The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Mozambique is supporting the Ministry of Interior to develop a digital platform, InfoViolencia, for the registration, management, and control of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases. In the long term, the system will allow for referral of survivors to other institutions doing case management, such as health facilities, justice departments, and centers of integrated social support. EPOP Survey Consultants and Services developed this software during the last 8 months in strong collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and UNFPA.
A pre-pilot phase took place from May 2 to June 12, 2019, to test the training package and the platform at two police stations in Maputo city and one in Maputo province. This pre-pilot phase allowed those involved to collect feedback on the performance, functionality, usability, and efficacy of the platform, and on the possible challenges during its implementation. It also allowed EPOP to make technical improvements and served as the basis for planning the pilot phase in a larger number of police stations in other provinces.
On June 14, 2019, a validation meeting for the pre-pilot phase was carried out in the city of Maputo. Representatives from the Ministry of Interior, EPOP, and UNFPA exchanged experiences on this phase and discussed the necessary steps to move forward. In general, the pre-pilot experience was positive and helped to strengthen commitment and ownership of the Ministry of Interior. "We were afraid in the beginning because we have heard of many digital platforms that are created and do not work. However, we decided to assume this challenge, and today we are realizing that in practice, it is worthwhile because it will improve our work. InfoViolencia will facilitate and give credibility to our work, and it will also allow us to carry out more effective follow up of all GBV cases" Dr. Lurdes Mabunda, Head of the Department of Family Assistance and Minors, Victims of Violence of the Ministry of Interior.
A pilot phase will start in the coming months in the provinces where the Spotlight initiative is being implemented: Gaza, Manica, and Nampula. The police stations in Maputo where the pre-pilot was implemented, will also take part in the pilot phase. The coming pilot phase will take 4 months and it will include training of users on the GBV registration form and platform features and on-site learning in 106 police stations that provide support to GBV survivors. This pilot will allow for a more comprehensive review of the performance of the platform and training approach and will serve as the basis for moving towards scale up.
