It often starts with a message
It often starts with a message. An unsolicited photo. A threat masked as flirtation. A fake account posting someone’s private images. In cities across West Africa — from Lagos to Cotonou — this is becoming a familiar story for girls and women who dare to be visible online.
What many don’t realise is that this is more than harassment. It’s technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), and it’s robbing young women of their sexual and reproductive rights. It silences them, isolates them, and shuts them out of digital spaces where they could be learning about contraception, consent, STI prevention, and support services.
In Nigeria alone, over 58% of girls aged 15–25 have experienced online abuse. Across West Africa, nearly half of adult women say the same. And yet, fewer than 20% ever report it. Girls as young as 13 are being targeted just as they begin navigating relationships, identity, and reproductive health.
HerSafeSpace is our answer. An AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot offering multilingual, real-time support to survivors of online abuse. It’s private. Empathetic. And we’re using WhatsApp, a platform most of our users already trust and use daily.
But we’re going beyond support. We’re training male allies, building data for advocacy, and collaborating with grassroots women’s groups across five countries.
Why HerSafeSpace?
The Digital Reality
This group is the most digitally connected and the most digitally targeted. They turn to the internet for answers about their bodies, relationships, and rights, only to be met with harassment, blackmail, or shame..
Meeting Them Where They Are
HerSafeSpace meets them where they are: on WhatsApp. We’re offering a discreet, judgement-free chatbot that helps them stay safe, seek help, and access critical SRH information without fe
Working Beyond the Chatbot
Beyond direct users, we’re working with:
Male allies, who will be trained to recognise and challenge online abuse
Women’s rights organisations, who will use real-time data to respond faster and advocate stronger
Policy actors, who need evidence to shape protective laws that reflect the digital reality girls live in toda
More Than Tech
From a young girl scared to open her phone to a mother protecting her daughter’s privacy, HerSafeSpace offers more than tech. It’s peace of mind. It’s power in her pocket.
Looking Forward
In five years, HerSafeSpace will operate as a regionally adapted, AI-powered support platform reaching over 1 million women and girls (directly and indirectly) across West Africa who face or are at risk of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Our core beneficiaries will remain girls and young women aged 10–24, particularly in digitally connected but underserved communities, including students, activists, adolescent SRH seekers, and marginalised voices online.
Male allies, engaging with adapted chatbot content and training modules;
Women's rights organisations and policymakers, using anonymised data insights to design better protections and interventions.
Community educators and SRH service providers, using HerSafeSpace tools to guide outreach;
Our delivery model combines tech, partnerships, and local ownership:
Sustainability will be achieved through a hybrid model: donor support for free access in low-resource communities, and paid access for organisations (e.g., school systems, CSOs, clinics) seeking custom integrations, training, or analytics.