WOW! We are delighted to announce the second part of #SHECODESAFRICA - ''BabyScream'' IBM RPA Anti-harassment chatbot to End Child Marriage. The tech show with Sofonie Dala
ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA)
SHE CODES AFRICA - BABYSCREAM
THE TECH SHOW WITH SOFONIE DALA, ANGOLA
Children are increasingly undergoing abuse, yes. Violence has increased within our communities. Cases of child marriage have increased; issues of children being murdered have also been heard of in many areas.
What is the solution?
IBM RPA Web Automation and Anti-Harassment Chatbot to Prevent Child Marriage and Abuse
This solution weaves together RPA, AI among other technologies to create a solution that vastly prevents child marriage and abuse, domestic violence and teen pregnancy in Africa. The bot connects users with agent-defenders, allows victims to report harmful practices and denounce their aggressors.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen!
We welcome everyone to our cloud environment! In this platform, we are enhancing our functionality and IT capacity.
Violence against children takes many forms, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and may involve neglect or deprivation. Violence occurs in many settings, including the home, school, community and over the Internet.
Sometimes raising awareness about sexual violence happens through very practical means.
IBM RPA Chatbot-BabyScream
We designed an Anti-harassment chatbot named BabyScream to help victims of child marriage, domestic violence and sexual abuse, denounce harmful practices.
Using IBM tools to solve world´s most pressing challenges.
How does it work?
There is both an Art and a Science to Automation. The Art comes through in the creativity and imagination of the design team and the Science is evident in the steps taken to build, test and deploy interconnected software components.
Hands-on lab
IBM RPA Web Automation and Anti-Harassment Chatbot to Prevent Child Marriage and Abuse
We used RPA Automation Studio to create and deploy an Anti-Harassment Chatbot to Prevent Child Marriage and Abuse and automate our Web.
The robot also displays a list containing address, phone contact and emails of organizations that handle these cases, including police station, UNESCO, UNICEF, support center etc.
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Web Automation
We automated our own browser and named it babyscream - The bot opens our medium digital platform enabling the victim to navigate a relaxing meditation, telling stories of other victims and showing good practices.
Anti-harassment Chatbot-BabyScream — To End Child Marriage
Education is an essential factor in combating the worst forms of child labour, including child marriage, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, human trafficking, poverty, social exclusion and gender bias.
The main goals of the project are to strengthen prevention mechanisms against child marriage and teen pregnancy, improve the mental health and education process and support survivors safely.
IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
The pandemic has affected their lives including: (1) food insecurity and hunger, (2) difficulty following preventative measures, (3) navigating a new normal at home, (4) an increased risk of witnessing or experiencing violence, (5) child labour, (6) early marriage, and (7) online risks.
It is real the ridiculous situation that Africa has been suffering for decades with the high rates of mortality and birth, in which among the great causes we have child marriage justified in beliefs, taboos, culture and religion.
Sex education is still a very sensitive issue for the African community, which from an early age imposes marriage as the biggest dream and life goal for girls and a demonstration of virility in the case of men.
5 WAYS TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
It’s every girl’s right to choose if, who and when they marry. Yet globally, nearly 41,000 girls are forced into child marriage every day.
1. EDUCATING GIRLS
2. EMPOWERING GIRLS
3. PROVIDING GIRLS AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH INCOME OPPORTUNITIES
4. PETITIONING GOVERNMENT AND ENCOURAGING SUPPORTIVE LAWS
5. RALLYING THE WIDER COMMUNITY TO STAND UP FOR GIRLS’ RIGHTS
Parents and community leaders are often responsible for deciding when and whom a girl marries. In many traditional communities, it’s believed that marriage keeps girls safe, protected and economically provided for by their husbands.
When parents and community leaders are educated about the many negative consequences of child marriage, it can inspire them to change their views, speak up for girls’ rights and encourage others to do the same.
Africa Educates Her Campaign with Sofonie Dala
In this chapter we will be telling stories of some women and girls who dropped out of school due to child marriage and teen pregnancy.
Both early teen marriage and dropping out of school have historically been associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including higher poverty rates throughout life.
Our today's guest is Luisa, she will share with us her academic history and consequences of her choices.
Luisa's story
I regret breaking my studies because of a young marriage
Hello! My name is Luisa, I will talk a little about my academic life and how I stopped studying.
I stopped studying when I was twenty years old because I found a husband. This marriage made me forget school, I gave birth to four children. But I regret that I stopped studying. Now I have no way to go back to study because life no longer allows me to study. I don't have a job, my husband is also unemployed, and we're all stuck.
If someone offers me a help, I would like to go back to study because I have this desire so that my daughters can also study, in order to improve our life a little bit.
What grade did you stop studying in? How old are you now?
