location can also be used by the police service to know where to locate a victim,” she added. Participants will look to develop some such innovative mechanisms, with the added incentive of taking home a R25,000 cash prize.

Gender-based violence is one of the many issues that the series of hackathons are looking to tackle. The partnership is also looking to develop solutions to other social issues such as the lack of water across South Africa, in addition to examining potential remedies for the increasingly urgent unemployment problem. Overall gender empowerment is also high on the agenda.