Viktoria was promoted through a media campaign, paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, and engagement with 20 Ukrainian influencers. Feminoteka launched social media ads in both Polish and Ukrainian from April to May 2024, reaching 81,700 unique individuals in Poland.
To reach women throughout Poland, including those living in rural regions, the media campaign also invested in local outlets. Communication efforts to promote Viktoria through TV, radio, podcasts, and press resulted in over 700 media hits across channels – reaching 2.5 million people.
Why a chatbot?
CARE has partnered with Feminoteka since 2022, primarily supporting gender-based violence phone helplines. Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, CARE noticed that every fifth phone call coming to the helplines were from Ukrainian or migrant women seeking support.
While Feminoteka’s helplines run from six to eight hours depending on the day, the problems troubling women and girls in the community do not abide by any schedule. Viktoria enables CARE and Feminoteka to provide support around the clock, even when helplines are not running.
Agata Ners, advocacy and communications manager for CARE Poland, said that another benefit of this tech solution is, “the chatbot allows us to provide anonymous and non-judgmental assistance.” She emphasized that Viktoria creates a safe space for anyone, especially women and girls, to get reliable information on sensitive topics like GBV. WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption keeps information protected and the chatbot collects no identifying information.
What’s next?
CARE and Feminoteka are currently focused on outreach and promotion of the chatbot. “We know that women who experience violence are an especially vulnerable group and building trust with them takes time,” noted Marta, project coordinator at Feminoteka.
“We saw [a similar pattern] when we launched our first, Polish helpline years ago and when we launched our Ukrainian/Russian helpline after the Russian invasion on Ukraine escalated. In the second case, we can see a significant incline in the number of calls only now – after two years of work.”
The team hopes to translate Viktoria to English to expand accessibility to the chatbot and the populations who can benefit from it.
These helplines for women are available at the following numbers and times:
- PL +888 88 33 88, open from Monday to Friday, from 11.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00-16:00
- UA +888 88 79 88 open from Monday to Friday, from 14.00 to 19.00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00-15:00
