Snapchat technology to fight Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a rising concern in India, not only among married couples but also for teenagers and young people in the age group of 16 to 24.
Being afraid, doubtful or even confused, most people tend to shy away from telling their friends and loved ones about what they are facing when it comes to talking about the issue. In an effot to provide a platform for victims to voice their concerns, a group of young hopefuls have taken to the popular Social Media platform Snapchat with a unique account named “LoveDoctordotIn”.
The idea for this Snapchat account first came to Rajshekar Patil, an advertising creative based in Bengaluru. With the help of Avani Parekh and Nida Sheriff they set forth to provide platform for people to get answers to questions about sex, relationships and abuse from experts, users would receive all answers in a private chat session with a qualified expert.
Avani runs an online counselling service called Love Doctor while Nida runs the India chapter of Chayn, a project meant to empower women against violence and abuse.
Rajshekar chose Snapchat because it’s feature where the platform does not keep record of sent messages, so it can use it freely without the fear of their partner finding out. All one has to do is login to Snapchat and add lovedoctordotin as a friend. Based on the questions, the user will be redirected to the counsellors at lovedoctor.in or to Chayn India, or both if needed.
The Snapchat account has not received any messages yet, but they are releasing useful guides to help people understand the issue better. People have been viewing the massages regularly and the group hopes that they will help spread the word.
