An app against gender violence

Libresis an app to help women  who suffer or have suffered from gender violence. It  is also aimed at any woman who believes that there is a case of gender violence in her environment or who has been witness of any abuse.

Libres  was presented by Ana Mato, Spanish Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality, who explains that this app puts Spain at the forefront of  gender violence prevention and that this initiative will be part of the Strategy for the Eradication of Gender Violence, that has just been  approved by the Council of Ministers. 

This free software, which can be downloaded by iOS and Android phones and is completely accessible by people with disabilities, gives women suffering from domestic violence the necessary tools and information to end this situation. 

The goals are to detect the first signs of gender violence,  give information about the resources existing  for women suffering from violence, and about  the measures they can adopt for their self-protection. The aim is also to empower women so that they can break the silence and the cycle of domestic violence. 

Specifically targeted at young people, Libres has a simple and intuitive navigation system with content structured around different sections including  texts, useful phone numbers and addresses (such as women’s associations, courts and NGOs from all Spanish provinces), testimonials, videos, sound recordings, documents and links to websites.  Through the app, users can make  a direct call to 016, the Spanish  phone helpline for victims of domestic violence.

The app has been designed to remain hidden in the menu of the telephone, in order to guarantee the security of the user. 

It often happens that victims of gender violence don’t recognize they are being abused.  Libres offers a test to find out the first signs of violence. Critics in public, screaming, control of calls, obligation to have sex … These could be some of the first signs of the abuse. The test  has been prepared by Teresa San Segundo Manuel,  Civil Law Lecturer at UNED and Director of the Master in Gender Violence. 

Libres features a section titled: “ Testimonials and messages against gender violence”, through which all women who are victims of gender violence can know about  the stories of other women who lived the same situation, managed to overcome it and to start a new life far from violence.