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Overview
Creating a Digital Ecosystem to Support Survivors and Reduce Gender-Based Violence on College Campuses
Rokwire is a mobile software platform developed by the Smart, Healthy, Communities Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and one project is aimed at reducing gender-based violence on college campuses. For my senior capstone project, I decided to pursue researching and designing a technological intervention within the Illinois app to empower survivors of Gender-Based Violence, or GBV, by better facilitating access to help-seeking, tailored resources, and reporting options.
Duration
January - May 2023
Course
ART & DESIGN 402: Industrial Design VI
My Role
UX Designer and Researcher
Client
Rokwire
Project Roadmap
Problem
According to the 2019 Campus Climate Report at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1 out of 5 women experienced dating violence or sexual assault. While the university provides an abundance of resources for seeking help and reporting incidences, many cases are not reported.
Research
In order to identify community pain points related to gender-based violence and empathize with survivors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I conducted primary and secondary research involving interviews, an online survey, and competitor analyses.
Interviews
Who?
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Police Training Institute
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Community Outreach and Support Unit of the Champaign Police Department
What?
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Inquired about a range of ropics relating to gender based violence including prevention methods, awareness, support, and education.
Where?
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Remote
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Over-the-phone
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Female undergraduate students
Online Survey
Who?
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Male and female undergraduate students
What?
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Involves two sections: multiple-choice and free response
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Contains questions regarding student's personal experiences, sentiments about university resources, and how safe they feel on UIUC's campus
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Competitor Analysis
What?
Workplace misconduct reporting app
Pros
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Can report different types of workplace issues
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Gives users choise
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Identity is protected
Cons
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Not many app users
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High price for implementation
Takeaway
Encouraging users to report an incident fosters awareness and accountability of offender.
Anonymous platform for reporting sexual misconduct
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Provides resources and options
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Visual maps
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Case success rate
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Identity is protected
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Cost for lawyers increasing
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False allegations can occur
By providing clear options allows users to be in control and aware of their choices.
Nonprofit organization that allows survivors to anonymously reort sexual assault
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If a survivor reports an incident about the same perpetrator, it will alert police
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Anonymous
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Document details of incident securely
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Counselor facilitates coordinated action
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Not available on all college campuses
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False allegations can occur
Protecting user privacy allows more trust with a mobile application.
Insights
1
Education is critical
Informing individuals about GBV can help prevent it from occurring on campus because they can correctly identify GBV and how it can be reported.
2
Spread awareness about anonymous reporting
The option of remaining anonymous in a report allows individuals to have choice and the likelihood of reports increase.
3
Provide easy access to university resources
Easy access allows for more users to become educated and informed about GBV and what university resources exist.
Persona
Concept Development
Based on the insights from research, I decided to establish the following goals for developing concepts:
1. Develop an educational system to inform users about university resources regarding sexual misconduct.
2. Consolidate and nest available resources to ensure that users are not overwhelmed with information.
3. Ensure users are made aware of their reporting options outside and inside of the university.
Wireframes
Wellness Section
Sexual Misconduct Resources Section
Sexual Misconduct Resources Page
Sexual Misconduct Resources Walk-Through Screens
Final Concept
Sexual Misconduct Resources Page
Sexual Misconduct Resources Page after completing the "Explore Module
Educational system titled "Explore Module"
Icon informing user about anonymous reporting option when tapped
Nested resources under different categories
Explore Module
Outcome
I delivered a high-fidelity prototype and process book to the Rokwire GBV project investigators and my professor. I received an A+ on the process book and was offered an internship with the Smart, Healthy, Communities Initiative at Rokwire as a UX Design and Research Intern for summer 2023. I accepted the offer and worked on the design system library of the Illinois App and observed the GBV Mock Focus Group Research sessions.
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