Hithawathi (Your Confidante) is a social empowerment initiative that is essentially a response to the needs of victims of cyber violence, in particular women and girls. Its role is to calm the victim; give hope; stop extreme actions such as suicide; and provide necessary technical assistance and guidance to resolve the issue. Hithawathi also seeks to pre-empt abuse in cyber space by building awareness among the most vulnerable and promotes cyber-safety in Sri Lanka,
Online services, has witnessed a significant surge over the past three years. However, this rapid increase has also led to a surge in cyberbullying and gender-based cyber-harassment incidents. These have resulted in the Internet usage receiving a negative reputation, leading to restrictions, especially on children and women. This has been further intensified by the lack of awareness regarding legal systems and institutional frameworks available for support and protection.
The project's objective is to ensure safe Internet usage and equal access for all Sri Lankans, regardless of their gender, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other status. It was designed with the aim of establishing a team equipped with the necessary knowledge, resources, and passion to effectively tackle issues of cyber harassment and crime. Hithawathi boosts users' confidence and encourages them to access and utilise the Internet securely with comfort.
Since 2019, the project has supported over 5,000 victims, while its awareness-raising campaigns have reached approximately 200,000beneficiaries, targeting school children, factory workers, professionals who mainly work from home, and other potentially vulnerable groups. Currently, Hithawathi hotline receives about 250 calls per month. However, given the prevalent internet and smartphone usage in Sri Lanka, the team strives to improve these figures.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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