I stopped studying in the 8th grade. Now I am 34 years old.
Have your daughters ever gone to school?
Yeah, they did. My first daughter is 14 years old, finished the 8 grade and has been two years without studying.
The second daughter is 13 years old, she concluded the 4th grade and is also two years without studying.
Click here on these links to find out how her story ended. https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/12/africa-educates-her-campaign-angola_23.html
https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2021/01/wow-we-are-celebrating-successful.html
Osana's story
Today we invited Osana, she will share with us a little of her academic life.
It has been difficult to pay for my studies and at the same time support my baby
Hello, good afternoon! My name is Osana Manuel, I'm 22 years old and I'm going to share my academic life with you.
Unfortunately, I became pregnant at the age of 18. I gave birth to my son, finished high school and even managed to enter the first year of university. But I was forced to lock the school year because of financial problems.
How long have you been without studying?
I stopped studying in 2019. I locked the year because it has been difficult to pay for my studies and at the same time support my baby.
Osana, aren't you married? I'm not married. Unfortunately my relationship with my son's father did not work so I am a single mother.
Would you like to go back to school if an opportunity came up?
I would really like to go back to school because study is one of my biggest focuses. I attend many short courses but I really want to finish university.
How did covid-19 impact your life?
The covid-19 disease was practically a disgrace, I was working and suddenly I stopped because of the covid-19 pandemic. I am now unemployed. Till today I'm sitting at home.
Thank you!
Click this link to learn more about Osana https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/search?q=osana
Maria's story
Pregnancy related school dropouts have become a matter of public concern in the world today. Schoolgirls who become pregnant have fewer opportunities to complete their education after childbirth and have fewer opportunities for socioeconomic advancement.
Our today's guest is Maria, she will share with us her academic journey.
I dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy.
Hello, My name is Maria Gomes, I'm 21 years old, I'm here to talk about my academic life.
Maria are you studying right now?
No.
When did you stop studying and how old were you at the time?
I stopped studying in the 7th grade in 2017, at the age of 18.
Why did you stop studying?
I stopped studying because I got pregnant. When I discovered the pregnancy I did not stop studying at that moment, I continued with my studies until November 2017, then I dropped out of school because of the pregnancy symptoms.
Are you married to the father of your child?
No. We broke up because he denied the pregnancy
Would you like to go back to school?
Yeah, I'd like to go back to school.
What are the reasons that prevent you from going back to study?
Lack of financial resources. I have no money to pay my tuition.
How has the coronavirus affected you?
I used to work, but after the emergence of the pandemic my boss asked me to stay home. Also things in this period are very expensive and have made life very difficult, we had no way to eat at home, I am not working.
How have you been supporting your son?
My 35-year-old older sister has been helping me with the expenses. In general, I support my son alone without his father's help.
How old is your son?
My son is now 3 years old.
Girls and young women’s access, retention and completion in schools is still of huge concern in Africa. Our continent also has the highest rate of out of school children and adolescents globally. However, girls remain more likely to be permanently excluded from education and at a higher risk of being left behind.
Click this link to learn more about Maria. https://sofoniedala.blogspot.com/2020/12/africa-educates-her-campaign-angola_24.html
Recommendations
We recommend that the relevant actors work together to provide practical help in the areas of education, health and hygiene, food provision, family livelihoods and COVID-19 awareness raising.
Furthermore, we recommend the establishment and maintenance of comprehensive child protection mechanisms and clear avenues to seek support. Moreover, we all relevant stakeholders and decision makers to listen to children and young people and take their views seriously.
From the time quarantine started, there has been domestic conflicts between parents involving children, where they are physically abused by their own parents or guardians. Physical abuse cases towards children have really risen in our neighbourhood.
Some peers are being beaten more than usual now that they are stuck at home with their parents [who are] taking out their anger on them for their job losses or other frustrating factors. Strict parents are taking out their stresses on their children.
SEXUAL ABUSE AT HOME
Children continue to get sexually abused by people they live with. It may happen that, in some cases, there is even sexual abuse because [children and young people] are now spending a lot of time as well at home with many other relatives that have come back due to the coronavirus.
Sexual abuse is, however, happening now. It is a concern because even children as young as from 1 to 3-years-old are sexually abused by uncles and cousins who live close to them. Unfortunately, these children do not survive the pain of rape and end up dying.
What is robotic process automation?
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a software technology that makes it easy to build, deploy, and manage software robots that emulate humans actions interacting with digital systems and software. Just like people, software robots can do things like understand what’s on a screen, complete the right keystrokes, navigate systems, identify and extract data, and perform a wide range of defined actions.
A big, big thank you so much for all your support and loyalty over the years. We hope to see you soon!
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