The Easy Rescue App Awarded by Turkish Researchers’ Association

Turkish Researchers’ Association (TUAD) granted Vodafone Turkey Foundation’s “Easy Rescue Chatbot Qualitative Research” for the Easy Rescue app with the “Gold” award in the “Social Owl” category. Over the last 9 years, Easy Rescue has been downloaded 378 thousand times and has reached an average of 1,000 monthly active users.

The Easy Rescue app, launched 9 years ago by Vodafone Turkey Foundation to promote women’s protection from violence and drive social change, has received yet another award. In collaboration with Kalita Research & Consultancy, The Easy Rescue Chatbot Qualitative Research was conducted for the app, which is designed for women to easily reach the police or their relatives when they are victims of violence. It received the Gold Award in the “Social Owl”category at the 11th Owl Awards organized by the Turkish Researchers’ Association (TUAD) this year. Easy Rescue has been downloaded 378 thousand times to date and has reached an average of 1,000 monthly active users.

Hasan Süel, the Chair of Vodafone Turkey Foundation, commented on the award:

“Violence against women is acritical global issue. The World Bank defines violence against women as a global disease that affects one out of every three women throughout their lives. Violence against women is a severe violation of human rights and acritical social issue. We believe thattechnology can play a key role in addressing this issue more effectively. . In this spirit, we developed the Easy Rescue app, enabling women to quickly notify the police or their relatives when they are victims of violence. Our goal is to provide quick and easy first aid to the victims,creating a more preventive effect. The app has been downloaded 378 thousand times so far. We are glad that the qualitative research we conducted for our app was honored with the Gold award at the Owl Awards. As Vodafone Turkey Foundation, we remain committed to combating violence against women.”

One-touch to dial emergency numbers

The Easy Rescue app allows users to register 3 contacts who can be reached with a single button in case of an emergency. Women who are exposed to violence can reach their relatives with a single button. They send an urgent text message informing them that they are in danger and giving information about their location. The app allows women to call Alo 183, 155 Police Help, 156 Gendarmerie, and Domestic Violence Emergency Helpline with one touch. Moreover, they can find the addresses and phone numbers of the nearest Ministry of Family and Social Services Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers on the map. They can also access information about what to do in case of violence. The app’s unique privacy features (changing the logo, automatic text messaging by saying a predetermined random word via Siri, etc.) make the app easy to hide from the abuser. Android users can pin the emergency text message and emergency calling functions to their phone’s home page. This allows them to access the functions at the touch of a button whenever they need them.

Visually impaired women can also use it

Visually impaired women can use the Easy Rescue app as well. Voice Over for iOS users and TalkBack for Android users have been added to the features. This add-on allows visually impaired women to receive audio feedback. It reads the selected item with a tap. The app also includes Gender Equality videos and the Violence Awareness Test, which allows users to complete the test and learn about types of violence. Through “Işık”, the digital assistant in the app, women can find answers to their questions about violence. The app has Turkish, English, and Arabic language options.

Women between the ages of 18-45 were interviewed

The “Social Owl” award is given to social research projects that best identify and address social problems. Research projects evaluated in this category are expected to provide a social benefit and service. Women (aged 18 and 45) who have experienced violence of any kind—including cyber violence, peer bullying, sexual, psychological, and physical abuse—were interviewed for the Easy Rescue Chatbot Qualitative Research, which this year won the Gold Award in the “Social Owl” category. Psychologists who have worked with female clients and lawyers who represented female clients were also contacted. The participants were from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Tekirdağ and Isparta. The interviews were conducted by Kalita Research & Consultancy on June 7-14, 2022, through online group discussions and one-on-one interviews.