Reaching women behind closed doors: A web-based application to address gender discrimination in India

Background: Despite rapid progress in women's education and empowerment in India, those who do not conform to traditional attitudes are still discriminated against. These women are often subject to physical and mental abuse such as harassment, rape, assault, domestic abuse, or workplace prejudice. There is a great need to reach out to a large number of women, which is possible via the internet. An estimated 125 million people use the internet regularly in India of which 40% are women. To address this issue an online supportive environment is being created that provides a legal, healthcare and a community support structure.

Methods: This online platform will generate content (via citizen journalism), data analytics (through predictive analytics via semantic/text analysis) and awareness (through discussions forums by experts). It is set to be India's first data analytics platform for women's social campaigning. Women can stay informed of troubled areas and undertake preventive measures using incident-trending and data visualization. Women can also seek information through open chat forums / closed (invited) chat forum (from NGOs or appropriate professional experts) so queries that are deemed sensitive can be sought out under the layer of anonymity.

Evaluation: The impact and penetration of this platform in the Indian society will be measured by the growth in followers co-creating content. Indicators of impact and research analytics will be provided to think tanks, multilaterals, and the government, who can use the data to examine related features or concepts and make distinctions among them. By analyzing the completed matrix, officials will be able to visualize connections, make predictions, and better understand the voice of change.

Conclusion: This web-based platform strives to create a systemic change in the way women in India are treated by voicing the concerns, opinions, and experiences of concerned citizens in a single platform for high impact.