Mobile Apps to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG): Systematic App Research and Content Analysis

Numerous reviews have explored specific aspects of violence prevention apps, but given the rapid development of new apps, increased violence during COVID-19, and gaps in understanding functionalities and geographical distribution, an updated review is needed.

Therefore, we aimed to systematically evaluate the trends, geographical distribution, functional categories, available features, and feature evolution of mobile apps designed to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).

We conducted a systematic search on app reselling platforms and search engines from April 24, 2024 to May 28, 2024, using terms related to VAWG in multiple languages. We included apps meeting our criteria for addressing VAWG, without restrictions on date or language. We conducted content analysis of app and apps were categorized by functionality and feature type. We performed descriptive analyses, trend analysis, co-occurrence network analysis, and geographical mapping.

Out of 432 apps initially identified, 178 were included in the final analysis. Of these, 99 apps were available on both Google Play and the App Store, and 64 were exclusive to Google Play. Most apps were implemented in North America (48/178, 27%), followed by South Asia (31/178, 17%) and Europe and Central Asia (31/178, 17%). Emergency and support apps were most prevalent across regions. Most apps (132/178, 74%) originated from the private sector and were designed for survivor (121/178, 68%), were free without in-app purchases (100/178, 56%), had a website (148/178, 83%), and offered GPS features (142/178, 80%), but only 15% (27/178) provided offline functionality. App releases peaked in 2020 (33/178, 19%), followed by a decline. Regression analysis indicated a significant trend (P=.01) increase in app release, with a 2.40 unit increase per year before 2020 and a 7.01 unit decrease after, showing a post-2020 decline of 4.61 units per year. Apps were primarily categorized as emergency (n=110) or support (n=81), with most emergency apps in the 10,000 to ≥100,000 downloads range. Network analysis showed that emergency services (degree=10, clustering coefficient=0.911), location sharing (degree=10, clustering coefficient=0.911), SOS (Save Our Souls) alerts (degree=10, clustering coefficient=0.911), and educational resources (degree=10, clustering coefficient=0.911) features highly co-occurred in the same app. We found a gradual shift towards more sophisticated and comprehensive safety tools, evolving from basic GPS tracking and SOS alerts to advanced features such as real-time communication, panic buttons, peer support, and group communication, culminating in multifunctional platforms offering personalized safety, community engagement, and proactive risk identification.

Most apps to prevent VAWG emphasize emergency and support functions, and although initial releases increased, there has been a recent decline, with a shift towards integrating more comprehensive safety solutions such as communication, reporting, and community engagement. Future app development should prioritize cross-platform availability, offline functionality, public sector collaboration, and the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.