Panic button connected to 112 for victims of domestic violence

Vodafone Romania joins the „Eye-catching love” („Iubirea care bate la ochi”) project, developed by Zi de Bine Association in partnership with FILIA Center, ANAIS Association and Luthelo Association. Within the project, 1,000 women who are victims of domestic violence will receive access to MINERVA, a panic button disguised in a jewel, to be able to instantly call 112 in case the aggressor violates the protection order.

For this project, Vodafone Romania will offer the 1,000 M2M SIM cards and free telecom connection services required for their operation, and will contribute financially to the support of the project management activity.

„When Melania Medeleanu told me about the initiative of Zi de Bine Association, I felt that our efforts made over the last year to protect the victims of domestic abuse could now take on a new dimension, through complementarity. The Eye-catching love (Iubirea care bate la ochi) project complements the efforts of Vodafone Romania Foundation to support the victims of domestic violence through the development of the Bright Sky Ro free mobile app. While this app is meant to support, but also educate and prevent through the information provided, as well as its functionalities, the Eye-catching love (Iubirea care bate la ochi) project supports victims who have already taken the first steps to save themselves from the toxic environment and who need to be protected in the event of non-compliance with the protection order by their abusers. Both initiatives are all the more relevant in the current pandemic context in which the number of domestic abuse cases has increased as a result of isolation,” stated Cristina Stăiculescu, Communication & CSR Director Vodafone Romania.

Launched this May, Bright Sky Ro is a free digital tool that supports victims of domestic abuse, providing assistance and useful information to people who are in an abusive relationship or to those who want to help in such cases. The app was developed and adapted for Romania by Vodafone Romania Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian Police (through the Research and Crime Prevention Institute), Necuvinte Association and Code for Romania Association. Bright Sky Ro is available in the AppStore and Google Play store in Romanian, English and Hungarian. Since its launch, the Bright Sky Romania app was downloaded on 2,281 devices and currently has over 1,000 active users.

Reducing the number of cases or the impact of domestic abuse is a concern of Vodafone Romania also internally. Through its current policy, employees who are victims of domestic violence or abuse benefit from a dedicated channel, where they can report these situations in order to receive support – for example, additional paid leave of up to 10 days, called “safety leave”, but also the advance payment of three salaries, if financial aid is necessary. In addition, Vodafone Romania provides the possibility to change working hours, the workplace location of the employee in question or the daily tasks, while the company managers are receiving trainings on how to detect, as well as provide help to their team members going through such situations.