Across Asia, a new wave of innovators is challenging the status quo and reimagining how technology can not only connect people, but also protect, empower, and restore dignity in an increasingly complex digital world. In the face of rising technology-facilitated gender-based violence, these changemakers are demonstrating that safer online spaces are not just aspirational but already taking shape.

Selected through a rigorous evaluation process grounded in global standards, including feminist technology principles, safety by design frameworks, and UNFPA’s guidance on ethical technology, these finalists represent the cutting edge of rights based, user-centred innovation. Each solution reflects a profound understanding of the realities survivors face, alongside a commitment to addressing those challenges with care, creativity and accountability.

What distinguishes these finalists is not only their technical sophistication, but their intentional design choices. They prioritise privacy over data extraction, accessibility over complexity, and lived experience over assumption. From AI-powered support systems to community-driven accountability tools, these solutions show how technology can be reshaped to serve those most at risk rather than expose them to further harm.

Together, they offer more than individual tools, presenting a collective vision for a safer digital future, where empowerment, inclusion and protection are embedded into the very architecture of technology.

By highlighting these examples of safety-by-design in technology, the Asia Safety Showcase is fostering a community to inspire and support an industry shift toward a survivor centred approach, ultimately helping to facilitate a digital world where women and girls can .

Asia Safety Showcase Finalists

Following a rigorous evaluation process that adhered to global standards and principles, including the UNFPA’s Guidance on the Safe and Ethical Use of Technology and the UNFPA Assessment Tool for TFGBV Safety, we are thrilled to announce the finalists selected for the Asia Safety Showcase. These products represent  innovative solutions designed with gender at the center as a key mitigation strategy to prevent and respond to TFGBV, from different geographies and audiences.

TechSakhi

Country of origin and scope: India, Hindi

Founders: Bishakha Datta and Shohini Banerjee

TechSakhi is a voice-based digital safety solution designed for low literacy and last mile users, particularly gender and sexual minorities. It enables individuals to access guidance on digital security and technology facilitated gender-based violence through a simple and accessible interface. By using voice as its primary medium, it removes barriers that often prevent vulnerable users from seeking help.

The platform is built around privacy by design, ensuring that users can engage safely and confidentially. It provides clear, empathetic, and actionable information, allowing individuals to make informed decisions about how to respond to harm. TechSakhi addresses a critical gap in accessibility, ensuring that digital safety tools reach those who are often excluded from conventional solutions.

Online Ambulance

Country of origin and scope: Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia

Founder: Saijai Liangpunsakul

Online Ambulance is a survivor led platform that supports individuals experiencing technology facilitated gender-based violence. It provides assistance in removing harmful content, including harassment and non-consensual intimate images, and connects users to psychosocial, legal, and shelter services when needed.

Developed in Myanmar during a period of conflict and now expanding across the region, the platform is grounded in confidentiality and survivor autonomy. It offers a secure and independent pathway for individuals to seek help and regain control over their digital presence. Its integrated approach recognizes that online abuse often requires coordinated responses that extend beyond content removal alone.

NOOR AI

Country of origin and scope: Pakistan

Founders: Abia Akram and Atif Sheikh

NOOR AI is an inclusive AI-driven platform designed to address technology facilitated gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities. It provides multilingual support through voice, text, and assistive technologies, making it accessible to users with diverse needs.

Available around the clock, the platform offers guidance on reporting violence, accessing disability related services, and finding counselling support. It is built on strong ethical and privacy principles, ensuring that users can seek information safely. NOOR AI addresses a significant gap in existing systems by prioritizing accessibility and inclusion from the outset.

VoiceValor

Country of origin and scope: South Asia

Founders: Hameeda Syed, Himanshu Panday, Saashi Windsor, Dridhata Silwal, Pooja Lama

VoiceValor is a web based auditing tool that examines how social media platforms identify and respond to harmful content. It focuses on uncovering gaps in automated moderation systems, particularly where cultural context, language, and local expressions of harm are often misunderstood or overlooked.

The platform enables community led reporting and evaluation, allowing users to identify missed harms, flag false positives, and contribute insights based on lived experience. Through transparent scoring and documentation, it generates evidence that can be used to challenge bias and improve platform accountability. VoiceValor brings a systemic perspective to digital safety, addressing not only individual incidents of harm but also the structures that allow them to persist.

UNFPA publications and resources on TFGBV (public)

• UNFPA resource compendium on technology-facilitated Gender-based violence
• Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence: Considerations Across the Life Course
• Guiding principles for law and policy reform to address Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence: Towards a system of accountability
• Asia Regional TFGBV symposium: Summary Report 
• Understanding technology facilitated gender-based violence in Asia: A qualitative study 
• An Infographic Guide to Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV)
• A Framework for TFGBV Programming
• Guidance on the Safe and Ethical Use of Technology to Address Gender-based Violence and Harmful Practices: Implementation Summary