UNFPA and partners champion ethical approaches in the Safety Showcase: Reimagine Gender in Technology

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is one of the most pervasive and rapidly growing human rights violations worldwide, with nearly 6 in 10 women having experienced at least one form of online violence. The digital platforms we use daily for work, education, activism and creativity are too often becoming spaces for perpetrators to harass – and silence – their targets. 

This has only been made worse by a decline in human‑centred content moderation and the rise of engagement‑driven business models across platforms. Together, these contribute to a digital ecosystem where hate speech and misogyny are promoted and monetized, making both online and offline spaces increasingly unsafe for women and girls.

Despite the growing scale of the problem, the majority of technology products, policies and platforms still overlook specific and intersecting risks to women and girls. To effectively tackle this abuse, we must reimagine how we design and deploy technology, with safety, security and privacy as core principles. This is vital to ensuring a safe and empowering digital world for all.

To that end, UNFPA and partners launched the Safety Showcase: Reimagine Gender in Technology, an initiative that spotlights safe and ethical technology that places gender equality, inclusion and the lived experiences of women and girls at the heart of its approach. 

Why is the Safety Showcase important?

The Safety Showcase helps shape the future of safe and ethical technology by:

• Shining a spotlight on under-recognized innovators creating tech products and tools that centre the lived experiences and needs of women, girls and other marginalized groups.
• Connecting global actors – from feminist technologists to funders to policymakers – to share best practices and lessons learned around gender-centred technology.
• Supporting the development of survivor-centred tools that prevent or respond to technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
• Promoting feminist and participatory design in artificial intelligence (AI) practices, prioritizing the voices of survivors and the safety, privacy and security of users. 
• Contributing to cross-cutting global goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, in particular Target 5.8 on women’s empowerment through technology.

How does the Safety Showcase work?

UNFPA co-leads the Safety Showcase with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Numun Fund, with support from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. 

For its inaugural event, a global open call for submissions brought in 104 applications from more than 50 countries – a clear signal that innovation in this space is alive and growing. Hosted during the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025, the event showcased seven products as leading examples of gender-centred, safety-driven tech innovation. Entrepreneurs, designers, victim-survivor advocates and policy leaders demonstrated how technology can be a force for empowerment, safety and joy, while protecting the well-being and human rights of users everywhere.

Meet the products

BullyID

Indonesia | Founder: Agita Pasaribu | BullyID 

An online platform offering services for survivors of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, combining AI-driven tools and personalized support from trained psychologists and lawyers. BullyID works across borders, as global survivors seek redress, and also works closely with educators, law enforcement and survivors to advocate for regulatory change. 

CampusPal

Nigeria | Founder: Omowumi Ogunrotimi | Organization: Gender Mobile 

A mobile platform strengthening online and offline sexual violence prevention and response in higher education institutions, incorporating access to resources and case management, survivor-centred reporting and community support. Rooted in feminist values and youth empowerment, CampusPal helps influence policies and transform harmful social norms.

Euki 

US | Founder: Ana Ramirez | Euki

A privacy-first period tracker app that connects users to evidence-based information on sexual and reproductive health, helping to combat stigma and misinformation. The free app also helps users search for the sexual and reproductive healthcare they want and need – without collecting any personal data. The app is designed to be accessible for the people and communities facing the greatest legal, financial and social barriers and risks. 

Lizzy

Germany | Founders: Babs Williams and Ba-Linh | Company: Frontline 

An AI-powered, user-friendly tool that helps front-line workers recognize signs of abuse and analyse risk levels, using rigorous data science. Lizzy is unique in focusing on front-line service providers, a group often overlooked in tech initiatives, and is currently being tested in more than two dozen counselling services and shelters across Germany. 

Reliabl 

US | Founder: Annie Brown | Reliabl 

A business-to-business data annotation tool that transforms traditional data collection methods – surveys, hashtags – into contextual, high quality, user-centric data, through ensuring the recognition of race, class, disability and gender. In addition, through its partnership with Techworker Community Africa, Reliabl supports content moderators with improved protections.

Shhor AI

India | Founder: Aindriya Barua | Shhor AI 

An AI-powered bot that detects and combats hate speech across social media platforms, with a special focus on Indian vernacular languages and marginalized communities. The AI tool is trained on eight forms of hate, including casteism, ableism and sexism, with the goal of helping businesses and others protect and empower diverse communities.

Zuzi AI

South Africa | Founder: Leonora Tima | Organization: GRIT: Gender Rights in Tech 

A multilingual chatbot offering legal, emotional and sexual and reproductive health support to survivors of gender-based violence. Built with a feminist, ethical AI approach, Zuzi operates via WhatsApp, Facebook and the web, and caters to diverse users including youth, LGBTQIA+ individuals and sex workers. Zuzi was developed with a strong participatory design and community input, prioritizing data privacy, digital literacy and informed consent. 

What’s next?

UNFPA and partners are building a movement prioritizing survivors of gender-based violence, safety-by-design principles and participatory and feminist approaches to technology design, development and deployment. Through the Safety Showcase, UNFPA will continue to:

• Build a globally diverse network of feminist technologists, designers, funders and activists committed to the cause.
• Advocate for investment in feminist technology that adheres to design principles that prioritize safety, security and privacy.
• Work to influence global standards on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, from design protocols to technology standards to legislation.
• Highlight unheard voices and amplify emerging interventions and innovators across the world, through regional Safety Showcase events.

As the need for gender-centred technology grows, so too does the need for sustained support and advocacy. UNFPA invites partners, donors and innovators to join this ongoing movement to build a safer, more inclusive digital future for all.

The Safety Showcase: Reimagine Gender in Technology is embedded in the prevention pillar of Making All Spaces Safe, UNFPA’s global programme to end all forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence.